The Irish Universities Quality Board (IUQB) hosted its fifth Annual Conference - Institutional Research Benefiting the Student Experience and University Performance - on Oct. 12-13th at NUI Galway. The Theme for this year's conference was Institutional Research which proved to be of particular interest and relevance to the one hundred and fifty delegates whom attended from both Ireland and overseas.
The conference opening address was delivered by Dr. Garret Fitzgerald and the closing address by IUQB Chair, the Honourable Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness.
Dr. Garret Fitzgerald in his address stated that, "the key factor in higher education is its quality: Quality of teaching, Quality of students; Quality of research." Also, he emphasised the need to ensure comparability of standards within higher education institutions so that students are awarded the degree that he or she deserves, as stated by Dr. Fitzgerald, "ought to be one of the primary aims of University Institutional Research."
The themes presented included: IR and Institutional Management, National Trends, Performance Indicators, Higher Education & Ranking Systems, Student Satisfaction and Planning & Quality. The conference delegates had a choice of participating in six workshops facilitated by relevant experts on parallel themes.
Dr. Garret Fitzgerald