What We Do

The Director of Quality, with the support of the QSU, is responsible for providing strategic institutional quality-related leadership and developing policies and procedures in relation to quality.  In this context the Director of Quality is a member of several key institutional-level committees, namely Academic Council, Management Committee and Quality Committee. The development of quality-related policies will usually be driven by the ongoing identification of policy requirements as they arise.  Institutional-level policies are approved by the Governing Authority. QSU Unit-level policies are approved by the Director of Quality. A log is maintained by QSU of all unit-level procedures. 

Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) is a state agency appointed by the Minister for Education and Skills. In the area of quality assurance, QQI are responsible for maintaining oversight of institutional compliance with statutory QA requirements as enshrined in the 2012 education & training act, and with associated QA guidelines.  QQI are also responsible for reviewing the effectiveness of quality assurance procedures in further and higher education providers in Ireland.

The QSU is the primary institutional contact point for QQI. Engagement with QQI includes, but is not limited to the following:

1. Ensuring statutory and regulatory requirements are met by the University.  Quality assurance policies and guidelines are received by QSU from QQI.  Upon notification of a new or revised quality requirement, the university’s Quality Support Unit (QSU) will coordinate an exercise that assesses the extent to which the university complies with the requirement. Policies are continually reviewed to ensure the University complies with current legislation. Refer to ‘Assessment of Institutional Compliance with Statutory and Related Quality Requirements: Policy and Procedure’.
2. Submitting the Annual Quality Report (AIQR) to QQI: The QSU submits an annual report to QQI which details all quality-related activity for the reporting period. An on-line reporting template is received by the Unit from QQI which outlines the format and structure of the report. A full discussion of the report is conducted during the Biennial Dialogue Meeting (BDM) which is attended by the appropriate senior managers and staff members from QSU. Additional agenda items may also be discussed. Refer to operational procedure ‘Submission of the Annual Institutional Quality Report’.
3. Management of the return for the Irish Register of Qualifications

Staff members of the Quality Support Unit regularly attend information sessions and seminars scheduled by QQI in order to keep informed of best practice for quality assurance and enhancement.

In line with international good practice and national statutory requirements, the University of Limerick undertakes periodic quality reviews of its educational, research and related services every seven years.  Coordinated by the Quality Support Unit, the review process represents one cornerstone institutional quality assurance and enhancement mechanism.  Information relating to both the current and previous cycle of quality review activity is available on the QSU website (Current Review Cycle / Previous Review Cycle).

Prior to each cycle of reviews, the QSU engage in a campus-wide consultation process. Timelines are agreed for the review cycle which are approved by the Executive and published on the QSU website. Quality review guidelines for the various streams of reviews are prepared in consultation with relevant stakeholders. Quality review guidelines are approved by the Provost and Deputy President (PDP).

The QSU co-ordinates the quality review process, offering support and guidelines to all units. There are three key stages to the process:

1. The unit under review initially undertakes a self-analysis exercise, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities for improvement. The unit documents these findings in a self-assessment report (SAR), which is circulated to the Quality Review Group (QRG) prior to the site visit.
2. A QRG, comprising internationally recognised experts, is appointed to review the unit. The QRG members study the SAR prior to the site visit and provide preliminary comments to the QSU for circulation to the review team. The site visit is a three-day event on campus  at which the review team (QRG) meet with faculty and staff of the unit. They also meet with students and a range of internal and external stakeholders. This leads to the production of a concise report by the QRG (commendations and recommendations), which is read back to the unit at the conclusion of the site visit. During exceptional circumstances, the Quality Committee may approve a virtual review (online) instead of the physical site visit. 
3. Follow-on activities which include formal response from the unit on review recommendations, discussion of the report by the UL Quality Committee, publication of the report on the QSU website, the creation of a Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) by the unit, and presentation of the QRG report and QIP to the Quality Committee. The final stage of this process is a progress update meeting with the relevant Chief Officer 18-24 months after the review, where the Director of the Unit reports on all the actions taken by the Unit relating to the report recommendations.

