School of Social Sciences and Law
Executive Summary
Introduction
The main purpose of the School Review in the School of Social Sciences and Law was to take a strategic overview of the School itself, its current position and its ability to respond to changing needs. A key element of the School Review process includes making recommendations in relation to the continuing approval by Academic Council of the awards of existing programmes. The Panel considered the programmes within the School giving specific consideration to proposed changes.
This is the first School Review which the School of Social Sciences and Law has participated in and therefore it is an important undertaking for the School.
Summary of Main Recommendations
The Panel was greatly facilitated in its work by the self-study provided by the School and by its discussions with the staff of the School.
The Panel finds that the School’s provision in relation to its taught programmes is of a very high standard, that there is a sound theoretical underpinning to its programmes coupled with a strong practical element and that the School is very responsive to the needs of the different sectors it serves and to its diverse body of students. The Panel considers that the research profile of the School is very strong and that the Head of School and Heads of Department have taken a significant leadership role in research, through the provision of support and through their own example. The following areas are also highlighted as worthy of commendation:
the variety of learning, teaching and assessment methods employed on its programmes the excellent record of very high student retention figures across the School’s programmes. the School staff, their commitment to the School and its students, and their position as leaders in their various fields.
the administrative support the School receives from the Faculty and from the School administrative staff who have an important role as front-line staff for the School.
The Panel recognises the significant challenges which current economic conditions place on the School but believes that the School is well placed to deal with them. The Panel makes the following recommendations:
i) Given the current economic situation, the School should consider further exploring the synergies between the Department of Social Sciences and the Department of Law in the development of research and new programmes, especially at Masters level.
ii) The School should consider how the focus of the undergraduate social care programmes might broaden and how specialisms might be developed at postgraduate level to reflect social policy and organisational developments. This is particularly relevant now that the job market for graduates is contracting. The area of care for the elderly in particular is identified as an area where the School might develop programmes and build up expertise in research and in training.
iii) The Panel welcomes and supports the vigorous initiatives being undertaken in the School, as international and national leaders in the field of early childhood education, to contribute to the recently announced government initiative relating to education for 3-4 year olds. The Panel urges the Institute to meet the challenges of this intervention with support to enable the School to take full advantage of this significant development.
iv) The Panel considers that the School should explore the benefits to be gained by formalising links with practitioners, through the establishment of Advisory Boards, to inform and support programme design and development and assist with marketing.
v) While the Panel acknowledges the communication between the School and placement supervisors, it recommends that this communication occur at an early stage during the placements to ensure that both student and placement supervisor are fully briefed on the aims of the placement from the outset.
vi) The School should review its policies on Erasmus exchanges to remove any obstacles that limit student access and to identify a suitable period in its programmes where student mobility would be appropriate.
vii) While there is an implicit research strategy, the Panel considers that the School would benefit greatly from making research strategy explicit and therefore formally embedded in the School.
viii) The School Management Team should include an explicit brief focusing on research leadership with the objective of promoting and further embedding the School’s research strategy and building research capacity.
ix) To encourage further research activity, the School should develop a mentoring system for researchers in the School, in order to encourage and promote research activity throughout the School. It also suggests that the School might also consider instigating new Special Interest Groups or becoming involved in existing groups.
x) Given that the strategic aim of the School is to increase its student numbers through the development of postgraduate programmes offered on a part-time basis, the Institute must review its support for part-time and flexible learning in order to provide the basic and educational needs of all its students.
xi) Notwithstanding the above recommendation, the School should explore short-term creative solutions to some of the issues outlined in x) above.
xii) The School should review its documentation to ensure a clear differentiation and distinction between teaching and learning expectations relevant to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The nature and relevance of student responsibilities for learning need to be clearly identified and communicated from induction to graduation.
xiii) The Panel considers, in this School, the library is the equivalent of scientific equipment and laboratories in other Schools. It recommends that the Institute should resource the School accordingly to ensure that these core elements of infrastructure are provided. Similar support should also be given to practice placements which play a key role in some of the School’s programmes.
xiv) The Institute’s Excellence in Administration review, as a matter of urgency, should consider the pressing needs for a more equitable distribution of administrative staff throughout the Institute especially at School level at an appropriate grade. The Panel also recommends that the Excellence in Administration group urgently consider appropriate administrative support for work placements, given the importance of placements throughout the Institute.
xv) Each Department has policies and practices in relation to internal moderation of assessment criteria and examination papers and to the late submission of assignments. The Panel supports such policies but it recommends that these are matters where School-wide policies should be developed. On the other hand, it notes that there are justifiable differences between the departments in relation to attendance requirements and the development of departmental policies on this issue would be appropriate.
