AIT is proud of the fact that its academic standards are independently and internationally recognised as being of the highest quality. As a result, the institute is empowered by HETAC, the Irish national awarding body for higher education, to confer its own (HETACaccredited) awards up to Level 9 taught programmes and for Level 9 research awards. Welcome
As a part-time student, you would normally expect to gain 30 ECTS credits in a semester or 60 ECTS credits in a full academic year. To support lifelong learning, however, we will facilitate registration within a range of ECTS credits and it is proposed that you can register on as little as 5 ECTS credits. Some of our courses are accredited by Professional Institutes, for example our accountancy courses are accredited by the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA). In instances where this is the case, it is clearly noted in the individual course descriptions.
Work/Clinical Placements Placements are a common (and sometimes mandatory) feature of many of our educational programmes. These work experience opportunities provide you with academic and employment benefits not possible in an exclusively college environment. As well as offering exposure to current work practices in industry, industrial placements provide a means by which you can practise the skills and apply the knowledge you have acquired in college, as well as undertake structured research within a teamwork situation. Industrial placement requirements are detailed within the particular programme information.
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Your World, Your Future
Garda Vetting Requirements A number of academic programmes offered by the Department of Adult and Continuing Education require students to undertake placements that will bring them into contact with children or vulnerable adults, and in which they may assume positions of trust. To ensure the protection of the public and to justify public trust and confidence, the Department of Adult and Continuing Education is committed to ensuring that only suitable candidates are allowed to undertake these programmes. All students should be aware that some courses are subject to successful completion of work placement. In order to commence work placement, each student will be responsible for providing information to the Institute of their suitability for such courses. This will include obtaining Garda vetting and may include medical assessment and provision of personal references relating to suitability for placement. Failure to meet Institute requirements in this regard may make completion of the programme impossible and thus students would be unable to obtain an award. Students are advised that obtaining relevant approval for placement can take up to 6 months, and so students contemplating advanced entry to relevant courses may need to consider this matter prior to attending the programmes offered by the Department. The current legal minimum age for sole application for Garda vetting is 18 years of age. In the event of an applicant being between 16 and 18 years of age, written consent is also required from a parent or guardian. Garda vetting requires information on all previous residences to be provided. Students who have resided outside the Republic of Ireland are advised that details of all such residences with accurate dates of residence will be required for the Garda vetting process.
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