National Policy Making and the Irish Higher Education System Patrick Clancy ESRI Seminar 25 June

IRISH HIGHER EDUCATION: A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE Scope of Book Higher Education in Contemporary Society Expansion and Diversification of Higher Education Systems Measuring Participation in H E: Ireland in Comparative Perspective Inequalities in Access to Higher Education Admission and Retention in Higher Education The Student Experience: Curriculum Studied and Social Conditions The Academic Profession Research in Higher Education Higher Education and the Labour market Funding Higher Education Governance and Steering Structural Reform of System Future Challenges 2

Context and Focus Centrality of Higher Education Knowledge Society Globalisation Comparative Focus – policies, – patterns of provision and – outcomes OECD and EU countries 3

Focus of Presentation Policy making around the issues of – Governance & Steering – Structural Reconfiguration of HE System – Funding 4

Governance Burton Clark’s (1983) Triangle of Coordination State Academic Market Oligarchy 5

State Academy Relationship Two Competing Narratives – decline in direct state control, in favour of self- regulation and the state’s supervisory role more managerial autonomy, especially in procedural areas – rise of the evaluative state; decline in institutional autonomy Accountability; monitoring; performance reporting – ‘Substantive’ versus ‘Procedural’ Autonomy – Can contradictory trends can be reconciled? 6

Market Co-ordination Qualitatively different form of control Unstoppable rise in market forces – tuition fees; loans; rankings; academic capitalism State can regulate the market State can also use market mechanisms to achieve its objectives Concurrent development – growth in managerialism at institutional level 7

EVOLUTION OF GOVERNANCE IN IRISH HIGHER EDUCATION Commission on Higher Education Report – HEA as buffer agency – System divided into different sectors Tensions during the 1980s - recession 1990s time of analysis and legislation Other forms of control (non-legislative) – Impact of competitive funding for research – Introduction of market mechanisms 8

GOVERNANCE AFTER THE HUNT REPORT Rejection of McCarthy recommendation New role for HEA as regulator of HE system – ‘Leading and driving’ More limited and strategic role for Minister and DES Use of ‘strategic dialogue’ Use of performance indicators – Sector Level Values on Indicators used in Performance Evaluation Framework 9

Indicators UniversitiesInstitutes of Technology All HEA Designated Colleges Level 6/7 Enrolments (undergraduate %) Research Enrolments (%) Flexible Learners (%) Labour Activation Participation (%) Regional Intake (%) FT Mature Entrants (%) Entrants from Non- Traditional Backgrounds (%) International Enrolments 1138 Non-Progression Rate: 1 st to 2 nd Year PhD graduates per 10 Academic Staff FP7 Income per Academic Staff €26,521€3,417€17,469 Non-Academic/ Academic Staff Ratio Student/Academic Staff Ratio Pay/Non-Pay ratio (excl. Research)

Other Indicators used in Institutional Profiles research funding data: income from research grants and contracts; indicators on patent applications and licence agreements; data on the age and qualification profile of staff; percentage of new entrants with disabilities; space per student. institutional level data on total expenditure per student (first time produced) Are these the optimum indicators or just the more easily measured?? 11

RELIANCE ON OVERSEAS ‘EXPERTS’ Isomorphism in HE Policy Role of international organisations and supra- nation agencies – UNESCO, WORLD BANK, EU … OECD – Mechanisms used – Agenda setting through ideas and discourses – seeks to form the basis for consensually shared definition of problems and solutions. – Peer review – Data generation and publication Impact of OECD on Irish HE policy 12

HUNT REPORT AND THE OECD POLICY CONSENSUS Absence of any detailed contextual analysis of the characteristics of the Irish higher education system Failure to do even the most basic research – Compare with Steering Committee Reports 1995 – Issues not examined Relies on reproducing the policy consensus emanating primarily from the OECD – Compare with other OECD publications Recommendations equally applicable to any developed Western country 13

Influence of External Experts is not limited to the OECD Strategy Group – 2 external members plus international panel of 9 experts (2011) 3 person Expert Panel on Teacher Education (2012) 6 person Expert Panel report on A Proposed Reconfiguration of the Irish System of Higher Education (2012) 4 person Expert Panel on Review of the Provision of Creative Arts Programmes in Dublin (2013) Other experts on criteria for Technological University etc. Same names frequently crop up – epistemic community – typically, brief 3 day visits … 14

