2005 Press Releases
University Reform in Ireland: Article by Prof. Enda McDonagh - Response by Prof. Áine Hyland
University Reform in Ireland
(Article published in Village 22nd January 2004, By Professor Enda McDonagh)
The current debate about reforming Irish universities, while overdue, remains underdeveloped. A great deal of time and energy has been spent on the necessary issues of structural change and increased funding. They have not however been put in any deeper context of the developing meaning and purpose of universities and their longer term relationships to the kind of Irish society we might wish to foster. In this the debate has followed much the same lines as that in the UK and elsewhere. Few countries or universities have faced into these more difficult waters leaving politicians with a rather limited view of university education as primarily an arm of economic development, leaving university heads to focus on managerial reform and funding requirements, many academics unsure of the future integrity and prospects of their own disciplines and too many students and parents confused about the value and purpose of actual or proposed courses and degrees.
At the risk of sounding old-fashioned and irrelevant it seems important to raise again at least in summary form some critical issues in regard to the meaning, value and purposes of university education. The university it may be said is society's central and climactic intellectual institution both in its rigorous intellectual examination of humanity, its cultures and the world we live in and in its intellectual training of succeeding generations of students in pursuit of such tasks. To ignore the primacy of the intellectual in its critical and creative modes, in the topics it undertakes and in the methods it adopts, is to fail the university vocation and its particular role and value in society. No amount of attention to personal short term career advantages or economic social advance can compensate academic staff or students or above all society as a whole for neglect of this pioneering intellectual activity in the university's classic practices of teaching and research. Indeed it is by remaining faithful to the primacy of the intellectual, to the pursuit of truth at its most basic that the university as already indicated serves the wider society most effectively.
Truth is a crucial social good without which knowledge and understanding in personal terms and social trust and cohesion become impossible. As a university good, truth is sometimes and rightly described as a value in itself independently of the uses to which it may be put by individual or society. Holding on to that is essential to university integrity. But such acquired truth has almost always useful implications for person and society. So the great scientists and artists, creators, critics and technologists in a thousand fields have proved over the millennia from Archimedes in his tub to Einstein with his e=mc(2) have illustrated. In the search for and communication of truth the university must set the national standard and inspire a truthful and truth-seeking society in every dimension of its life. This will always be its most significant and useful contribution to society which sustains the university and which the university in turn sustains at its intellectual and moral core. How far the great or even good universities exert this kind of influence in their societies is a far better, if in the end immeasurable, test of their value than simple league tables or even list of Nobel Laureates. The fashionable tag of knowledge society reduces rapidly to knowledge economy and its perennial temptations to greed and exploitation, if the knowledge is not put in a context of shared human resources and accompanied by the understanding and wisdom which the educated university graduate is always in the process of acquiring.
At the further risk of alienating even serious academics it is necessary to relate truth in the university to that other great dimension of human and university life?beauty. The discovery, creation and enjoyment of beauty is closely related to the discovery and enjoyment of truth, as the Greeks, St Augustine and a host of others appreciated well before John Keats. To understand the truth of humanity and the world, the purpose of so many university enterprises, it is necessary also to appreciate their beauty. Beauty is with intellectual curiosity or the desire for truth frequently the attracting force which draws scientists and others to explore both the circulation of the planets and the circulation of the blood. And the beauty of argument and conclusion often plays a persuasive role in accepting the results. All substantial university disciplines combine a sense of beauty with a sense of truth if staff and student are alert enough to appreciate it. In any proposed reorganization of disciplines, departments and faculties such values will need to be taken account of ahead of the monetary cost-effectiveness, which may be so tempting.
Truth and beauty belong with the good in that classical trio are still far from out of date even if the terms seem lost to fashionable university discourse. And it is here that the concerns of current reformers may make the most immediate and fertile connections with the basic values of the university. The good, the overall enhancing of individual and of society should provide leadership in the discussion of how the university contributes to society's real development so as to merit its moral and financial support. Of course that personal and common or society good must be subject to continuous examination as needs and circumstances change both within and without the particular society. It is both personal and common or shared. Persons reach their potential within a shared and sharing society; societies develop in relation to the growth of their individual members. A serious imbalance within society between individuals or groups in essential matters of shelter, health, education and human rights generally undermines not only the community and its common good but diminishes even the good of the more privileged individuals. The university in its pursuit of truth in the social and other human sciences will shed light on such limitations and in its associated professional training provide the skills necessary to rectify them. Such truth and skills will be critical to the economic development of the society, always necessary to society's well-being but always in deed of direction to the fair sharing by all. The physical sciences in their broadest range are often treated as the crowning aspiration and achievement of contemporary university achievement but must always be set in a humane context not least by interaction with the apparently non-related humanities and social sciences. Professional education in medicine and the health- food sciences, in law, in engineering and technology, especially information technology -the new king on the block- remain central to the university tradition. With their colleagues in the humanities and sciences they have their proper context also in personal development and the service of the common good and in a just, informed and learning society, a more insightful and dynamic description than that of 'knowledge society'.
