Hibernia College

Hibernia College is an international provider of online programmes at undergraduate and graduate level. It is based in Dublin, Ireland and accredited by the Irish Government's qualifications awarding body for third-level educational and training institutions outside the (public) university sector, HETAC, (the Higher Education and Training Awards Council).

Hibernia College provides all of its courses with a substantial online component, using state of the art technology for both synchronous and asynchronous course delivery. Hibernia College offers a blended learning format that combines the many advantages of interactive, multimedia-rich online content with the proven qualities of face-to-face tuition through periodic on-site sessions. The college has designed, developed and implemented a system, which it claims is "at the leading edge of international educational delivery". This technology infrastructure allows for increased student-tutor contact and encourages and supports self-directed learning in a way that is not possible using conventional modes of delivery.

Its web site is at http://www.hiberniacollege.net

Programmes include:

• Higher Diploma in Primary Education
• MSc in Pharmaceutical Medicine
• MA in Public Administration
• MA in Hospitality Management
• Law Society Entrance
• 12 Week Executive Programmes
• iTeach, online initial teacher

Partnerships and Collaborations

(sourced from http://www.hiberniacollege.net/Home/About/Overview/tabid/116/Default.aspx)

Through strategic collaborations and partnerships with global leaders in technology development and curriculum design Hibernia College has placed itself at the forefront of innovative online education for those wishing to pursue formal qualifications while continuing to work.

In addition Hibernia College has collaborated with Pfizer Inc., Canterbury Christ Church University, UK and the National University of Ireland, Maynooth to offer accredited online postgraduate courses in pharmaceutical medicine, post-primary teacher education and hospitality management respectively.

Hibernia College also is one of the founding members of the Global Learning Consortium at MIT. The Global Learning Consortium invited a select number of countries to participate in the international development of e-learning opportunities. Hibernia College was selected as the sole representative from Ireland because of its leadership role in this arena. Membership of this consortium affords Hibernia College an exclusive relationship with some of the world's leading e-learning think tanks including Professor Dick Larson at MIT.

Reports and case studies

The present Provide a general description of the institution in its current state, putting the e-learning into context.

Hibernia College is a fully online accredited private Higher Education institution in Ireland that was set up in 2000 as the first such venture of its kind in the country. It began taking in students in 2002. It describes itself as being “...an international, third-level, online College offering accredited, niche-focused educational programmes designed to address the growing demand for flexible, cost-effective, lifelong learning that is not restricted by location or time.” Hibernia’s programme offers are organised in two distinct schools, The School of Education and The School of Management. Students enrol at certain set times and then move through the course as a separate and unique cadre of learners defined by the time when they began the specific course. Hibernia College is currently expanding its course offer and for the moment offers the following: (* indicates there is a full description of each course available which includes the modules each contains, the course structure and work-load , the price for each and the next date for inscription is given online, links are given for each on the Hibernia College web site) The School of Management • Master of Science (MSc) in Financial Management and Control – Online* http://www.hiberniacollege.net/SchoolofManagement/MScFinancialManagementControl/tabid/187/Default.aspx • Master of Science (MSc) in Pharmaceutical Medicine – Online* http://www.hiberniacollege.net/SchoolofManagement/MScPharmaceuticalMedicine/tabid/85/Default.aspx The School of Education • Higher Diploma in Arts in Primary Education (HDAP) * http://www.hiberniacollege.net/SchoolofEducation/HDAPE/tabid/63/Default.aspx • Online Teacher Education for Teachers of Maths, Physics & Chemistry at Second Level (iTEACH) – online curse offered in collaboration between Hibernia and Canterbury Christ Church University in the UK * http://www.hiberniacollege.net/SchoolofEducation/iTeach/tabid/133/Default.aspx • Summer Courses – a series of summer courses for primary school teachers, in 2008 19 of these were offered http://www.hiberniacollege.net/SchoolofEducation/SummerCourses/tabid/158/Default.aspx

What is the institution's annual budget?

The annual turnover of Hibernia College is approximately €5.5 to €6 million for 2008.

How many students does the institution have in total

At the moment, Hibernia College has about 1500 students registered on the MSc, iTeach and HDAP programmes. The numbers of people taking these courses continues to grow and in addition, Hibernia College is launching a new course in February 2009, the MSc in Financial Management & Control – Online. It is difficult to classify these students as either full or part-time. These courses represent about 20 hrs study on the part of each student each week and in very many cases, they are taken by the student in addition to full time employment. Numbers for the summer courses are not included as these are by their nature short courses each of which represent about 20 hours of study. In 2008, about 4500 people – all in Ireland - took one or more of these summer courses.

How many staff does the institution have as full-time equivalents?

The total number of full time staff of Hibernia College is 60. They are located on two sites, the head office located in central Dublin and a second site in Westport, Co. Mayo. In addition to the full time staff, Hibernia also employs approximately 300 academic staff on a part-time basis. Academic staff are managed through the College’s two schools and are responsible for the creation and delivery of the various programmes offered by Hibernia College. All courses have a full time director, called the progamme director who is responsible for the overall planning and management of the course.

What is the institution's "business model"?

The business model adopted by Hibernia is a self-sustaining one, i.e. all costs associated with running the programmes offered are met through revenues from course fees. Hibernia College receives no outside funding from government and is run as a private educational institution. It is established as a limited company under Irish law with a Board of Directors and publically filed annual accounts. What percentage of the institution's students are based outside the home country?

This depends largely on the programme. For the HDAP programme, practically all students are based in Ireland and those taking part in the summer courses are exclusively Irish. The iTEACH course is different with about 300 students based in the UK. For the MSc in Pharmaceutical Medicine, the majority of students are based in Ireland although there some non-Irish scattered in 24 different countries. Bursaries are available for some students in some of the courses. For example, the iTEACH programme is funded by the UK Government’s Training and Development (TDA) Agency and so participants on the course are fully funded by the TDA. Teachers taking the summer courses are also entitled to extra personal vacation days from the Dept. of Education in lieu of their participation. Describe the institution's approach to virtual mobility. Hibernia College takes a blended learning approach, their educational programmes for example mix face-to-face teaching practice with online study within a specified and explicit framework of study. The idea of virtual mobility is core to their ethos and practice and so they can be described as having a fully supportive approach to virtual mobility.

Describe how the institution manages its "brand" (a) in general and (b) in respect of any e-learning aspects

Hibernia promotes its online image as a key factor in its branding and is busy carving out a unique niche for itself in Ireland based on the online aspect. As well as this emphasis upon eLearning or online learning in their description of who they are, they also place a great deal of emphasis upon their ties with relevant bodies and their accredited status. Each of their courses is linked to significant and relevant institutions, as follows; - MSc in Pharmaceutical Medicine: accredited by both HETAC (Higher Education Training and Awards Council) and IFAPP (Council for Education in Pharmaceutical Medicine of the International Federation of Associations of Pharmaceutical Physicians. - MSc in Financial Management and Control – this new programme is accredited by both HETAC and CIMA, the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. In addition the programme offers credits towards CII (Chartered Insurance Institute) qualifications. - iTEACH: recognised and funded by UK Government’s Training and Development (TDA) Agency - Higher Diploma in Arts in Primary Education accredited by HETAC and recognised by the Dept of Education in Ireland.

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