Customer Service Action Plan

The NUI Office is a small organisation whose principal function is administration at the centre of the largest, and the only federal, university in Ireland, comprising four Constituent Universities and, at present, five Recognised Colleges. In accordance with its overall mission statement and the principles of Partnership, the NUI is fully committed to the pursuit of excellence in all aspects of its service to customers and stakeholders, both external and internal.

Our customers/stakeholders consist of the Senate, the Constituent Universities, the Recognised Colleges, the wider academic community, the general public, the relevant government departments, and, internally, the NUI staff. The NUI is fully committed to optimising its use of resources in providing a high standard of excellence in the provision of all its services.

The NUI recognises its obligation under Sustaining Progress to ‘set customer service goals, develop measures for assessing their success and provide information on the performance of the institution’.

Many of the functions of the Office are multi-faceted and consequently fall partly within the remit of several categories. Through Partnership meetings, standards are clarified and given clearer definition, creating the forum for setting or re-setting goals appropriate to the needs of the relevant customers/stakeholders.

The NUI Office has sixteen staff members. The work of the office may be broadly divided into the following core functions:

• Secretariat to the University Senate and Senate Committees
• Services to the Constituent Universities and Recognised Colleges:
  Matriculation, Extern Examiners, Conferrings, Issuing of Certificates, Awards

Services to the Graduates:

Register of graduates (Convocation), Register of electors (Seanad Éireann), Elections (Convocation and Seanad), Certification (English Language) of NUI qualifications, Authentication of photocopied testimonia, Provision of duplicate testimonia,

General Services: Publications, Website, Administration of NUI bequests and trust funds, Management of NUI Public Ceremonies, Maintenance of NUI Library and Archives, Maintenance of NUI Buildings, Other Miscellaneous Office Services

We have reviewed existing measures and are continuing to explore other methods of data gathering in this respect, to enhance consultation and communication with our customers. For example, following the practice already in place in the constituent institutions, we are planning to host a consultative forum for representative customers from each core NUI function.

Currently, information on the performance of the institution is provided formally to the Education Sector Quality Assurance Group. The development of NUI Customer Service goals and the implementation of the NUI Action Plan will present further opportunities to provide such information in a variety of ways.

Standards

The NUI is committed to a high level of quality in the provision of all its services

The NUI is committed to promoting equality of treatment in its dealings with all its customers/stakeholders

The NUI is committed to the principles of modernisation and flexibility in its work practices

The NUI is committed to the acceptance of change as an essential ingredient in achieving greater efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of all its services

The NUI is committed to partnership as a means of identifying and improving service to its customers/stakeholders

General Customer Care

Our reception area will be easily accessible to the general public. Physical access to the NUI premises for persons with disabilities is limited because of the restrictions imposed on listed Georgian buildings, but every effort will be made to facilitate any individual with a physical disability who wishes to enter the NUI Office.

Persons coming into the NUI reception area will be treated in a courteous and professional manner.

Care will be taken to ensure that the relevant provisions of the Health and Safety Act 1989 are observed in respect of all visitors to the NUI office.

Staff members will respond to communications, whether by letter, email, phone-call or fax, promptly and courteously.

We will continue to aspire to greater consistency, clarity and good presentation in all written communications.

We will evaluate, on an ongoing basis, all forms emanating from NUI in order to achieve consistency, clarity and good presentation for our customers/stakeholders and greater internal efficiency and effectiveness in our service to them.

We will continue to expand and develop our website and to maximise the electronic availability of information, forms and publications.

We will continue to take steps towards full implementation of the relevant provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003.

We will endeavour to develop and maintain good internal communications so that there is an integrated approach to serving our customers/stakeholders.

We are committed to consulting with our customers and responding to their feedback.

We have incorporated a feedback facility on our website. In addition we will, through Partnership, endeavour to establish a valid strategy and further concrete methods of consulting customers/stakeholders.

We are committed to the use of up-to-date modern technology so that our computer-related services continue to maintain a high standard.

We will continue to ensure that all NUI publications manifest the highest quality in content, style and presentation.

In the interest of promoting research we will make university records accessible to bona fide researchers to the best of our ability and resources, and within the parameters of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003.

In accordance with the obligations of NUI under the Data Protection Act we are committed to protecting the privacy of any/all of our customers/stakeholders whose personal details are in our possession, and we will not use postal or email addresses for any purpose other than the purpose originally intended, within the context of a federal university.

Where practicable and appropriate, we will seek to ensure that the provision of access to NUI services by persons with and persons without disabilities is integrated: where this is not possible, we will do our utmost to ensure comparability in the quality of service offered to those with and those without disabilities.

Where practicable and appropriate, we will provide for assistance, if requested, to persons with disabilities in accessing NUI services.

We are fully committed to the policy of staff development as an essential element in the improvement of customer service.

Complaints

Staff members will deal courteously and reasonably with complainants.

Where the complainant is not satisfied with the response to his/her complaint, he/she will be referred to the Registrar.

Under the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012, from 1 May 2013, the complainant is entitled to appeal the result of any decision made by this office to the Office of the Ombudsman, who will be empowered to examine complaints arising from "any action taken by or on behalf of [NUI] in the performance of administrative functions".

On an ongoing basis we will review our handling of complaints received.