Submission by Mr. Gordon Clark, Designate Chair of the QQAAI, to the Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection

18thOctober 2012

Introduction

I am grateful for the opportunity to appear before the Joint Committee this morning in my capacity as Designate Chair of the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Authority of Ireland. It might help all of us in our discussions today if I tell you that I understand that the body’s operational title will be Quality and Qualifications Ireland, or QQI for short.

If it is acceptable to Committee members, I would like to first highlightthose aspects of my career that are relevant to the role of Chair of QQI. I will then give a brief outline of the rationale behind the establishment of QQI. I will conclude by highlighting some of the key challenges that the new Authority,and its Chair,will face following formal establishment.

The area of qualifications and quality assurance is one in which I have a keen interest, as well as many years of experience. It was for that reason that I applied, through the publicly advertised process that was organised by the Department of Education and Skills and the Public Appointments Service, to be appointed as a member of the Board of QQI.

Experience

I understand that a copy of my CV has been made available to the Committee members so I will focus briefly on the key aspects of my experience that are relevant to the role of Chair of the QQI.

As I hope will be clear from my CV, I have considerable experience in the field of education, qualification frameworks and lifelong learning, as well as in the area of public sector governance and management.

Before returning to Ireland in November 2010, I was responsible for 11 years, as a Head of Unit in the European Commission, for the development of the EU’s lifelong learning policy.This involvedsupporting Member States’ reform of national policies and systems, in cooperation with relevant ministries,stakeholders and experts. In particular, I had a central role to play in the successful development of key European initiatives for the benefit of learners and enterprises. This included the development and management of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (EQF). This is one of the most influential of the EU’s reference and cooperation instruments in the field of education and training both within and outside Europe. I was also responsible the development of the EU’s overall framework for cooperation and exchange of good policy and practice in education and training.

My original background and the first part of my career were in financial management, having qualified in 1970 as an Irish Chartered Accountant. I then worked in auditing, accounting and management consultancy before joining the EU Court of Auditors and, subsequently, the European Commission, where I was responsible for budgetary planning of Internal Policies under the EU’s financial perspectives.

QQI

The Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act, 2012 was enacted on 22 July. The Act provides for the establishment of QQI, a new body which will take on the functions currently performed by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland (NQAI), the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) and the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC), all of which are to be dissolved under the Act. QQI will also take on the core functions of the Irish Universities Quality Board.

I think it is important to acknowledge the work of the agencies that are currently being amalgamated. The four agencies have made major progress in bringing coherence and consistency to Irish qualifications, particularly through the National Framework of Qualifications, in developing awards standards, in ensuring quality assurance of educational providers and programmes and in facilitating progression opportunities for learners.

I would like therefore to emphasise the strong foundations that these agencies, and their staff, have already builtin this area.

Rationale for amalgamation

In his speech to the Dáil introducing the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Bill to that House, the Minister for Education and Skills stressed that the main reason for the establishment of the QQI was to prioritise the needs of the learner. In particular, the Minister pointed to the need to ensure that we have fair and responsive ways of enabling learners to access and move between programmes and institutions, so that learners can be assured of a quality experience in those institutions, and that the qualifications our learners receive enjoy wide recognition and respect. The concept of a learner here is a broad one and includes those coming into further and higher education straight from school, those undertaking research in our universities, those looking to retrain and re-skill following a period of unemployment and those seeking to supplement the skills they have developed in the workplace or elsewhere.

While the existing agencies have done excellent work in this area, it is the Minister’s view that the centralisation of functions into a single organisation that prioritises the needs of learners and that delivers a quality service to providers is the most effective means of making further progress.

The amalgamation of the NQAI, HETAC and FETAC is also creating efficiencies that are resulting in cost savings. This has resulted in a reduction in the current allocation for the bodies from an outturn of €13 million in 2008 to a provision of €7.7 in 2012. Staffing in NQAI, HETAC and FETAC has reduced from 110 to 80 over the same period.

What will QQI do?

The new Authority will assume all the functions of the four legacy bodies while also having responsibility for new or newly-statutory responsibilities in particular areas. Subject to the Act, QQI shall be independent in the performance of its functions as a Qualifications and Quality Assurance agency. It will have a strong relationship with providers in further education and training and higher education and training. This will encompass both private providers and public providers such as the Institutes of Technology, the Universitiesand the future Education and Training Boards. The role of QQI will vary significantly depending on the type of provider concerned but there are two central common elements involved.

Firstly,all providers are required to have effective quality assurance procedures in place, based on guidelines issued by QQI. These procedures must be approved by QQI (except in the case of universities) and all are subject to regular formal reviews of effectiveness by QQI.

Secondly, the National Framework of Qualifications is at the heart of the work of QQI and of its relationship with providers. The statements of knowledge, skill and competence associated with the ten levels of the Framework will inform all of its work on quality assurance, on securing more effective pathways for learners and on setting standards for awards.

