Griffith College Dublin - History

History

The college was established in 1974 by Diarmuid Hegarty and incorporated in 1978 as the Business and Accounting Training (BAT). Originally located on Morehamption Road, in 1991 the Business and Accounting College moved from Milltown Park, Ranelagh, Dublin 6, to the Griffith Barracks site changed its name to Griffith College Dublin.

ACA courses were delivered since 1974 and CPA courses shortly after that. In 1983 BAT commenced delivering ACCA courses and has done so ever since, delivering courses not only in Dublin but in Cork, Limerick, Drogheda, Moscow and as of 2008 in Naas, students achieving 268 placings/prize-winners within the last few years. Griffith have run CPA courses in Dublin, Cork and Ennis, Chartered Accountants Ireland (ACA) courses in Dublin, Limerick, Kilkenny and Waterford, in the past courses have been run in Belfast.

In 1990 the first degree course was offered by Griffith College in computer science, it was validated by the University of Ulster, it was followed in 1992 by a business studies degree, this arrangement ceased in 1996 and the degrees were validated by Irish National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA) the predecessor of HETAC.

In 1992 the Tiernan Design School moved to the Griffith Campus becoming the Griffith College Faculty of Design. In the late 1990s Newman College, Dublin became part of Griffith College.

In Griffith College, designated as being an institution to which the Irish Government's National Council for Educational Awards (NCEA) Act, 1979, NCEA validated courses students became entitled to receive tax relief under the Irish Government'ss 1997 Act its successor from 2001 onward the Higher Education and Training Awards Council (HETAC).

Since 1996 Griffith has had a number of its Business Studies and Law degrees validated by Nottingham Trent University.

Griffith College Dublin was approved as a delegated centre of the Nottingham Trent University in September 1998. Since validation, the LLB and BA in Business and Law have been recognised by the Law Society of Ireland as qualifying degrees for the purposes of Final Examinations (Part One).

In 2004, Griffith became the first independent college in the country to have its degrees (LLB and BA in Business & Law) accredited by the Honorable Society of King’s Inns.

The college runs full-time courses in design, business, journalism, law, computing and has a range of part-time courses available. The college offers professional accountancy programmes for Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), ACA, CPA and IATI, Griffith College is a goldStar CPA approved Educator. The ACCA has awarded Griffith College Dublin the Platinum accreditation - the highest recognition by the ACCA, and is also an ACCA CPD registered course provider.

Many of the undergraduate degrees require application via the Central Applications Office application system. Most of the college's undergraduate and postgraduate courses are accredited by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, some of its professional law courses are accredited by Nottingham Trent University, England and these are recognised by the King's Inns for entry to its Degree of Barrister-at-Law which is a professional qualification for practice at the bar.

The Griffith College Campus is also the home of the Leinster School of Music & Drama, established in 1904. The Leinster School offer theory classes in Music & Drama to groups and individuals subject to availability. The Leinster School is also an examining body and have a Theory Examinations Syllabus with levels from Preparatory to Grade 8.

The Professional Law School at Griffith College also run Legal Continuing Professional Development(CPD) seminars etc.

Griffith College is an active promoter of the Bologna Process for a European wide Higher Education Network.