An Coiste Feabhais Acadúil
The Committee on Academic Quality Improvement
The Academic Quality Assurance Programme 2007-2008
Report to Údarás na hOllscoile
Review of
MA Programmes in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and
Celtic Studies
Self-Assessment
Review Group Visit
Follow Up Meeting
January 2008
18th – 20th February 2008
3rd July 2008
This Report was compiled for members of Údarás na hOllscoile, NUI Galway and its
committees as a readily accessible but comprehensive source of information on the above
review, its context and its outcomes.
Quality Office, November 2008
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Report to Údarás – Review of MA Programmes 2007–2008
1. Overview of MA Programmes
1.1 Aims an Objectives of the Programmes
There are a large number of Masters Programmes, administered across various schools and
departments within the College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies. Each of these
programmes has its own set of Aims & Objectives.
From an overall College point of view, in recent years there has been some effort to group
certain Masters programmes into clusters that have a recognizable affinity with each other, such
as the ‘Creative Industries’ set of programmes. Several programmes that are tied to a specific
department or discipline continue to stand alone, however under the new College and School
structures new relationships might be defined between groups of Masters Programmes.
The new division of the College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies into five schools,
offers the possibility for each school to define its purpose and its objectives in relation to a suite
of Masters Programmes. Given the present average of less than 8 students per programme, it is
probable that each school would seek to match the provision of academic human resources to
student numbers by establishing a common menu of modules from which different programmes
could select.
Each school may also wish to consider the Masters programmes as a transitional phase from
third level to fourth level, not least given the HEA objectives of doubling PhD numbers.
1.2 Background
The College has developed a range of Masters programmes over the last 15 years. These
programmes are largely one-year in duration and offer students a large number of opportunities.
All programmes offer students the opportunity to progress to Doctoral studies.
There are some 36 Master Programmes offered, with an unequal distribution across some 20
departments and centres.
The average number of students registered on the 36 programmes is not increasing . On the
positive side more than half the programmes (19) have applications at least twice the quota of
places. On the negative side more than two thirds of the programmes (26) have less than 10
students and some have no more than a couple of students enrolled.
1.3 Student numbers
The number of students registered to a MA Programme was approximately 314 in the year
2007/08, representing an increase of 18.9% in the three years since 2004/05.
1.4 Staff to Student ratio
In 2002–03, the number of fulltime equivalent (FTE) academic staff in the Faculty was 56.1,
giving a student: staff ratio of 28.3 in year ending 2003. This ratio was 24.5 in 1998–99. (The
ratio improved to 25 in 2003–04.)
1.5 Accommodation and Facilities
As the Masters Programmes are administered by many departments and schools within the
College of Arts, Social Sciences & Celtic Studies, the academic departments of the MA
Programmes are located across the University Campus.
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Report to Údarás – Review of MA Programmes 2007–2008
2. Review Group Visit and Report
This report arises from a visit by a review group to the MA programmes in the College of Arts, Social Sciences and
Celtic Studies on 18th-20th February, 2008. The Programmes and Dean of the College had already prepared and
submitted a 'Self Assessment Report' that, with other documentation, was made available to the Group in advance of
the visit. The Review Group was provided with 5 programme reports to represent the MA programmes within the
College.
The Review Group consisted of: Professor Stuart Turley, Manchester Business School, University of Manchester
(Chair); Dr Maeve Conrick, Department of French, University College Cork; Mr Ronnie O'Gorman, Advertiser
Group, Galway; Dr Vinodh Jaichand, Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway; and Dr Aoife Boyd, Department
of Microbiology, NUI Galway (Rapporteur).
2.1 Summary, and Main Recommendations from Report
Summary
The Review Group was impressed with the quality of educational provision within the
individual programmes reviewed. There is a high degree of commitment from members of staff
to ensuring the quality of the educational experience and the students the Review Group met
were extremely positive about the approach followed for their education.
While the educational quality of individual programmes is high, the Review Group did conclude
that there are several areas where the arrangements surrounding the general strategy for MA
education and processes for programme management and approval could be improved. To a
large extent these points reflect the still formative stage of development of the new College and
Schools structures, and are the product of historical differences between units that now comprise
the new College. It is extremely important that such differences are not allowed to continue into
the future without explicit consideration. Staff should be encouraged to identify with the new
Schools, rather than the original Departments, as the relevant structures for organisation of
academic activity. The opportunity afforded by the creation of the new structures for a fresh
approach to MA programmes should be taken before the College becomes long established.
Main Recommendations
In summary the Group recommends development in the following areas of strategy,
management and delivery of MA level programmes:
1. Establishing a clear overall strategy for MA education, including the relationship to
doctoral studies and levels of desired recruitment.
2. Establishing guidelines for MA programmes that include consideration of their financial
viability.
3. Establishing regulations for programme structure and credit rating.
4. Identifying a common framework of committees having responsibility for management
of programmes.
5. Identifying oversight responsibility within the senior management team of the College.
6. Ensuring appropriate arrangements for cross-disciplinary programmes.
7. Providing financial and budgetary transparency.
8. Encouraging a culture of continual review and development in programmes.
9. Establishing (at University level) the framework for setting policies and procedures for
MA education.
10. Ensuring a comprehensive and equitable approach to staff workloads and other aspects
of staff development.
11. Encouraging cooperation and sharing of good practice between staff in different
programmes.
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12. Ensuring the experience and qualifications of staff are commensurate with the roles they
are undertaking at higher degree level.
13. Establishing a systematic approach to student feedback and mechanisms for reporting
back to students on actions taken.
14. Using modularisation to maximise choice and efficient use of resources.
15. Ensuring the organisation and workload for professional programmes takes into account
the time available from students in employment.
16. Ensuring that clear profiles of assessment are associated with each module and
programme and are communicated to students.
17. Reviewing the policy with respect to anonymity in assessment processes.
18. Consideration of the creation of a role of Programme External Examiner.
19. Consideration of dedicated physical space available to MA students.
3. Action Plans
Follow up Meeting Thursday 3rd July 2008
at 12pm in the Seminar Room, The Moore Institute
MA Programmes in the
College of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies
Present: Professor Jim Gosling (Chair), Professor Kevin Barry (Dean of Arts, Social Sciences and
Celtic Studies), Mr Michael Kavanagh (representing The Registrar), Dr Aoife Boyd (Review Group),
Mr Ronnie O’Gorman (Review Group), Mr Seamus O Coileain, Ms Cassie Ni Chathasaigh, Dr Laura
McLoughlin, Dr Maire A Ni Mhainnin, Ms Pilar Alderete-Diez, Dr Jerome Sheahan, Ms Carmel
Devaney, Professor Chris Curtin, Dr Mark Stansbury, Dr Kevin Davison, Mr Rod Stoneman, Dr Lionel
Pilkington, Dr Julia Carlson, Ms Pat Eaton, Ms Brenda Gallagher, Ms Josephine Boland, Mr Seosamh
MacDonnacha, Ms Maureen Linnane (in attendance)
Apologies: Dr Maeve Conrick and Dr Vinodh Jaichand (Reviewers)
Action Plan for the College:
1.
The Dean, in consultation with programme directors, will prepare a clear overall strategy
for MA education with a comprehensive set of policies, procedures and guidelines
covering the development, administration, delivery and review of all taught MA
programmes in the College, to be completed no later than April 2009. These will be
proposed to the College for approval and will include:

