Academic Council – Membership

 

Membership 2023/24

Chair	Dr. Lavinia McLean (TUD - External Member)
College Director	Dr. Karen Finnerty
Assistant College Director (Vice-chair)	Mr. Raymond Watson
Head of Quality and Academic Affairs	Mr. Ronnie Harrison
Programme Director – (Social Care)	Ms. Eimear Ryan
Programme Director – (Applied Management)	Mr. Brendan Collins
Programme Director – (HET/FET Short Courses)	Ms. Claire Hopkins
Student Representative	Ms. Linda Cassidy
Tutor Representative	Mr. Joe McDonald
Secretary	Ms. Louise Littlefield
External Academic Representatives:
Governance	Dr. Pat McGarty (MTU)
Higher Education	Dr. Lavinia McLean (TUD)
Further Education	Lindsay Malone (WWETB)
Quality	Ann King (SMSI)

Terms of reference:

“In foreseen circumstances when the Academic Council cannot be convened for approval of timebound matters/issues, authority be delegated in advance to the Executive on a case-by-case basis.” (Approved by AC, 24^th June 2021)

General

• Governance of all Academic Matters;
• Monitoring, review and ongoing improvement of all QA policies and procedures;
• Approve policy amendments of College pertaining to academic matters;
• Appoint, review and monitor functioning of academic subcommittees;
• Dissolution/modification of subcommittee(s) when and if required;
• Finalise and ratify decisions relating to the work of subcommittees;
• Consider appeals from any of the subcommittees, which have not been rectified at the level of that committee;
• Appoint external members and approve appointments of internal members of Boards and sub-

New Programmes

• To review and agree new programme proposals submitted by new programme development team(s);
• Review Research in support of new programmes proposed;
• Review and approve new programme submission documents prior to submission to

Assessment

• Review the application of penalties applied to assessment activities and approve policy and procedures for penalties;
• To review and decide on student appeals relating to assessment outcomes (grades/marks);
• To review and decide on student complaints relating to assessment methodology and/or implementation;
• Review the operation of Examination Boards and sign-off on minutes of same;
• Review External Examiner Reports;
• Approve appointments of External Examiners;
• Monitor the implementation of QQI guidelines, policy and regulations pertaining to the assessment of learners.

Ongoing monitoring

• To review the findings and approve of changes generated by the ongoing monitoring procedures relating to academic matters, i.e., module content, readings, workshops, and assessment;
• To make final decisions on matters referred to Council by Programme Board(s);
• Review the operation of Programme Boards and sign-off on minutes of same;
• Approval of QA reports prior to publication;
• Approval & review of mechanisms for stakeholder

Periodic Evaluation

• To monitor the recommendations and implementation of improvements made by all review processes relating to programmes and academic functioning of the College including (but not limited to):
  • Re-validation (Programme Review)
  • Institutional Review
  • Strategic Review
• Ongoing review and enhancement of the procedures for periodic

Membership of the Academic Council:

 

Title	No	How appointed	Term	Notes
Chair	1 of 5	Rotated amongst the External Members and the Head of Quality & Academic Affairs	Ongoing	External Members will usually step down following 3 years on the Academic Council but may be asked to extend for a year. The Head of Quality & Academic Affairs is Ex- officio.
College Director	1	Ex-officio	Ongoing
Assistant College Director (Vice chairperson)	1	Ex-officio	Ongoing
Programme Directors	4	Ex-officio	Ongoing	Any new future PD posts will also sit on Council
Head of Quality & Academic Affairs	1	Ex-officio	Ongoing
Tutor Representative	1	Elected by fellow tutors	2 years
Student Representative	1	Elected by student body	2 years
External Academics: ·      Governance Profile ·      QA profile ·      HE profile ·      FE profile	4	By nomination and approval of AC	3 years	In exceptional circumstances external board members may be invited to extend their term
Secretary	1	Ex-officio	Ongoing	In attendance Non-voting

Table 1: Membership of Academic Council

Note: Student feedback will be facilitated at Programme Boards and brought to Academic Council by Programme Directors and the Head of Quality & Academic Affairs.

Chairing of meetings: Each Chairperson will hold the seat for a six-month period which will include overseeing two corporeal meetings of the Academic Council. The Chair will rotate amongst the External Members and the Head of Quality & Academic Affairs.

Frequency of meetings: 3 times per year – November, February, June (A minimum of one meeting per year is compulsory for all members). Incorporeal meetings are convened on occasion for specific matters requiring overview/ratification prior to the next meeting.

Quorum for meetings: 7 representatives; must include a minimum of two external members.

Decision-making: By vote. Each member will have an equal vote. Chair will have casting vote.

Breath of responsibility: Accredited programmes run by College.

Meetings’ agenda: Prepared and circulated in advance by Chair or officer on behalf of the Chair.

Meetings’ minutes: The recording secretary will attend and produce minutes within 3 weeks of meeting. Minutes will be stored electronically on the College’s shared folder. Items of a confidential nature (e.g., specific student matters) may be recorded separately and stored securely.