A Changing Higher Education Landscape in Ireland - the perspectives of academics - Linda Dowling-Hetherington
1. +
A Changing Higher
Education Landscape in
Ireland
- the perspectives of academics
Dr. Linda Dowling-Hetherington
University College Dublin
1 OECD IMHE Conference, Paris, September 2012
2. + BACKGROUND 2
Irish HE – the challenges
Funding, research
Governance, decision-making &
resource allocation
RESEARCH THEMES
Focus on performance indicators
Changes at UCD
Aim of Research:
To determine how HE change is Role of the Academic
impacting upon academic staff
Decision-Making &
Case Study Collegiality
School of Business, University
College Dublin (UCD)
63 FT faculty / 28 interviews
Period since appointment of new
Vice-Chancellor in 2004
3. + UCD Change Programme 3
Pre-2004:
Aims
Complex & fragmented organisational
structure tobecome a
11 faculties & 89 Depts research-
Duplicative functions, lack of intensive
transparency in decision-making, little university
interdisciplinary collaboration
tosupport
Post-2004: interdisciplinary
New Vice-Chancellor appointed research
Organisational re-structuring
5 Colleges & 34 Schools excellencein
Changes in management structures, teaching/learning
mission, curriculum and student
Change in role expectations, experience
resource allocation process
4. Reflections of academics on the changes
+ introduced 4
University-level changes: Reflections on the Impetus for Change
Strategic planning ‘Under-performing’
Management structure
‘Slow response to change……a faster
Appointment of Vice-
chain of command was needed’.
Chancellor & centralisation of
power Need to be ‘more efficient and give more
value for money’.
Organisational re-structuring
Research focus Reflections on the Changes Implemented
‘The biggest single change has been the
Modularisation
whole notion of governance and executive-
Bureaucratisation style management’.
School-level changes:
Executive Dean Reactions & Coping Strategies
Abolition of Departments ‘Disengaged’, ‘disconnected’
Reduced power of Heads of
‘Getting on with the job and just staying
Subject Areas out of it’.
Reduced autonomy
‘Working behind closed doors’.
5. + Changing Role of the Academic 5
Reflections on the role
Research Administration of the academic
Explicit research Teaching & ‘The demands on
output Learning academics – if you want
requirements compliance/ to be a serious academic
systems – have increased
dramatically’.
Changing
Dimensions Engagement in service is
of Role ‘rewarded less and
valued less’.
Performance
The ‘largest change in
Workload Same emphasis on terms of the work itself’ is
teaching in the ‘reporting and
Workload model
performance management systems,
Work intensification information processing
No performance system….’
reviews
6. + Faculty/School Decision-Making 6
Reflections on
Pre-Change Post-Change Decision-Making
Department Faculty meetings Pre-Change:
meetings abolished ‘........there was a
feeling that, at the
Heads of very least, any
Department School meetings member of Faculty
meetings Information could say their piece
dissemination in a Faculty meeting.
Faculty ….. at least they had a
meetings dialogue/ voice …….’
Self-governing decision-
Consensus making? Post-Change:
building The School meetings
Executive Dean are ‘pseudo
But tensions participative entities’
evident ……. with ‘little room
for conversation’.
7. + Collegiality 7
Before the changes
Conflicting views
Variations across departments
Reflections on
Collegiality Post-
Greater day-to-day interaction
Change
Homogeneous Faculty cohort
‘You’re increasingly
Since the changes living in a world where
Not as pronounced people just want to go
Less co-operation / discussion /
into their own room,
close the door and
interaction
stay there and get on
Declining attendance at events
with their own
(e.g. graduations) research’.
Focus on research output
Individualist nature of academic
life (promotions system)