The university’s quality review schedule includes a number of affiliate units. Affiliate units are units that are closely associated with the university, but are distinct legal entities, having their own independent governance structure. Examples include UL Student Life and Plassey Campus Centre (PCC). As the affiliate unit’s ultimate governance body (i.e. the board of directors in the case of company-based affiliate unit such as PCC, or a combination of the UL Student Life management committee and Student Council in the case of ULSL) bears legal and governance responsibilities in respect of the affiliate unit, it is appropriate that they play a role in the quality review process. The quality review process for affiliated units contains all of the core characteristics of UL’s internal quality review process with a process modification to include the affiliate unit’s ultimate governance body in the process.

Irish universities are required to establish and implement procedures for quality assurance and periodically undergo a review of the effectiveness of these. The statutory Institutional Quality Assurance Review– an institution-wide quality review process led by an external evaluation panel, typically takes place every 7 years. There are four stages to the review process.

1. Institutional Self-Evaluation Report (ISER): A core team are established to conduct a self-reflective and critical evaluation of the University. This results in the writing of an Institutional Self-Evaluation Report.
2. The review visit(s) – an initial planning visit and the main review visit: In consultation with QQI and the external evaluation panel, a 4-5 day site visit is scheduled after an initial planning meeting.
3. The publication of the review team’s report: The report is submitted to the University by the external evaluation panel. The report is published on both the QQI and QSU websites.
4. Institutional and sector level follow-up:  Recommendations for improvement outlined in the report are presented to the Quality Committee, who is responsible for consideration and implementation as appropriate. 

At least two years before the scheduled institutional review, the Director of Quality prepares a project management plan, which outlines institution-wide activities required in preparation for the review. This plan is presented to the Provost and Deputy President for consideration and final approval is given by the University Executive. Full details of all quality review activity are available here.

The University of Limerick, as the designated awarding body (DAB), is responsible for reviewing the quality assurance processes of all our linked providers. Linked providers are providers of educational programmes that are accredited by the University of Limerick. QQI guidelines relating to DAB responsibilities have recently been developed and are published on the QQI website.  Details of UL linked providers and the UL Linked Provider Framework are available on the  UL Policy Hub.

The QSU offers support and guidance to all units in developing and enhancing their quality management systems.  This includes advice and guidance on writing the self-assessment report; aligning the QMS with the UL framework; modifying the framework for smaller units (QMS-Essential), designing templates for use by units; QMS induction training; QMS auditor training; attendance at unit quality meetings. The procedure for requesting support from the QSU for development of Quality Management Systems is as follows:

1. The request is initiated either by the unit head or the quality team leader.
2. The request for service is evaluated by the Quality Officer.
3. A meeting is scheduled to discuss the request and plan the service.
4. The service is provided by the Quality Officer.
5. A review of the service is conducted to ensure satisfaction.

The University Student Survey & Feedback Mechanisms Policy provides an operational framework to enable a coordinated approach for the implementation of surveys and other student feedback or evaluation mechanisms within the University.
The Provost and Deputy President as Chair of the Quality Committee has overall responsibility for the implementation and monitoring of this policy. The Director of Quality is responsible for the maintenance of the survey calendar and providing guidance on the creation of new feedback mechanisms.
 

Appendix 1 of the policy outlines the operational procedures for requesting approval for the addition of a student evaluation mechanism to the University calendar Requests to add a new institutional survey to the survey calendar are considered by QSU and recommended for approval to the Quality Committee.
The QSU manages the institutional student survey calendar and the following feedback mechanisms:
 

The QSU manages the following feedback mechanisms:

(a) Periodic Student Satisfaction Surveys of taught academic programmes and University services

(b) Periodic student satisfaction surveys of modules (TRUST surveys)

(c) Gatekeepers of data access for and analysis of the national studentsurvey.ie

(d) QSU stakeholder satisfaction surveys

(a) Periodic Student Satisfaction Surveys of taught academic programmes and University services

The QSU conducts periodic student satisfaction surveys of taught academic programmes using a cloud-based survey software. The survey is based on the UK's National Student Survey (NSS), the results of which are published online. This enables the University to conduct longitudinal internal benchmarking for UL, its academic units and programmes. A Power BI dashboard provides the ability to conduct longitudinal analysis and slicing and dicing of the data.

