The National Council for Educational Awards is celebrating 25 years in existence. Established in 1972, the NCEA made 93 awards in its first year of operation. Three years later, the council awarded its first primary degrees and, in 1982, the first postgraduate awards at master's level were made, and the first doctorates were conferred in 1985.

It was established on a statutory basis in 1980 under the NCEA Act (1979). The Act requires that standards set in all approved courses must be analogous to the standards in comparable courses in the universities.

By the time the conferring ceremonies conclude this month the NCEA will have awarded 140,000 parchments, ranging from certificate to diplomas to degrees to postgraduate qualifications. It now has 44 associated institutions, including the regional technical colleges, Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork Institute of Technology, the Garda and military training colleges, the Institute of Public Administration and the National College of Industrial Relations.

A total of 600 courses have now been approved by the NCEA. The qualifications awarded by the NCEA are arranged in a ladder-like structure, extending from level to level and from institution to institution.

The primary responsibility of the council is to "encourage, facilitate, promote and develop higher education courses." It fulfils this role through approving and recognising courses in designated institutions, co-ordinating educational initiatives between them and by granting national awards.

Over the years, the NCEA has been intimately associated with the development of the RTCs and also with the development of the then NIHE Limerick and the NIHE Dublin, now the UL and DCU, respectively.

The NCEA has a council of 23 members, appointed by the Government. The council represents a "broad cross-section of Ireland's cultural and academic life, drawn from education, science, industry and the arts."

And, looking to the future, a major conference hosted by the NCEA began yesterday and continues today in Dublin Castle. It's entitled Quality Assurance In Higher Education: The Next 25 Years.