Limerick Business School

About HSI Limerick Business School

HSI Limerick Business School has the distinction of being one of Ireland’s longest established third-level educational institutions and provides a comprehensive range of undergraduate, postgraduate, professional development and corporate training programmes in the Mid-West. The College has operated from its original Georgian premises on Limerick’s O’Connell Avenue since 1951. Originally named The High School, the College was then founded by Mrs Nora McNamara to provide high quality, employment-focused training and education in the secretarial field. At that time just two subjects, shorthand and typing, featured on the curriculum, and the College quickly gained an enviable reputation, not just in Limerick but throughout Munster and beyond, for the quality of its education and the calibre of its graduates. This reputation, and consequent enhanced employment opportunities for College students, was won through consistent commitment to achieving high academic standards together with advanced practical skill development. These two ideals continued to underpin the development of the College as it continued its secretarial skills programmes while simultaneously expanding into other fields of academic enterprise. In 1976, Mr Michael McNamara assumed the management of this family-run College. In 1989, the College was re-named HSI College to reflect its expansion to the wider field of business and management studies. To reflect its continued success and growth in this area, the name was amended to HSI Limerick Business School in 1998.

HSI Limerick Business School was first recognised by the Minister of Education and became a designated institute of the Higher Education and Awards Council (HETAC, formerly the National Council for Educational Awards) in 1994. In 1997, the School was approved for tax relief purposes by the Department of Education. As it moved to the higher-education sphere, the School initially offered a number of programmes leading to awards at National Certificate level. The relationship with HETAC has expanded over subsequent years and programmes offered now include ordinary degree and honours degree programmes – in 2005, the first graduates of the HETAC Bachelor of Business (Honours) were conferred. In an innovative development in 2005, HSI Limerick Business School began delivering HETAC Certificate programmes (Level 6 Minor Award) through its outreach centre in Harcourt Business School Dublin with successful graduates conferred in 2006 and 2007.

In 2008, HETAC approved HSI as an outreach centre of the Irish Academy of Public Relations and its Level 8 Higher Diploma in Arts in Public Relations commenced at the college in Autumn 2008. As a further mark of quality education provision, HSI Limerick Business School agreed its quality assurance procedures with the Further Education and Training Awards Council (FETAC) in 2005. This has allowed the School to offer recognised awards, with clear progression paths, to both Irish and international learners at Levels 4 and 5 on the National Framework of Qualifications. Also in 2005, the HSI Group launched a corporate training division, called Open Learning Solutions, which offers bootcamp programmes and programmes tailored specifically to the needs of the local and national corporate network. In 2007, HSI Limerick Business School attained Gold approval from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing professional international accountancy bodies, in recognition of its continuous commitment to the delivery of high-quality educational support to ACCA students. This exciting spirit of enterprise and development that has distinguished the College continued in 2008, which saw the launch of the HSI English Language School, already fully recognised by the Department of Education and approved by ACELS. Having run our first postgraduate programme, the Edinburgh Business School Master of Business Administration, in 2007-08, the School is looking forward to expanding its course offering at postgraduate level in fields such as Public Relations and Computing.

BECOME A HSI LEARNING PARTNER

Join The Clarion Hotel, Dell, O2 and other companies by becoming a Learning Partner of HSI Limerick Business School where your employees will be entitled to a 10% discount on all tuition fees provided a minimum of 5 employees enrol on any part-time course. Contact Aileen Cherry for further details on 061 – 317822.

APPLICATION PROCEDURES:

With the exception of a small number of courses (e.g. HETAC, FETAC, ACCA), there is generally no selection procedure for continuing education. To ensure a place on the course of your choice we strongly recommend that you enrol early by completing an application form and returning it with a booking deposit of €250. Application forms will be accepted at the College Reception, by fax or by post. Applicants can also enrol online at www.hsi.ie. Upon receipt of a successful application, formal notification of acceptance and of course commencement dates and fees will be sent to you by post, e-mail or fax. The College makes every effort to avoid altering course commencement and conclusion dates. However, should any changes be necessary, you will be notified at the earliest possible opportunity. Exemptions: In order to apply for an exemption, an applicant must furnish the College with a transcript of course subject results and a syllabus when submitting the application form. The College will then submit this information to the relevant examining body and the applicant will be informed of the outcome. This process may incur a fee from the examining body.

