As part of the wider response to Covid-19 across the further and higher education and training sectors, there has been an extensive focus on the implementation of alternative methods of Teaching, Learning and Assessment necessitated by the restrictions implemented by Government to protect public health and to combat the spread of the pandemic. My Department and its agencies have been working closely with sectoral stakeholders to support these efforts and to ensure that quality, integrity and standards continue to be maintained across the system.
Following the conclusion of the academic term 2019/2020, Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI) undertook a comprehensive evaluation of the response of higher and further education and training institutions to the COVID-19 crisis. In August 2020, QQI published a report based on this work entitled “The Impact of COVID-19 modifications to Teaching, Learning and Assessment in Irish Further Education and Training and Higher Education - A QQI Evaluation” which is available online at https://www.qqi.ie/News/Pages/Irish-Further-and-Higher-Education-and-Training-Sectors-step-up-during-Lockdown.aspx. This Report details the measures taken by universities, institutes of technology, education and training boards, private higher education institutions during the initial stages of the pandemic when campuses and premises were required to close - highlighting both good practice nationally and emerging international developments.
High-level findings from the report state that:
- In the circumstances, teaching in the second semester of 2019-20 seems to have gone reasonably well in that programmes have generally not been delayed or completely derailed. Exceptions include some professional body placements, apprenticeships and research which were all adversely affected by COVID-19 disruptions.
- Tertiary education staff clearly met the challenge presented by moving online. There was considerable behind-the-scenes coherence and joined-up thinking in evidence across the tertiary system, both within and between institutions.
- Ireland performed well in comparison to other more dispersed education and training systems internationally such as the US. There was also recognition from Australia in relation to Ireland's superior level of supports and resources made available to international students during the pandemic.
- The response of tertiary education institutions to the COVID-19 crisis highlighted the complicated nature of their operating environment. Institutions used existing management and Quality Assurance infrastructure to successfully govern change management. This proved crucial to flexible and agile responses, inspiring confidence in the changes implemented.
- Many students were positive and appreciative of the efforts made by their institutions. More than half of HE students responding to a USI survey expressed satisfaction with the quality of their remote teaching and learning. The majority of FE learners also felt confident in their ability to complete assessments and felt they were fair.
- The regulatory flexibility within the tertiary system enabled people to learn, innovate, solve problems and get things done, and the strength of the sector's communities of practice helped to support standards.
- Despite many students expressing satisfaction with the COVID-19 response, a number were dissatisfied with various aspects of how things were handled. Responses from practitioners suggested that some marginalised and vulnerable groups were particularly disadvantaged by the experience of remote teaching and learning. It is important to understand what can be done to enhance the response for 20/21.
The findings of this report have been used by Further and Higher Education Institutions to inform, modify and refine their approaches to Teaching, Learning and Assessment for the current academic term. A range of further resources which have also been made available to Institutions to support these efforts including but not limited to:
- Teaching resources highlighting best practice published by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (NFETL)
- Guiding principles for alternative assessments (devised in response to the COVID-19 emergency restrictions) published by QQI.
- QQI’s Statutory Quality Assurance Guidelines for Blended Learning in an online context.
- Interim national guidelines on Academic Integrity developed by the National Academic Integrity Network (NAIN).
The alternative methods of Teaching, Learning and Assessment that have been implemented will continue to be subject to each Institution’s internal quality assurance procedures with relevant external oversight. A follow up to QQI’s wider evaluation of both these sectors will be considered in 2021 once an appropriate interval has passed.
