Welcome to the Quality Assurance Section of SPPU
What is the Quality Assurance Hub?
This is a digital repository our most significant policies which govern the University. It contains useful sections on University Procedures, Protocols, Guidelines, and Handbooks that will be of particular interest to staff, students and the general public. The Hub is owned and under day-to-day responsibility with the Quality Assurance & Enhancement Officer. The purpose of the Hub is to: provide access, via a single website location, to all of the policies that relate to the administration of the academic and business affairs of the University; identify policies that have been recently updated or newly introduced within the past year; highlight policies particularly relevant to specific staff categories; offer comprehensive guidance on the drafting and approval of University policies; and facilitate the accurate classification of documents—whether policies, codes, procedures, or guidelines—using the framework outlined in the University's Policy on Policies.
“Quality, whilst not easy to define, is mainly a result of the interaction between teachers, students and the institutional learning environment. Quality assurance should ensure a learning environment in which the content of programmes, learning opportunities and facilities are fit for purpose.”
Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG, 2015)
The Framework of Quality Assurance at St Patrick's Pontifical University aligns to two sets of guidelines: Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties (AVEPRO) and Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).
It consists of the policies, procedures and people to ensure that its learning environment is fit for purpose. Its main components are described below.
SPPU Quality Assurance Framework
The St Patrick's Pontifical University Quality Policy Statement describes our approach to quality assurance at the highest level, summarising its purpose, context, governance, benefits and ownership.
The Quality Assurance Handbook is the central resource in the application of our Quality Policy. It describes in detail our QA policies and procedures including how they serve the overall approach to quality, how they relate to each other, how they relate to key stakeholders (including students, staff and external bodies) and how they are maintained and continuously improved.
The Quality Assurance Office relates to the offices of the Registrar and the President and serves to support the application of the Quality Policy and the implementation of policies & procedures described in the QA Handbook. The schedule of QA reviews, publication of associated reports and tracking of follow-up actions is maintained by the QA Office.
Quality Assurance Manager, Registrar's Office, Dunboyne House, St Patrick's College, Maynooth Co. Kildare.
