Building sustainability through organisational arrangements
Deirdre Goggin
How can bridges be built between stakeholders from the worlds of business, volunteering and education in order for VPL results to have value?
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) has existed in Cork Institute of Technology(CIT) since 1999 as part of its central services to all learners for access, transfer and progression. The sustainability of RPL within CIT is as a result of strategic decisions made as to its importance and the multi-faceted approach which has been adopted and embedded by CIT to ensure that validation is implemented, used and valued. This presentation will outline the policy, systems and processes CIT has adopted to meet the needs of all stakeholders including learners, staff, institution and industry. It will focus on the strategy and policy of the institution which has evolved and developed through dialogue and in the establishment of the CIT Extended Campus, a central unit which facilitates CITs relationships and engagements with stakeholders. This presentation will also outline the challenges encountered and solutions which CIT enabled in response to their role in validation over the past twenty years.
About Deirdre Goggin
CountryIreland
Organisation
Cork Institute of Technology
Ms. Deirdre Goggin is currently a research fellow in the CIT Extended Campus, Cork Institute of Technology. Deirdre has an Honours Degree in Business, a HDip in Business and Financial Information systems and a Masters Degree in Validation as well as a Masters Degree in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Deirdre has been actively involved in the area of validation in higher education in a research, development and lecturing capacity since 2003. She led the research reports on RPL in Higher Education in Ireland in 2015 and on RPL in VET in Ireland in 2017 completed with her colleagues in the CIT Extended Campus. Within CIT she supports staff capacity and capability building and policy development.
Deirdre engages with industry on validation and workplace learning and in the internal infrastructures necessary to build sustainable validation systems and processes. Deirdre has pioneered the ‘learning clinic’ concept whereby the CIT engages with employers and staff on upskilling and reskilling opportunities at a time and place convenient for them. In addition to the external development work on validation, Deirdre also supports senior staff in customised course developments in collaboration with industry partners responding to current and emerging industry needs and encompassing validation.