IRIU Handbook published
 IUQB has published its handbook for the external review of Irish Universities. Nominations are also invited for the IRIU Register of Reviewers (see next article) from which the members of the IRIU review teams will be appointed by the IUQB Board.
The Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB) was established in 2002 to support and promote a culture of quality in Irish higher education and independently evaluate the effectiveness of quality processes in Irish universities, as required by the Universities Act (1997).
In 2004, IUQB and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) jointly commissioned the European University Association to undertake the 1st cycle of institutional quality reviews of the seven Irish universities, the outcomes of which were published in 2005 as the Review of Quality Assurance in Irish Universities.
In 2009, following consultation with a range of key stakeholders, IUQB finalised the process for the 2nd cycle of institutional quality reviews. This process, which will operate in accordance with national legislation and agreed European standards and guidelines, is termed Institutional Review of Irish Universities (IRIU). Read More
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Register of Reviewers
Nominations are invited for the IRIU Register of Reviewers from which the members of the IRIU review teams will be appointed by the IUQB Board. A nomination form for the roles of: international reviewer, national reviewer, student reviewer, external stakeholder and co-ordinating reviewer, can be downloaded here. The nomination process to register will be conducted bi-annually. Read More
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Student Handbook in Demand
Since the launch of our Student Handbook entitled, Your Right to Quality in Education, the handbook has been receiving positive responses from Student Unions at universities and institutes of technology.
Hugh O’Sullivan, TCD Education Officer said, ‘Class Reps see it as their responsibility to participate in the quality assurance process in Trinity and they find the handbook an excellent guide to now go about doing that’.
The objective of the student handbook is to provide students and stakeholders with simple and accessible information on quality assurance at universities. IUQB is currently distributing it to student union offices at universities, institutes of technology, support staff in higher education and nationally through the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC) for Career Guidance Counsellors at second and third level education.
You can download a copy of the booklet from the here, alternatively you can contact us and we will be happy to mail you out a copy. More details regarding the booklet are available here
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Second edition of PhD booklet
IUQB first published its National Guidelines of Good Practice in the organisation of PhD programmes in Irish universities (the national PhD guidelines) in 2005. The booklet was so popular that it was reprinted in 2006. Now, IUQB is in the process of publishing an updated edition of the guidelines.
Since 2005 much has changed in Ireland which has impacted on how PhD programmes are organised. These developments have resulted in a significant increase in the number of awarded PhDs (over 1,000 PhDs were expected to be awarded in Ireland in 2008 compared to just over 500 in 1998).
An Expert Panel was convened in 2008 to provide expert advice to the Project Chair (Professor Jim Gosling) and the IUQB Quality Enhancement Manager (Dr Teresa Lee) in their task of updating the booklet. The Panel consists of representatives from each of the Irish universities, the USI, HEA, IUA and HETAC. Three international experts were also invited to join the Panel. It is recognised that the national PhD guidelines are being used both within and outside of the university sector and the newly revised booklet should reflect this wider usage.
The revised booklet will be available in June 2009. More details about the National Guidelines of Good Practice in the organisation of PhD programmes in Irish Higher Education are available here
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Seminar Planned
IUQB is hosting a Seminar on 3rd November, 2009 entitled, ’Striving to enhance the Student Experience: Implementing a Student Centred Approach to Learning’. The event which takes place at the Westbury Hotel Dublin, seeks to facilitate the sharing of the achievements, experiences and challenges associated with implementing Part 1 of the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG).
Dr. Norma Ryan, Director of the Quality Promotions Unit at UCC, and current Chair of the Irish Higher Education Quality Network( IHEQN) and Bologna Expert has kindly agreed to act as seminar Chair. The seminar is primarily aimed at Irish universities with delegates also being invited from each of the linked and recognised colleges, and the institutes of technology. IHEQN members and student representatives will also be invited to attend. The seminar will be of particular interest to staff in the following areas: quality assurance, quality enhancement and development, teaching and learning, information management, communications and marketing.
The purpose of the seminar is to showcase ways that universities and other HE institutions have interpreted six elements of Part 1 of the ESG (outlined below). This will be achieved through facilitated workshops each led by 5-10 minute case studies of existing practices:
1.2 Approval, monitoring and periodic review of programmes and awards
1.3 Assessment of students
1.4 Quality assurance of teaching staff
1.5 Learning resources and student support
1.6 Information systems
1.7 Public Information
Currently we are inviting submissions for case studies associated with any of the above 6 listed elements of Part 1 of the ESG. Each case study should highlight achievements and illustrate the experiences and challenges associated with the implementation of the element selected for presentation. If your institution is interested in presenting at the seminar, please submit a brief synopsis (less than 100 words) of each case study, with an indication for each study of the element of Part 1 of the ESG it relates to, along with the name and contact details of the proposed presenter(s). Contact Teresa Lee, Enhancement Manager with case studies here.
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Look back at the 6th Annual Conference
 IUQB’s 6th Annual Conference took place in UCD in October 2008. Entitled Opportunities and Challenges in Developing 4th Level Education. It took place in O’Reilly Hall, University College Dublin on the 14th-15th October 2008. Entitled Opportunities and Challenges in Developing 4th Level Education. It took place in O’Reilly Hall, University College Dublin on the 14th-15th October 2008. Entitled Opportunities and Challenges in Developing 4th Level Education. It took place in O’Reilly Hall, University College Dublin on the 14th-15th October 2008. Entitled Opportunities and Challenges in Developing 4th Level Education. Photographs of the event featuring many of the talkers and attendees can be viewed here
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Quality Corner
 The Quality Corner is a dedicated area on our e-newsletter that reports to our stakeholders on quality initiatives by higher education institutions that have taken place over the last few months. We welcome your input on any best practice initiatives within your institutions and will highlight them in future editions. Please email submissions for the Quality Corner to me here.
Your feedback to any articles or quality related issues is very welcome and will be answered as quickly as possible.
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