Since its inception in 2017, PAT Business School has been committed to delivering first-class tuition and support to accountancy students pursuing the globally recognised ACCA qualification. With a focus on innovation and excellence, PAT has become a leader in online education and digitally enhanced learning in Ireland.
Achieving ACCA ALP (Approved Learning Partner) status in record time, PAT was further honoured with Platinum Learner recognition by the ACCA—the highest standard of quality assurance in teaching, learning, and assessment. As the largest and fastest-growing global professional accountancy body, ACCA represents over 500,000 members and students across 173 countries, making PAT’s recognition a testament to its exceptional standards.
Building on this success, PAT collaborated with the Irish Government, the European Social Fund, and the ACCA to develop accountancy programs addressing critical skills gaps and workplace shortages. This partnership underscored PAT’s role as a driving force in professional education, bridging industry needs with learner success.
Since adopting Cirrus to deliver their exams, PAT Business School has transformed exam delivery:
Rapid Exam Results
Better Exam Experience
Increased Efficiency
Secure Exams
Enhanced Reputation
The Challenge
As PAT grew, it encountered hurdles in maintaining its reputation for excellence while expanding its offerings and adapting to industry needs:
Evolving Industry Demands
Industries like Fintech and data security have created new professional expectations, leaving traditional education models struggling to keep up. Employers now require graduates skilled in mandatory reporting and regulatory technologies.
“The finance role has evolved beyond “receive, record, process, and report” into more complex C-suite responsibilities.”
Gerry Fahy, Managing Director, PAT Business School
This shift required PAT Business School to completely rethink its assessment approach, with exams needing to reflect standard workplace tools like Microsoft Office 365. Meeting these demands brought significant logistical and instructional challenges.
Technological Limitations
PAT’s traditional and original delivery methods didn’t align with modern students’ digital habits. While today’s learners engage with content through digital platforms, the existing system required physical attendance and manual processes, which felt outdated and restrictive.
“Time is a scarce and valuable resource where the method of learning consumption had to be aligned with the digital flexibility and increased convenience of an ‘any time, any place and any where’ study and exam assessment environment’
Gerry Fahy, Managing Director, PAT Business School
PAT Business School was particularly fortunate to have identified the increased comfort levels within the Gen Z cohort of learners with user-friendly technology prior to the Covid lockdown. This resulted in all of its operations being transferred from face to face to online within 4 hours of the Covid lockdown announcement in March 2020.
Student Anxiety and Accessibility
Traditional in person exam centres and evolving exam platforms (that were still under development) created high stress for students, particularly around connectivity. A dropped internet connection could terminate an exam, forcing a resit and creating an unfair disadvantage. For students with disabilities, limited accommodations only compounded these issues. Therefore the need to partner with Cirrus became important at supporting both the learner experience combined with the integrity of the examination process.
Operational Inefficiencies
Manual grading processes created significant inefficiencies for PAT Business School staff. Faculty were bogged down by repetitive tasks, and errors in calculations could potentially lead to delays in grade submissions during critical exam reporting periods. This pressure added to the team’s stress, particularly around tight academic deadlines. These potential inefficiencies could divert focus from strategic improvements and risked compromising PAT’s high standards.
Ensuring Exam Integrity
As PAT Business School shifted to open-book exams to reflect real-world scenarios, preserving exam integrity became a critical concern. The lack of proctoring tools made it difficult to monitor unauthorised activities like AI usage while still allowing approved materials.
“Previously, we couldn’t monitor what students were accessing during their exams, which raised questions about security and trust.”
Orlagh Morris, Senior Operations and Admissions Manager, PAT Business School
The Solution
To address these challenges, PAT Business School partnered with Cirrus Assessment to deploy an e-assessment platform that combined flexibility, security, and ease of use. This tailored solution focused on both student and staff needs.
Modernised Exam Tools
The Cirrus platform supports computer-based exams that mimic workplace tools such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Gerry Fahey emphasised this approach, stating, “The exam should reflect the workplace.”
Comprehensive Student Preparation
Demo exams mirrored real assessments, giving students an opportunity to practice and reduce anxiety. Tutorial videos, written guides, and one-on-one training addressed diverse learning preferences and ensured students felt supported.
Accessibility and Inclusivity
The platform also integrated accommodations such as extra time for students with disabilities, allowing PAT Business School to update its inclusion policies.
Reliability
Cirrus enabled real-time exam pausing, allowing students to troubleshoot connectivity issues without losing progress through the Heartbeat Monitor.
“With Cirrus, I could pause an exam when a student had connectivity issues, guide them through fixes, and ensure they could continue seamlessly.”
Orlagh Morris, Senior Operations and Admissions Manager, PAT Business School
Automation and Efficiency
Marking automation reduced human error and accelerated the grading process. Orlagh noted, “The automatic calculation of grades reduced human error and helped us meet deadlines, even during a stressful academic calendar.” Real-time monitoring of grading progress allowed team members to identify and address bottlenecks proactively.
Ensuring Exam Integrity
Proctorio, an integrated proctoring tool, flagged suspicious activities such as unauthorised use of AI tools like ChatGPT. Orlagh explained, “With Proctorio, we had timestamped evidence to address any integrity concerns, ensuring fairness and transparency.”
The Results
The partnership between PAT Business School and Cirrus yielded transformative results:
- 96% of students (172 out of 180) used demo exams to prepare, resulting in smoother transitions to the platform and reduced anxiety.
“Our goal is to link the what and the how—what students need to know and how they apply it. Cirrus has been instrumental in helping us achieve that vision.”
Gerry Fahy, Managing Director, PAT Business School
- Students adapted quickly to the digital tools, expressing increased confidence in the new assessment process.
- Automated grading and real-time monitoring streamlined workflows, enabling the team to submit all grades ahead of deadlines, even during high-pressure academic periods.
- Staff productivity improved as administrative burdens were reduced.
- Suspicious activities, including unauthorised use of AI tools, were flagged and documented with timestamped evidence, ensuring a fair process.
- PAT Business School through its innovative Public Private Partnership with Technological University Dublin became one of the first higher education institutions in Ireland to implement CBEs, setting a national benchmark for digital assessments. This innovation reinforced PAT’s reputation as a leader in professional education.
Looking Ahead
With Cirrus as a trusted partner, PAT Business School continues to innovate, expanding its offerings in Fintech and other professional domains. Together, they are building a future where education is accessible, inclusive, and aligned with industry demands – both now and in the future.
