|
|
 |
You are > Home > Sligo Institute now on a par with Trinity College
|
Wednesday, November 07, 2001
Sligo Institute now on a par with Trinity College
History was made last weekend when Institute of Technology Sligo conferred graduates for the first time with National Diplomas and National Certificates awarded by the Institute itself rather than by national certifying bodies. This followed the granting of power to the Institute to make its own awards, making it one of only four institutes in the country to have been given this right. The move was recommended last year by an independent International Review Group and came into effect just weeks before the annual conferrings.
"We are now an awarding body exactly the same as Trinity College Dublin or Oxford University, England. This is a validation of the academic quality of the Institute, which faced an international review by internationally respected academics," Dr Richard Thorn, Director of the Institute, said, following the signing of the Charter granting self-awarding power to the Institute.
"We have been given delegated authority through HETAC, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, as a result of an Act of the Oireachtas and that is very symbolic," said Dr. Richard Thorn, Director of the Institute.
The Institute was now one step closer to being involved in a debate about the role of a university in the region and what type of university the region needed, Dr Thorn added. The Institute would be going back in five years time to look for degree and Ph D awarding status, he added.
The charter granting self-validating status was signed by Dr Thorn and Dr James Devins, Chairman of the Governing Body, on behalf of the Institute, and by Dr. SÚamus PursÚil of HETAC, which oversees the Institute of Technology sector.
"This is one of the most important development in the whole region in the last 20 to 30 years. I believe that this facility will attract students in greater numbers to Sligo not just from our own catchment area but from all over the country. It is imperative that a job creation programme be created in the West and North-west to satisfy the demand of that student population. This will have enormous spin-offs for the whole region," Dr James Devins, Chairman of the Institute's Governing Body, said.
"Looking down the road, the next step will be to develop the quality controls necessary to award our own degrees and when that happens, which we hope will be in the near future, we will be looking at the real prospect of a university in the North-west," he added.
The first sign of the Institute's new powers was seen last weekend when 1,036 graduates received National Certificates and National Diplomas bearing the Institute's own seal and crest. The parchments stated that the Institute conferred the award, by virtue of the authority delegated to it under the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999. In the past, HETAC, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, made the awards.
Main News Page |
Previous Page
|
|
|
|
Facebook