xvi) The Panel considers that the development plans are very focused on programmes and it recommends that the plans should include reference to the development of research activities. It also believes that the self-study document would benefit from the addition of an explicit statement on the School’s mission/vision statement to set the context for the self-study. The Panel acknowledges that this is not currently required in the Institute’s procedures for School Review although the Panel in section 5.8 makes a recommendation to the Institute in this regard.
xvii) In relation to taught programmes, the Panel recommends to Academic Council continued approval of the following programmes and approval of the changes proposed (changes to individual programmes are summarised in the appendix to this report):
DT571 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Social Care
DT572 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Early Childhood Education DT561 Bachelor of Arts in Social Care Practice
(in-service Ordinary degree programme) DT592 Bachelor of Laws (LLB)
(advanced entry)
DT534 Bachelor of Arts in Law
DT550/DT568 Master of Arts in Criminology
DT576/DT577 Master of Arts in Child, Family and Community Studies DT547 Postgraduate Diploma in Law
Report of the
School Review Panel in relation to the
School of Social Sciences and Law
1
Introduction
The main purpose of the School Review in the School of Social Sciences and Law was to take a strategic overview of the School itself, its current position and its ability to respond to changing needs. A key element of the School Review process includes making recommendations in relation to the continuing approval by Academic Council of the awards of existing programmes: in the case of the School of Social Sciences and Law a number of minor changes to its programmes which the School Review Panel has been asked to consider and recommend for approval.
This is the first School Review which the School of Social Sciences and Law has undertaken and has therefore been an important undertaking for the School and will hopefully inform the future development of the School.
2
The Review Process
The focus of the School Review is in respect of the School as a whole. This includes the general position and performance; the range of activities and how these are conducted, reviewed and developed; the range and quality of taught programmes; the research and staff development activities; the management procedures and quality improvement systems and the links with external bodies. The impact of the external environment and competition from other educational institutions on the School and its programmes was also considered within the review process.
Central to the review process was the self-study, prepared by the School and considered by the Review Panel prior to visiting the School. This self-study is a critical evaluation of the School's activities and highlights strengths and achievements as well as areas of difficulty. The process of review carried out by the School followed the DIT current practice for the review of existing programmes, the documentation having been forwarded from the Faculty, with external assessor nominations, to the Academic Quality Assurance Committee which appointed a Review Panel.
The review visit took place over a three-day period on 5th, 6th and 7th May 2009. The Panel, through a series of meetings with Faculty and School management, teaching, administrative and support staff, students and graduates of the School, placement supervisors and a visit to the facilities available to the School in Mountjoy Square, considered issues raised in the self-study and in the other documentation presented.
2.1
The Purpose of the School Based Review
The broad objectives of the School Review were to evaluate:the School's approach to programme design and development, having due regard to the influence of bodies representing students, employers and the sector;
the learning environment of the School;
staffing including academic, administrative and technical; staff development and research activities within the School;
the School’s quality assurance systems, including the effectiveness of taught programmes in meeting their stated objectives; and,
the School's development plans for the future.
2.2
Membership of the Review Panel
The Review Panel appointed by Academic Council to carry out the School Based Review was comprised as follows:
External Members
Dr Ben Bierings Consultant, International Projects, Zuyd University, Netherlands
Professor Aline-Wendy Dunlop Chair of Childhood and Primary Studies, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
Professor Fergus McNeill Professor of Criminology and Social Work, University of Glasgow
Professor Leslie Moran Professor of Law, Birkbeck College, London
Mark Smith Deputy Director, Crannog Nua High Support Unit,
Portrane
Internal Members
Dr Sheila Flanagan (Chair) Head of School of Hospitality Management & Tourism, DIT Cathal Brugha Street
Claude Delaney School of Management, DIT Aungier Street Stella Downey School of Media, DIT Aungier Street
Officer
Jan Cairns Quality Assurance Officer, Office of the Academic Registrar
2.3
Programme of Visit to School
The Review took place in accordance with the following schedule. Day 1 – Tuesday 5 May 2009
Venue: DIT Mountjoy Square
2.00 pm Formal beginning of process. Chair of Panel introduces members of panel to the Faculty Director who introduces the Head of School (Dr Kevin Lalor), Heads of Department (Dr Fergus Ryan and Dr Máire Mhic Mhathúna). The Team was joined by Professor Nóirín Hayes who is currently on secondment.
2.30 pm Short formal presentation by Head of School and Heads of Department describing main activities of the School and introducing the key points from the self-study report.
3.00 pm Private meeting of Panel to discuss agenda for day.
4.30 pm Panel meets with School Management Team to discuss the broad contents of the self-study report and the implications for the School in terms of individual programmes and resources, more specifically the School’s arrangements for quality assurance, programme development, links with business, research activity and staff development.
6.00 pm Panel views facilities at Mountjoy Square.
