An Coiste Feabhais Acadúil
The Committee on Academic Quality Improvement
The Academic Quality Assurance Programme 2005-2006
Report to Údarás na hOllscoile
Review of
Department of Civil Engineering
A SECOND REVIEW
Self-Assessment
Review Group Visit
Follow Up Meeting
December 2005 to February 2006
2nd-3rd March, 2006
9h October 2006
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, August 2008
Report to Údarás – Review of Department Civil Engineering 2005–2006
2
1. Overview of Department
1.1 Mission statements

Through a top class teaching programme, the Department aims to produce civil and
environmental engineering graduates of the highest quality and standard with well rounded
engineering, scientific, communication, management and organisation skills who will have
the imagination, creativity and ingenuity to meet the challenges and rigours of a demanding
profession.

Through excellence in research, the Department aims to be recognised nationally and
internationally for its contributions to advancing the state of the art across the broad
spectrum of civil engineering disciplines.
1.2 Developments since Last Review in 1999-2000
The major changes and advances in the Department since 1999–2000 include:
1. BE (Environmental Engineering) programme produced first graduates in 2003 and was
fully accredited by Engineers Ireland for five years in 2005. The BE (Civil Engineering)
programme was fully accredited for five years by a process that paralleled this review
process.
2. Annual intake of undergraduate students to the two main study programmes increased
from 65 to 90 while entry standards improved.
3. The number of research postgraduate students effectively doubled.
4. Investment of €1.5m in two new testing laboratories (timber structures and tidal effects)
and a suite of 40 computers.
5. Three new permanent and one new contract lecturer posts, but no increase in technical or
administrative staff.
6. A new suite of staff offices in an associated building and refurbishment of lecture rooms
7. New Engineering building costing €53m in advanced planning stage with a target
completion date in 2009.
1.3 Student Numbers
The total number of fulltime equivalent (FTE) students serviced by the Department was 275 in
the year 2004/2005, representing an increase of 27% in the four years since 2000–01.
1.4 Staff to Student Ratios
In 2004-2005, the number of fulltime equivalent (FTE) academic staff in the Department of
Civil Engineering was 13.9, giving a student to staff ratio of 20 (as opposed to 19 in 20002001). For the same academic year the average student to staff ratio for the Faculty was 17.
1.5 Accommodation and Facilities
The Department is largely located in one of the earliest University buildings, located near the
central Quadrangle building and dating from around 1900.
Report to Údarás – Review of Department Civil Engineering 2005–2006
3
2. Review Group Report
The Review Team consisted of: Professor David Nethercot, Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, Imperial College, London (Chair); Professor Margaret O’Mahony,
Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Trinity College, Dublin;
Professor Emer Colleran, Department of Microbiology, NUI Galway; Mr. Sean Gannon,
Consulting Engineer, Ryan Hanley and Co. Galway; and Mr. Brendan Kennelly, Department of
Economics, NUI Galway acting as Rapporteur.
The Department had prepared and submitted a 'Self Assessment Report' that, with other
documentation, was made available to the Review Team in advance of their visit.
2.1 Summary and Recommendations from the Report
Summary
The review group was on the whole impressed by the Department. It has been successful in one
of its primary goals of producing civil engineering graduates of the highest quality and standard.
This is the result of a strong commitment to teaching in the Department and has been reflected
by the full accreditation of its civil and environmental engineering degree programmes by
Engineers Ireland. The Department has also succeeded in significantly increasing its research
output since the last review with a doubling of the numbers of research students and peer
reviewed journal papers. The review group recognizes that the next five years will be a period of
significant change, both within the University and in the wider external environment. Our
recommendations are intended to help the Department to maximize the opportunities created
during this period.
Recommendations
1. We believe that the Department should develop a clearly defined and appropriate structure
between the Head of Department and individuals designed to ensure the delivery of all the
key Departmental tasks.
2. A small group, comprising the 4 year-coordinators together with a suitable Chairman should
become the vehicle for delivering the undergraduate programmes.
3. A group should be actively considering not just how the Department’s activities might be
accommodated in the new building but which of them should be accommodated and to what
extent.
4. The Department should seek to expose all the issues that have been raised regarding the
possible formation of a School of Engineering.
5. A number of individuals within the Department should be identified as links to each of the
key outside activities such as service teaching from Departments such as Mathematics,
Maths-Physics etc.
6. It is important to ensure that meetings are run in an effective way, with appropriate agendas,
and well defined mechanisms to follow-up on the identified actions.
7. The Department should re-evaluate the benefits of having a range of entry routes to its
courses.
8. The Department should consider the added pressure on students because of the shortened
semester in the third year and the balance of subjects between the two semesters in the
fourth year.
9. The Department should consider reviewing the programmes each year to examine course
context and the relationships between courses and years.
Report to Údarás – Review of Department Civil Engineering 2005–2006
4
10. The Department should produce a road map for incoming students to enable them to track
their progress through the courses.
11. The review group strongly advocates that recent and future academic appointees should
actively seek involvement in collaborative research and should explore the feasibility of
inter-disciplinary research with members of other departments and research centres.
12. The review group recommends that the provision of dedicated technical staff for research be
explored by the Department and the university.
13. The absence of administrative assistance for the management of research accounts should be
addressed.
14. The Department should encourage academic staff to publish more extensively in
international, peer-reviewed journals.
