Quality Assurance Agency QAA awards highest rating for St Patrick's

Quality Assurance Agency QAA awards highest rating for St Patrick's

12/12/2012

St Patrick’s International College is proud to announce that the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) has awarded the College the highest rating "a confidence judgement" on the way it delivers higher education programmes. The results come from a report published on 12th December based on an Integrated Quality & Enhancement Review.

St Patrick's, which was the first independent college to have voluntarily undergone a QAA review, received the high accolade for its management of both standards and quality. Responsible for safeguarding standards and improving the quality of UK higher education, the QAA is the national authority on quality and standards.

Stephen Jackson, Director of Reviews at QAA, said: “St Patrick's is the first independent college to have voluntarily undergone a QAA review, and has shown a real commitment to providing a high quality learning environment for its higher education students. The process of carrying out a full QAA review at an independent college for the first time has been a valuable experience not only for the College, but for QAA. I am pleased it has resulted in a positive outcome.”

After visiting the College in September, a team of QAA reviewers identified several examples of good practice at the College, including:

• The appointment of elected student officers, which provides an independent and highly trusted communication and support link between students and the College;
• The collaboration between library and technical staff that has produced a purpose-designed library catalogue interface that is interactive, easy to use and highly responsive.

Raj Kumaran, Director of Education at St Patrick’s, said: “St Patrick’s College is proud to be the first independent college to have volunteered to undergo the IQER process and we are delighted with the results. QAA's reviewers confirmed the high quality of management and integrity in our higher education provision. They also commended St Patrick’s for initiatives such as appointing Student Officers to facilitate liaison between College management and the student body. We are now busy implementing the additional recommendations and suggestions made by the reviewers and we look forward to further cooperation with QAA in future years.”

To read the full QAA review, please visit: http://bit.ly/StPatricks-QAA-Review.