Current developments at third-level institutions in the light of the origins of the University

Abstract

There is currently a deep concern being expressed in many quarters about the future development of third-level education and of the University in general. This apprehension is expressed not merely in Ireland but also globally: it first emerged in the USA when Harvard University began applying the business school model to the faculties of liberal arts and humanities. The evidence to date is largely anecdotal but worrying: concerns are expressed about the drop in academic standards, about the increasing links between the Universities, on the one hand, and the corporate sector, on the other, and the possible interference with academic freedom that could imply, and about the ever increasing bureaucratisation of the Universities themselves. Teaching staff complain that a great deal of their time goes on pointless meetings and on paperwork, to the detriment of the teaching and writing that should be central to their profession, whereas parents express concern that the high fees they pay are going to fund administrators rather than teachers. In Ireland, since the Universities Act of 1997, the number of administrators as opposed to teaching and research staff has increased exponentially. Part of the justification given for this is the idea of accountability: academics cannot be trusted to run things properly (we are told off the record), and so managers must be appointed instead, at high salaries, to oversee the academics. However, since the professional, corporate-style management structures were introduced, university costs have risen enormously, and most institutions are now in debt.