7.00 pm Dinner for Panel and School Management Team, Faculty Director Day 2 – Wednesday 6 May 2009
9.00 am Private meeting of Panel
9.30 am Panel meets with School Management Team, Faculty Administrator, School Administrator, Faculty Librarian and Examinations Officer to review contents of School’s evaluation of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, based on self-study report and to discuss School’s plan for future development.
10.45 am Panel meets with Heads of Department and Programme Tutors, Faculty Head of Research, Head of Learning Development to discuss the suite of programmes offered by the School and the trends and direction of these – including discussion regarding programme management issues and quality
assurance arrangements and to address specific issues relating to changes proposed.
12.30 pm Lunch (with placement supervisors).
2.00 pm Meeting of the Panel with staff teaching on programmes and Head of Learning Development to discuss syllabuses, teaching methods and assessment issues specific to the programmes. (parallel sessions: Social Care: Dr Ben Bierings, Mark Smith, Claude Delaney; Law: Professor Fergus McNeill, Professor Leslie Moran, John Kearney; Early Childhood Education: Professor Aline-Wendy Dunlop, Stella Downey, Dr Sheila Flanagan).
3.30 pm Panel meets with Faculty Director, School Management Team and Faculty Administrator to discuss issues of resources, AV support, IT support, staff development and any issues requiring clarification arising from self study. 5.30 pm Panel meets with representative group of current and former students
(undergraduates and postgraduates).
7.00 pm Dinner
Day 3 – Thursday 7 May 2009
9.30 am Private meeting of Panel to consider the draft report.
12.00 noon Meeting of the Panel with Faculty Director, Head of School and School Management Team to outline orally the Panel’s findings.
12.45 am Lunch
2.4 Documentation provided:
Along with the self-study, the School had forwarded the following supporting documentation to the Panel (on memory stick) prior to the event:
Programme Documents Brochure of Staff Publications
PDF of Staff publications poster (one for each department) PDF of Programme brochures / posters
PDF of Placement Handbook
Careers Office ‘My qualification, what next?’ brochures Staff CVs
Faculty of Applied Arts Grangegorman Strategic Brief, January 2008 Essay Marking Guidelines
First Destination Return (FDR) survey results School Health and Safety Policy
Department of Law Continuous Assessment policy Department of Law Deferrals policy
Hard copies of the following documentation were made available for perusal during the review event.
1 hard copy of each programme document Hard copy of staff CVs
External examiner’s reports
Q5s
Placement Handbook Full list of staff publications
Irish Journal of Applied Social Studies Recent brochures and posters
Staff publications posters (one for each Department)
Sample selection of staff publications (including books, journal articles, reports). 3 Background to the Institute, Faculty and School
3.1 Dublin Institute of Technology
The Dublin Institute of Technology was established as an autonomous institution under the DIT Act in 1992, but its origins go back to 1887 and the establishment of technical education in Ireland.
The DIT Act 1992 brought together six colleges of higher education formerly under the City of Dublin Vocational Educational Committee (CDVEC). These were:
College of Technology, Kevin Street - founded in 1887 College of Music, Chatham Row - founded in 1890 College of Commerce, Rathmines - founded 1901
College of Marketing and Design, Mountjoy Square - founded in 1905 College of Technology, Bolton Street - founded in 1911
College of Catering, Cathal Brugha Street - founded in 1941
Following the establishment of the Institute, these colleges formed the nucleus of the Faculty structure within DIT today, as follows:
The Faculty of Applied Arts
The Faculty of the Built Environment The Faculty of Business
The Faculty of Engineering The Faculty of Science
3.2 Faculty of Applied Arts
The School of Social Sciences and Law is located in the Faculty of Applied Arts, which is made up of five schools:
School of Social Sciences and Law Conservatory of Music & Drama School of Art, Design & Printing School of Languages
School of Media
Across the five schools, there are 2,241 WTE students from Level 6 to Level 10 programmes (and an additional 1000 junior music students in the Conservatory). There are 239 WTE staff (344 in total). In addition, the Faculty contains a number of research centres:
The Centre for Social and Educational Research (School of Social Sciences and Law) Centre for Transcultural Research and Media Practice (School of Media)
Digital Media Centre (School of Media). 3.3 School of Social Sciences and Law
The School consists of the Department of Social Sciences and the Department of Law. In addition, the Centre for Social and Educational Research (CSER) in housed in the School.
The School of Social Sciences and Law brings together a number of distinct yet inter-related disciplines of importance to Irish and European society including Early Childhood Education, Social Care, Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies. The School is a provider of training and education for social care workers and is recognised as a key innovator in the arena of Early Childhood development and education. A particular feature of the School is the multi-disciplinarity of staff members, who have backgrounds in psychology, social work, social care, sociology, law, socio-legal studies, criminology, nursing, social policy, art, development studies, early education, teaching and drama.
