As the national funding and steering agency for Higher Education, the HEA has and will continue to undertake specific theme based reviews in higher education, with a purpose to improving overall quality of learning outcomes, improved efficiency of delivery, better international standing, or other objectives.
Such reviews are an important tool in delivering system level improvements that might not be undertaken by individual institutions acting in isolation. Such reviews will mainly focus on particular disciplines or fields of study but not exclusively so.
Review of the Creative Arts in the Dublin Region
In September 2012 the Higher Education Authority (HEA) appointed an international panel to review the provision of creative arts and media programmes in the Dublin region. The overall goal of the review was to consider the potential for enhanced collaboration and synergies between further and higher education providers of creative arts and media education in the Dublin region, addressing questions of institutional autonomy, governance and validation. This review of creative arts provision takes place in the context of a broader review of higher education in Ireland in order to assist the HEA in advising the Minister for Education and Skills on the implementation of the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030. The final report was published in February 2013.
Review of Apprenticeship (Department of Education and Skills)
The HEA has also contributed to the Review of Apprenticeship provision, carried out by the Department of Education and Skills. The DES released its report of the review in December 2013.
The HEA intends to commence a background review of engineering provision over the course of 2017.