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EQUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION ACCESS
2009-2010
A CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE FOR THOSE WORKING IN THE AREA OF HE ACCESS
INTRODUCTION
The UCD Equality Studies Centre is delighted to offer the course Equality in Higher Education Access in the academic year 2009/2010. This is a unique course and is being offered, in collaboration with AMA, the national network for HE access officers.
The course was run for the first time in 2009 and feedback from those participating indicate that it is an excellent opportunity for HE access officers and others working in the area of HE access, to deepen their knowledge and analysis of the issues that contribute to persistent inequalities in HE access and participation and also their skills in working to address some of these issues including research, reporting, strategic planning and programme management.
Among the participants’ testimonials on the course are the following:
‘ I learnt an enormous amount during this course, from the lectures and presentations, and from working on my Case Study. The group discussions were very stimulating – I felt that we were on the cutting edge of current thinking on many issues. I now feel much more confident about various areas of policy and practice, and I know that my own practice has become more professional. I’d strongly recommend the course to anyone working in the area of access to higher education, or related spheres’. (Access Office, IT Tallaght)
"I found the course to be insightful, thought provoking and inspiring. It made me recognise the reasons why we do the work we do and the value in it for those most affected by the systems we work within and what we can do to bring about change!" (Access Office, NUIM)
THE COURSE
Equality in Higher Education Access is a 10 credit module at level 9 of the NQF.
• It will be delivered in UCD as 3x 2-day blocks and 1x 5 day Summer School over the period December 2009 – June 2010. It will consist of 30 hours contact teaching time + a mix of action-based activities including: case study reviews, group projects and discussion groups.
• Course content will consist of 5 key areas:
(i) Context setting (access support as part of wider Education context, background, focus and development, models of practice – research and Literature
(ii) Equality Framework as a tool to explore barriers to access
(iii) Diversity / Inequality: focus on socio-economic disadvantage & also ethnic background, disability and other issues
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Outreach Programme
The Equality Studies Centre Outreach Programme
The Equality Studies Centre Outreach Programme has been offering a range of courses and supports to community groups, local development and statutory groups since 1994. Courses and supports provided include the following:
Certificate in Equality Studies
The Outreach Programme has collaborated widely in the design and delivery of Certificate courses in Equality Studies with a range of community. local development and statutory partners including those working with older people (Age and Opportunity and HSE), people with disabilities (Out and About in Armagh, National Development & Training Institute), community activists with no formal educational qualifications (Southside, Finglas Cabra & Tallaght Local Area Partnerships & community groups including KLEAR in Killbarack), Traveller community (Pavee Point and Southside Development Group). The Certificate is now recognised as a Level 7 qualification in the National Framework of Qualifications and is eligible for acceptance as Accredited Prior Learning by UCD and other third level institutions. If your organisation is interested in developing a Certificate programme with us, please contact us for further information.
Professional Development Courses
A key area of the Outreach Programme’s collaborative work is the design and delivery of a professional development course for access officers working in Higher Education institutions in Ireland. This course has been designed with AMA the network of HE access officers with support from HEA. It was delivered for the first time in 2008/09 specifically for AMA members but subsequent courses are also being made available to others working in the area of educational disadvantage and access to higher education (for details see link). The course leads to a Certificate in Professional Education (CPE) at Level 9 of the National Framework of Qualifications. The Centre has also developed a Level 8 CPE that can be flexibly adapted to a number of different equality-related areas. If your organisation is interested in developing a CPE programme with us, please contact us for further information.
Short Equality Courses and workshops
Other collaborative work includes participation in Combat Poverty Community Networking seminars, citizenship education training and reviews with the Department of Education & Science's Curriculum Development Unit, equality training for Co. Wicklow VEC management, strategic planning support with St. Michael’s Estate Regeneration Board and development of a literacy and equality pack as part of a North/South partnership project in co-operation with Queen's University Belfast, Waterford Institute of Technology and NALA, the National Adult Literacy Association ( go to www.leis.ac.uk for further details). If your organisation is interested in short Equality courses and workshops, please contact us for further information.
Further information
To receive further information on any aspect of the Equality Studies Outreach Programme, please contact:
Dr Phyllis Murphy
Outreach Co-ordinator
UCD Equality Studies Centre
University College Dublin
Belfield
Dublin 4
Phone: + 353 1 716 7683
E-mail: phyllis.murphy@ucd.ie