04 October, 2007 - Minister for Lifelong Learning, Seán Haughey T.D. Opens National Conference on 'Quality Assurance in Further Education: Improving Programmes and Services through Self-Evaluation'

Minister for Lifelong Learning, Seán Haughey T.D. today opened the National Conference on 'Quality Assurance in Further Education: Improving Programmes and Services through Self-Evaluation' at the Department of Education and Science.
 
The conference was jointly organised by the IVEA and the Further Education Support Service (FESS) (formerly the NCVA Support Service) with the support of the Department of Education and Science.
 
The Minister said, "Self-evaluation is a widely recognised method pertaining to good practice.  As part of their Quality Assurance agreement with FETAC, providers of further education training are legally required to perform a self-evaluation of each of their programmes at least once every 5 years."
 
"The exercise of self-evaluation is considered to play a major part in ensuring an effective and robust Quality Assurance system. It has been used for a number of years in the Higher Education sector in Ireland, in both universities and HETAC-recognised institutions, and in Further and Higher Education in the U.K."
 
The Minister went on to say, "In this vibrant, modern and fast-moving society, continuous improvement in further education and training is crucial to maintain its appeal and relevance.  Self-evaluation is a method of developing programmes and related services through critical and reflective questioning, leading to positive recommendations and systematic and structured action plans for advancement and improvement."
 
ENDS