As an academic discipline, Law traditionally has been aligned with business studies in many third-level institutions throughout Ireland. The Dublin Institute of Technology has chosen strategically to depart from the norm by expressly linking law with the social sciences. In doing so, the Institute actively seeks to build synergies between law and the social sciences, in particular through curriculum development and research that focuses on socio-legal concerns.
Timeline of significant events in School history:
1974 Diploma in Child Care (in-service) commences in the School of Home of Social Sciences, College of Catering, Cathal Brugha Street
1977 One year Certificate in Pre-School Care commenced
1978 Dublin Institute of Technology established by the City of Dublin Vocational Educational Committee (CDVEC)
1970s Diploma in Legal Studies commenced
1985 Certificate in Applied Social Studies (full-time) commenced Two year Certificate in Pre-School Care commenced 1988 Diploma in Applied Social Studies commenced
1993 On 1st January, DIT achieves statutory status by commencement of Dublin Institute of Technology Act (1992)
Department of Legal Studies formally constituted after passage of DIT Act. 1994 School of Social Sciences relocated to Rathmines House
1997 Centre for Social and Educational Research (CSER) established 1998 BA (Hons.) Social Care commenced
DIT granted degree awarding powers
1999 First MPhil graduated (Áine Fitzpatrick, supervised by Brian McCarthy) BA (ord.) in Early Childhood Care and Education commenced
2001 School of Social Sciences and Legal Studies created under DIT Faculty Structures 2003 Department relocated to Mountjoy Square
2004 BA (Ord.) in Legal Studies commenced
3 year ab initio BA (Hons.) in Social Care commenced
2005 3 Year ab initio BA (Hons) in Early Childhood Education commenced 2006 Department of Legal Studies renamed Department of Law
MA Criminology commenced MA in Law commenced
2007 MA in Child, Family and Community Studies commenced 2008 LLB Bachelor of Laws commenced
First PhD graduated (Jonathan Ilan, supervised by Dr. Karen Lysaght)
2009 1st MPhil graduated from Department of Law (Carol Coulter, supervised by Dr. Fergus Ryan and Geoffrey Shannon).
The School management (or ‘School Executive’) consists of the Head of School (Dr Kevin Lalor), the Head of Department of Social Sciences (Dr Máire Mhic Mhathúna), and the Head of Department of Law (Dr Fergus Ryan).1
List of current programmes in the School
The School currently offers the following programmes leading to major awards of the Institute:
Programme code, award and title Duration and mode
DT571 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Social Care 3 years full-time DT572 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Early Childhood
Education
3 years full-time DT572H Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Early Childhood
Education (progression programme)
1 year part-time DT561 Bachelor of Arts in Social Care Practice
(in-service Ordinary degree programme)
3 years in-service DT571H Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Social Care
(progression programme) 1 year part-time DT592 LLB Bachelor of Laws (advanced entry) 1 year full-time/two years part-time
DT534 Bachelor of Arts in Law 2 years part-time
DT550/DT568 Master of Arts in Criminology 1 year full-time/2 years part-time
DT576/DT577 Master of Arts in Child, Family and Community Studies
1 year full-time/2 years part-time
DT567 Master of Arts in Law 3 semesters full-time
DT547 Postgraduate Diploma in Law 1 year full-time
5
Key issues arising from the self-study
The Panel had discussions with the staff and students that it met on the key issues emerging from its consideration of the study and the School’s own recommendations arising from the self-study. These key issues are captured under the main purposes of School Review:
5.1 The School’s approach to programme design and development, having due regard to the influence of bodies representing students, employers and the sector
The Panel finds that the School’s provision in relation to its taught programmes is of a very high standard, that there is a sound theoretical underpinning to its programmes coupled with a strong practical element and that the School is very responsive to the needs of the different sectors it serves and to its diverse body of students.
1
Currently, all three members of the School Management Team are in an Acting capacity. In February 2009, Professor Nóirín Hayes took on the role of Modularisation Coordinator in the Institute for 18 months. Dr. Kevin Lalor took on the role of Head of School (Acting) and, in turn, Dr. Máire Mhic Mhathuna took on the role of Head of Department of Social Sciences (Acting). In the Department of Law, Bruce Carolan is on leave of absence for 2008-2009. Dr. Fergus Ryan is in the role of Head of Department (Acting).
