Programme Approval and Review

The Protocol for Dublin City University (DCU) Accredited Programme Titles establishes a standardised framework for the designation and naming of awards for all credit-bearing programmes across the institution. It serves as the definitive reference for staff involved in programme design, quality assurance, and academic governance, ensuring that all programme titles remain compliant with both internal standards and national regulatory frameworks.   

As a Designated Awarding Body (DAB), DCU is responsible for the accreditation of its own programmes and awards, which are, in turn, fully aligned with the National Framework for Qualifications.  DCU is required to protect the integrity of its awards while also ensuring their immediate and continued relevance and currency to a wide range of stakeholders. Parchments are legal documents that are presented to students at their graduation ceremony and indicate the award being conferred on the student. The title included on the parchment is the accredited programme title. Accordingly, the determination of accredited programme titles is governed by a core set of principles. 

• Accuracy: The title must be a faithful reflection of the programme's curriculum. A specific designator should only be used if a significant majority of the credits are earned within that discipline.
• Award Title Integrity: The use of award titles (e.g., BSc vs. BA) must be consistent with the approved Award Titles as per Marks and Standards, Item 1.2. 
• Clarity: Titles should be clear, concise, and free from unnecessary jargon or internal institutional terminology. The use of complex punctuation or overly long strings of descriptors must also be avoided.
• Consistency and Equivalence: Similar programmes across different faculties must follow the same naming convention. 

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    Designated Awarding Body (DAB): as a designated awarding body, DCU has  statutory degree-awarding powers. This designation respects the autonomy of the university and its self-accrediting status. 

The purpose of this Protocol is to establish a unified framework for the nomenclature of the University’s accredited programme titles. By standardising the naming conventions for the titles that are presented on parchments, the University will ensure institutional consistency, protect the integrity of its qualifications, and maintain the relevance and currency of DCU awards for students, graduates, employers, and professional, statutory, and regulatory bodies.  This Protocol is to be read in conjunction with DCU’s Marks and Standards.

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    Marks & Standards 

The provisions of this Protocol apply to all credit-bearing programmes that lead to an award granted by the University. Specifically, the scope includes: 

• Undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes

• Postgraduate research programmes 

The Protocol applies to all programmes accredited by the University, including programmes delivered as part of a collaborative provision arrangement with a partner institution, where DCU is the primary awarding body.  In the case of collaborative provision arrangements for a programme leading to a Joint Award, the accredited programme title will be set out in the underpinning consortium agreement and approved as part of the accreditation of the programme. 

The Protocol applies to programmes, accredited pathways and exit awards from the date of its approval by University Standard Committee. The Protocol will not be applied retrospectively.  However, where an amendment to the title of an existing programme, exit award or accredited pathway is approved, this Protocol will apply. 

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    Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs: Collaborative Provision

Postholders and units to which relevant functions attach are responsible for ensuring that this Protocol is applied and programme titles are accurately reflected in all relevant University systems and documentation. Accountability for the systematic application of this Protocol is distributed across a number of academic governance bodies / committees and units.

5.1     The Programme Development Team proposes the title for a new programme, which will be evaluated in accordance with the University’s programme approval process.   

5.2       The Programme Board can propose a change to the accredited programme title or the title of an accredited pathway of an existing programme. This change can be proposed as part of the Annual Programme Review (APR) or Periodic Programme Review (PPR) processes or as part of significant amendments to the programme or curriculum structure (RAO). 

5.3    The Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee (FTLC) is responsible for the initial approval of programme titles and the titles of accredited pathways for new programmes and changes to the accredited programme title and titles of accredited pathways of existing programmes.

5.4        FTLC also has devolved authority to approve changes to the award titles and the titles of accredited pathways proposed as part of the APR or PPR processes and must report these changes to Education Committee on an annual basis. 

5.5    Education Committee is responsible for reviewing the programme titles and the titles of accredited pathways new programmes as part of the validation process. It is also responsible for approving changes to accredited programme titles and the titles of accredited pathways arising as part of a revised academic offering. Education Committee has oversight of changes to the accredited programme titles and the titles of accredited pathways of existing programmes approved at the faculty level. 

5.6    Academic Council approves the accreditation of new programmes, which includes the accredited programme title that is presented on parchments. 

5.7       Academic governance bodies / committees and units to which relevant functions attach must ensure that the accredited programme title is accurately reflected on all relevant systems and or documentation.

1. ^Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Periodic Programme Review
2.  Office of the Vice-President for Academic Affairs; Programme Approval
3. Note that in some faculties the functions carried out by the Programme Board are discharged through the School Teaching Meeting (STM).

The University adheres strictly to standard nomenclature and abbreviations for its accredited programme titles, exit awards and accredited pathway titles.

6.1          Only the agreed award titles as per Section 1.2 of Marks and Standards can be included in the accredited programme title. Any deviation from the approved award titles is not permitted.

6.2           The discipline area should normally be indicated alongside the award title. However, in certain specific instances, only the award title is required, e.g., Professional Master of Education, Master of Business Administration. Using an abbreviation for the discipline area is not permitted.

6.3          The accredited programme title as presented in the parchment can only include the award title and the discipline area. Any further information below the level of the award and discipline area should not be included, e.g., accredited pathways. 

