Dublin City University receives Quality Report Card

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• First Irish university to undergo QQI's CINNTE institutional quality review

• DCU praised for its student internship programme, access to online education and student support services

• Recommendations to evaluate and ensure consistency in student learning experience provision and measurement across the university

  
  
  
  
  
  Dublin City University (DCU) has successfully completed an institution-wide quality review conducted by Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), the state agency responsible for the external Quality Assurance (QA) of further and higher education and training in Ireland.
  
  An independent panel of national and international experts completed a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of the QA procedures of the university, recognising instances of good practice which deliver impact for students and staff, and making recommendations on areas for improvement in the coming years.
  
  
  

  Commendations

  
  DCU was commended on its:

• Innovative INTRA (internship programme) and plans to roll this out to all undergraduate programmes
• DCU Connected online learning programme providing access to education for under-represented student groups
• Extensive Student Support and Development services which aim to include leadership and life-skills provision
• Creation of a dedicated Quality Promotion Office, integrated with Institutional Research, which has improved QA activities at a strategic level
• Development of an inclusive rolling planning process to implement its current Strategic Plan
  
  

  
  Recommendations

  
  Recommendations for improvement included:

• Independent evaluation of the student learning experience at module level, and consistency of student evaluation and feedback processes across faculties and schools
• Development of university-wide policies on minimum standards to ensure consistent learning experiences across faculties and schools, and monitoring of their implementation
• Clarification and streamlining of strategy and QA processes in relation to Transnational Education (provision of education in other countries) partnerships
• Development of a data analytics support plan to better identify and understand student progression and performance
• Implementation of DCU's Performance Management Development Scheme to ensure quality and provide staff support
  
  Through its CINNTE cycle of reviews 2017-2023, QQI assesses and reports on how effectively all 20 publicly-regulated higher education institutions are maintaining and enhancing quality in education.  The reviews explore how institutions have improved their teaching, learning and research systems, and how well they have aligned with their own mission, quality indicators and benchmarks. 
  
  Dublin City University is the first university to undergo the CINNTE process, following on from the 2018 review reports on the Institutes of Technology in Letterkenny and Sligo. Reports on Dundalk Institute of Technology, Maynooth University and NUI Galway will  follow later this year. 
  
  Padraig Walsh, CEO of QQI highlighted the importance of the CINNTE reviews,
  
  "The QQI CINNTE reviews, conducted by national and international experts, are a rigorous institution-wide evaluation  which give  students at Irish higher education institutions confidence in the quality of the education they are receiving.  The evidence to date, and contained in today's DCU CINNTE Review Report, shows that our institutions are committed to delivering real impact for their students through their teaching and learning activities.  DCU's CINNTE review provides a road-map for the university to implement measures which will improve the quality of its students' learning experience  and their graduate outcomes."
  
  Professor Brian MacCraith, President of Dublin City University welcomed the findings of the report,
  
  "DCU welcomes the publication of the Institutional Review Report and thanks the International Peer Review Team members for the energy and thoroughness of their engagement with the university throughout the Review. We are delighted that the Review Team recognised and commended so many elements of DCU's provision in ensuring the quality of our student experience and our graduate employability. The Review Team has produced a comprehensive and thoughtful report that will assist the University in the continued development of structures, frameworks and approaches to assuring continued quality enhancement in all our activities. The university is looking forward to giving extensive consideration to the findings of this report, and developing a clear action plan to address its recommendations"
  
  Professor Marijk van der Wende, Distinguished Professor of Higher Education at Utrecht University's Faculty of Law, Economics and Governance and Chair of the DCU Review Team commented,
  
  "It was a great pleasure to chair this review and to encounter an institution deeply committed to widening access. The team was impressed with DCU's success in shaping such policies that actually deliver on opportunities for an increasingly diverse student community and with the way in which its leadership included new partners into its mission and operations through the incorporation process. We thoroughly enjoyed the discussions on DCU's innovative journey and future steps aiming to join local impact with global citizenship. I wish DCU all the best in achieving these aims and hope that this review will contribute to it."
  
  To read a summary of the report for DCU, click here.
  
  To read the DCU report in full, click here.