Review of Applied Social Care course accreditation at Dublin Business School published
Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) has published an independent review of activities related to the withdrawal by Dublin Business School (DBS) of some Applied Social Care programmes from the CORU programme approval and registration process. Learners affected by the withdrawal of the QQI-validated programme have received a refund of fees or have been placed on an alternative programme in another educational institution, through QQI’s Protection of Enrolled Learners process.
The review team looked at the management of QQI-validated programmes and their associated practice placements and sought to confirm that QQI-approved QA policies and procedures in place in DBS have been fully implemented and are being managed effectively for those validated programmes requiring professional recognition and accreditation.
The report finds that the fundamentals of quality assurance in Dublin Business School are sound and 12 recommendations have been made to support and strengthen academic oversight and communications of programmes for which professional, statutory and regulatory recognition is required.
The members of the review team have commended DBS for the quality of its engagement with this focused review. DBS assisted the process greatly in its provider statement and in the preparation of comprehensive documentation for review by the team.
In particular, the team noted that discussions during the site visit were open and collegial, which helped facilitate the review team in identifying recommendations that are intended to be constructive and enhancement oriented.
They also confirmed that DBS is “proactive in self-evaluation and in commissioning external expertise to assist it in the continuous improvement of its quality assurance system” all of which indicates that the fundamentals of its quality assurance system are sound.
Welcoming the review team’s recommendations, DBS noted that it had approached this process as an “opportunity to learn and develop” and will set out to make “appropriate changes to strengthen processes relating to programmes requiring PSRB approval and/or containing work placements.”