FEES:

Course fees cover the cost of tuition only. Registration and examination fees for professional bodies are payable directly to these institutions. Students will be advised of these details on course commencement. Failure to pay registration and examination fees by notified dates will result in students not being eligible to sit examinations. A booking deposit of €250 is required to secure a place on a particular course and, in all cases, fees must be paid in full seven working days prior to course commencement.

FINANCING YOUR STUDIES:

We do everything in our power to keep our fees as low as possible. The following facts may be of assistance to you:
• The fees of almost 70% of part-time students attending our courses last year were paid for by their employer.
• A number of our programmes are 70% FÁS funded under its Competency Development Programme for eligible participants (subject to the availability of funds). Please contact Aileen Cherry on acherry@hsi.ie or 061-317822 for further details.
• Registered employers should contact FÁS as it may be possible to reclaim fees (at least in part) for employee courses through retraining grants or tax incentive schemes.
• Consider the money spent on your continuing education as an investment in your future. Visit your bank or credit union and convince them of this.
• The introduction of payment by credit card has assisted many people to phase their payments.
• People undertaking part-time courses, which lead to certain awards, may be eligible for tax relief on their fees.
• In some cases, students have received help in paying fees from Partnership Boards, Enterprise boards, Chambers of Commerce, the Department of Social and Family Affairs, FÁS (those on CE schemes) and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
• We have established a fund to make a number of scholarship places on part-time courses available to persons unable to avail of places due to financial reasons. If you wish to be considered for this, please apply in writing to the College Director before 01 September 2009, stating which course you would like to undertake and why you would like to be considered for a scholarship.

REFUND POLICY:

All courses run subject to demand and the formation of a viable class cohort. A full refund will be given to all applicants in the event that a course does not proceed. A refund less an administrative fee of €75, will be given to candidates who withdraw their application up to seven working days prior to course commencement. Once a student has enrolled on and commenced a programme of study, no part of any course fee is refundable or transferable. No refund will be made under any circumstances to students who fail to attend classes or who do not complete a course. Course commencement and start dates are dependent upon a viable cohort formation.

TAX RELIEF:

Certain courses are eligible for tax relief. It is the responsibility of the prospective student to check the details of the relevant tax relief schemes prior to enrolment in the College.

STUDENT SERVICES:

A comprehensive induction programme is held for all students before course commencement. The aim of this induction programme is to familiarise learners with the College, the range of programmes and student services offered and to introduce students to key staff members. Course participants will also receive a student handbook which acts as an invaluable guide to studying at HSI Limerick Business School. Upon course commencement, a Course Leader is available to discuss course-related issues. Study and library facilities are available outside of the class timetable to help learners consolidate and refine course knowledge and skills. The College intranet (Moodle) offers students the choice to access material such as lecture notes and other academic resources either from home or whilst at the College. HSI Limerick Business School also offers a fully wireless hotspot internet connection for all course participants. Photocopying and printing facilities are also available in the College. In addition, Learners will be able to avail of seminars focusing on areas such as study techniques, essay writing skills and examination preparation. Learners will also be able to attend special seminars on issues such as employment law. All students of HSI Limerick Business School are invited to register with the College’s recruitment service. Interested students should e-mail a copy of their curriculum vitae to recruit@hsi.ie. A recruitment fair will be held in the College in March 2010 and all students are welcome to attend.

FÁS APPROVAL / FÁS FUNDING:

HSI Limerick Business School’s training programmes and trainers have been placed on the FÁS / EI National Register of Trainers. The registration number of HSI Limerick Business School is 901541.

EQUALITY:

HSI Limerick Business School is fully committed to equality of educational access and attainment among students. Management will actively seek to develop and implement policies and procedures which promote equality and which avoid unfair discrimination on the grounds of age, disability, membership of the Traveller community, marital status, family status, gender, religion, social class, sexual orientation, race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origins. HSI Limerick Business School regards equality as an essential component of quality assurance which is aimed at improving the quality of education and related services, while also ensuring the maintenance of proper academic standards.

LEARNER PROTECTION:

HSI Limerick Business School is an asset-backed institution and has arrangements in place which provide protection for all of its students in accordance with the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999. Under Section 43 of the Act, learner protection arrangements (which provide that a learner may transfer to a similar programme should the provider cease to provide the programme) have been put in place for HETAC and FETAC courses of three months duration or more.

EXAMINATIONS / EXAMINATION AND

REGISTRATION FEES / COURSEWARE:

Prospective students should note that all final examinations are scheduled during the day. Prospective students should also note that examination, registration and courseware fees are determined by external professional and awarding bodies and are therefore subject to change without prior notice.

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