Second call for proposals to add additional undergraduate places on Level 8 ICT courses

Transcription

1 Second call for proposals to add additional undergraduate places on Level 8 ICT courses 10 November 2014

2 1 Background The national ICT Skills Action Plan (hereafter referred to as the Plan) which was published in March 2014 sets out twenty-two actions to establish Ireland as a global leader in availability of ICT talent. Increasing the output of high-level graduates is a key objective of the Plan, with a target to reach 74% of forecasted industry demand by An increase in the number of fulltime undergraduate places on core ICT courses at Level 8 is required in order to achieve the 74% target. In tandem with an increase in ICT course places, student interest in and demand for ICT education and training must also rise. The Plan includes actions to encourage and support the flow of people into ICT careers. A range of initiatives are now underway to encourage interest in ICT careers and take-up of education and training opportunities. CAO demand for core Level 8 ICT courses indicates an upward trend over the past four years, with 6.9% or 4,311 people choosing a computing course as their first preference in 2014, compared to 4.8% or 2,984 people in These data will be monitored closely during In preparation for 2015, work is underway to step up marketing of ICT careers and course opportunities. Marketing personnel in higher education institutions will be consulted as part of this work, with a view to co-ordinating effort and investment. First call for proposals A first Call for proposals to increase the number of core ICT places issued to publicly-funded higher education institutions in April The objective as set out in the Plan is to offer each an additional 1,250 places on core undergraduate ICT courses leading to a Level 8 award. Core ICT courses are defined as those in the areas of computer science; computer use and electronics and automation, encompassed by ISCED codes 481, 482 and 523. The Call was open to publicly funded higher education institutions. 16 publicly-funded colleges offering relevant ICT courses responded with proposals to offer additional places in Autumn Some colleges added between additional places on core courses, others added places, combining to a total of 661 places added on target ICT courses. This amounted to a shortfall of 589 in the targeted additional numbers. Information provided as part of the Call and in subsequent follow up contact with heads of computer and electronic engineering departments, as well as representatives working on the ICT skills action plan indicate three main reasons for the shortfall: The relatively late issue of the Call (April 2014) meant that there was insufficient time to plan for substantial additional numbers of students 1

3 There was a concern that a large increase in places available would not be matched by student demand, with a resultant drop in the preparedness of students entering courses There are ongoing resource challenges in the relevant ICT schools, relating to staffing, physical space and equipment, which it was not possible to resolve in the time available before Autumn Second call November 2014 A second Call for proposals on additional ICT places for entry in 2015 is now issuing to publicly-funded higher education institutions. As a means of boosting graduate numbers in 2018, colleges are asked to consider provision of three-year accelerated courses as part of 2015 entry, as well as standard four-year courses. Funding has been set aside to incentivise an additional 1,250 undergraduate places as part of Autumn 2015 entry. Funding is also set aside for up to 700 places on three-year accelerated courses. As per the first Call, additional places will be incentivised via a top-up amount of 1000 per annum, in addition to the HEA core grant payment. The top-up is sourced from the overall higher education core grant. The extra payment will be provided for each additional student for the duration of his/her course. In the case of three-year courses, 4,000 will be payable for each graduate, the payment in the final year of each additional student s studies being 2,000 rather than 1,000. Eligible higher education institutions making a proposal are requested to complete the template set out at the end of this document. A Word version of the template accompanies this document. Proposals from regional clusters of institutions are also welcome. A single proposal template is requested from each institution, or each regional cluster. Proposals must be submitted by using the template to skills@hea.ie. The deadline for proposals is 17.00hrs, Friday 09 January Information to assist higher education institutions in making proposals Courses which will be incentivised via this second Call The additional undergraduate places needed in 2015 are in core ICT courses leading to a major Level 8 award. The identified courses are in the areas of (ISCED 481) Computer 2

4 Science; (482) Computer Use and (523) Electronics and Automation. 1 Proposals for course places in the target ICT areas which have an intercultural component (e.g. languages) are particularly welcome. Higher education institutions which are eligible to receive the top-up funding As the funding to support the additional places comes from the HEA core grant, only higher education institutions in receipt of the core grant are eligible to receive the additional top-up funding. Top-up funding to be provided for additional places For each additional place that is provided on target ICT courses in 2015, higher education institutions will be allocated 1,000 as a top up to the standard allocation via the HEA core grant. This top-up amount will be payable for each year of each of the additional students course, up to a maximum of four years, subject to continued attendance on the course. Where additional students are enrolled on accelerated three-year courses, 4,000 will also be payable, with 2,000 allocated in the third year of students studies. Additional places are those which are offered in 2015 over and above the number of places which were filled in Institutions will be required to confirm details of 2013 ICT provision and the numbers of students participating in 2013 in order to validate the additional numbers proposed. Institutional capacity As part of their application proposers will be required to provide a statement on their institution s capacity (physical capacity and infrastructure, academic, technical and support staff, etc.) to support an additional intake and provide a quality teaching and learning environment to support and retain participants to course completion. Industry and enterprise supports Given the stated need to enhance collaboration and engagement between the enterprise sector and higher education providers in the design and delivery of programmes to support job creation and expansion in line with the Government s Action Plans for Jobs and the National Strategy for Higher Education, proposers are requested to provide a statement on industry/enterprise input to programme design and other supports to the provision of additional capacity. Such reciprocal industry/enterprise supports might include but are not limited to financial or in-kind contributions, technical or curricular inputs, staff secondments, donations, loan or lease of IT infrastructure or quality teaching and learning space. 1 New ISCED codes are being introduced in 2015 and will be incorporated into subsequent Calls for additional undergraduate places. For the purposes of this Call, however, the existing three ISCED codes 481, 482 and 532 are being used. 3

