International opinion
By Pat Costine (April 2004 Issue)
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The developments covered in this article are primarily related to the area of quality assurance and to the associated responsibilities of providers, specifically those holding or seeking accreditation for further education and training programmes. In conjunction with the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act (1999), a ‘National Framework of Qualifications’ has been established for the development, recognition and award of qualifications in Ireland. This was driven by several objectives:
* development of a coherent national policy approach to qualifications
* development of a more flexible system of qualifications
* improvement in the portability of qualifications
* support for the development of a lifelong learning society, and
* provision of facility for international comparison and alignment.
Three new organisations were established. The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), is charged with overall responsibility for developing and implementing the framework. Two awards councils come under its jurisdiction – a Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC), and a Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC).
FETAC will work with industry, education and other stakeholders in the determination of standards for awards and is now the single awarding body for further education and training in Ireland.
Having established this background information, I will now focus exclusively on FETAC and issues surrounding provider quality assurance.
The implementation of the National Framework for Qualifications will provide an opportunity to all stakeholders in further education and training in Ireland to express and to improve the quality of the services they offer to learners. The 1999 Act outlines the responsibilities of the Awards Councils and providers in this regard, but does not specify the detail of how these responsibilities are to be exercised.
FETAC perceives provider quality assurance to be just one of a number of mechanisms that will underpin the credibility of the awards it makes. A primary aim is to assure learners that programmes in which they participate are delivered to a national standard. The essence of quality assurance in further education and training is thus seen to encompass the establishment and operation of a procedural framework within which a provider delivers its programmes and associated services. This should ensure the programmes and services are monitored, evaluated and amended as necessary, in order to maintain and improve their quality from a learner perspective.
The quality assurance of programmes is a responsibility of providers, while it is the responsibility of FETAC to agree providers’ procedures for quality assurance and to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their implementation.
FETAC is engaged in an extensive consultation process with relevant stakeholders with the aim of developing a system of quality assurance that is credible, effective and inclusive of the wide range of provision. The principles underpinning the development of such a system are as follows.
* Transparency – clarity of roles and expectations among all participants.
* Consistency – consistency of service, though not necessarily a commonality of service.
* Improvement – embodying an organic process, responding to changing environments and delivering continuous quality improvement.
* Provider responsibility – the primary engine of quality improvement is the provider’s own internal monitoring of programmes and services, with the focus on a locally driven continuous improvement approach rather than on external audit.
* Accountability – quality assurance tools can be used to measure the effectiveness of services and to diagnose areas requiring attention or support.
* Stakeholder focus – the range of stakeholders is central to any quality assured system. The needs of stakeholders determine service plans and their feedback is critical for effective monitoring and evaluation systems.
Draft guidelines have been developed that are intended to assist providers in the development of their quality assurance systems. These are currently being tested with the involvement of a wide range of providers. The findings of this test will contribute to the final FETAC policy on provider quality assurance which is due for publication later this year.
To inject a personal note by way of summary, the Irish Institute of Training and Development (IITD) is one of the providers involved in the test phase referred to earlier. This is proving both a revealing and a beneficial exercise, and one that we believe will assist us in our aim of ensuring that all learners on IITD courses enjoy a quality service. I look forward to updating readers on further related developments at some stage in the not too distant future.
Pat Costine can be contacted on +00 35351 873330 or at costinep@eircom.net. He returns to 'International opinion' in the July 2004 issue.
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