Higher Education reform
Role and objectives of HEA
The HEA are centrally involved in supporting the Minister and Department for
Education and Skills in the implementation of the higher education strategy. In doing
so we are very much guided by the principles and objectives outlined by the Minister
in his recent speech to the sector on Thursday 22nd i.e.
 Recognising the importance of higher education in producing the human
capital and research outputs that will underpin continued competiveness and
national economic recovery
 Building on our favourable demographic context – our large and expanding
pool of young people that is one of our biggest strategic assets, and one that
many OECD countries envy
 Recognising Ireland operates in an international context, and that our higher
education system and its institutions must compete and be successful in that
international context.
My colleagues from the Department for Education and Skills have already outlined
the broad context for reform and the main actions for change that we are
undertaking. I would like to complement that by focussing on some particular
elements of the reform programme that HEA is undertaking.
In particular I want to focus on our work in relation to
 Building the landscape of higher education
 reformed funding models, including performance funding
 sustainability.
Landscape of HE
The National Strategy recommended that the future HE system should consist of
autonomous well governed institutions that are strategically led, and that that
strategy be informed by
a recognition of their particular strengths as an institution, and as an
institution within a broader HE system
a recognition of national policy objectives, and a commitment by the
institutions to meet those objectives according to their strengths in an
accountable way.
Accordingly over the course of 2012, the HEA has led an intensive process of
engagement with the higher education institutions aimed at better understanding
their particular mission both now and into the future, to set the basis for the future
higher education landscape. We have done this through our request for institutional
submissions of their vision for their future role in the system, and have correlated
this with extensive data collection in relation to current institutional profile and
performance.
We have also received international advice and assessed the institutional
submissions against the stated objectives in the Hunt report. We have commissioned
ESRI to advise on the future demand for HE, both student and employer led. We aim
to undertake further discussions with the institutions early next year, and to provide
final advice to the Minister by March 2013.
Reform of the funding model
This process will also be critical in setting up the further development of our funding
model into the future. In considering that future development, I think it appropriate
first to recognise the many strengths of the current funding model. It is I think widely
recognised within and outside Ireland to be fair and impartial. Furthermore, it has
been hugely successful in meeting critical state objectives. The massive expansion
from roughly 36 to about 65% participation in the last 20 years has been facilitated
by a funding model that has incentivised efficiency and growth. In addition,
institutions have played their part by using the model to consistently manage their
operations within budget. It is noteworthy I think that despite the very severe
funding restrictions of recent years, and the significant rise of student numbers that
all the HEA funded institutions have managed within budget.
But we are conscious that we as HEA can and must do more in this space. We are
particularly conscious that while our funding model is fair and impartial, and drives
efficiencies, it is relatively weak on assessing strategy and performance against
strategy. It is for this reason that we proposed and the National Strategy accepted an
increased role for assessment of institutional strategy, and for that assessment to
feed into institutional funding. We want to ensure that as institutions shape their
strategy that they do so in accordance with the principles I outlined earlier i.e. that
they shape their programmes and activities in line with their institutional strengths,
in the context of their role as a part of a system of HE rather than as standalone, and
that they take account of and deliver against national objectives in an accountable
way. We have already engaged in consultation with the HEIs on how to translate this
objective in to practice, and taken international advice. We expect to commence this
process in 2013 and to develop it over succeeding years.
Sustainability
Finally, we are very concerned in HEA, as indeed is the Minister and Department to
underpin the future development of Irish HE on a sustainable basis. Sustainability
has a number of elements. Within HE, we need to take account of the extensive
resources invested by the state and ensure that best value is delivered. Considerable
achievement is evident already in shared procurement. More work needs to be done
to improved shared services and this has big implications in changes to work
practices and human resources strategies.
We need to expand our thinking on how other forms of institutional collaborations
can improve quality – in particular how co-operation between institutions can
enhance quality of programmes. We already know that there is considerable
fragmentation of activity in many discipline areas. We need to balance the very
important benefits that fragmentation can bring in terms of increased access,
particularly regional access, against considerations that fragmentation may reduce
the quality of the provision. We already know at the research level the benefits that
collaboration can bring – we must aim for similar outcomes at undergraduate levels
and I think regional clusters of activity can be very important here. I would also stress
that we see these as not limited to between higher education institutions, but also
with further education providers and other relevant stakeholders.
More generally there is for Ireland I think an important sustainability strategy issue
here. I have mentioned before the major strategic asset we possess in the form of a
growing young population. We need to remember that investment in their education
has and continues to produce major returns, for the individual, for employers and for
society – this is not simply another cost to be met in an annual budget but part of
Ireland’s future. To put it another way, we would be aghast if we read of a company
discovering huge off shore oil fields, but deciding not to exploit them because of
significant up front costs. No company would do this because they would see the
future benefits that would arise for years after those initial investments. So I think
we should consider our young people now entering HE and who will enter in
increasing numbers for the foreseeable future – not as a cost, but as our investment
in our future.
Thank you.