Partnerships

Partnerships Domain

The Partnerships domain governs the frameworks, policies, and oversight mechanisms for NCI’s formal relationships with external academic institutions, industry bodies, employers, and other strategic partners. These partnerships support programme delivery, promote employer engagement, and enable learner mobility and progression across diverse educational contexts.

Policies in this domain ensure that all partnership arrangements are strategically aligned, appropriately governed, and compliant with regulatory and quality assurance standards.

Policies

Summary of Changes

The below tables indicate changes made as of August 2025

New Policy	Supersedes QAES	Summary of Change
Policy on Collaborative Provision and Academic Partnerships	- Chapter 3, Section 3.4 (Internal Guidelines for Collaborative Provision) - Elements of 3.6 (Validation references to articulation/advanced entry) - Appendix 8 (Partner Profile Template)	Establishes a formal quality assurance framework for academic partnerships, including collaborative provision, transnational education, and articulation. Introduces risk-based due diligence, MoA governance, and clearly defined oversight by EG, APQC, and Academic Council.
Policy on Erasmus+ Student Mobility	New development arising from the 2025 extension of NCI’s QQI QA Scope Previously noted under 3.6.2	Provides a standalone QA and governance framework for Erasmus+ mobility. Clarifies it is not collaborative provision. Includes due diligence, bilateral agreement protocols, validation triggers, and oversight via the Erasmus+ Committee and Academic Council.