16 September, 2004 - OECD Review of Higher Education in Ireland - Examiner's Report

Members of the OECD Review Team today presented their report on the future of higher education in Ireland to the Minister for Education and Science, Noel Dempsey T.D., and members of the OECD Education Committee during a special session in Dublin Castle.

The report is a far-reaching review of the higher education sector in Ireland and makes a series of key recommendations for both structural and institutional reform as well as addressing funding issues.  The report will now be considered by the Minister and Government.

The report recommends that the diverse roles of the universities and institutes of technology should be maintained as part of a dynamic higher education system.  It places emphasis on the equal value of the roles of both sectors in a unified strategy for higher education.  It recommends that current fragmentation within the sector should be addressed by a new Tertiary Education Authority which will have policy and funding responsibility for all higher education institutions.  It is also recommended that the institutes of technology be allowed operate with far greater managerial autonomy than before.

Structural reform in the governance of all higher education institutions (HEIs) has also been recommended. In particular, greater transparency is advocated in appointments to governing bodies.  Recommendations are made to limit the size of governing bodies, which should have greater external representation and a majority of non-academic members. The report also recommends that posts of university president and institute of technology director should be publicly advertised.  

Also addressed are measures to increase participation in higher education from all socio-economic backgrounds, part-time, mature and overseas students.  The critical importance of lifelong learning in society is emphasised. 

It is recommended that Government develop an overarching strategy for the Higher Education Sector. The establishment of a new National Council for Tertiary Education, Research and Innovation, to be chaired by An Taoiseach, is recommended to bring together all relevant Government departments with an interest in developing strategy for the sector.

The issue of funding is also addressed in the report.  The report recognises that there is a need for far greater investment in the sector and that the higher education institutions require significantly increased funding if strategic aspirations for the sector are to be met.   Recommendations are made regarding possible options to achieve this latter goal.

Among the key recommendations of the report are

Strategic structures and roles

• That the differentiation of mission between the university and the institute of technology sectors is preserved and that for the foreseeable future there be no further institutional transfers into the university sector;
• That steps be taken to coordinate better the development of the tertiary education system by bringing the universities and the institutes under a new common Authority, the Tertiary Education Authority (TEA), but that machinery be established within the Authority to prevent mission drift;
• That in transferring the institutes of technology to the new Authority the managerial controls on their freedom to manage themselves to meet institutional objectives be reviewed with a view to  drastically  lightening the load of external regulation;
• That greater collaboration between institutions be encouraged and incentivised through funding mechanisms in research, first degree and postgraduate degree work and in widening access and lifelong learning;
• The structure of the new Tertiary Education Authority should comprise a small Board concerned  with strategy and resource allocation and two Committees, one for the university and one for the institute of technology sector
• The chair of the TEA Board should also chair the two Committees; the post  should be publicly advertised;
• There should be a National Council for Tertiary Education, Research and Innovation to be chaired by An  Taoiseach, which would bring together the relevant Government Departments with an interest or involvement in tertiary education to determine a rolling national strategic agenda for tertiary education and its relation to innovation, skilled labour force and the economy;

Governance and Management of Institutions

• That greater flexibility be introduced into academic salary structures in order to permit institutions to take special steps to attract or retain particular individuals with key skills or experience that an institution needs;
• That university governing bodies be reduced in size to a maximum of 20, including student members, to improve their effectiveness and that lay members be required to constitute a substantial majority;
• That the post of university president or institute director should be publicly advertised and external candidates encouraged to apply. Appointments should be made by governing bodies through appointing machinery they should devise;
• That the headships of university departments be given limited terms so that there can, when appropriate, be rotation, and that appointments or re-appointments should be made by the governing body on the recommendation of the president;
• That universities review their human resource strategies with a view towards making the probation period longer and the granting of tenure more rigorous and to providing promotion routes to personal chairs as a reward for exceptional research performance or leadership

Access and Participation

• That the Tertiary Education Authority recognise in its funding formula the additional costs of recruiting and retaining students from disadvantaged backgrounds;
• That every effort be made to increase part-time student numbers as a proportion of total numbers in tertiary education and to this end distinctions between part-time and full-time students be removed for the purpose of the obligation to pay fees and receive maintenance support and that part-time students should count (on a pro rata basis to full-time) for the calculation of recurrent grant;
• That CHIU and the Council of Institute Directors jointly address the question of issues surrounding retention, in consultation with the Tertiary Education Authority and make a report
  

