Abstract
The impact of austerity on the Irish economy and Irish universities had a number of implications for policy development, quality assurance and professional accreditation. The onset of the ‘Great Recession’, impacted negatively on the employment opportunities of professionals and resulted in reduced salaries for new entrants to professions. Cuts in funding, resulted in successive governments seeking more accountability from universities. Within this narrative, universities have been assigned both a share of the blame for the ‘Great Recession’ in not producing the right skills, and more responsibility for driving skills and innovation to bring the economy out of recession. The restructuring efforts highlighted a more centralised approach than had previously been the case. Successive Irish governments during this period adopted a direct regulatory approach, employing considerable oversight through the introduction of performance funding and contracts. As this approach became more embedded university performance is now explicitly linked to other government policies especially in relation to skills development and employment needs. The insights emerging from Ireland during a period of austerity highlights the challenges posed for universities in relation to government policies, quality assurance, professional accreditation and workforce development. For countries that are seeking to reduce financial support for the higher education sector numerous lessons can be learned from the Irish context.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Arora, B. (2015). A Gramscian analysis of the employability agenda. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 36(4), 635–648.
Artess, J., Hooley, T., & Mellors-Bourne, R. (2016). Employability: A review of the literature 2012–16. A report for the Higher Education Academy. Higher Education Academy.
Boland, T. (2015). Speech at Royal Irish Academy. A dialogue on higher education funding. Royal Irish Academy, 23 September 2015. Retrieved from http://www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/ria_tb_funding_speech_v2_002.pdf
Bridgstock, R., & Cunningham, S. (2016). Creative labour and graduate outcomes: Implications for higher education and cultural policy. International Journal of Cultural Policy, 22(1), 10–26.
Calhoun, C. (2006). The university and the public good. Thesis Eleven, 84, 7–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/0725513606060516
Cave, M., Hanney, S., Henkel, M., & Kogan, M. (1997). The use of performance indicators in higher education: The challenge of the quality movement (3rd ed.). London: Jessica Kingsley.
Cerdeira, L., Machado-Taylor, M., Cabrito, B., Patrocínio, T., Brites, R., Gomes, R., … Ganga, R. (2016). Brain drain and the disenchantment of being a higher education student in Portugal. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 38(1), 68–77.
Clarke, M., Drennan, J., Harmon, D., Hyde, A., & Politis, Y. (2015). The academic profession in Ireland. Dublin: University College Dublin.
Coles, M. (2015). National qualifications frameworks: Reflections and trajectories. Qualifications policies insights. Quality and Qualifications Ireland.
Cranmer, S. (2006). Enhancing graduate employability: Best intentions and mixed outcomes. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2), 169–184.
Davies, H., & O’Callaghan, C. (2014). All in this together? Feminisms, academia, austerity. Journal of Gender Studies, 23(3), 227–232.
Department of Education and Skills. (2017). Proposed Exchequer—Employer investment mechanism for higher education and future education and training. Consultation Paper. Retrieved from https://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Education-Reports/pub_ed_proposed_exchequer_employer_investment_higher_further_training_2017.pdf
Dill, D. D. (2007). Are public research universities effective communities of learning?: The collective action dilemma of assuring academic standards. In R. L. Geiger, C. L. Colbeck, R. L. Williams, & C. K. Anderson (Eds.), Future of the American Public Research University (pp. 187–203). Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.
Dill, D. D., & Beerkens, M. (2013). Designing the framework conditions for assuring academic standards: Lessons learned about professional, market, and government regulation of academic quality. Higher Education, 65(3), 341–357.
Dill, D. D., & Soo, M. (2005). Academic quality, league tables, and public policy: A cross-national analysis of university ranking systems. Higher Education, 49(4), 495–533.
East, L., Stokes, R., & Walker, M. (2014). Universities, the public good and professional education in the UK. Studies in Higher Education., 39(9), 1617–1633.
Eaton, J. S. (2012). The future of accreditation? Planning for Higher Education, 40(3), 8–15.
El-Khawas, E. (2000). The impetus for organisational change: An exploration. Tertiary Education and Management, 6(1), 37–46.
Engineers Ireland. (2017). Budget submission 2017. Retrieved from https://www.engineersireland.ie/EngineersIreland/media/SiteMedia/communications/publications/Engineers-Ireland-2017-Budget-Submission-b.pdf
ENQA. (2003). Quality procedures in European higher education. ENQA Occasional Papers 5, Helsinki.
Eraut, M. (1994). Developing professional knowledge and competence. London and Washington, DC: The Falmer Press.
Ewell, P. T. (1999). Linking performance measures to resource allocation: Exploring unmapped terrain. Quality in Higher Education, 5(3), 191–209.
Friedman, A., Hogg, K., Nadarajah, K., & Pitts, R. (2017). Professional body accreditation in higher education institutions in Ireland. Quality and Qualifications Ireland.
Gibbs, G. (2010). Dimensions of quality. York, UK: The Higher Education Academy.
Harvey, L., Locke, W., & Morey, A. (2002). Enhancing employability, recognising diversity: Making links between higher education and the world of work. London: Universities UK.
Hassel, A. (2015). Public policy. In J. Wright (Ed.), International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral science (2nd ed.). Amsterdam and Boston: Elsevier.
Hays. (2010). Accountancy practices Ireland Employment Report 2010. Hays Recruiting Experts in Accountancy and Finance.
Heery, E., & Salmon, J. (Eds.). (2000). The insecure workforce. London: RoutledgeFalmer.
