Quality Assurance
A Quality System can be a minimalist system, well communicated and integrated into the routine daily activities of Glin National College, which in turn will generally be more efficient than an overly bureaucratic one.
Clarity of Mission & Purpose
GNC exists to provide quality training, education, and high-end customer service within Ireland's local and extended community using the ethos that all members of society, regardless of circumstance, are entitled to quality education, training, and access to quality, well-paid jobs.
We deliver further education and training services of the highest quality.
We prioritise our customers's needs and wants.
We commit to equality of opportunity.
We provide opportunities for the personal development of all learners, tutors, and staff.
We are a caring and responsive social enterprise.
We provide services to our local and extended community in Ireland.
Glin National College Values Statement
The following values underpin Glin National College's delivery of further education and training courses:
Commitment to the principle of provision of opportunities for the personal development of all learners, tutors and staff to enable them to achieve their maximum potential
Development of a caring and responsive organisation that emphasises openness, trust and cooperation while delivering further education and training services of the highest quality
Commitment to equality of opportunity regardless of age, colour, ethnic origin, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or special needs
Provision of educational and training opportunities for all those groups in the community that are traditionally more prone to being underemployed or unemployed
Recognition and encouragement of the diversity of cultures and traditions within the broader community
Continual development and introduction of new and appropriate training programmes that are relevant to the topical vocational needs of the community
Commitment to the promotion and development of an ethos of positive social responsibility
Policy Statement for Legal Obligations
This Quality Policy statement outlines Glin National College's management of quality and standards. GNC's quality assurance complies with the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Act 2012 (QQI) and the PHECC Awarding Bodies Educational Standards. Glin National College acknowledges that it is ultimately responsible for the academic standards of awards made in its name and for its learners' quality of learning experiences. GNC's quality assurance policy has the following goals:
Develop a quality assurance culture that permeates all parts of Glin National College to benefit the learners, staff and the wider community.
Ensure that Glin National College's strategic planning, development, quality assurance, and improvement mutually inform and support each other.
Ensure appropriate and transparent governance and management structures are in place to guarantee continuous progress in imposing and assisting first-class quality assurance and development measures.
Implement and maintain procedures referring to programme approval, tracking and evaluation.
Consider recommendations of unbiased, independent external peers and organisations, particularly external examiners, professional, statutory and regulatory bodies and external assessors.
Accumulate quantitative and qualitative information and conduct periodic surveys to get feedback from key stakeholder groups, including learners, employers and other stakeholders, for quality improvement and policymaking.
Maintain Glin National College in good standing with its legislative obligations and make the organisation a model centre of excellence for learners.
Cultivate our interest in seeking creative, learning-centred and future-focused teaching and governance approaches in further education and training.
GNC will pledge to continuously review the Quality Assurance Policy to ensure it is appropriate, consistent and fit for purpose.
Procedures
Glin National College promotes a culture of quality in its further education and training provision supported by a documented quality framework and a published procedural manual, which allows for the continuous review and enhancement of quality procedures. The Quality Framework enables Glin National College to best meet national guidelines/standards and the regulatory provisions of the awards certification bodies Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), The Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC), SOLAS - For Safe Pass and the Private Security Authority (PSA) Guidelines.
Glin National College also promotes a verifiable system of implementing this policy, measuring it through periodic evaluations and keeping it updated at all times through a continuous improvement process as depicted below:
3. Scope of the Quality Assurance System: All activities within Glin National College are subject to Quality Assurance procedures. All staff and tutors undertake a vital role in managing and implementing quality assurance procedures and assume collective responsibility across various functionaries. The Academic Standards Quality Officer carries out management of the quality system. Responsibility for the approval and monitoring of all quality assurance procedures rests with the Academic Council. Compliance with legal obligations and commercial interests rests with the Voluntary Management Board of NCU CLG.
4. The Quality Assurance Framework at Glin National College: Glin National College recognises that quality assurance's efficient and transparent operation is essential to learner and stakeholder confidence. It is critical for the organisation to achieve its long-term vision. The regulatory and statutory framework for quality assurance procedures described in this document is derived from QQI and The Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Council (PHECC) quality assurance policies guidelines and the general national standards. The following five principles underpin the development, implementation and continuous improvement of quality assurance procedures at Glin National College:
Internal Monitoring
On-going monitoring will look at the statistical information generated from our current systems on our QQI, PHECC, SOLAS Safe Pass, and Glin National College certified programmes. This practice will allow us to spot and identify any areas of provision that meet or do not meet the required standards. The following quality measures will help determine whether our outcomes-related objectives are accomplished. Some of the relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are as follows.
Academic
Business
This process will produce a set of findings for the Academic Council to review. The Training & Business Development Manager, Academic Standards Quality Officer, Programme Development Officer and Tutors will have responsibility for self-monitoring.
Policies & Procedures & Related Services
Stakeholder typically refers to anyone who supports the welfare and success of a school/institute and its learners. Board members, administrators, tutors, staff members, learners, families, awarding bodies, community members, government departments, local businesses, business leaders and elected officials such as city councillors and state representatives are stakeholders.
Self-Evaluation System & Improvement Process
The findings of self-evaluations are analysed and are available for and connect to and support the external review cycle. The distinction between ongoing, internal self-monitoring and formal self-evaluation is typically in frequency and scale. Self-evaluation has a broad, systemic focus and is carried out at specified intervals. Internal self-monitoring within Glin Nation College is ongoing and typically focuses on the following indicators.
Glin National College will ensure that it evaluates its training programmes and related services in a structured and systematic way. The company will give responsibility for instigating and coordinating the self-evaluation process and assessing its outcomes to the Academic Council, Academic Standards Quality Officer and the Programme Development Officer.
Where appropriate, evidence gathered in the evaluation process in conjunction with the Training and Business Development Manager will improve the programmes and their delivery and inform the future development of programmes and services. Glin National College will endeavour to ensure the involvement of tutors, learners, staff and management in Glin National College’s self-evaluations. The Academic Standards Quality Officer, Programme Development Officer and tutors will have responsibility for self-evaluation.
A self-evaluation team comprising the above will hold minuted meetings as necessary, plan for, execute evaluations, and prepare reports on each review undertaken.
Self-evaluations will be scheduled annually and monitored by the Academic Standards Quality Officer and the Training and Business Development Manager. Evaluation of module(s) from the range of courses delivered at Glin National College will involve examining training materials and questionnaires returned from learners, feedback from stakeholders and a sample of learner assessments.
Learner input to evaluate training programmes will be via returned questionnaires, evaluation sheets and, where appropriate, notes of random informal interviews with learners where possible.
The method by which Glin National College will carry out an evaluation will consist of forming a self-evaluation team by reference to guidelines and best practice standards set by QQI and PHECC by appointing an internal verifier and external evaluator.
The self-evaluation team will monitor its work annually by consulting and referencing external evaluators’ reports records. In turn, it will report its findings to the Academic Council.