5.1.1 Programme development
The self-study document provided a clear rationale and explanation of programme development through which the School has offered ladders of progression for its students. The Panel discussed the School’s plans for the further development of its programmes and in particular the possibilities of synergies between the two departments. The area of socio-legal studies has been identified by the School in this regard, for example through the MA in Criminology and through other modules across the suite of Masters programmes and the possibility of other Masters programmes in the socio-legal/human rights area is noted. The Department of Law is promoting the ‘law plus’ model where law can be combined with other subject areas in the Faculty of Applied Arts, as well as with the Faculty of Business where the Department has collaborated on the BSc in Business and Legal Studies programme which has been running for some time. Given the current economic situation the Panel recommends that the School should consider further exploring these synergies in the development of research and new programmes, especially at Masters level.
Programme Teams have identified areas of need in social care practice and modules have been developed accordingly, for example Perspectives on Ageing and Social Care with Older People and Challenging Behaviour. It is noted that the Social Care programmes in particular the professional practice element has focused on residential care, but more and more students were opting for different kinds of placements. The Panel recommends that the School consider how the focus of the social care programmes might broaden and how specialisms might be developed at postgraduate level to reflect social policy and organisational developments. This is particularly relevant now that the job market for graduates is contracting. The area of care for the elderly in particular is identified as an area where the School might develop programmes and build up expertise, in research and in training. The Panel recommends that the School continue to work to create a national profile for the Social Care area to ensure that it can continue to reinforce its strength in this area.
5.1.2 Links with practice and practice placements
It is clear to the Panel that the School is responsive to the professions with which it deals. The Panel considers that there is a good balance of theoretical underpinning and practice-based work in the programmes, whether through the placements in the Social Care and Early Childhood Education programmes, or through the employment of barristers as part-time lecturers on the law programmes. The new module Criminal Justice Policy Making on the MA in Criminology is considered a good example of how connections between theory, policy and practice are being made. The social care and early childhood education programmes evidence responsiveness to practice needs (see para 5.1.1 above) and have introduced modules accordingly. The Programme Teams in these areas have an important link with practice through the placement supervisors. In
Law the growth of optional modules and opportunities to study options reflects a keen sensitivity to the growing need for specialisation in law. The Panel considers that it would be of benefit to the School if the links with practice are formalised through the establishment of Advisory Boards, a system which would inform and support programme design and development and would also serve as a marketing tool for the School.
The supervised placements on the honours degree programmes in social care and early childhood education are considered to be an integral and vital component of the programmes, and a particular strength of the placements is that they span all years of the programmes. The Panel commends how Programme Teams have taken care to design and review placements to ensure their success and it welcomes the introduction of training for placement supervisors. While it acknowledges the communication between the School and placement supervisors, the Panel recommends that this communication occur at an early stage during the placements to ensure that both student and placement supervisor are fully briefed on the nature and aims of the placement from the outset. As international and national leaders in the field of early childhood education the Panel welcomes and supports the vigorous initiatives being undertaken in the School to contribute to the recently announced government initiative relating to education for 3-4 year olds. The Panel urges the Institute to meet the challenges of this intervention with support to enable the School to take full advantage of this significant development.
5.1.3 ERASMUS and other international links
International links between the School and other colleges were summarised in the School’s self-study document. Most of the links relate to staff activity. The School is also participating in a joint European MA in Early Childhood Education and Care, an on-line programme developed in conjunction with a number of European universities, and the Department of Social Sciences has Erasmus bilateral agreements which allow student mobility to and from its programmes. While there have been numbers of students from EU countries coming into the Social Sciences programmes, no students from that Department have taken an Erasmus exchange in recent years. The Panel recommends that the School should review its Erasmus policies relating to students and remove any obstacles which prevent students from exploiting these exchange opportunities. The School should in particular consider how its programmes synchronise with similar programmes abroad, in order to identify a suitable period in its programmes where student mobility would be appropriate. The Panel believes that the School should reflect on the added value that such student mobility would bring to the students and programmes in terms of their ability to compare the Irish systems and practice with those of other countries, noting the positive view students have had of field trips abroad and the benefits such experiences have for students and the programmes.
5.1.4 Student retention and student support
The Panel commented on the excellent record of very high student retention figures across the School’s programmes. This high level of retention is partly due to the fact that students are both highly motivated and also usually enter with high academic achievement either at Leaving Certificate or undergraduate level. The Panel believes that it is also due to the value that the School places on relationships, particularly with students as shown through the tutorial system and the contact that is maintained with students during, in the case of Social Sciences undergraduate programmes, their practice placements. The students and graduates that the Panel met commented favourably on the support and interaction they receive from staff and how responsive staff are to feedback. The Panel supports the view of staff teaching on these programmes that the quality of this experience should not be jeopardised through an increased student intake to these programmes.
5.2 The School’s research strategy
Research activity and associated publications are considered of great importance by the School and Faculty management and by academic staff. The Faculty’s Head of Research’s role is to facilitate, encourage and support research in the Faculty, and a new Senior Lecturer in Social Science Research Methods was appointed to help foster research in the School. The Centre for Social and Educational Research (CSER) was established by the School in 1997: it attracts research and directs research projects, and has become a focus for raising awareness, at a policy, practice and research level, of the activities of the School through publication of reports, booklets and research papers, development of training materials, completion of commissions and presentations at conferences.
