+Web world is taking transparency to a higher level

For students, parents, teachers and the person in the street, the recent changes in further and higher education structures are…

For students, parents, teachers and the person in the street, the recent changes in further and higher education structures are somewhat bewildering.

Fresh acronyms, such as HETAC and FETAC, are being bandied about.

The good news is that third-level education is well catered for on the web.

All of the colleges now have their own websites, and the Department of Education and Science and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) have substantial web presences. So, it's possible to bring yourself up to date on the recent changes by spending a little time surfing the net.

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Unfortunately, most of these sites fall into the worthy but dull category.

The Department of Education's site (www.irlgov.ie/educ/) is a case in point. It holds a huge amount of useful information, from legislation to circulars to information on maintenance grants.

Emanating from a conservative department, which still likes to work shrouded in as much secrecy as possible, the site will not bring you up to date on anything other than documents firmly in the public domain.

So, click on to the Commission on the Points System. There are the four research papers, background documentation and the composition of the committee. But, there isn't a syllable or hint of a link to the implementation (or not) of these recommendations.

However, to console yourself, you can click on to the biography of the Minister Dr Michael Woods, who was born in Bray, Co Wicklow, and now lives in 12 Kilbarrack Grove, Dublin 5. Married to Margaret Maher, he has three sons, two daughters and a string of educational qualifications (BagrSc, MagrSc, PhD, DSc from UCD) as well as a diploma from the IPA and Harvard Business School. Elected to Dβil E∅reann in 1977, he has held an astonishingly wide variety of portfolios, from health to social welfare to agriculture and food to the marine.

Prior to that, he was head of department and principal officer with the Agriculture Research Institute and from 1958 to 1959, a lecturer in Multyfarnham College of Agriculture.

Enough, I hear you cry. Onwards to the website of the powerful (and becoming more so) Higher Education Authority (www.hea.ie). As a long-time admirer of the statistical reports produced by the HEA each year, detailing how graduates of the previous year, fared. I found it great to be able to look at the archive of these reports online. For this section alone, jammed with information, this is a truly excellent website.

A new annual statistical venture is underway, on the recommendation of the Higher Education Statistical Review Group, which was established to review the statistical output from the higher-education sector. This new report is to contain detailed information on student intake into the first year of programmes in third-level institutions, as well as output/graduation from institutions in the preceding year.

This means that the vexed question of attrition or drop-out will become transparent. One of the aims is to give the information to the Expert Group on Future Skill Needs, so they can accurately monitor the needs of the economy. It should also be of intense interest to second-level students and their guidance counsellors as it will allow them to see how various courses are performing in the matter of drop-out.

A census date of October 31st has been for the collection of data and output data will be collected on the basis of graduates who successfully completed courses for an award in the academic year 2000/20001. All data is to be with the HEA by November 30th.

The website includes a historical overview, legislative framework, and a general description of the structure of higher education in the Republic, as well as information on fees, financial aid, certification and recognition of qualifications. Again, like the Department of Education's website, a conservative approach is adopted. This is hardly surprising as the HEA is also sparing with information, unless it has been previously published.

The two new bodies in higher and further education, HETAC (Higher Education and Training Awards Council) and FETAC (Further Education and Training Awards Council) can also be found on the web (www.hetac.ie, www.fetac.ie).

HETAC is the awarding body for third-level education and training outside the university sector. It replaces the National Council for Educational Awards.

We are promised that "in accordance with HETAC's policy of best public practice as regards openness, transparency and accountability, this website will contain the text of reports and recommendation on HETAC's main activities e.g. validation of programmes, quality assurance procedures, and delegation of authority to make awards." It remains to be seen, as both councils were set up on June 11th, 2001.

The FETAC website is also in the embryonic stage. FETAC "guarantees the value and currency of all certificates previously issued by NCVA, F┴S, CERT, Teagasc and BIM." This is a wide remit. The chief executive is Stan McHugh, previously of the NCVA.

After all that, it's more fun to look at the reality of third-level student life, as seen through the website of a college such as UCD. Check out the grinning faces of students during fresher's week as well as taking a peek through the live webcam.