A Regional Technical College (RTC) (Irish: Coláiste Reigúnach Thae agus Brioscaí (CRTB))is a type of college in Ireland now replaced by an Institute of Technology (IT). The idea of the institutions was first announced by Patrick Hillery in 1963. A year later, a site for an institution in Carlow was identified. The Investment in Education (1962) and Training of Technicians in Ireland (1964) reports greatly accelerated the trend in Ireland for education reform and development particularly in technical education, similar to that in other Western Countries at the time. The Steering Committee on Technical Education, also called The Mulcahy Report (1967), was an important milestone in framing the institutional structures and functions. It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles accessible from a disambiguation page. ... Dr. Patrick John Hillery (born May 2, 1923) is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and the sixth President of Ireland from 1976 until 1990. ... Year 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 52. ...

Creation

The first institutions formally opened their doors in 1970, and other colleges were added during the following decade. Some colleges developed from earlier institutions and colleges, involving amalgamation, but most were completely new institutions. A Regional Technical College for Limerick was cancelled after a National Institute for Higher Education was announced for the city. Finally, in 1993, an institution was created for Limerick. Two additional institutions have been created since, bringing the total to thirteen. 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday. ... A National Institute for Higher Education (NIHE) was a category of higher education institution established in Ireland to provide higher level technical education above the standard of the then established Regional Technical College system but at university level. ...

The institutions and their year of establishment:

• First (1970) - Athlone, Carlow, Dundalk, Sligo, Waterford
• Later - Letterkenny (1971), Galway-Mayo (1972), Cork (1974), Tralee (1977)
• Recent - Tallaght (1992), Limerick (1993), Dún Laoghaire (1997), Blanchardstown (2000).

Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT Irish: Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Bhaile Átha Luain) formerly Regional Technical College, Athlone is one of the original network of Regional Technical Colleges; it was built in Athlone, Ireland. ... Institute of Technology, Carlow (ITC), originally Regional Technical College, Carlow, is one of the original Regional Technical Colleges, it is located to the south of Carlow, Ireland on Kilkenny Road, it was the first such college located and announced. ... Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) formerly Regional Technical College, Dundalk is located in Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland. ... Institute of Technology, Sligo (ITS) formerly Regional Technical College, Sligo is a higher education institution located in Sligo Town, County Sligo in Ireland. ... The crest of WIT Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) is a state funded university-level educational institution situated in Waterford, Ireland. ... Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) formerly Regional Technical College, Letterkenny is located in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland. ... Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) formerly Regional Technical College, Galway is an Institute of Technology based in Galway, Ireland with centers throughout County Galway and County Mayo. ... Cork Institute of Technology (CIT), formerly Regional Technical College, Cork, is a college located in Cork, Ireland opened in 1973. ... Institute of Technology, Tralee (ITT) is third-level educational institution located in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. ... Institute of Technology, Tallaght (ITT) formerly Regional Technical College, Tallaght, located in Tallaght, County Dublin, Ireland. ... LIT can also refer to Little Rock National Airport in Little Rock, Arkansas. ... Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) is located at Dún Laoghaire, Ireland and was created in the 1960s as an arts school of Dún Laoghaire Vocational Education Committee. ... Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown (ITB) is the most recent Institute of Technology opened in Ireland. ...

Legislation

The institutions were run under the Vocational Education Acts from 1970 until 1992 as special subcommittees of the Vocational Education Committees, and placed on an independent basis thereafter by the Regional Technical Colleges Acts in 1993. In the late 1990s, all of the institutions were upgraded to Institute of Technology status. This was in recognition of the high standards, including university level research, which takes place at them. Additionally institutions have been given delegated authority to confer their own awards in some cases up to Doctoral level^[1]. The Regional Technical Colleges Acts still apply to all the institutions, with Dublin Institute of Technology set up under previous legislation and been quite distinct. A Vocational Education Committee (VEC) are committees in the Republic of Ireland that have charge of vocational schools, certain colleges and previously had authority over the Dublin Institute of Technology and the Regional Technical Colleges until 1992. ... Representation of a university class, 1350s. ... Research is a human activity based on intellectual investigation and aimed at discovering, interpreting, and revising human knowledge on different aspects of the world. ... The Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) was established officially in 1992 under the Dublin Institute of Technology Act but had been previously set up in 1978 on an ad-hoc basis. ...

The Institutes of Technology Act 2006 will further amend the law with respect to the institutions.

Management

The individual institutions are structured similar to other universities, particularly Irish ones. Each institution has a Director, who is the chief operational officer of the institution, usually assisted by an ad-hoc senior management team; a Registrar, who is the chief academic officer of the institution; a Governing Council, which overseas operational affairs; an Academic Council, which overseas academic affairs. Each academic school has a Head of School and each academic department, of a school, has a Head of Department.

Programmes

The institutions traditional courses were National Certificate and National Diploma type courses particularly in business, engineering and science, this was very much the founding principle. During the late 1970s degrees at Bachelor's level were introduced, later Master's and Doctoral levels were also allowed. In recent years their has been a rapid expansion in apprenticeship and nursing type courses. The National Certificate (NCert) (Irish: Teastais Náisiúnta) is a two-year broadly based higher education qualification in a technology discipline offered by an Institute of Technology or a HETAC designated institution in Ireland. ... The National Diploma (NDip) (Irish: Dioplóma Náisiúnta) is a three year ab initio specialised higher education qualification in a technology discipline offered by an Institute of Technology or other HETAC designated institution in the Republic of Ireland. ... Wall Street, Manhattan is the location of the New York Stock Exchange and is often used as a symbol for the world of business. ... Engineering is the design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. ... Part of a scientific laboratory at the University of Cologne. ... A bachelors degree (Artium Baccalaureus, A.B. or B.A.) is usually an undergraduate academic degree awarded for a course or major that generally lasts for three, four, or in some cases and countries, five or six years. ... “M.S.” redirects here. ... Apprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of skilled crafts practitioners, which is still popular in some countries. ... Nursing is a profession focused on assisting individuals, families, and communities in attaining, re-attaining, and maintaining optimal health and functioning. ...

Validation

Traditionally awards were conferred by the National Council for Educational Awards, this statutory authority became the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, other awards are conferred by the Further Education and Training Awards Council. Some specialised courses, such as accountancy, are validated by professional bodies but these are nearly always the exception. The Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC) is the legal successor to the National Council for Educational Awards and awards higher education awards in Ireland in the extra-university system since 2001. ... The Further Education and Training Awards Council is the authority that grants extra-university further education awards in Ireland, these awards have not yet been finalised but are been so by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland. ... Accountancy (profession) or accounting (methodology) is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about financial information primarily used by managers, investors, tax authorities and other decision makers to make resource allocation decisions within companies, organizations, and public agencies. ... This article or section should be merged with professional association A professional body or professional organization is an organisation, usually non-profit, that exists to further a particular profession, to protect both the public interest and the interests of professionals. ...

References

See also

• Education in Ireland
• ITnet
• List of Irish third-level educational institutions

The Republic of Irelands education system is quite similar to that of most other western countries. ... ITnet (Institute of Technology Network) is an PoS based multi Mbit/s network created for the Institutes of Technology in the Republic of Ireland. ... This is a list of colleges and universities in the Republic of Ireland, some colleges are constituent colleges of universities. ...

External links

• Council of Directors of Institutes of Technology