(2) TRUST Surveys

The QSU conducts UL's TRUST (Time to Reflect and Understand Students) surveys are in place to offer students the opportunity to provide meaningful feedback. TRUST-EM (Evaluation of Modules) and TRUST-SET (Student Evaluation of Teaching) run each semester for applicable taught modules. They are managed by evasys, which is integrated with UL’s virtual learning environment (VLE), Brightspace. 

The TRUST-EM (Evaluation of Modules) surveys are designed to provide students with the opportunity to provide meaningful feedback on their learning experience within individual modules. They focuses on the module's curriculum placement, learning environment and student engagement. These surveys also enable lecturers to reflect and respond to student feedback as necessary, closing the feedback loop in a transparent and open manner. They replace the Module Satisfaction Survey (MSS). 

TRUST-SET (Student Evaluation of Teaching) surveys are designed to gather student feedback specifically on the teaching of a module. They complement TRUST-EM by focusing on the approach, clarity, engagement, and responsiveness of UL's teaching staff. They replace the Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) surveys and provide individualised feedback to all teaching staff involved in a module.

The purpose of module level surveys is to serve as an indicator of the student learning experience and to assist faculties, academic units, support units and staff with the identification of actions that may be applied to improve and enhance the student experience.  They are part of an array of QA/QE mechanisms that UL employs.

Full details of the TRUST process, including frequently asked questions, Student/Instructor portal links and procedures are available on the QSU website.

(3) QSU Stakeholder Satisfaction Surveys

As part of our ongoing process of continual improvement, the QSU regularly survey our customer base to elicit feedback on the quality of services provided. This includes surveys of units that have undergone quality reviews, surveys of quality team leaders and also surveys of external peer reviewers. Feedback from these surveys is incorporated into the QSU quality improvement action plan. 

Reports are available on the QSU website.

In line with the digital transformation strategy, the QSU continues to look for ways in which technology can support and enhance quality assurance mechanisms. 

The QSU continually monitors potential quality enhancements for the unit and UL, keeping abreast of e.g. local and institutional QIPs, national strategies and funding calls to evaluate potential systems development and research projects that would add value to the services delivered by the QSU and UL. All unit staff are responsible for identifying potential projects. 

Academic Council of the University of Limerick is charged under the Universities Act 1997, with ensuring academic standards and the quality of all awards made by the University. Under the Quality Support Unit and in accordance with the University’s quality assurance procedures, Academic Council appoints external examiners to all taught programmes, modules and awards to assure academic standards, advise on the quality of teaching, learning and assessment and provide an independent view and report on student performance, programme outcomes and proposed awards. The Quality Support Unit provides the administrative support to the external examiner process using the survey software, SharePoint and Microsoft Power Platform.

The support which the Quality Support Unit provides to the External Examiner process are as follows:

• Communication with members of Academic Council to receive and process external examiner nomination forms.

• Following approval of external examiner nominations by Academic Council, letters of appointment are generated and sent to examiners on behalf of the President/Chair of Academic Council.

• External examiner surveys are designed and configured using online survey software.

• The survey is launched, and system-generated email invitations are sent to External Examiners. System-generated reminder emails are scheduled to be periodically sent from survey software to external examiners who have not completed the survey.

• Reports are downloaded from survey software and uploaded to the External Examiner SharePoint site for access by members of Academic Council and their support team.

• Processing of external examiner claim forms.

• Send end of term letters of thanks on behalf of President/Chair of Academic Council to examiners whose term has come to conclusion.

• Provision of external examiner reports to the annual programme monitoring process.