15. The review group recommends that new academic recruitment should focus on researchactive applicants of proven capability in areas that would both complement and enhance
ongoing research initiatives within the Department.
16. The review group recommends that the policy that ensures that the teaching load of recent
academic appointees is not excessive be maintained.
17. The group recommends that every effort is made to design facilities in the new Engineering
Building in such a way that research collaboration and interaction between academics and
researchers from Civil Engineering and other Departments within the Faculty will be
promoted.
18. The Department should strengthen its interactions with other Civil Engineering Departments
across the Irish Universities.
19. The Department should develop an ongoing campaign to promote a more positive and
visible image of itself around NUI Galway.
20. The Department should improve its web site and use it to promote the achievements of the
Department.
21. The University promotion system should ensure that ability and achievement are properly
identified and should recognize that a different balance of measures will be appropriate in
different subject areas.
22. The university should make a greater effort to recognize the particular achievements of
individuals in the Department.
23. The University should ensure that any individual does not have to serve as Dean of Faculty
at the same as time as serving as Head of Department.
24. The University should ensure that the system of allocating resources to departments aligns
with the strategy of the University and facilitates and rewards success in the declared
priority objectives of the University.
Report to Údarás – Review of Department Civil Engineering 2005–2006
5
3. Action Plans
Follow Up Meeting, Monday 9th October, 2006 at 11:30a.m.
Room E201, Civil Engineering Building, NUI Galway.
Present: Professor Jim Browne – Registrar, Professor Jim Gosling – Director of Quality (Chair), Professor
Nicholas Canny – Vice-President for Research, Dr Sharon Flynn – Assistant Director CELT, Mr Brendan Kennelly
– Review Group Rapporteur, Professor Padraic O’Donoghue – Head of Department & Dean of Engineering
Faculty, Mr Peter Fahy, Mr Gerard Hynes, Dr Byran McCabe, Mr Eamonn Cannon, Dr Annette Harte, Dr Xinmin
Zhan, Dr Michael Brennan, Ms Bríd Flaherty, Dr Thomas Mullarkey, Dr Michael Hartnett, Dr Piaras Ó hEachteirn,
Dr Mark Healy, Ms Geraldine Lyons (in attendance). Apologies: Mr Sean Gannon (Review Group)
Agreed note
Cognisant of the changes arising from restructuring within the University and the creation of the
College of Engineering and Informatics, Civil Engineering has developed a set of action plans
that are consistent with the new structure that is emerging within the College. This new
operating structure is likely to be agreed in the College prior to summer 2008 and it is
anticipated that it will see a reorganisation on a discipline basis that will retain the best features
of the old department system. Within this structure, Civil Engineering will remain as a key
discipline and will, over the next few years, also incorporate the activities within Engineering
Hydrology. These action plans reflect the fact that the College itself is currently developing a
new governance structure and that the situation is currently in this regard as this new structure
has not been finalised. The plans also reflect that there have been many developments since the
Quality Review in 2006.
3.1 Action Plans for Civil Engineering
1) Within the College of Engineering and Informatics, and in the context of anticipated
revisions of the University and College strategic plans, Civil Engineering will, by the end of
2008:
a) Develop a set of operating procedures that are consistent with that of the College
b) Develop a research action plan, with targets for research outputs, that is also consistent
with that of the College
c) In the context of maintaining the pre-eminent position of NUI Galway as a provider of
excellent Civil Engineering programmes and courses and mindful of external
developments (five year Engineers Ireland accreditation and Bologna requirements),
Civil Engineering will develop plans to enhance its existing programmes and will
consider new and innovative programmes at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
2) Implement the academic strategies developed in 1 above.
3) Enhance the profile of Civil Engineering both within and outside the University through (a)
the revision of the Civil Engineering website, (b) the strengthening of relations with other
Irish university Civil Engineering departments and (c) other appropriate publicity
mechanisms.
3.2 Action Plan for University Management
1) The Registrar and Deputy President, Vice President for Research and Director of Quality
recognise the strategic, regional and historical importance of Civil Engineering to NUI
Report to Údarás – Review of Department Civil Engineering 2005–2006
6
Galway, and congratulate the Department on its impressive successes since the last review in
1999–2000, including:
a) The recent full and unconditional accreditation of both its undergraduate degree
programmes for five years. A relatively small proportion of degree programmes
nationally have received this endorsement.
b) Fifty percent increase in undergraduate student numbers and improvement of entry
standards.
c) Major increase in research activity with a doubling of such key metrics as:
i) The number of research students and
ii) The number of peer-reviewed publications.
2) The Registrar recognises the issue that some categories of publications peculiar to certain
disciplines lie outside the standard types of research publication. However, the promotions
system, which was recently revised with inputs from all sectors, can be expected to take
such peculiarities into account.
3) The new University School structure:
a) Will ensure that the Deans of Colleges will not have to act as Head of Discipline.
b) Where a need is demonstrated, will allow for the provision of specialist administrative
expertise in areas such as research account management.
Approved by: Head of Department, Professor P O’Donoghue, 6th February 2008
Approved by: Registrar, Professor J Browne, 14th February 2008
Approved by: Dean of Engineering Faculty, Professor P O’Donoghue, 14th February 2008
Approved by: Vice President for Research, Professor N Canny, 14th February 2008
Approved by: Director of CELT, Dr I MacLabhrainn, 12th February 2008
Finalised: Jim Gosling, Director of Quality, 14th February 2008