The Panel considers that the research profile of the School is very strong and that the Head of School and Heads of Department have taken a significant leadership role in research, through the provision of support and through their own example. It is also impressed with the dissemination of publications via the School’s website and with the research training seminar series. The Panel would urge the School to formalise its research strategy. In addition, the Panel recommends that the School Management Team might include a specific brief focusing on research with the objective of promoting and further embedding the School’s research strategy and building research capacity. Such a role should also help the dissemination of skills related to successful research across the School. The research strategy should be broad enough to include non-traditional academic research, such as legal research.
5.3 The learning environment
5.3.1 Learning, teaching and assessment strategies
The Panel has already noted the positive view students have regarding their interaction with academic staff. It is also impressed with the variety of learning, teaching and assessment methods employed on its programmes and with its engagement with the Institute’s Learning, Teaching and Technology Centre in this regard. Problem Based Learning (PBL) has been introduced in some of the School’s programmes successfully and it is hoped that this might be extended. The Panel commends this, while warning that an increase in the use of PBL might be constrained by a lack of appropriate physical space and by shortage of staff resources.
The Panel notes the School’s policy on the provision of feedback to students which recommends a four-week turnaround between submission dates and the receipt of feedback. The Panel commends this policy as well as other supports which the School has adopted, such as the Department of Social Sciences’ set of standardised ‘Guidelines for writing academic assignments
at undergraduate level’ (September 2008) to help students in the preparation and presentation of
their work. The Panel considers that the high level of support that exists at undergraduate level is no longer appropriate at Masters level. The School should review its documentation to ensure a clear differentiation and distinction between teaching and learning expectations relevant to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. The nature and relevance of student responsibilities for learning need to be clearly identified and communicated from induction to graduation.
5.3.2 The physical learning environment
The School of Social Sciences and Law is located in two buildings: the Department of Law in Aungier Street on the south side of the city, and the Department of Social Sciences in 40-45 Mountjoy Square on the north side of the city. This bilocation in itself has caused certain difficulties, and has hampered the development of synergies between the two departments in relation to its programmes and to research activities. The teaching space available to both departments on either site is deemed to be adequate. However, the growth of Problem Based Learning in social care programmes may be constrained because of the shortage of appropriate teaching spaces at Mountjoy Square. The sharing of offices by academic staff and the shortage of dedicated space for meeting students is not ideal, although local arrangements (i.e. finding empty classrooms or negotiating with colleagues) have worked well.
In relation to part-time programmes there are difficulties both at Aungier Street and at Mountjoy Square in relation to the supports available in the evenings. In Mountjoy Square canteen facilities are inadequate for students who attend in the evenings. For the most part it would appear to the Panel that the Institute’s systems are designed specifically for full-time day students, in terms of
the opening hours of registration and other administrative offices and canteen facilities, and the Panel recommends that given that the strategic aim of the School (in line with Institute strategy) is to increase its student numbers through the development of postgraduate programmes which will be offered on a part-time basis, the Institute must review its support for part-time and flexible learning in order to provide the basic and educational needs of all its students. It also recommends to the School that it explore short-term creative solutions to some of these issues.
5.3.3 Library and IT facilities
The Mountjoy Square library holds the stock of books and journals in the social sciences while law books and journals are held at the Aungier Street library. The holdings of all campus libraries are available for searching on the Millenium Online Public Access catalogue (OPAC) which is web-based. Students and staff have remote access through their ID numbers to the electronic resources of the library. The Panel met the Faculty Librarian who reported how she works with the School to order books as required. School staff reported that the library staff are excellent in terms of the help and support they provide to both staff and students. However, the School needs greater resources especially in the area of core texts and the School’s non-pay budget does not reflect this need. The Panel concurs that in the case of this School, the library is equivalent equivalent to scientific equipment and laboratories in other Schools and it recommends that the Institute should resource the School accordingly to ensure that these core elements of infrastructure are provided. Similar support should also be given to placements which play a key role in some of the School’s programmes.
While IT provision such as audio-visual equipment is adequate, there are problems accessing IT support in the evenings in particular at Aungier Street where there is only one audio-visual technician for the site.
5.4 Staffing including academic, administrative and technical
5.4.1 Academic staff
The School currently has 29 permanent full-time academic staff, seven part-time staff (with contracts of indefinite duration) and 20 hourly paid lecturers. The Panel was very impressed with the staff it met, their commitment to the School and its students, and their position as leaders in their various fields. There is also a significant diversity in each Programme Team which allows teams to be responsive to the needs of practice. The students the panel met also commented very favourably on the approachability of staff and the respect they show to students.
