Private colleges respond on the bonding issue

Independent, privately-run colleges are proving to be serious players in third-level education. A total of 65 courses validated by the National Council for Education Awards (NCEA) are now available in the private third-level college sector. Since August last year 15 new courses have been added to the existing 50.

Designation status awarded by the NCEA is the official imprimatur, a guarantee that a college has met certain standards and requirements set by the State-established council. It's a safeguard in which school-leavers and guidance counsellors, in particular, have faith.

Last year the issue of bonding was top of the agenda for independent private colleges. The collapse of the Advanced Technology College in Merrion Square, Dublin, highlighted the need for financial and academic bonding and for tighter regulation. This year the bonding situation is in a much healthier state. Both academic and financial bonding is in place in Portobello College, Dublin. This means that in the unlikely event of collapse, students will be able to continue their studies in the college until they graduate.

Financial bonding is in place in seven other independent colleges in Dublin, Cork and Limerick, which are members of the Higher Education Colleges Association (HECA), a representative body established in 1992. These are the Dublin Business School, Griffith College (Dublin), HSI College (Limerick), LSB College (Dublin), Mid West Business Institute (Limerick), Skerry's Business College (Cork) and St Nicholas Montessori College (Dublin).

Michael McNamara, director of HSI College and chairman of the Higher Education Colleges Association, says that the association represents "the serious players in third-level education". Members must have NCEA approval and financial bonding. "We are all bonded," he says. "It's a protection."

On academic bonding, McNamara explains that "as far as possible within HECA, we would arrange for the transfer of students to a member institution". However, for courses not available in other member institutions, he says, colleges would have their own arrangements in place. He advises students who visit a college to satisfy themselves about this. They should ask to see the bonding arrangements, he says. The seven HECA members would welcome this practice.

The seven colleges, between them, serve some 5,000 full-time and part-time students at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Many are taking degree, diploma or certificate courses validated by the NCEA. This year, for example, LSB College has two master's courses on offer - a master of arts in addiction studies and a master of arts in anthropology. Griffith College has a new M Sc in computing, encompassing a graduate diploma in computers which was previously validated and approved by the NCEA.

"We are all very mature colleges," says McNamara. "We are in for the long haul. As in any business there are casualties."

HECA's function is primarily to represent the agreed common position of its members on matters of concern both to them and their students. It makes submissions to the Minister for Education and Science, TEASTAS and the NCEA.

For example, HECA is active in areas such as lobbying on Government policy on the funding of third-level students, the ongoing initiative to provide additional college places to meet the projected "skills gap" in the foreign language and information technology sectors and consumer protection.

"The biggest problem is that we still have not got proper licensing," says McNamara. "Anyone can put a sign up. We've gone to the Minister and asked for licensing laws so that we don't have some fly-by-night opening up a college."

As well as NCEA designation, many colleges prepare students for exams of professional bodies such as accountancy, banking or marketing institutions. Others have courses accredited by institutions in Britain or elsewhere.

For example, Dublin Business School is an accredited institution of Liverpool John Moores University with undergraduate degrees in accounting and finance, marketing, business studies, business management, management and information systems and marketing and tourism. The college also has seven other courses validated by the NCEA. "The courses we are designing are focussed on the needs of employers," says Gerry Muldowney, director of the school.