Quality Assurance

The IfE has a structured Quality Management System, which makes an effective contribution to the attainment of the strategic plan and supports the academic planning process. The system fulfils the requirements of the National Quality Assurance Framework for Further and Higher Education and aims to produce the best possible course participant experience.

The IfE understands that it is crucial to keep abreast of external developments and best practices in further and higher education. The IfE is committed to being a self-critical higher education institution that evaluates and enhances its quality assurance procedures to promote that culture. The maintenance and enhancement of the academic standards of the IfE depend primarily on the commitment of all staff, course participants and involvement of external stakeholders to constantly evaluate and reflect on the quality of the educational experiences provided to the course participants.

The main principles underpinning the IfE’s Policy for Quality Assurance and Enhancement are:

QA and enhancement are best achieved through the fostering of an ethos of critical self-reflection in partnership with course participants;
Employees, service providers and lecturers of the IfE should have responsibility for enhancing the quality of the learning experience of their students, whilst acknowledging the role that course participants have in transforming the learning experience of themselves and their peers;
Collegiality and rigorous, external peer reviews are a means to identify areas for improvement, to foster collaboration and the exchange of best practice;
The recurrent evaluation of its academic standards is at the heart of the IfE’s procedures;
The harmonisation of all its procedures;
Course participants and other stakeholders are key members in shaping of IfE’s policies and mechanisms in the area of quality and standards;
All policies and procedures relating to quality and standards are subject to regular review to ensure their ongoing fitness for purpose in a rapidly changing internal and external environment.

Internal Quality Assurance

External Quality Assurance