Built on the foundation of the quality assurance relationship with providers and the National Framework of Qualifications, QQI will

  • Approve programmes of education and training,
  • Make awards to learners and delegate authority to some institutions to make their own awards,
  • Approve providers’ procedures for learners to access programmes of education and training and to transfer and progress between programmes,
  • Develop a Code of Practice for institutions enrolling international learners and award an International Education Mark to qualifying institutions, and
  • Protect learners in the event of the closure of an institution.

Not all services are delivered to all providers. For example, QQI will not approve programmes or make awards in respect of providers, such as universities, which have their own awarding power.

Overall this is a challenging remit for the new Authority to fulfil across such a broad range of providers of education and training. However, the organisation is fortunate to have a very well-qualified, experienced and dedicated group of staff led by Dr. Padraig Walsh, who has overseen the amalgamation process to date. Dr. Walsh has been appointed Chief Executive Designate of QQI by the Minister for Education and Skills, in accordance with the Act.

Challenges

Before concluding, I would like to expand briefly on some of the key early challenges for the Authority.

One of the first tasks that the Board will have to address, following its appointment, is the preparation and adoption of a strategic plan. This is a primary responsibility of the Board of any State body. Such a statement of strategy will provide strategic direction to the new organisation for the first years of its existence. By including relevant indicators and targets, the strategic plan will also provide an important mechanism for measuring the extent to which the organisation meets its objectives.

At the outset, the new Authority will also be faced with a considerable administrative challenge. Under the leadership of the Chief Executive, significant progress has been made in the amalgamation process. All staff from the amalgamating agencies have been appointed to their positions within the new organisation. Administration Executive teams have been put in place to support the core Qualifications and Quality Assurance Services sections; supported by Provider Relations; Corporate Affairs and Communications; Audit and Procurement and the functions housed in the Office of the Chief Executive.As part of the amalgamation, the number of locations where staff had previously been located has been reduced from 4 to 2 with significant savings in rents.

While significant progress has been made to date, it can be difficult for any large organisation to undergo such a major change as that associated with moving four bodies into one. There will inevitably be challenges ahead in terms of managing the final stages of the amalgamation process. The new organisation will need to forge its own identity,and develop its own organisational culture, pooling resources to deliver high quality service and prioritising the needs of the learner, in line with the responsibilities that have been assigned to it under the Qualifications and Quality Assurance Act.

This leads to a related point. There will be a need to establish new procedures for a number of activities for which QQI has a statutory role under the relevant legislation. The amalgamation of the bodies involves the amalgamation of processes, some of which have operated quite differently in the different agencies due to the history and nature of the different sectors.

Pending the amalgamation it was necessary for NQAI, HETAC and FETAC to suspend some of these procedures to allow adequate time for preparation for the establishment of the new Qualifications agency. The new Authority will therefore have to develop and finalise policies and procedures which are coherent across both further educationand higher education sectors, in relation to, inter alia, registration and review of providers, validation of programmes and certification of awards,before it can provide a full range of services to providers.

In addition to revising existing policies and procedures, the new Authority will also need to develop new policies and procedures. These include a code of practice for international learners, and an International Education Mark. Providers will be able to apply for the International Education Mark based on their compliance with the Code of Practice. The Code of Practice will be based on strong requirements around academic quality and cover such issues as the treatment of fees and support services for international students. This is a new development in the quality assurance area and it is intended to ensure that international learners receive a high quality learning experience. It therefore has a vital contribution to make towards the marketing of Ireland abroad as part of the International Education Strategy,

The final issue that I wish to highlight today is the ongoing significant structural change in the education and training landscape and the impact this will have on the work of the QQI. Structural change is underway on a number of fronts, including the establishment of SOLAS; the amalgamation of 33 VECs into 16 Local Education and Training Boards; the development of Technological Universities; and the outcome of the recently announced review by the Minister of teaching education programmes. While each of these changes will impact on the QQI, the overall quality and awarding framework set out in the Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Act, 2012, has sufficient flexibility to be applied to the new structures that are emerging. Forging effective relationships with the new institutions will be an important early focus for QQI and it will be important that QQI engages actively in the overall reform process.

Role of Chair of QQI

The Chair of a Board of any large organisation is a challenging role and a considerable responsibility at any time. Operating within the code of practice for the good governance of State bodies, I see my role as providing the leadership necessary to ensure the Board is clear about its mission and mandate and is effective in providing strategic guidance and in monitoring the activities and effectiveness of the Authority.

In this, I will be relying on the cooperation, expertise and independent judgement of the other Board members. I look forward to working with these persons, if I am formally appointed, in promoting the success of the new Authority in the interests of learners, in accordance with the Act and the objectives set by the Minister for Education and Skills and the Government.

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