An Coiste Feabhais Acadúil
The Committee on Academic Quality Improvement
The Academic Quality Assurance Programme 2007-2008
Report to Údarás na hOllscoile
Review of
St Angela’s College
Self-Assessment
Review Group Visit
Follow Up Meeting
February 2008
11 – 14th March 2008
23rd July 2008
th
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.
Director of Quality, October 2008
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Report to Údarás – Review of St Angela’s College 2007–2008
1. Overview of St Angela’s College
1.1 Mission Statement of the College
Saint Angela’s College is a College of the National University of Ireland, Galway, with courses
validated through N.U.I. Galway. It is a Catholic College founded by the Ursuline Congregation
in 1952. The College is located in Co. Sligo, Ireland.
We provide undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for a range of professional roles in
education and health care. We also provide specialised undergraduate programmes in the areas
of the humanities and the social sciences. We seek to serve the needs of the regional, national
and international community through education, applied research and consultancy.
Our educational philosophy is to develop the full potential of our students by responding to their
personal, academic and professional needs. This philosophy aims to empower students as
reflective learners. We are committed to excellence in education, to innovative practice and to
the concept of lifelong learning.
We promote a just, participative, inclusive and non-discriminatory community environment for
staff and students. We uphold the values of social justice, equality, respect for diversity and care
for the natural environment.
1.2 Background
St Angela’s College was founded in 1952 as a College of Education for teachers of Home
Economics.
The Irish Government’s decision to name St. Angela’s College as the sole provider of Home
Economics Teacher Education in Ireland (2003) and the Department of Health’s approval of a
new School of Nursing in the College (2002) have meant a dramatic increase in student numbers
in the past five years.
St. Angela’s College, Sligo has recently been formally established as an independent College of
the National University of Ireland (NUI), Galway. The partnership agreement between St.
Angela’s College and NUI, Galway, is aimed at expanding the provision of University education
and research in the North-West, and will ensure a much closer strategic and working relationship
between the College and the University, while ensuring an appropriate degree of autonomy for
the College and preserving its independent and separate legal status and its traditional ethos.
This is the first institutional review under the new agreement and is facilitated through the NUI,
Galway Quality Review Scheme.
1.3 Student numbers
In 2007/2008 St Angela’s College had 485 Full-time, 84 Part-time and 339 Post Graduate
Students.
1.4 Staff to Student ratio
In the year ending 2007, the number of fulltime equivalent (FTE) academic staff in the College
was 60. This number was 53 FTE staff in the year ending 2005.
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Report to Údarás – Review of St Angela’s College 2007–2008
1.5 Accommodation and Facilities
St Angela’s College is located on the shores of Lough Gill in Co. Sligo. The building
infrastructure consists of 9 distinct blocks (St. Ursula’s, Árus Malachy, Árus Bríd, Science
Laboratories, Auditorium, Chaplain’s House & Store, Brí Mhuire, Seomra Teagaisc, Árus
Michael.)
Sports facilities consist of one Tennis Court and there is a proposal for a Sport Science Facility
currently waiting funding.
All services (electricity, water, waste, road surfacing and car parking) require upgrading to meet
the need of the growing College population.
2. Review Group Visit and Report
This report arises from a visit by a Review Group to St Angela’s College, Sligo (STACS) on 11th to the 14th of
March, 2008. St Angela’s College had 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 (RG) consisted of: Ms. Ann W. Caldwell, President Emerita, MGH Institute of Health
Professions, acting as Chair; Ms. Olivia Bree, Registrar, St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra; Ms. Gráinne Conachy,
Post-Primary Inspector, Department of Education and Science; Professor James A. Houghton, Head of the School
of Natural Sciences, NUI Galway; Professor John Marshall, Personal Professor, School of Education, NUI Galway;
Ms Maria Gallo, Senior Development Officer, St Angela’s College, acting as Rapporteur.
2.1 Summary and Main Recommendations from Report
Summary
Overall, the RG is impressed by the transformation of STACS in recent years from a College
facing uncertainty to an institution on the move with ambitious plans and high aspirations to
grow, extending the traditional mission and strengths of the College into a wider contemporary
world. In addition, the RG formed the impression of an extremely positive student experience, a
strong sense of community, high academic standards, and very dedicated and accessible staff.
The RG is confident that through a synergistic, strategic linkage with NUI Galway, and with
strong and dynamic leadership that St Angela’s College will realise its stated aims.
Main Recommendations
 St Angela’s College should further develop governance and management structures to
support its growth, ones that will achieve greater integration between and among the Board
of Directors, the Office of the President, and a college wide committee structure, including
an executive management team; improve communication and coordination throughout the
institution; establish priorities for resource allocation; and effectively implement its new
Strategic Plan. These governance and management initiatives should be in keeping with best
practices found at other universities, in particular comparable to those at NUI, Galway.
 The relationship between STAC and NUI Galway should be operationalised at the
interdepartmental level linking individual academic and administrative units in order realise
the considerable potential for joint program planning and administrative efficiencies and
economies.