Such ideas and ideals may seem very remote from the immediate concerns of presidents and provosts, academics and students, ministers and civil servants as they struggle with the latest twists in university reform. They were also of very remote interest to the drafters of what is taken to be the ground plan of present Irish moves to university reform, the recent OECD Report on Irish Universities. It authors might justifiably claim that their brief was much more restricted and that they concentrated as instructed on the managerial and funding needs to ensure the essential development in the competitive international field of research and teaching, while taking for granted the crucial ideas of university education as adapted to the twenty-first century and as they have been in continuous adaptation over so many previous centuries.
In Search of Reform
As one who has worked for over fifty year in universities in North America, the UK and Europe as well as Ireland and at so many levels of university life, I have lived through a variety of university reforms at home and abroad. Yet the need for such reform today I see as urgent and radical. What is and remains controversial is the principles on which it is to be based and the shape it should be given in service of the intellectual-academic purposes of the university.
The emphasis on administrative or managerial reform which seems to have captured the favour of government, the headlines in the newspapers and the ire of many academics who are not necessarily opposed to university reform, has undoubtedly distorted the debate. To some extent the OECD report and the government's short-sighted cutting of university income beforehand, its acceptance of the OECD's demands for increased 'productivity' in under-graduate and post-graduate courses in service of the 'knowledge economy', while refusing to provide the funds necessary and recommended by their own commission have obscured many of the real issues even in administration . A reformed administration could no doubt promote better and quicker decision-making but only if is reshaped to ensure greater devolvement within the university to enable academic departments and faculties to attend more effectively to their own teaching and research. At the same time the overall administration has to integrate more clearly the primary ideals and goals of the university, involve some serious members of the public in its composition and relieve the president or provost of chronic financial worries to enable him or her to give proper intellectual and academic leadership within and without the university. The limited positive impact which Irish universities have had on Ireland's limited public intellectual life may be in more urgent need of development than its impact on economic life. This will be a bold challenge to the reformers, administrative and academic.
How the administrative reforms are achieved in a particular university and what stable form they take will depend a great deal on the university's history, current structures, immediate priorities and needs. While much may be gained by studying structures and practices in the better universities around the world, much may also be lost by ignoring local resources and needs and by imitating mindlessly structures developed in quite different circumstances and to meet quite different needs. The attraction of the 'business model' of some of the larger corporations and the lurking suggestion of a kind of free market of universities sound naturally threatening to genuine academics and genuine academic purposes. To some people they might seem to provide a short route to solving universities' present financial difficulties but at what cost to the true idea of a university and to the society it serves. It is unlikely that such extremes will be attempted but not all the signs of due resistance to them at the top levels of government, of public service and of university are encouraging.
What may be clearly needed is some simplification of the administration at top-level with a smaller, more effective and more representative board of governors working with a slimmed down administration to a series of devolved internal structures based on a reformed internal set of academic faculties and departments determined eventually by the intellectual ideals and nature of the university
Reform Within and Between Universities
The need and shape of internal academic structural reform must be in service of the particular academic disciplines and of the overall academic thrust of the particular university. Not every Irish university can maintain departments in every possible discipline to the required intellectual standard. Which existing disciplines are to be maintained and which new ones are to be initiated will depend on a variety of criteria , intellectual/academic, social and financial but primarily intellectual/academic. Disciplines which historically are recognised as essential to this particular university and in some cases to any university should be treated as core disciplines which fuel the intellectual life of society as well as university. Of course some of these have been abandoned not for intellectual or associated social reasons but for the fashionable ideological reasons which now threaten in economic guise. Theology was one of the first of these to go and its close associates, philosophy and ancient classical studies, three foundation stones of western universities and civilizations, are under regular threat in too many universities, here and abroad. That such rich heritages of scholarship and civilization should be treated so cavalierly in this economically wealthy but culturally deprived era is a sad commentary on our university leaders and their political and financial masters.
