Many of the issues raised in the review of the of DIT's application for establishment as a university were highlighted two years ago by the international review team's report on the DIT's quality-assurance procedures. This review was meant to help the HEA to make a recommendation to the then Minister for Education, Niamh Bhreathnach, on the granting of degree-awarding powers to the DIT. In its report, the international review team highlights the institute's strengths. These include a growing sense of self-confidence and the establishment of both an appropriate organisational structure and arrangements for overseeing academic and strategic planning. The DIT's commitment to the promotion and preservation of its multi-level character is also praised. The report notes the institute's responsiveness to the needs of business and industry and the considerable progress it has made in the development of student-support services, including "extensive counselling and medical services".
It also praises the DIT's development of applied research and the inclusion of students as members of the academic council. However, the review team is critical of the DIT's curriculum design and course content, which "appear to be predicated on the traditional assumption that high student contact hours is a measure of a high-quality programme". Insufficient emphasis is given to the promotion of self-learning by students, the report says.
According to the review team, "the institute has at present limited capacity to develop postgraduate taught and research programmes in many areas of its work; particular constraints relate to staff expertise in research and successful research supervision."
The report is critical of the profile of staff and their qualifications in some faculties. These "militate against the development of research and postgraduate work". The fact that academic staff are required to provide 16 contact hours each week "is at significant variance with university patterns and practice". The review team recommends that staff policies and contract terms should be reviewed "in the context of promoting both research and innovation in teaching and learning". In order to improve course content and delivery, students must be involved in "quality assurance", the report notes. While some DIT facilities are excellent, the report notes, many are inadequate. Student social and recreational facilities "are virtually non-existent" and "the provision of library and information technology facilities and staff office accommodation is generally inappropriate for an institution of higher education".
Nonetheless, "the DIT has demonstrated a level of maturity which justifies a recommendation that it be granted authority to award its own degrees".
