Europass Diploma Supplements at IT Sligo Bologna Workshop on the Diploma Supplement, May 4 th 2011 Dr Brendan McCormack Registrar Institute of Technology, Sligo Ireland Member Bologna ‘Expert Group’ Higher Education Authority Ireland

Overview  The EQF  Europass Diploma Supplement  ECTS Accessible, student-centred and transparent lifelong learning EQF ECTS EDS

Referencing the EQF Country A EQF Country B Qualifications (B) Qualifications (A) 10

Referencing the EQF EQF LevelsIrish NFQ Levels nd Level Bachelor Masters PhD Short Cycle within the First Cycle First Cycle Second Cycle Third Cycle BolognaIrish Qualifications HC, Minor, SPA

 A (supplementary) document that explains the qualification - which otherwise may be understood only within the awarding country What is a Europass Diploma Supplement (EDS)?  Provides all the information necessary to make a valid assessment of any degree or qualification  Issued to every student, upon graduation, together with their official award parchment, free of charge, in a widely spoken European language

What’s in the EDS for students?  A summary of their learning - which is more readable and easily comparable abroad  A precise description of their academic career  A concise statement of the competencies acquired during the study period  An easier access to opportunities of employability or further studies abroad

What’s in the EDS for Employers/Educators?  EU-wide official and consistent statement of the award  Transparency & comparability of qualifications e.g. graduate education profile work placement other learning activities  Clarity on learning outcomes and learning Levels  Promotes informed judgements about qualifications that can be understood in other educational/ employment contexts.

Feedback from EDS Label submission, January 2010  Wording of the preamble altered (last 2 sentences)  Section 2.2 not completed  Section 4.2 has no details and relies on the reader searching the web site  Section 5.1 not completed and does not state N/A  In Section 4.3 the courses are listed against stage. These do not correspond to the levels used in the NFQ