Third-level ‘focus on money has hit quality’

Market-driven approaches to increasing income with more students and research are being used by colleges, but contributing to lower education standards, academics have claimed.

A 31,000 increase — around 16% — in third-level numbers since 2008 has also led, they believe, to more time being spent on basic skills at the expense of teaching and graduate quality.

The survey for the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) and Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) also found more than half of academics believe management do not support teaching aspects of their role. A similar proportion feel under growing pressure to raise external research funding, with more than two thirds believing there is inadequate availability of such funds.

The report of the outcomes of the survey, conducted among almost 1,200 lecturers and researchers at institutes of technology (IoTs) and universities, recommends colleges make specific and public commitments to the teaching roles of academics.

There was particular concern around entry-level standards, as rising admissions mean more students with lower college-entry points. An institute of technology lecturer said points for engineering courses, in particular, had dropped to facilitate extra numbers.

“So what it has meant is that you spend an awful lot of time doing basic stuff and... you can’t produce the graduates with the knowledge they need,” the lecturer said. “All you are doing is kind of covering basic things or introducing topics.”

It was also claimed academics are pressured to pass international students who do not have basic standards of English.

“I hate to be blunt but that is what it has gotten down to, it’s all about money,” said another IoT lecturer.

Report authors Marie Clarke, Aidan Kenny, and Andrew Loxley say there is a climate of distrust between management and academics. University lecturers they interviewed spoke of increasing and heavy-handed managerial and human resources oversight, and a growing intrusiveness of management and surveillance structures.

TUI general secretary John MacGabhann said the funding cuts of €385m to the higher education sector between 2007 and 2014, a rising student population and a 4,500 fall in staff numbers have severely damaged academic staff’s working conditions and the quality of educational experience.

IFUT general secretary Mike Jennings said a lack of admin support, longer hours, and pressure on research add to staff despair.

“On the one hand, the Government emphasises the vital role that research and development must play in the recovery of our economy and society,” he said. “On the other, it is evident that research is being demoted and under-supported, and lacks the policies and procedures to facilitate academics the actual time to engage in research activities.”