QSU provides high-level committee support to the UL Quality Committee (ECQC), a sub-committee of the Executive Committee and the Standing Panel on Collaborations (SPC), a sub-committee of Quality Committee; including the generation and retention of all records pertaining to ECQC and SPC meetings on the designated SharePoint Site. QSU manages the permissions of both SharePoint sites. The QSU Administrator is responsible for organising meeting notifications with a call for Agenda items; organising MS Teams links for members unable to attend the meeting in person; participate as recording secretary during meetings. Following each meeting, a review the Action Log is undertaken and all documentation pertinent to the meeting is retained and stored in compliance with UL Records Management and Retention Policy and GDPR requirements on SharePoint.

The University’s policy on Collaborative and Transnational Provision sets out a university-wide approach to collaborative and transnational arrangements in line with the strategic plan and related faculty and divisional strategies. The Standing Panel on Collaborations (SPC) is responsible for ensuring that the monitoring and review cycle of collaborations is managed. The SPC is a sub-committee of the Quality Committee to which it reports. The Director of Quality is a member of the SPC. Committee support for the SPC is provided by the QSU Executive Administrator. 

QSU provides reports to Academic Council and Quality Committee relating to student satisfaction. QSU may also be requested to provide additional reporting as requested by Executive Committee, Quality Committee or Academic Council. 

QSU liaises with the Business Intelligence team to develop and enhance programme and module information made available to deans, heads of department and course directors to support annual and programme review and external accreditation activities.

The QSU provides high level analysis of Quality Review Recommendations and their alignment with the strategic plan via a PowerBI dashboard. This demonstrates the value of the quality review process in contributing to the implementation of the strategic plan. The Director of Quality provides KPIs annually on the Quality Review Process (e.g. number of recommendations closed) for a performance measurement of the Strategic Plan. 

Audits are a reliable mechanism through which the effectiveness of a Quality Management System (QMS) is systematically reviewed. QSU offer support and guidance on various types of audits. These include QMS self-audit, inter-department audits (which are conducted by a panel of trained auditors from various professional service units), and gap analysis audit in preparation for quality reviews.

A focus group is a gathering of appropriately selected people (typically 6 to 10) who participate in a planned discussion that is intended to elicit feedback regarding services provided by a unit. Focus groups are an ideal way of getting in-depth feedback as part of a stakeholder engagement process. QSU offer a focus group facilitation service.

The University of Limerick has under the Universities Act 1997 a statutory authority to “provide courses of study, conduct examinations, and award degrees and other qualifications”.  In fulfilling this function, the University is required to ensure that policies and procedures are in place to ensure and assure the quality of the programmes of study and awards made by the University.  The 2012 Qualifications and Quality act provides on a statutory basis that the University as a Designated Awarding Body ‘shall establish procedures in writing for quality assurance for the purposes of establishing, ascertaining, maintaining and improving the quality of education, training, research and related services the provider provides’.  The quality assurance policies and procedures of the University are subject to review by the Quality and Qualifications Ireland authority. The QQI National Guidelines, which are in turn based on their European equivalent, identify good practices in programme approval, programme monitoring and periodic review.

The University of Limerick is committed to provide an “outstanding and distinctive experience” to students registered on programmes offered by the University. To support this aim and assure the quality of programme offered, and in accordance with statutory requirements the University will ensure that each programme of study offered by the University is subject to annual monitoring and review by the relevant Course Review Board, and to periodic review (normally every five years) by an External Panel.

The Quality Support Unit manages both the Annual Programme Review and the Periodic Programme Review processes.

Members of QSU staff are periodically invited to participate in quality-related activities in other institutions both nationally and internationally. This can include participating as panel members in quality reviews, programme accreditation/review activities or presenting at conferences. 

The Irish Universities Association (IUA) is the representative body for Ireland’s seven universities. Through consultation and collaborative projects, IUA develops strategy and policy to advance third and fourth level education and research. Through the IUA, the Director of Quality or his/her nominee, are members of the IUA Quality Committee, IUQ Quality Officers Committee and the Irish Institutional Research Network. This helps to facilitate ongoing communication and sharing of practices among Irish universities.