“Over the last two decades Ireland has experienced a remarkable transformation in fortunes. The boom years of the ‘Celtic Tiger’ made Ireland the poster child of the 2000s …” (more)
[Ellen Hazelkorn, Chronicle of Higher Education, 5 June]
“The Horatio Alger myth, or the promise that working hard, playing by the rules, and getting a good education will lead to economic success, is fading fast. For proof, look no further than the state of the professoriate, several speakers on a panel said here Monday at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association …” (more)
[Dan Berrett, Chronicle of Higher Education, 16 April]
“A Belfast academic bookshop has decided to shut its doors after 53 years trading, blaming competition from the internet for declining sales over the last five years. The Bookshop at Queen’s on University Road in Belfast, Northern Ireland, serves students at the Queen’s University Belfast and has set a provisional date of 31st August to close …” (more)
[Lisa Campbell, The Bookseller, 24 June]
“Among its recommendations ahead of the Government ‘Jobs Initiative’, employers group IBEC said a new national graduate internship programme and a work placement programme for the unemployed should be established. Further to this, new third-level courses to help move those with construction-related skills into new areas of employment should be set up, IBEC said in its submission …” (more)
[Silicon Republic, 3 May]
“The economic crisis has affected European higher education systems in different ways and at different stages of the crisis, but the ensuing cuts are likely to lead to sweeping changes to higher education systems around Europe, according to a report by the European University Association …” (more)
[Brendan O’Malley, University World News, 16 January]
“… I want to argue, however, that the arts and human sciences, far from being luxuries to be discarded at the first sign of rain, are essential to the well-being of any society. Specifically, I believe that a real commitment to arts and humanities education is essential to the survival of a viable, pluralist democracy …” (more)
[Pádraic Conway, Sunday Business Post, 23 May]
“A cash-strapped university came close to not paying its staff wages last month, the BBC has learned …” (more)
[BBC News, 19 April]
“Madam, – At a time when children are being encouraged to take honours maths in the Leaving Cert and pursue studies in engineering and science, I would like to outline the fate of my family. Both my son and daughter took honours maths in the Leaving Cert and then went on to college …” (more)
[Marie Ruane, Irish Times, 14 April]
“I highly recommend a very interesting recent paper by John Aubrey Douglass of UC Berkeley, entitled Higher Education Budgets and the Global Recession: Tracking Varied National Responses and Their Consequences. He looks at the impacts of the current recession on education funding and policy in a number of OECD and other countries, including the US …” (more)
[Changing Higher Education, 11 April]
“The perfect higher education storm is developing in Ireland – a burgeoning population has forced enrolment projections upwards, a recession is driving more school leavers and adults into college and, at the same time, forcing cuts in budgets and staffing levels, as well as a political decision not to re-introduce tuition fees during the lifetime of the present government. Clearly, something has to give …” (more)
[John Walshe, University World News, 21 March]
“Spain’s economic crisis is beginning to bite, hitting top Spanish universities – including the Universidad Complutense which joined The Europaeum in 2003. The government’s austerity measures kicked in from January and, although education was to be protected, public universities are feeling the pressure as regional authorities propose substantial cuts that will hit higher education …” (more)
[University World News, 21 February]
“The financier responsible for Oxford University’s investment portfolio claimed more than £37,000 in expenses last year and saw her overall pay packet rise by 38 per cent, even though the value of the endowments she managed fell by nearly £50m …” (more)
[Tom Rowley, Independent, 19 February]
“… Here’s an excerpt about research conducted by Professor Till von Watcher; it will make interesting reading for current graduates. The message seems to be: get a job sooner rather than later; even if that means emigrating or working in a low-paid internship. Even then, there will still be a career disadvantage in many cases …” (more)
[Martin Ryan, Geary Behavioural Economics Blog, 13 September]
“Two news items yesterday indicate how it is possible for governments to take very different views as to how higher education should be handled in a recession. In Washington US President Barack Obama unveiled his administration’s $3.8 trillion budget proposals, and amongst these was a 7.8 per cent increase for education …” (more)
[Ferdinand von Prondzynski, University Blog, 2 February]
“California’s budget crisis came into stark focus in the halls of Sacramento State last week, where many students returning for spring semester were turned away from classes they had hoped to get into, or strained from hallways to hear lectures in classes that had enrolled way more students than there were seats …” (more)
[Laurel Rosenhall, The Sacramento Bee, 31 January]
“A union leader has described Tanaiste Mary Coughlan refusal to rule out further public sector pay cuts as ‘crazy’. Ms Coughlan told the Dail that trying to predict what cost-saving measures would be in next December’s Budget was impossible and for that reason she wouldn’t be ruling it out …” (more)
[Kevin Doyle, Herald, 28 January]
“… One interesting emerging trend in this context relates to the short-term strategies pursued by investors and speculators at a time of downturn. Many it seems have turned to students as a temporary source of rental income while they sit out the slump. This is reflected in several emergent trends. A number of property companies now have ‘products’ targeted at the student accommodation market …” (more)
[Michael Punch and Philip Lawton, Ireland after NAMA, 25 January]
“More than 65 per cent of recent graduates from the University of Limerick (UL) secured employment despite the economic downturn. The university’s president, Prof Don Barry, told a conferring ceremony yesterday that UL has one of the highest employment rates for students and is also ranked first in Ireland for degree completion …” (more)
[Sean Flynn, Irish Times, 21 January]
“… What mystifies me and tens of thousands of my fellow teachers in schools throughout Ireland is that if the State had such an excess of funds – one that resulted in the huge excess at FÁS and elsewhere – how is it that the basic facilities that teachers require to educate the children of the nation to the highest standards possible, were never provided during those years of plenty? …” (more)
[Brian Mooney, Irish Times, 19 January]
“… Curley, as senior principal engineer and global director of IT innovation and research at Intel and adjunct professor at the National University of Ireland, Maynooth, sits comfortably in both worlds of academia and industry …” (more)
[Business and Leadership, 12 January]