The current economic situation and the resulting limitations on staff recruitment is of great concern and the Panel in particular notes the significant impact that the loss of part-time teaching
staff shall have on the School, particularly in the Department of Law which relies heavily on the input of law practitioners to its programmes.
5.4.2 Administrative and technical staff
The administrative support for the School consists of one Grade 4 School Secretary and one Grade 3 secretary, the former based in the School office in Mountjoy Square (currently two job-sharing positions) and the latter at the Department of Law in Aungier Street. The Panel was pleased to meet with two of these administrators, as well as the Faculty Administrator and Examinations Officer based at Mountjoy Square. The Panel is pleased to note the cooperation between the Faculty administration. The Panel considers the School very fortunate in the administrative support it receives from the Faculty and from the School administrative staff who have an important role as front-line staff for the School. The Panel is of the view, however, that the School is underresourced in terms of administrative staff and that as a result the administrative load on academic staff is considerable and reduces the time available for other activities, such as research. The Panel heard that the Excellence in Administration review that is currently underway is considering the rationalisation of the Institute’s administration in preparation for the move to the Grangegorman single campus. The Panel recommends that the Institute as part of this review should give urgent consideration to a more equitable distribution of administrative staff throughout the Institute and an increase in the levels of administrative support at School level. It also recommends that the Excellence in Administration review group also consider appropriate administrative support for work placements, given the importance of placements throughout the Institute.
In terms of technical staff, there is a full-time audio-visual technician at Mountjoy Square, shared between the Department of Social Sciences and the School of Art, Design and Printing. In Aungier Street there is one audio-visual technician who is responsible for the building as a whole. The Department of Law is also supported by IT staff from the Central IS Services based in Aungier Street. The School reported satisfaction with the support it receives, in particular the efficient service it receives from the technician staff at Mountjoy Square. One identified area of weakness is the lack of technical support for early morning and evening activity at Aungier Street. 5.5 Staff development and research activities within the School
The School has adopted a supportive strategy towards staff development including the pursuit of higher degrees, in line with DIT policy. Research activity and associated publications are considered of great importance by the School and Faculty management and by academic staff, and every effort is made to encourage, promote and facilitate research activity by School and Faculty management. This support includes financial and time allowances for pursuing MPhil and PhD studies, although the Institute has discontinued time allowances for new applications in 2009.
The Panel congratulates the School on the very significant activity in research which is achieved in spite of what it considered to be very serious constraints (academic staff teaching hours and administrative responsibilities). It recommends that, to encourage further activity, the School might develop a mentoring system for researchers in the School and it suggests that the School might also consider instigating new Special Interest Groups or becoming involved in existing groups.
The Panel also expressed its regret regarding the decision of the Institute not to grant time allowances for staff applying to undertake PhDs/MPhils: it believes that this initiative has helped to stimulate the School’s research activity in the first place and its withdrawal is likely to hamper the School’s capacity to generate research and consultancy income and will decelerate research activity.
5.6 The School’s quality assurance systems, including the effectiveness of taught programmes in meeting their stated objectives
The School implements the quality assurance and enhancement procedures of the Institute, i.e. through the Programme Committee system which includes student representation, the annual monitoring process including the collection of student feedback through the Q6 forms, and through the external examiner system. The Panel notes that the Faculty of Applied Arts tracks the outcomes of the annual monitoring process and recurring issues are picked up through this mechanism. From discussions with staff and students, it is evident that the School is very responsive to feedback and continuously reviewing with a view to enhancing the quality of its programmes. It notes the difficulties faced by the Department of Law in finding students willing to take on the student representative role on Programme Committees. This has been a general problem for part-time programmes and help has been sought from the Dublin Institute of Technology’s Students Union (DITSU) in this regard. However, the Panel is satisfied that students are able to raise issues with staff members as they arise.
Each Department has policies and practices in relation to internal moderation of assessment criteria and examination papers and to the late submission of assignments. The Panel supports such policies but it recommends that these are matters where School-wide policies should be developed. On the other hand, it notes that there are justifiable differences between the departments in relation to attendance requirements and the development of departmental policies on this issue would be appropriate.
