Higher Education and Training Awards Council, Ireland

HETAC is a public body, accountable to the Irish Government and the Oireachtas (Irish Houses of Parliament), which exists to benefit learners and potential learners.

HETAC was established under The Qualifications (Education and Training) Act of Ireland.

HETAC is the qualifications body for the majority of third-level educational and training institutions in the Republic of Ireland, including the Institutes of Technology.

HETAC awards qualifications at all levels of higher education and training up to and including PhD. Level.

HETAC’s main functions include:

• Setting standards for higher education and training awards
• Validation of higher education and training programmes
• Monitoring of institutional quality assurance procedures
• Delegation of awarding powers to recognised institutions
• Ensuring that student assessment procedures are fair and consistent
• Ensuring that arrangements are in place in commercial education and training institutions to protect learners.

International Recognition

All HETAC qualifications are recognised internationally. Graduates will receive a copy of their Diploma Supplement along with their parchment, which will make the process of award identification outside of Ireland even easier. It is designed to provide a description of the nature, level, context, content and status that were pursued and successfully completed by the student named on the parchment associated with the Diploma Supplement.

All accredited institutions must agree their Quality Assurance with HETAC under the Guidelines and Criteria for Quality Assurance Procedures in Higher Education and Training (2002).

 

Edxecel is the largest educational validating body in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for qualifications ranging from A Levels through to Foundation Degrees, including NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) HNCs (Higher National Certificates), HNDs (Higher National Diplomas) and Foundation Degrees.

International Recognition

Edexcels qualifications are recognised internationally and credits can be transferred to all deliverers in over 30 countries world-wide. The Edexcel HNDs are recognised by the National Framework of Qualifications of Ireland at Level 6/7.

Student Resources

Edexcel is part of the Pearson Education Group, which includes Prentice Hall Publishing, one of the largest publishers of Business, Accounting, Finance and Management texts.

The majority of Prentice Hall texts have dedicated student web-sites and includes extra material for the student to use. In some cases, notes and lectures can be downloaded onto MP3 players, allowing the student to revise a particular lecture/area of study more easily.