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
In light of significant growth projections, STAC should conduct a comprehensive review of
both the current academic programs and the proposed suite of new programs and critically
evaluate them in relation its strategic goals as well as required resources, market demand,
and opportunities to expand access through e-learning.

In order to foster a research culture, STAC should activate the Research Committee, develop
a coherent and comprehensive research plan, explore strategies that will serve as incentives
for academic staff to conduct research, and encourage greater collaboration with relevant
NUI Galway units, including the library. The RG recommends rectifying the delays in
STACS student access and the regrettable system whereby STACS staff do not have access
to the NUI Galway library, which seriously hinders staff research efforts.
The College should undertake an institution-wide comprehensive plan for marketing and
publicity to promote the image of the College nationally in line with the current scope of its
programmes and future aspirations.

3. Action Plans
Follow Up Meeting, Wednesday, 23rd July 2008
Therapy Room, Aras Michael, St Angela’s College, Sligo
Present:
From St Angela’s College: Dr Anne Taheny (President), Mr Declan Courell (Registrar), Ms Leone Gately
(International/External Affairs Officer), Ms Denise Kenna (Home Economics Department), Mr Damien Kearns (AV
Technician), Ms Mary Kearns (Education Department), Mr Dermot Lahiff (Catering Manager), Ms Breda Lally
(BA Coordinator), Ms Mary Martin (Human Resources Manager), Ms Maureen McCabe (Examinations Officer),
Mr Noel McLoughlin (Facilities Manager), Mr Pat Moffatt (ICT Coordinator).
From Review Group: Ms Grainne Conachy (Inspector, Department of Education and Science), Ms Maria Gallo
(Senior Development Officer, St Angela’s College), Professor Jim Houghton (NUI Galway), Professor John
Marshall (NUI Galway).
From NUI Galway: Professor Jim Gosling (Chair), Dr Iain MacLabhrainn (CELT), Dr Séamus MacMathúna
(Secretary for Academic Affairs), Professor Hubert McDermott (Representing the Dean of Arts, Social Sciences
and Celtic Studies), Professor Kathy Murphy (School of Nursing and Midwifery), Ms Mary O’Riordan (Vice
President for Human Resources and Student Services)
Apologies:
Dr Mary Magee (Head of Department- Home Economics), Ms Evelyn McManus (Acting Head of DepartmentNursing & Health Studies), Mr Eugene Toolan (Head of Department- Education).
Action Plan for St Angela’s College, Sligo:
1. The College is committed to the development of a new Strategic Plan to cover the period
2009–14. The development process will be consultative and result in plans for all of the
important internal units/functions that complement the College Plan and are mutually
compatible. These will include plans for Financial Development (Action4a), Teaching (5),
College-University Partnership (6a), Staff Development (7), Research (8a), Marketing and
Publicity (9a), Infrastructure (10a) and ICT (11). The College and NUI Galway (which is
developing a new strategic plan of its own for the same period) will act to ensure that their
respective plans are mutually supportive and contain shared objectives and cross-references.
2. Recognising the importance of effective governance, management structures, policies and
procedures, and with the following deadlines, the College is committed to:
a. The preparation of agreed formal descriptions of the complementary roles of its new
Board of Directors and College Management,
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b. The Board of Directors having a balance of members with requisite skills, expertise
and backgrounds,
c. The establishment of a joint ‘taskforce’ with members of College Management and
from the Board of Directors to:
i. Decide on the membership and terms of reference of a College Executive
Management Team (EMT),
ii. Review College reporting structures, including the roles & responsibilities of
officers and ‘heads’,
iii. Review the terms of references of all committees and director-function roles,
iv. Recommend membership and terms of reference for a ‘Quality Committee’ to
monitor implementation of these Action Plans, and manage future quality
activities and initiatives. These will include reviews of departments/units and
study programmes, carried out with the aid of the NUI Galway Quality
Office.
d. Regular consultations with staff, and timely communication of relevant interim and
final documents. This will involve open general staff meetings, especially in
association with significant changes and developments,
e. The development of management flow-charts to explain and publicise the new agreed
structures and responsibilities,
f. A review of its overall administration and the provision of administrative support to
the academic departments by May 2009. In particular, shared roles of responsibility
within support and administration and the potential for a centralised administration
pool will be explored.
3. The EMT and Bursar will work to enhance financial planning and administration, including:
a. A draft Financial Development Plan that considers new revenue streams and
philanthropic donations by January 2009.
b. Transparent de-centralised budgeting by January 2009.
c. A review of the Central Library Budget before January 2009.
4. The Registrar and College Academic Council will formulate a Teaching Plan by February
2009 that will include:
a. A comprehensive review of its current academic programmes and how older, new
and possible new programmes may fit together to maintain the College’s tradition of
excellence in a context of limited resources and competing demands,
b. Guidelines on ways in which students can be given more reflective time and more
opportunities for self directed learning,
c. What modes of course delivery can be used to enhance accessibility for part-time
students,
d. Improved mechanisms for developing and monitoring individual academic
programmes,
e. Identification of means that could be employed to improve the gender balance among
students, including new courses and expanded courses, by May 2009,
f. The expansion of CPD courses and programmes suitable to the region, and nationally
in the College’s areas of speciality.