Yet there must be pruning if there is to be growth. That pruning might well take the form proposed for some universities in Ireland of merging departments and even faculties without simply eliminating any. Such merging would need to be by agreement rather than mandate and in accordance with intellectual rather than managerial criteria. It would not be an easy task but given good will and good reasons it could be completed relatively swiftly to the advantage of the disciplines, the university and society. In certain instances it might even be accomplished across institutional boundaries with a department shared between two or more institutions or integrated into one in an inter-university exchange to the intellectual advantage of all concerned. This could happen more easily within a limited geographical area such as the Dublin region and without diminishing the autonomy or integrity of any institution but it may become increasingly important to regard the territory of the Republic and eventually of the whole island as one university region with due respect for the authentic university character and independence of the diverse institutions. The latter (all-island prospect) may not be so unthinkable in the context of an integrating Europe and of the cross-border initiatives already in place. In the Dublin region and the West-South-West of the :Universities at Galway, Limerick and Cork some co-operative developments are taking place which could be jeopardized by heavy emphasis on internal competition as voiced by Government, HEA and individual universities. Competition for students and staff, for buildings and other facilities in laboratory and library, for research and other funding is helpful, even necessary up to a point. Pursued in brutal business fashion it may easily destroy the fabric of Irish university education as whole and do long-term disservice to the country. The health of society and of its universities depends primarily on co-operation with a lively element of competition to maintain and improve standards.
In the search for a more integrated and diverse student menu within limited resources the American credit system which is now being gradually adopted in Ireland may prove quite useful. Freedom to choose related or indeed different and challenging subjects in addition to one's main or major field of study could be a move in the direction of the broader education so strongly promoted by Newman. It does seem a shame that so many students graduate in the humanities and related cultural studies without any serious exposure to studying the great scientific and technological discoveries and advances of recent centuries. No less shameful is lack of some basic education for science and other graduates in the great artistic, religious and other cultural achievements past and present. Some form of credit system over one or more semesters may help to remedy that situation. However it will need to be expertly handled. Neat little packets of information are no substitute for the reflection which even a minimum knowledge of a serious subject requires. University generated cocktail chatter on such subjects may be worse than simple ignorance. With wise guidance in choosing and proper teaching/tutoring a credit system does offer new dimensions to university education.
A more interesting mode of intellectual development for students specializing in a particular area may not be by add-on but by expansion from within of the elements of other major studies contained within the first choice subject. In the study of any period of history, the history of its scientific ethos and developments could open the history student to the contemporary as well as the historical world of science. A scientist following the growth of his particular discipline should be enabled to relate to other cultural and political developments. A student of biology or cosmology could be opened up to the ethical, religious, anthropological or cultural challenges of his discipline. Some of the proposed credit courses could well emerge by the expansion of one discipline to meet the questions posed by another. They are unlikely to provide merely packaged information and could promote deeper relationships between disciplines and departments.
At the local level the universities will also need to engage with the Institutes of Technology. The OECD Report was rightly insistent on the distinction between the two types of institution although it clearly envisaged cooperation. This cooperation and should be at teaching and research level where facilities, staff and students might be exchanged or at least share some facilities. This is already happening in certain places if not to the extent it could. A significant area of cooperation could be in widening access for less advantaged students, some of whom might find it easier to begin in Institutes of Technology but would be well equipped to move to university later in their courses. Similarly some students who find university unsuited to their needs might to the Institute to complete their studies. A two-way system of this kind could enlarge and enrich the cohort entering third level and gradually help erase the snobbery often affecting staff and students.
The need for an equitable and effective system of university funding.
Of course university education is not the only educational game in town as university administrators and staff are generally well aware. However they have legitimate grievances with government over the last few years which have been already sufficiently rehearsed in public. And it is not easy to see how these grievances can be redressed in the short term despite government pious praise for the essential role of the universities in economic growth in times past and still more in times future. The OECD Report commissioned by government recommended the return of student fees, subsequently ruled out be government, and a general doubling of government grants with particular reference to scientific and technological research. Not much hope of that either. Some kind of task force will have to draw together minister, senior public servants and senior university people including some active academics if any long term solution to the funding of universities is to be found and serious damage to their mission and effectiveness is to be avoided. There are a limited number of sources which can be tapped. Government remains the most important if only to ensure that the universities genuinely serve the common good of the society and not some private enterprises. Student fees, loans and grants will have to be reconsidered perhaps when the next election is safely out of the way. Fees abolition did little to widen access however good its intentions and a much more sophisticated grants and support system will be needed to help the disadvantaged. It is true that many of their difficulties begin in primary schools but unless there is continuous growth in access at tertiary level there will be little stimulus at primary and secondary level.
