Trinity slips as UCD and UCC rise in rankings

Trinity College Dublin has slipped down in the latest table of the world’s best universities, but two other Irish colleges have improved their rankings.

University College Dublin has climbed 26 places in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings to 161st, closing the gap on TCD which fell from 110th to 129th.

University College Cork moved into the top 300 of the highly-regarded rankings.

The table is again topped by California University of Technology, with Harvard and Oxford sharing second place.

Despite the improvements of some Irish universities, rankings editor Phil Baty said TCD’s decline should be a cause for alarm.

“When the national flagship falls, it can affect the standing of the rest of the country,” he said.

TCD said its fall should be a wake-up call for the higher education sector, saying more sustained investment is needed to drive societal and economic renewal.

However, it pointed to improvements in its scores for staff-student ratios, international co-authored papers, and progress in attracting students from emerging markets such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China.

Dean of research Professor Vinny Cahill said falls in scores for research reputation and teaching reputation are reminders of a need to make up lost ground, despite having risen in last month’s QS World University Rankings to 61st.

“Trinity [and the] Government should work together in a co-investment arrangement to foster the renewal of Ireland’s society and economy,” he said.

UCC president Dr Michael Murphy said the rankings give a clear message that Irish universities are performing creditably in the face of difficult austerity challenges.

“If Ireland is ever again to feature in the top 20, or even the top 50, we will have to take bold decisions on a new funding model and a new architecture for our university system,” he said.

UCD president Dr Hugh Brady credited its rise to the tireless work of staff in spite of continued cuts to university income from the State.

However, he said the Government contributes a smaller proportion of universities’ funding and so it should allow colleges more flexibility and autonomy.

With particular problems around employment restrictions, as academic staff in higher education have been cut 10% in the last five years, Dr Brady said UCD can not compete with both hands tied behind its back.

Despite numerous reports recommending changed funding systems, including an income-contingent student loan system that his department was working on under the last government, Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has not yet acted to improve third-level funding.

Instead, he is awaiting another report from the Higher Education Authority on how to develop a sustainable model of funding.

Next month’s budget will include another €250 increase in student registration charges to €2,750 in 2014. This and fears of more cuts to grants, or making it harder to get one, were the subject of student protests in Dublin, Cork, and Sligo on Tuesday.