The Panel is pleased to recommend to Academic Council continuing approval of each of the following programmes (the main changes made to these programmes are summarised in the appendix to this report):
DT571 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Social Care
DT572 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Early Childhood Education DT561 Bachelor of Arts in Social Care Practice
(in-service Ordinary degree programme) DT592 LLB Bachelor of Laws
(advanced entry)
DT534 Bachelor of Arts in Law
DT550/DT568 Master of Arts in Criminology
DT576/DT577 Master of Arts in Child, Family and Community Studies DT567 Master of Arts in Law
DT547 Postgraduate Diploma in Law. 5.7 School’s Development Plan
The Panel notes the School’s proposals in relation to its development and the recommendations arising out of the self-study. It supports its plans for cross-departmental and cross-School and Faculty activities and its aims to increase the number of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programmes. It considers that the development plans are very focused on its programmes and that the plans should include reference to the development of research activities. It also recommends that the self-study document would benefit from the addition of an explicit statement on the School’s mission/vision statement which would set the context for the self-study. The Panel acknowledges that this is not currently required in the Institute’s procedures for School Review although the Panel in section 5.8 makes a recommendation in this regard.
5.8 School Review Process
The Panel wished to make some recommendations in relation to the School Review Process and in particular regarding the structure of the self-study document. Firstly, it recommended that a template for the self-study should be provided to ensure that the self-study is structured around the main purposes of School Review. The process and therefore the self-study should be more strategic in focus and that the template should include at the start a mission/vision statement for the School, against which its activities would be considered. The Panel also considers that it would be beneficial in particular to external panel members if self-studies also contain a glossary of terms and an explanation of acronyms.
6. Conclusions
The Review Panel commends the School for the friendly and positive discussions with the Panel. It is very impressed by the quality of the School’s programmes and the engagement of staff in research and their professional areas. The Panel recognises the significant challenges which
current economic conditions would place on the School but it believes that the School is well placed to deal with these challenges. In conclusion, the Panel should like to thank the School of Social Sciences and Law and the Faculty of Applied Arts for its hospitality and for facilitating the work of the School Review Panel.
Appendix to School of Social Sciences and Law School Review Report
Proposed changes to programmes, as recommended for approval by School Review Panel
DT571 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Social Care
change to entry requirements to allow advanced entry to year 3 for graduates who have registered on the MA in Child Family and Community Studies who wish to achieve a professional Social Care qualification parallel to the MA programme.
Problem based learning (PBL) is being introduced in Principles of Professional Practice modules to second and third year students.
non-compensatory status is proposed for Principles of Professional Practice modules. a new module, Working with Communities, is being introduced in second year to replace the Youth and Community module in first year.
the dissertation in year three will be replaced by a research portfolio containing a robust research proposal which reflects a comprehensive literature review and evidence of engagement with a range of research methods.
DT572 Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Early Childhood Education
Social Theory and Legal Issues modules in year one and two of the programme have been
amended to allow a focus on Social Policy and Sociology in year one of the programme. Content of this module will be expanded in the second year of the programme to allow a more dedicated focus on Law.
music to be included as a component of Introduction to Early Education in year one. Child Language to be delivered as part of Early Education Intermediate module in year two of the programme
the module Curriculum and Development is to be allocated an extra 12 contact hours within the year three programme. The title of the module is to be changed to Assessing and Planning for Early Learning.
a new module Perspectives on Early Childhood Education: Issues in Policy, Practice and
Research has been developed and will be delivered in year three of programme.
DT561 Bachelor of Arts in Social Care Practice (in-service Ordinary degree programme)
Working with Communities is a new module that will serve to reflect the changing face of
communities in Ireland.
a new module Perspectives on Ageing and Social Care with Older People will also be offered in the final year as an option.
an attendance requirement of 75% has been included in several modules. DT592 Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (advanced entry)
The following new modules were added: Civil Procedure, Arbitration and ADR Criminology
Competition Law Law and Society Law in Society
DT534 Bachelor of Arts in Law The following module was added:
Core Legal Skills
Entry criteria changed from 3 years to 2 years’ relevant work experience
Total number of ECTS credits required for completion of programme changes from 60 ECTS to 90 ECTS.
DT550/DT568 Master of Arts in Criminology
introduction of a policy to respond to students who exceed the word count of assignments. inclusion of a more detailed grading system for assignments and the dissertation (see Appendix of the programme document).
change in weighting awarded to examinations from 60% to 50% in the core modules ‘Criminological Theory’ and ‘The Criminal Justice System’ respectively.
The inclusion of 6 additional teaching hours to cover subject specific research matters in the research methods module.
change in the title of the module ‘Penal Policy’ to ‘Prison Policy’ inclusion of three new optional modules:
o Crime Prevention and Society: Communities, Actors and Governance; o Criminal justice policy making.
DT576/DT577 Master of Arts in Child, Family and Community Studies
route to a professional Social Care qualification parallel to the MA in Child, Family and Community Studies (see changes to BA (Hons) in Social Care above)
DT547 Postgraduate Diploma in Law The following new modules were added:
Civil Procedure, Arbitration and ADR Administrative Law
Criminology Competition Law Law and Society Law in Society
Environmental and Planning Law IP Law
Media Law
Immigration and Refugee Law split into 2 5 ECTS modules – Immigration Law and Refugee Law.