The Current Restructuring of the HE system Vigorous implementation of the National Strategy … notwithstanding it perceived limitations … Criticism of laissez-faire development; mission drift, growing institutional homogeneity, unnecessary duplication and fears about quality and sustainability Plans for mergers consolidation and clustering 15

Mergers and Consolidation Initial focus on smaller colleges especially in the College of Education sector – Institutes of Education (2) … others Most far reaching recommendation in the Institute of Technology sector No research evidence produced on: – the scope for economies of scale or – existing levels of duplication in provision Other implied arguments for creating critical mass relate to: – teaching quality, – ability to engage with enterprises and local community, – develop and international profile and – ability to participate in regional clusters No discussion of the extensive international research literature which points to the challenges presented in the implementation of mergers, especially where colleges are located distant from one another. 16

What does international literature on mergers in HE tell us? Rationale should be based on core purposes of teaching, research and knowledge transfer rather than on financial imperatives – not the same as business mergers While there may be scope for long term cost savings the process itself requires additional expenditure Merger decisions need to be preceded by a rigorous review of benefits and risks and Potential merger partners need to develop a shared vision and strategic narrative – The expectation was that the attraction of achieving technological university status would provide a sufficient incentive to develop a shared vision – (WIT/Carlow IT) 17

Geographical Proximity versus Maintaining the Binary System. International Expert Panel recommendations re mergers of universities Also, mergers across the binary system No policy discourse on the relative merits of these competing proposals International Panel failed to legitimate decisions already taken – this being one of the functions of external experts 18

Mergers of IOT s Mixed messages in respect of size of post- graduate enrolments Technological University status only possible following mergers – Position of DIT 19

Creation of Regional Clusters Prioritised The objectives of the clusters include: – the co-ordination of regional engagement, – the improvement of student pathways into and between institutions, – co-ordinated programme provision through appropriate specialisation, – the provision of shared services and – the improvement of quality by achieving the necessary critical mass. Clusters – South – Mid-West – West – Dublin/Leinster Pillar I - UCD, TCD, NCAD, Marino, IADT – Dublin /Leinster Pillar II - DIT, IT Blanchardstown, IT Tallaght; DCU and its associated colleges in the Institute of Education; NUIM, Athlone, and Dundalk IOTs, RCSI and NCI. 20

Challenges confronting Clusters All institutions are committed to maximising their own interests All HEIs in the region are expected to adopt a shared regional perspective in the absence of any regional administrative structure to foster cohesive regional development Some clusters ad hoc combinations of colleges How a single national co-ordinating body will be able to meaningfully fulfil this role? No additional resources to incentivise regional engagement 21

Funding Higher Education Will decision making in respect of funding be an exception to how policy is decided? Expert Group – Discussion Paper, good start! Timing and election-cycle? Existing Precedents are not encouraging – De Buitleir Report (1993) and abolition of fees (1995) – National Planning Board 1984 (explore implications) 22

Relative Contribution by the State and by Students to Total per Capita Resource Base 2007/8 – 2010/ /82008/92009/102010/11 State Contribution (000s) €1,398,202€1,419,390€1,266,368€1,178,625 Student Contribution (000s) €90,123€101,686€181,650€187,746 Total (000s) €1,488,325€1,521,075€1,448,018€1,366,371 % Student Contribution Student Nos. 150,279156,410166,410170,529 Amount per Student €9,904€9,725€8,720€8,013 Rate of Student Contribution €825€900€1,500€1,750 Contract research income and other income (non-EU students, commercial activity, and philanthropy) are excluded – HEA,

Funding Scenarios: Relative Levels of Cost-sharing by Students for Selected Levels of Student Contributions and Total Resource Levels Total Resource Base Per Capita* Levels of Student Contribution ActualProjected 2012/132013/142014/152015/16 €2,250€2,500€2,750€3,000 €9, %25.2%27.8%30.3% €8, % 31.2%34.3% 37.4% *These are the actual resource base rates which applied in 2007/8 and 2010/11 taken from HEA (2011) 24

Some of the Weaknesses of Policy Making in Irish Higher Education Weakness of public discourse and policy analysis on higher education – No engagement between critics and policy makers Limited research on higher education policy Undue reliance on external ‘experts’ 25