University College Cork is committed to excellence in serving learners, stakeholders and its wider community through education, research and contribution to society nationally and globally. 

Enhancement is a cornerstone of UCC’s quality culture promoting the success and reputation of the university through an active commitment to critically assessing and refining institutional activities to better meet the diverse needs of learners, stakeholders and wider society. Strategically aligned with UCC’s vision, mission, values and institutional goals, the university’s quality enhancement processes form an ongoing cycle of systematic self-evaluation, and engagement with peer review to derive outcomes that help augment and develop the quality of the University’s academic and service activities through effective implementation pathways and the sharing of good practice.

The university’s quality enhancement approach is committed to:

• Building and embedding a culture of quality which is engaged, reflective and connected
• Working collaboratively to develop effective evaluation approaches that allow critical reflection on achievement of strategic goals and objectives and an appraisal of the known and anticipated needs of stakeholders
• Engaging students as active partners in the quality enhancement process to embed a student-centred approach
• Developing quality processes that promote creativity, excellence and innovation
• Using peer review as an important reference point for confirming and developing the quality of the University’s activities
• Undertaking institutional reflection on the outcomes of quality review processes to contribute to on-going institutional planning, resource allocation and institutional development
• Ensuring that quality processes facilitate the sharing of good practice internally and externally
• Developing our evidenced-based approach to quality enhancement informed by relevant research and good practice nationally and internationally.

Quality assurance and enhancement policy at UCC is informed by international best practice and has regard to the requirements of the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act, 2012 (Revised 2019) and with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (2015) as well as the Higher Education Authority Act (2022, Section 76).

Approved by Quality Enhancement Committee on 22nd January 2018, revision approved 24th September 2024; 

and by University Management Team (Strategy), 25 January 2018

(now University Leadership Team)