Amalgamation and consolidation will become central to the provision of higher education in the coming years. Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has begun a process of collaboration across all sectors of the third-level system that will mean all institutions linked within technological universities or clustered together on a regional basis.
There are 39 institutes of higher education in Ireland, including the seven universities, 14 institutes of technology and 18 other bodies such as St Patrick’s in Drumcondra, Mary Immaculate in Limerick and St Angela’s in Sligo. The various bodies have grown up over time and expanded, not in any coherent or planned way but primarily through increased demand.
Third level used to be the preserve of a social elite, those who could afford the steep fees. The removal of these charges, however, greatly increased demand for higher education, along with the changing expectations of employers, who began to expect at least primary degrees for any new applicants.
Quinn has now called a halt to this organic growth and is attempting to put some structure on the provision of third-level education.
His approach is based on establishing formalised connections between the various bodies. Institutes of technology are being offered a chance to achieve coveted university status by joining as multi-campus technological universities. And all institutions are expected to sign up for participation in clusters.
Existing collaborations
In either case, the connections between the partners are meant to become far deeper and stronger than any of the existing collaborations, for example Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin's strategic research alliance or the 3U Partnership involving Dublin City University, NUI Maynooth and the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland.
High levels of integration are expected, as prescribed by a document, Towards a Future Higher Education Landscape, prepared by the Higher Education Authority.
This document provides a game plan for the integration of Ireland’s third-level institutions. The goal is to deliver cost savings through reduced duplication, but also better use of expensive resources.
There is also a determination to improve educational standards, for example by setting tough minimum requirements about the degrees held by staff academics and the number of post-graduates on campus, often an indicator of strong ongoing research activity that supports PhD candidates and also post-doctoral fellows.
Key to the approach, however, is retention of the geographic spread of the institutions. Quinn favours the “binary” system we have with universities and institutes spread across Ireland, where they provide a local educational presence. Perhaps more importantly, given the Coalition’s job creation ambitions, the regional presence also supports industry and employment potential wherever these institutions are placed.
Importantly, the authority believes that the changes being sought need a top-down rather than bottom-up approach. The higher education institutions will not be allowed to evolve these relationships on their own. The authority will provide direction in this instance.
Neither is the reconfiguration going to be unrealistically radical, despite the recommendations provided by a group that contributed to an update of the Landscape document in November 2012.
Historic barriers
It suggested that Ireland could sustain one major university and this could only be achieved by a merger of UCD and TCD. The suggestion from the group, chaired by Frans van Vught of the European Commission, was dismissed by Quinn as "neither feasible nor desirable". Within the department itself the proposal was viewed as "singularly daft" .
The higher education institutions made submissions and formed part of the final plan. The hard part is finding a way to clear barriers and then learning to get along.
