Goal Owners

• Deputy President and Registrar
• Vice President for Learning and Teaching

2.1 Implement an academic plan to further embed the Connected Curriculum and lifelong learning, enabling educational and professional success for all students.

1. Offer an inclusive and responsive Connected Curriculum, evidenced in our Curriculum Management System, that connects students with research, Sustainable Development Goals, employers, community, entrepreneurship and the world, underpinned by an organisational culture of equality, diversity and inclusion, along with intercultural and linguistic competency.
2. Complete a comprehensive review of the UCC Assessment Framework and implement approved actions to enhance the quality of the student experience.
3. Empower students and stakeholders to be active participants in co-creating education pathways, further enabling educational success, underpinned by academic integrity and professional excellence for all.
4. Create an externally focused Lifelong Learning Hub to deliver greater coherence and to integrate the provision of flexible learning, Continuing Professional Development (CPD), digital badges and micro-credentials to meet societal, regional and national development goals for all students.
5. Connect staff with the scholarship of teaching and learning through developments in teaching, assessment and curriculum design. Support staff to engage with opportunities to deliver inclusive and engaged learning and teaching including flipped classroom, problem-based learning, competence-based learning and experiential learning.

2.2 Be the university of choice for postgraduate study in signature areas of excellence and develop pathways to widen access into programmes at all levels.

1. Develop signature postgraduate programmes in distinct areas of research excellence, aligned with the UCC Futures framework.
2. Further develop collaborative pathways embedding routes from further education through to higher education in collaboration with partner institutions in line with national funding and policy developments.

2.3 Develop and provide excellent equipment, facilities, services and accommodation.

1. Optimise the time students spend on campus and augment this with effective online engagement in a manner that will minimise the impact on the environment and allow us to flexibly engage non-traditional students.
2. Continue to prioritise plans for upgrading campus accommodation and building sports infrastructure.
3. Work with policy makers and government stakeholders in their objectives to provide increased campus-based student accommodation and to address the cost of living for students.
4. Develop a capital lifecycle plan to review and enhance our equipment needs.
5. Create sustainable, accessible, inclusive and connected learning spaces, both physically and digitally, to support all students and staff to achieve their goals.
6. Protect and grow UCC Library services to support learning, teaching and research. Continue to acquire printed and digital collections, digitising, preserving and making publicly accessible unique and distinct collections to facilitate local and remote scholarship.
7. Continue to develop partnerships, including with the Academic Health Sciences System, to support learning and research opportunities.

2.4 Support student success, health and wellbeing, informed by the student voice.

1. Embed the Student Forum as a representative assembly of students enabling constructive consultation and participation, and continue to connect with students through structured surveys.
2. Attract and retain a diverse community of students in line with the National Access Plan (2022–2028) targets using a data-informed approach.
3. Ensure support and recognition for informal learning, volunteering and skills development to enable lifelong, life-wide and life-deep opportunities for learning and engagement to provide a high-quality university experience as students transition in, through and out of UCC.
4. Increase accessibility and inclusivity of student services and supports.
5. Support the mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing of students by implementing action plans aligned with the Healthy Campus Charter and the Student Success Framework, Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, and Sports Strategy.
6. Enhance the overall student experience by implementing targeted programmes in both curricular (e.g. Connected Curriculum) and extra-curricular areas (e.g. improving resources, engaging students in structured surveys, and implementing wellbeing charters and initiatives).
7. Implement targeted initiatives to ensure that UCC is a safe place for all students, including the Sexual Violence Framework.

2.5 Provide a digitally enabled learning and teaching experience, equitable to all, which incorporates Universal Design principles.

1. Through the implementation of Universal Design (UD) principles, ensure an equitable experience for all, so that our campus provides an inclusive and respectful environment for students and staff.
2. Implement the Digital Education Plan.
3. Develop a portfolio of flexible, blended and online programmes for professional development, lifelong learning and executive education.
4. Embed a digitally progressive learning and teaching environment and enhance the digital literacy of staff and students.

About Goal Two: Student Success

Provide a student-centred, inclusive and digitally enhanced learning environment, a Connected Curriculum and an outstanding student experience, to  prepare UCC graduates to make a positive impact. 

UCC is committed to delivering a high-quality and flexible student experience to support students to achieve their desired career and personal development outcomes. The touchstone for enhancing the student experience will be the broadening and deeper embedding of the Connected Curriculum, which aims to deliver curricular coherence to students focused on research-based teaching, employability, sustainability, inter- and transdisciplinarity, global reach and civic and community engagement.

In delivering this goal, we will work with our partners in further and higher education to extend and diversify the pathways into the University to offer increased access and an equitable educational experience to students at all levels, as enabled by national policy and support. Our transformative Graduate Attributes Programme, which identifies the core attributes required of our graduates, will underpin our efforts to assist students as they transition in, through and out of the University. ‘From Acorn to Mighty Oak’ represents the journey that each student completes while attending UCC, as they experience significant academic, personal and social growth. We nurture talent by supporting, challenging and mentoring our students and through the provision of an extensive range of scholarships. At postgraduate level, we will become the university of choice for graduates in our signature research areas and we will continue to work with government agencies and employers to develop policy and funding enablers to facilitate flexible and part-time postgraduate options.

We will leverage a digitally enhanced learning environment, following Universal Design principles, and a dynamic and flexible range of pedagogies. Responding to the rapidly evolving fifth industrial revolution, we will continue to equip our students with competencies and transversal skills for the digital age, including complex problem solving, critical thinking and creativity. UCC will also focus on developing programmes in strategic areas of excellence to optimise students’ capacity for professional success and maximise their positive contribution to society.

Delivering an outstanding student experience, steeped in our values of compassion, respect, equity and sustainability, is fundamental to student success, as is preparing UCC students to be effective global citizens, who make a positive societal impact. We will continue to cultivate a community which reflects the diversity of society, and which recognises the inherent value of including, surfacing and celebrating differing perspectives through which to view, experience and shape our world. By embracing students as partners and experts in their university experience, we will ensure that the student voice informs UCC’s activities and decision making. In line with our Student Success Framework, a wide range of initiatives will be implemented to support the health and wellbeing of our students, which will underpin their success in UCC and beyond.

Recognising that each student has different needs, we will take a holistic, responsive approach to support the physical, social and mental health of all UCC students. We will ensure that we understand and address the needs of all our students and that we deliver best practice in the provision of an inclusive, safe and supportive environment which promotes a sense of belonging.

As well as ambitious retention targets, our measures of success will be focused on positive student outcomes in education and employability. We will expand connections with key industrial partners to inform our curriculum and widen student placement activity. We will widen participation in line with the National Access Plan 2022–2028, and target a student:staff ratio of 17:1 by 2028.