2013 Press Releases
Report commends quality of teaching and research
UCC is at the forefront of national and international developments in the design and conduct of research quality reviews, a report has revealed.
Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), which is the national body for monitoring qualifications and their providers, announced this result as it published the final report in its Institutional Review of Irish Universities (IRIU) process.
“Independent experts found much to commend at UCC, acknowledging the range of quality teaching and research which takes place across the institution and the attention paid to the quality of the student experience at UCC,” said Dr Padraig Walsh, QQI Chief Executive Officer.
The IRIU process is designed to confirm whether Irish universities are compliant with requirements of The Universities Act and the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area 2005 (ESG).
It specifically identified areas of good practice and areas for further development to assist UCC in assuring the quality of the student experience.
A review team of six national and international experts commented positively on the range of quality teaching and research across the institution. The design and implementation of the UCC Research Quality Review was identified as an initiative worthy of wider emulation.
The attention paid to the quality of the student experience at UCC was also a particular point of praise. The loyalty of staff in support services and the way in which they enabled the university to continue to provide good levels of support for students was noted.
Particular progress has been made by the university in establishing research-led teaching as a normal expectation. Initiatives such as Ionad Bairre, NAIRTL, uLink and peer support and mentoring programmes were also commended.
The Report encourages UCC to build on its strengths and to ensure that the Quality Review process can more clearly demonstrate its contributions to university-wide change and improvement. The Report advises the university to consider the experience elsewhere in Ireland, and further afield, in the conduct of student surveys. It also recommended that student membership of panels within Quality Review, programme approval and programme review is a feature of future reviews.
UCC President, Dr Michael Murphy, welcomed the publication of the IRIU Institutional Review Report on the external evaluation of the university which was carried out in December 2012. “We warmly welcome the Report’s recognition of UCC as, ‘…a fine University of high repute that is working energetically to serve the needs of its region and Ireland’. We also welcome the recognition of “… the significant part UCC plays in the intellectual, educational and commercial life of its home city, the region and Ireland as a whole.”
Link to report: http://www.ucc.ie/en/qpu/iriu/