5. With the appointment of the Senior Development Officer in February 2008, the College is
much better equipped to enhance and benefit from the partnership relationship with NUI
Galway. All relevant activities will be overseen by an Coiste Liaison, including:
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a. A revised College-University Partnership Plan by January 2009, to be updated in
May 2009 and annually thereafter,
b. Substantial cross-institutional, interdepartmental cooperation in a number of areas by
May 2009,
c. ‘Aware Days’ where NUI Galway administrative staff will visit St. Angela’s College
and vice versa, with the first visit before February 2009 and the second before May
2009,
d. A collaborative review of the joint BA programme with 2010/2011 as a target for
changes to come into effect.
6. The College will develop a draft Staff Development Plan covering all staff by February
2009. In particular:
a. With reference to 2.c.ii above, the College will identify the training needs of the
EMT by January 2009, and have a system to support the continued professional
development of all staff in place by May 2009,
b. The College will expand its use of the programmes and facilities of CELT at NUI
Galway, including the Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning, and will
promote all relevant CELT courses/programmes to their academic and support staff,
c. The training needs of administrative, service and support staff are also fully
recognised and will be met, in part, in cooperation with ‘Staff Training and
Development’ at NUI Galway.
7. The College will review the membership and the terms of reference of its Research
Committee by September 2008, which will then:
a. Prepare a draft Research Plan by January 2009,
b. Devise incentives to foster the development of research by academic staff for
implementation by May 2009,
c. Through the Registrar, develop a ‘memorandum of understanding’ with the Food
Centre, by January 2009.
8. Led by the International/External Affairs Officer appointed in February 2008, the College
will:
a. Create a draft Marketing and Publicity Plan by January 2009,
b. Establish an Alumni Association before May 2009.
9. The College recognises the importance of its physical infrastructure and facilities in the
achievement of its strategic objectives. In particular:
a. A draft outline Infrastructure Plan will be developed by January 2009,
b. The Health and Safety Officer is now in place and Safety Representatives for each
department have been identified and their names communicated to the College
Community. The College will now address immediately all current health and safety
concerns in a revised capital submission to the HEA, as the first and highest priority,
c. College management and Student Services will continue to explore the further
development of sporting and leisure facilities in cooperation with the Students’
Union,
d. A central space management system will be devised by January 2009, whereby:
i. The timetabling system implemented by the Registrar’s Office will be
used routinely for all teaching space management,
ii. ‘Space’ and its use will be a consideration in the development of all
courses,
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iii. Evening and summertime activities will be emphasised to maximise space
use.
e. The College will continue to seek to develop a positive ongoing working relationship
with the Student Residences and will take the lead at all opportunities.
10. Facilitated by the ICT Coordinator, the College will develop a draft ICT Plan by January
2009 to optimise its operations, teaching capacity and communications. In this context:
a. Approval has already been received from the HEA for the improvement of the
bandwidth of the HEAnet link to the College,
b. Student and staff access to ICT will be prioritised,
c. The capacity for institutional research will be supported by an efficient MIS system.
In particular the College will:
i. Respond to the NUI Galway report on an integrated MIS system by
September 2008, and
ii. Implement an improved MIS system by May 2009,
d. Extensive video and audio conferencing, and related technologies will be provided
and supported.
Action Plan for NUI, Galway:
1. NUI Galway will engage fully with St Angela’s College to facilitate cross-consultation and
to ensure that their new strategic plans are mutually supportive and contain shared objectives
and cross-references.
2. Members of UMT will ensure that all appropriate heads of units and officers will be
cognisant of the ‘Aware Days’ initiative (College Action 5c above) and that its importance is
appropriately communicated to staff.
3. The Vice President for Research and relevant vice deans for research will work with the
College to help identify the research areas with greatest potential and ways in which NUI
Galway can promote and support joint research projects with St Angela’s College.
4. NUI Galway has established a working group (of which the Librarian is a member) chaired
by the Director of Computer Services to explore all issues related to the extension of
University services to ‘non standard’ staff and students. Many of the issues to be pursued
are directly relevant to St Angela’s College and the objective is to resolve these by
September 2009, in particular:
a. Delays in student access to services at the James Hardiman Library.
b. Staff access to services at the James Hardiman Library, which in practice does not
exist at present.
St. Angela’s College:
Approved by: Dr Anne Taheny,President, 29th September 2008
Approved by: Mr Declan Courell,Registrar, 29th September 2008
NUI Galway:
Approved by: Dr James Browne, President, 30th September 2008
Approved by: Dr James Ward, Registrar and Deputy President, 30th September 2008
Approved by: Dr Séamus MacMathúna, Secretary and Secretary for Academic Affairs, 30 th,
September 2008
Director of Quality,
Finalised: 1 October 2008
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