6.4           The University recognises that, in specific limited circumstances, it may be necessary to include information below the level of the award and discipline area in the accredited programme title due to professional accreditation and/or professional registration requirements. Such proposals will be considered on a case-by-case basis as part of the approval process for new programmes or the revised academic offering process for existing programmes. These proposals must be approved by Education Committee and cannot be approved via devolved Faculty decisions. 

6.5       Information below the level of the award and discipline area, e.g. accredited pathways,  may be presented in the transcript and diploma supplement. 

6.6            The inclusion of “international” in the accredited programme title may be considered for approval if the curriculum includes a minimum of 60 ECTS Credits completed at a partner institution abroad. 

6.7       The inclusion of “INTRA” or synonymous terminology within an accredited programme title to denote a work placement component in the curriculum is not permitted. 

All accredited programme titles must be constructed using standardised syntactic rules to ensure consistency in the articulation of the University’s awards on parchments, transcripts and diploma supplements. 

7.1         The accredited programme title should include the award title and discipline area in accordance with Section 5 above in the following format: 

(Award Title) in (Discipline Area)

7.2         The use of parentheses in the accredited programme title is not normally permitted, except in one specific instance (see 7.3 below). However, the use of parentheses to indicate the accredited pathway in the accredited programme title will only be considered in specific limited circumstances, and where approved per section 6.4 above i.e., to fulfil professional accreditation and/or professional body registration requirements.

7.3         All programmes leading to the award of Honours Bachelor Degree must include “Hons” in parentheses in the accredited programme title, e.g. “Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in…”.   

7.4         The accredited programme title must be written using title case with no exceptions, e.g. “Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Applied Language and Translation Studies.

7.5         The use of an ampersand (“&”) instead of “and” or “agus” is not permitted.

7.6         The Accredited Programme Title is presented in the parchment, the transcript and the diploma supplement. 

7.7         The title of an Accredited Pathway is not presented in the parchment but it may be presented in the transcript and diploma supplement.

Accredited Pathways are normally approved as part of the initial accreditation of a new programme but may also be approved for existing programmes through the revised academic offering mechanism. The associated accredited pathway title is approved at this stage and indicates a specialised discipline area, e.g. MSc in Management (Operations and Supply Chain).

University parchments include the accredited programme title Irish and English. Where the accredited programme title is not presented in Irish, the faculty will liaise with Curriculum Management Services (CMS) in relation to the provision of the certified Irish-language title. 

Exit award titles and associated qualification and accredited programme titles are normally approved as part of the initial accreditation of a new programme but may also be approved for existing programmes through the revised academic offering mechanism. The provisions in Sections 6, 7, 8, and 9 above relating to accredited programme titles apply equally to exit awards. 

Exit awards normally include the same discipline area as the principal award. For regulated professions, it may be necessary to incorporate distinct discipline areas to differentiate principal awards from exit awards. This ensures that both graduates and employers clearly understand the specific professional entitlements associated with each qualification. 

To ensure compliance with this Protocol, all new programme titles, and amendments to existing accredited programme titles must follow the appropriate approval process. The following applies equally to award titles and titles of accredited pathways.

11.1         Approval of Accredited Programme Title of New Programme

The proposed award title of a new programme is initially approved by the relevant Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee and Education Committee as part of the validation process  and subsequently approved by Education Committee. It is further considered by a panel of experts as part of the accreditation process. 

Academic Council approves the award title of a new programme as part of the accreditation process. The title included in the Accreditation Report submitted to Academic Council is the accredited programme title and it will be presented on the parchment.

11.2       Amendments to Accredited Programme Title of Existing Programme

While seeking to maintain the data integrity and continuity of the programme title, the Programme Board may propose a change to the accredited programme title of an existing programme in three instances: 

• In response to a recommendation/condition of the Accreditation Board.

• Proposal to update the title as a result of the annual or periodic review of the programme. Such proposals can be approved by the relevant Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee and must be reported to Education Committee. 

   

• Proposal to change the title as part of a significant restructuring of the programme. Such proposals must be approved by Education Committee through the revised academic offering mechanism. 

11.3       Approval of Accredited Pathway Titles

The approval of accredited pathway titles for new programmes or the addition of new pathways or amendment to existing pathways on an accredited programme are subject to the processes in Sections 11.1 and 11.2 above, respectively. 

Amendments to the accredited programme title or accredited pathways of an existing programme normally only apply to new cohorts as current students have a right to receive the award in place at the time of their first enrolment on the programme. However, there are circumstances, typically associated with external professional body requirements, which will necessitate changing the accredited programme title of an existing programme with immediate effect due to professional accreditation and/or registration requirements. 

Students must be communicated with in a timely fashion in such circumstances.

The Accredited Programme Title should be used in publications and for advertising purposes except in the case where there are common entry or designated entry routes, e.g. Bachelor of Education - Gaeltacht Applicants Pathway; Common Entry into Actuarial and Financial Mathematics; Common Entry into Engineering (Undenominated Entry). Where the Award Title is not presented in certain publications (e.g. CAO), the discipline as per the accredited programme title should be used, e.g. DC155 Applied Language and Translation Studies.

Where the Accredited Programme Title must be abbreviated to facilitate internal system requirements, guidelines regarding appropriate abbreviations must be followed.

This Protocol should be read in conjunction with the following documents:

The Protocol for Dublin City University Accredited Programme Titles will be reviewed as and when changes are required.