Research, Development and Innovation

• That public investment in research and R&D needs to be further increased if the requirements of the Lisbon declaration for 2010 are to be met;
• That the institutes of technology should continue to concentrate on applied research and that underpinning research resources should be the subject of specific investment by Enterprise Ireland, and not by the new Tertiary Education Authority, in targeted areas against clear national or regional economic priorities;
• That resources for research and for research infrastructure including capital resources be better coordinated through closer links between the new Tertiary Education Authority and an expanded Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) (see below) and with universities being funded on the basis that they are required to accept responsibility for major building refurbishment or building replacement within the recurrent resources available to them;
• That steps be taken radically to expand the numbers of doctoral students in universities with the intention to more than double them by 2010;
• That degree awarding powers for doctoral awards be concentrated in universities and that, except in the case of DIT, where such powers have been granted to institutes of technology by HETAC they should be rescinded;
• That SFI be confirmed as the national agency for the funding of basic research and publicly funded R&D in higher education and that its powers and responsibilities be extended as described in paragraph 70 and that its board structure be amended to reflect its new role;
• That the responsibilities and programmes of the Irish Councils for the Humanities and Social Science and for Science, Engineering and Technology should be subsumed under an expanded SFI;
• That all HEIs should have business incubator units or other facilities to encourage the exploitation of research through spin out companies; every effort should be made to involve private sector finance in such ventures;

Investment and Financing

• That in order to incentivise HEIs actively to seek external sources of funding the Government make a clear statement that income they generate from sources outside those provided by the State will not be subject to off setting against state fundings;
• That HEIs be required to plan to generate financial surpluses and encouraged to build up reserves against future necessary expenditure;
• Relations between the new Tertiary Education Authority and publicly funded individual institutions of tertiary education should be governed by a contract renewable annually on the basis of an institutional strategic plan approved by the TEA, after a formal face to face dialogue with the institution;
• There should be a new model for resource allocation to HEIs; the first task of a new Tertiary Education Authority should be to devise the detail of the model after consulting on its strategic implications; such a funding model, although containing many common elements should be differentiated between the university and the institute of technology sectors so as to preserve the distinctive roles of the two sectors;
• There should be a Strategic Investment Fund for National Priorities along the lines of PRTLI and managed by the TEA and a Strategic Fund for Regional Development managed by Enterprise Ireland; both sectors of higher education should be eligible to bid for these funds;
• Irish institutions  of tertiary education should market themselves more energetically internationally with a view to doubling the international student population in five years;
• That, subject to means testing, fees for undergraduate study be re-introduced and the "Free Fees" policy be withdrawn;
• That the Government consider schemes, as described above in paragraphs 97 to 99 of the report, where the means testing would incorporate the changes proposed by the de Buitleir Report and where institutions, subject to appropriate controls, could set fees, which incorporated the Student Services Charge, above the present "Free Fee" limit and where a loan scheme, financed through the private sector but supported by an interest rate subsidy from the Government, or graduate contribution scheme along HECs lines,would be available to students not eligible for a fee waiver.
• That if tuition fees are reintroduced it should be axiomatic that the additional income is not offset against reductions in state income and should therefore represent a real and tangible increase in HEIs' resources

The Minister thanked the Review team and all those involved in the extensive consultation process which culminated in the report. He acknowledged the importance of the issues and questions raised under such close scrutiny by the Review Team. 

"There is much food for thought here, and no doubt all those who with myself, have been eagerly anticipating the publication of this report, will want to further deliberate and comment on its contents in the weeks to come.  This aspect of any review is crucially important - reform can only be constructed on a sound foundation of critical analysis and on the belief that things could and should be better.   This report will be an invaluable tool in the development of a unified strategy for this sector into the future.   I look forward to working constructively with the HEA, leadership in the university and Institute of Technology sectors, as well as the various other agencies and interests in the sector in considering and taking forward the agenda that the OECD have presented.   I will of course also need to consult my Government colleagues on various aspects of the report on which I am sure they will have important views," concluded Minister Dempsey.

The report is available on the Department's website - www.education.ie   Download report