5 Start date of courses Higher education providers who wish to avail of incentivised funding as part of this initiative must commence approved courses no later than the end of October 2015, with the first graduates due either Summer 2018 (accelerated courses) or latest Summer Attracting and retaining students As part of the proposal, higher education institutions are asked to set out their intended student recruitment processes, including strategies to attract and retain female applicants. 2 Details of plans to attract the most appropriate and capable students and to maximise retention and graduation rates of participants are also sought. In providing this information, which will be treated confidentially, institutions should make reference to CAO demand and trends to include current year forecasts. Data requirements and evaluation Higher education institutions will be required to return data to the HEA on course activity and outcomes, and co-operate with ongoing monitoring and evaluation. Further details will be agreed as part of any subsequent contract for funding. 4 Assessment of proposals Submitted proposals will be assessed by the HEA with the support of industry experts as appropriate. Proposals must be completed using the specified template form. A single completed template which includes details of all proposed places and courses is requested from each higher education institution. Proposals cannot be considered if the core requirements are not met regarding course type, level, start date, type of higher education institution as set out in Section 3 above. The overall mix of courses by type and duration, as well as geographical spread will be taken into consideration. Subject to demand and take-up of individual course places, the HEA may decide to re-allocate unfilled places to other higher education institutions who have high demand and who have the capacity to accommodate additional numbers. It is planned that notification of approved places will be sent to higher education institutions during the week commencing 02 February Contracts will be agreed between institutions and the HEA. Submission of proposals This Call for proposals has issued on 10 November A round-table meeting on the Call will take place on Thursday 20 November at 11am in the offices of the HEA. 2 Only 14% of current participants on core ICT Level 8 courses are women 4

6 (i) (ii) (iii) Proposals must be submitted using the template developed for this Call, which is set out at the end of this document and is also available at ww.hea.ie or by from Proposals must be submitted by to Proposals submitted in any other format and/or submitted after the deadline cannot not be accepted. The closing date for submission of proposals is 17.00hrs Friday 09 January Queries on the Call process should be directed by to Subject to demand, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document will be compiled and circulated to all participating higher education institutions. Indicative timetable for the call process - TBC When What 10 November 2014 The second call for proposals issues by and on the HEA website 20 November A round-table meeting on the Call hosted by the HEA 09 January 2015 Closing date for submission of proposals 02 February Outcome of process disseminated 5

7 Second call for proposals to provide additional ICT undergraduate places in 2015 Template document Please note, this published version of the template document is for information purposes: a completed version of this form must be submitted via to skills@hea.ie in advance of the application deadline of 17.00hrs on Friday 09 January Name of higher education institution/regional cluster In the case of a regional cluster proposal list participating institutions Name of contact person (Please note a single point of contact is required for each higher education institution/cluster) Contact Contact telephone Course information (complete a copy of this table for each course for which additional places are proposed) 1 Course title 2 Course code 3 ISCED code 4 Confirmation of NFQ level, ECTS Credits and award type( major award at Level 8) 5 Is this a new or existing course? 6 Start date of course 7 Duration of the course 8 Finish date of course 9 How the course will be taught (e.g. distance, on campus, blended) 10 Participant data ( new entrants and graduates) Year/Cohort New Entrants Graduates

8 2014 ( Include additional 2014 intake in brackets, eg 40 (20) 2015 (estimated) 11 Number of additional places to be offered in 2015 (additional to 2013 intake) Additional over 2013 intake: 12 Available data on CAO demand and trends (current/future) for this course 13 Overview of institutional capacity (physical capacity and infrastructure, academic, technical and support staff, etc) 14 Participant recruitment process and details of entry requirements (qualifications and/or relevant experience) for the course 15 Initiative(s) to attract female applicants 16 Strategies to maximise retention and graduation of students 17 Industry/enterprise input to programme design and support for additional capacity 18 Opportunities for employment for graduates of this course 19 Process for monitoring outputs and outcomes from the course Ends 7