The suggested graduate tax may at this stage be better pursued through graduate associations and university foundations which can draw on a great of good will and good money (with no strings attached) if professionally pursued, as they are in most universities now, although it remains a small proportion of what is required. Major philanthropic organizations, particularly from the USA, have been generous to Irish universities in the recent past. More controversial have been arrangements with large multinationals on research into their particular products such as pharmaceuticals and genetically modified food etc. Controversial not because of any irregularity in the arrangements but because of the public disputes about some resulting products and of the fear that the independence of scientists may be compromised by the interests and influence of donor corporations. No such scandal has emerged in Ireland as yet but if a large push towards such research funding were to be made as suggested by some spokespersons, it would be much more difficult to ensure scientific independence. In all these discussions and decisions wiser and more experienced heads are needed and the advantages and disadvantages weighed according to the kind of genuine university criteria outlined earlier.
In this decade almost certainly major changes in Irish universities will occur but they much fuller and deeper discussion if they are to be truly positive changes. This paper offers one purely personal perspective on the need, basis and direction of such change.
Enda Mc Donagh,
Chair, Governing Body, University College, Cork
(An edited version of this paper appeared in Village, 22-28 January, 2005; Issue 17)
Response from Professor Áine Hyland, Vice-President, University College Cork to Professor Enda McDonagh's article "Make or Break Time for Irish Universities" in Village
29th January 2005.
Professor McDonagh reminds readers of his article, that the major challenge for universities is to contribute to the pursuance of truth, beauty and goodness, while at the same time responding to the more visible practical demands of society. As he accurately points out, the latter is more likely to influence the funding authorities than the former.
To ensure international competitiveness, Professor McDonagh accepts that Irish universities should be involved in "urgent and radical reform". We live in a changing world and our universities must respond to and lead this change in a practical way. Irish universities have been involved in ongoing reform for many decades - reform which enabled and facilitated the five-fold growth in university numbers in the Republic of Ireland during the past forty years. University reform is essential if we are to prepare our young people to contribute to and lead a caring and affluent knowledge society. To quote the late President J.F. Kennedy: "Those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future".
The current reform agenda of UCC includes many of the areas identified by the OECD Review of Irish Higher Education (2004). These include the need
- to focus on the student experience
- to increase postgraduate student numbers to match national aspirations
- for a strategic, prioritised and co-ordinated approach to research
- to modernise governance and management structures as well as academic structures
- to increase participation from under-represented groups e.g. lower socio-economic groups, students with a disability, and mature students
- to increase the proportion of international to home/EU students
- to strengthen public accountability, openness and transparency, through a robust Quality Improvement / Quality Assurance process
- to implement a systematic Performance Management Review for all staff
- to develop strong links with other educational partners in the region, especially the Cork Institute of Technology and the Colleges of Further Education.
In order to provide an outstanding educational experience for our Irish and overseas students, UCC's agenda includes
- developing and enhancing teaching and learning facilities at undergraduate and postgraduate levels, including the provision of open access computer labs for students and the installation of wireless hubs throughout campus to enable students and staff to access e-learning materials
- Provision of incentives for university staff to improve and enhance their teaching, including awards for excellence in teaching, awards for research on innovative forms of teaching and certificated staff development courses in teaching and learning.
A major eu150 million building programme is contributing to this improvement of the student experience. The building programme currently underway and recently completed includes
- Provision of a post-graduate library
- A Medical Building, with facilities for Medical education including Nursing Studies, Speech and Language Therapy, and Occupational Therapy.
- A purpose-built creche for 80 children
- A Pharmacy building
- Provision of residential accommodation for students.
- A state-of-the-art Sports Centre, Track and Pitch
- The new highly-acclaimed Glucksman Art Gallery
UCC's reform agenda also encompasses the support and development of individual and collaborative research in individual disciplines as well as multi-disciplinary thematic research. The research agenda is equally important in the Humanities, Law, Commerce, and Social Sciences areas as it is in the Sciences, Technology, Engineering, and Medical areas. UCC is close to the top of the Irish universities league table in procuring research funding from agencies in Ireland and in Europe and aims to retain this position. Major funding has been and continues to be procured from the HEA's Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions; from the Science Foundation of Ireland; from the Irish Research Councils for Humanities and Social Sciences and for Science Engineering and Technology; from European Funds; and from private funders. This funding is contributing to significant enhancement of UCC's research infrastructure, including the new Research Library, the Biosciences Institute; the Environmental Research Institute and the new Tyndall Institute.
To enable the reform agenda to be delivered effectively and efficiently, UCC is currently engaged in the process of consultation across all levels of the university regarding reform of its academic structures as well as its administrative and management structures.
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