The Authority will lead a cultural change, in partnership with stakeholders, with the aim of achieving
Role and Function of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland
The National Qualifications Authority of Ireland was established in February 2001. The Authority itself has three principal objects which are set out in the Qualifications (Education & Training) Act 1999 (link below).
- the establishment and maintenance of a framework of qualifications for the development, recognition and award of qualifications based on standards of knowledge, skill or competence to be acquired by learners
- the establishment and promotion of the maintenance and improvement of the standards of awards of the further and higher education and training sector, other than in the existing universities
- the promotion and facilitation of access, transfer and progression throughout the span of education and training provision.
In effect the way that the Authority will undertake to meet these objects is two-fold
The first object of the Authority is to establish and maintain a framework of qualifications for the development, recognition and award of qualifications in the State, based on standards of knowledge, skill or competence to be acquired by learners. Related to this the Authority has the function of establishing the policies and criteria on which the framework of qualifications shall be based.
It is important to note that the Authority is not an awarding body.
A further key function of the Authority is to determine whether any particular programme of education and training is higher education and training or further education and training or whether the standard of knowledge, skill or competence to be acquired by learners for the purposes of awards is at the level of a further education and training award or a higher education and training award. Building on the framework, the Authority also has a number of other explicit functions in relation to liaising with bodies to facilitate recognition of international awards in Ireland and of Irish awards internationally.
The second object of the Authority is to establish and promote the maintenance and improvement of the standards of further education and training awards and higher education and training awards of the Further Education and Training Awards Council, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council and the Dublin Institute of Technology. This object in turn is linked to the function of the Authority to determine the procedures which the Councils need to follow in the performance of their functions and the Authority's review role in this regard. It is also linked to the quality assurance procedures of the Awards Councils and the quality assurance responsibilities of the Authority in relation to the Dublin Institute of Technology. Linked to this is the appeals role of the Authority in relation to validation refused or withdrawn, or delegation of authority refused or withdrawn by an awards council.
The third object of the Authority is to promote and facilitate access, transfer and progression. Building on this, the Authority has the function of determining the procedures to be implemented by providers of programmes of education and training for access, transfer and progression, and publishing these procedures. Under the terms of the Act, providers with programmes validated by either of the two councils as well as the Dublin Institute of Technology are required to implement the procedures. The role of the Authority is also to facilitate and advise the universities in implementing these procedures and to review the implementation of the procedures by the universities, in consultation with the Higher Education Authority.
The setting up of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland was a recognition that there needed to be a new body to oversee the development of the national framework of qualifications. Meeting the needs of learners was the key driver for the establishment of the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland. Learners are the key group who will benefit from the development of a national framework of qualifications and from the implementation of procedures for access, transfer and progression. Through the framework, learners can have confidence in the quality of their learning and in the relevance of that learning, both in terms of their own personal development and in terms of the relevance of learning to the world of work, where this is appropriate. There is a combination of objects which reflects a vision for the development of society where lifelong learning becomes a reality and where learning is of relevance to learners and to other stakeholders, including business and industry.
At the same time it needs to be recognised that while the work of the Authority will be to the benefit of learners, the functions of the Authority are immediately relevant principally to the Further Education and Training Awards Council and Higher Education and Training Awards Council and to providers of education and training generally.
Under the Act, both the Further Education and Training Awards Council and the Higher Education and Training Awards Council are independent bodies with their own functions. There are separate interdependent roles set out for the Authority and the awards Councils. The objects of the Act cannot be attained other than by co-operation between the three bodies and indeed, full involvement from a range of other stakeholders.
Providers of education and training, such as those who will have programmes validated by either of the two councils (and these will include all state-funded providers other than the universities and the Dublin Institute of Technology - the other Institutes of Technology, private third-level colleges, other third-level institutions, FS, CERT, Teagasc, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, vocational schools, other schools, community and voluntary groups, etc) as well as other providers with independent awarding powers such as universities and the Dublin Institute of Technology, will all play a key role in meeting the objectives of the Act.