Analysis: The Skilbeck Report says Irish universities face stark choices and tough decisions must be taken quickly, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor
"The university is no longer a quiet place to teach and do scholarly work . . . and contemplate the universe at a leisurely pace. It is a big, complex, demanding business requiring large-scale ongoing investment."
These comments by Dr Don Thornhill, the chairman of the Higher Education Authority (HEA), and Dr Roger Downer, of the Conference of Heads of Irish Universities (CHIU), in the foreword to the Skilbeck Report set the tone for a challenging document. It is a kind of wake-up call for the Irish university sector.
At the request of both the HEA and CHIU, Prof Malcolm Skilbeck, a recognised world authority on education policy, spent several months investigating the performance of Irish universities.
There is some good news. The educational standards achieved by Irish graduates compare well internationally, he says, despite decades of serious underfunding.
But his report is also a cautionary tale. The fundamental message is this: the seven universities in the State are "facing a series of decision points, with choices to be made sooner rather than later". Universities, he says, need to extend their reach beyond a narrow canvas. They must reach out in a very practical way to the community. They must establish partnerships with industry. They must provide genuine access to the poorer sections of society. They must be more accountable to the public and show they are efficient. They must genuinely reflect the wider society.
Skilbeck says the universities have no option but to take action on these and other fronts. "The alternative is not the maintenance of the status quo but a steady and inexorable decline and loss of authority, influence and resources," he says.
From Skilbeck's perspective, Irish universities are facing challenges on several fronts. The projcted 36 per cent decline in school- leavers between 1998 and 2012 could see colleges competing with each other for undergraduates and for State resources.
The report also highlights the global challenges facing the universities. Skilbeck is saying that Irish universities should take nothing for granted. "Alternatives already exist internationally for carrying out each and every one of the main functions performed by universities."
The changes include:
Teaching increasingly being delivered on-line and by correspondence internationally by private providers and various prominent universities.
Private, on and off-campus universities demonstrating a capacity to sectionalise the market and provide courses at lower costs than public providers.
Research, including basic research, being carried out by specialised research institutes, both independently and from government and industry bases.
Information from traditional sources like libraries now available on-line. Students and staff can access much more information than any one single institution can provide.
Private firms and consultants, including teams of academics, providing university-style services on a contract basis.
The report says Irish universities need to broaden their horizons. Those who have the capability to compete on the global market - presumably the larger universities such as Trinity, UCD and some others - should not shirk the challenge. Irish colleges should become more entrepreneurial in selling such services as undergraduate and postgraduate places and consultancies on the global market in a manner already common in Britain, Australia and Japan.
Those who cannot compete internationally should, the report says, focus their energies within a regional context, building local and regional partnerships with industry and the wider community.
The good news is that many Irish universities are already implementing the Skilbeck agenda. Links are being forged with industry and the community; there is an increasing emphasis on generating new revenue sources.
But there is much to be done. The numbers of mature students in Irish colleges remains pitiful - even though they account for about 20 per cent of the student population in most EU states. And, despite some very good access programmes, the poorer section of Irish society remains largely excluded from university life.