Higher Education Authority. (2016). Higher education system performance 2014–2016. Dublin.
Higher Education Authority. (2017). Review of the allocation model for funding of higher education institutions. Working Paper 1: The higher education sector in Ireland. Dublin.
Hood, C. (2004). Conclusion: Making sense of controls over government. In C. Hood, O. James, B. G. Peters, & C. Scott (Eds.), Controlling modern government: Variety, commonality, and change (pp. 185–205). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
Howieson, B., Hancock, P., Segal, N., Kavanagh, M., Tempone, I., & Kent, J. (2014). Who should teach what? Australian perceptions of the roles of universities and practice in the education of professional accountants. Journal of Accountancy Education, 32, 259–275.
Humphries, N., McAleese, S., Matthews, A., & Brugha, R. (2015). Emigration is a matter of self-preservation. The working conditions … are killing us slowly’: Qualitative insights into health professional emigration from Ireland. Human Resources Health, 13(35). Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4437248/
Irish Medical Organisation. (2017). IMO Pre-Budget Submission 2018. Retrieved from http://www.imo.ie/news-media/news-press-releases/2017/imo-budget-submission-201/index.xml
Irish Survey of Student Engagement [ISSE]. (2016). HEA, IUA, THEA and USI: Dublin. Retrieved October 16, 2017, from www.studentsurvey.ie
Jarvis, C., & Gouthro, P. (2013). The role of the arts in professional education; making the invisible, visible. In Research in work and learning, 18–21 June 2013, University of Stirling. Retrieved October 16, 2017, from http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/18339/
Kis, V. (2005). Quality assurance in tertiary education: Current practices in OECD countries and literature review on potential effects. Paper contribution to the OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education. Retrieved from www.oecd.org/edu/tertiary/review
Law Society of Ireland. (2014). The Solicitors’ profession: Contribution to the Irish economy. Fitzpatrick Associates Economic Consultants.
Levi, H. E. (1972). The place of professional education in the life of the university. Ohio State Law Journal, 32, 229–239.
Liu, S. (2016). Higher education quality assessment and university change: A theoretical approach. In S. Liu (Ed.), Quality assurance and institutional transformation, the Chinese experience (pp. 15–46). Singapore: Springer.
Lowi, T. J. (1972). Four systems of policy, politics and choice. Public Administration Review, 32(4), 314–325.
Lynch, S. (2017). European policy on teaching and learning in higher education. Presentation to EUA 1st European Learning and Teaching Forum. Pierre and Marie Curie University, Paris.
Martin, M., & Stella, A. (2007). External quality assurance in higher education: Making choices. France: UNESCO, International Institute for Educational Planning.
McInnis, C. (2005). The Australia qualifications framework. Public policy for academic quality research program. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina. Retrieved from http://www.unc.edu
Mizikaci, F. (2006). A systems approach to program evaluation model for quality in higher education. Quality Assurance in Education, 14(1), 37–53.
Morley, L. (2001). Producing new workers: Quality, equality and employability in higher education. Quality in Higher Education, 7(2), 131–138.
National Employer Survey. (2015). Employers’ views on Irish further and higher education and training outcomes. Higher Education Authority, SOLAS, QQI, Department of Education and Skills, Dublin.
Nicholson, N. (2002). Policy choices and the uses of state power: The work of Theodore J. Lowi. Policy Sciences, 35(2), 163–177.
OECD. (2004). Review of national policies for education: Review of higher education in Ireland examiners’ report. OECD. Retrieved from http://www.hea.ie/sites/default/files/oecd_review_of_higher_education_2004.pdf
Patrick, J. P., & Stanley, E. C. (1998). Teaching and research quality indicators and the shaping of higher education. Research in Higher Education, 39(1), 19–41.
Quality and Qualifications Ireland. (2014). Education and employers: Joining forces to promote quality and innovation across further and higher education and training. A strategic approach to employer engagement. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from www.qqi.ie
Quality and Qualifications Ireland. (2016). Quality in an era of diminishing resources’ Irish higher education 2008–15. An analysis of published institutionally—Organised quality review reports of academic departments, schools and programmes in Irish public higher education institutions. Retrieved September 15, 2017, from www.qqi.ie
Rich, J. (2015). Employability: Degrees of value. London: HEPI.
Schwarz, S., & Westerheijden, D. F. (2004). Accreditation in the framework of evaluation activities: A comparative study in the European higher education area. In S. Schwarz & D. F. Westerheijden (Eds.), Accreditation and evaluation in the European higher education area. Dordrecht: Kluwer.
Smith, J., McKnight, A., & Naylor, R. (2000). Graduate employability: Policy and performance in higher education in the UK. The Economic Journal, 110(464), 382–411.
The Teaching Council. (2017). Striking the balance. Teacher supply in Ireland: Technical Working Group report. Dublin: Teaching Council of Ireland and Department of Education and Skills.
Wächter, B., Kelo, M., Lam, Q. K. H., Effertz, P., Jost, C., & Kottowski, S. (2015). University quality indicators: A critical assessment. European Union: Directorate General for Internal Policy: Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies Culture and Education.
Young, M. F. D. (2003). National qualifications frameworks as a global phenomenon: A comparative perspective. Journal of Education and Work, 16(3), 223–237.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Clarke, M. (2019). ‘Quality’ in an Era of Austerity: Challenges for Irish Universities. In: Trimmer, K., Newman, T., Padró, F.F. (eds) Ensuring Quality in Professional Education Volume II. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01084-3_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01084-3_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-01083-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01084-3
eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)