1. 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

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

3. Referencing the EQF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Country A EQF Country B Qualifications (B) Qualifications (A) 10

4. Referencing the EQF EQF LevelsIrish NFQ Levels 11 2 23 34 45 56 67 8 79 810 2 nd Level Bachelor Masters PhD Short Cycle within the First Cycle First Cycle Second Cycle Third Cycle BolognaIrish Qualifications HC, Minor, SPA

5.  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

6. 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

7. 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.

10. 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