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University description (as per official university website)
National College of Ireland has evolved from modest beginnings. Starting from Ranelagh’s Sandford Lodge in 1951, The Catholic Workers College, as it was then known, addressed key societal issues of the day. Lectures were led by a handful of dedicated Jesuits two nights a week, with 103 registered students in the first year.
Within 10 years, student numbers had dramatically increased. By 1966, nearly 1,300 students from union and management backgrounds were learning together at the re-branded National College of Industrial Relations (NCIR). Over the next 20 years, NCIR assumed an educational leadership role in workforce development, industrial relations and social justice issues.
The college re-branded as the National College of Ireland (NCI) in 1998 with an expanded National Campus Network and an array of national outreach programmes. The land and buildings at Sandford Road were generously transferred by the Jesuits to the NCI Board of Management.
Rapidly expanding, the College embarked on a bold €25,000,000 fundraising campaign to relocate to a 2-acre site in the Dublin Docklands. The IFSC campus is now a hive of activity for 5,000 full and part-time students, over 130 full-time and 220 part-time staff and faculty.
For over 50 years, National College of Ireland has been a leading provider of graduates with the skills and knowledge to meet the existing and emerging needs of the Irish economy. Evolving with the changing employment landscape, the college has built an enviable reputation for excellence in education and for designing programmes that are relevant to the workplace.
Today, National College of Ireland is a third-level education provider committed to advancing knowledge in its specialist areas of business, human resource management, accountancy, finance, computing and community studies. Full and part-time courses in these areas are offered through the college’s three Schools; the School of Business, the School of Computing and the School of Community Studies. All full-time programmes are covered under the free-fees initiative and the Higher Education Grant Scheme.
Reflecting the Jesuit value of social justice on which it was founded,National College of Ireland focuses on widening participation in higher education and on providing a student experience that allows individual potential to be fully realised. With a state-of-the-art campus in Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre, the college has a unique student demographic; 80% of students are part time evening students, while 30% attend at one of over 30 off-campus locations around the country. This reflects the college’s commitment to delivering education in a flexible and accessible manner that prioritises the needs of the student. |