The designation of a Vice-Dean for taught MA programmes with clearly defined
duties and responsibilities by mid September 2008,

A College Taught Graduate Programme Committee (TGPC) with clear terms of
reference by mid September 2008,

Measures to facilitate or require collaboration between programme boards,

Requirements for the definition of programme learning outcomes that illustrate the
distinctive character of each programmes while meeting the needs of all students
with respect to generic skills and preparing them for doctoral studies and/or the
workplace,
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
Requirements that the methods and criteria associated with teaching and the
assessment of learning for each programme and module are appropriate to the
defined learning objectives and are communicated to students,

A policy on the roles of external examiners that ensures satisfactory levels of
involvement with the examination processes,

Policies that promote community service learning in cooperation with CKI,

An explicit acknowledgement that full modularisation of all MA programmes within
a single ECTS framework is a basic prerequisite for the complete implementation of
desired efficiencies, particularly with respect to the workloads of staff and the
diversity of offerings and electives for students,

Guidelines as to minimum levels of student exposure to teaching from practitioners
with high academic achievements as is appropriate for the advanced levels of topics
common in MA Programmes,

Guidelines for the timetabling of all component modules to maximise choice and the
efficient use of staff and physical resources, and, particularly for programmes that are
relevant to CPD, take into account the needs of students in employment.

Transparency in financial provision and guidelines for financial viability.

Policies that encourage the development and facilitate the operation of inter-college
as well as intra-college interdisciplinary programmes.

A systematic approach to student feedback on teaching and programme
administration managed by programme boards and associated student-staff
committees, and with explicit mechanisms for reporting back to students on actions
taken.
2.
Recognising that the teaching and supervisory and administrative workloads of staff
supporting MA programmes must be evaluated and assigned in the context of total
workloads, the Dean will give particular priority to the development of a comprehensive
and equitable policy on academic staff workloads and related aspects of staff development,
and this will be complete no later than April 2009.
3.
The Dean, with permission from the five relevant MA programme boards, will make
available the self assessment reports compiled for this review via the College of Arts,
Social Sciences and Celtic Studies intranet.
Action Plan for the University:
1. The Dean of Graduate Studies will work with the Dean of the College of Arts, Social
Sciences and Celtic Studies to establish, at University level, the framework for setting
policies and procedures for MA education.
2. The University has developed an academic workload profile model that will be proposed
to Academic Council for approval in September 2008.
3. The Registrar’s Office will develop guidelines for the operation of its external examiner
system as responsibility for this is delegated by the NUI.
4. A large multi-use room in the Arts Millennium Building, fully equipped with more than
30 PCs and data projection facilities, will be available from September 2008 for the sole
use of MA students. A dedicated notice board and the full range of IT services will be
provided in this well equipped facility.
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5. Provided resources are available, the Quality Office will support the College in the
implementation of its Action Plan, for example:

Execution of a benchmarking exercise

Away-days and on campus workshops.
Approved by: Dean of Arts, Social Sciences and Celtic Studies, Professor Kevin Barry,
13 October 2008
Approved by: Dean of Graduate Studies, Dr Pat Morgan, 24 October 2008
Approved by: Registrar, Professor Jim Ward, 30 October 2008
Approved by: Vice President for Physical Resources, Mr Keith Warnock, 14 October 2008
Approved by: Director of CELT, Dr. Iain MacLabhrainn, 13 October 2008
Approved by: Director of Human Resources, Mr Chris McNairney, 14 October 2008
Director of Quality,
Finalised: 3 November 2008
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