Ninth Level Ireland

“The Higher Education Authority (HEA) welcomes The Future of Athena SWAN, the report of the Athena SWAN Charter (UK) Independent Review Steering Group published this week. The report is the result of an independent review of the Athena SWAN Charter in the United Kingdom, led by Professor Julia Buckingham CBE, Vice-Chancellor and President of Brunel University London …” (more)

[Maura O’Shea, HEA, 24 March]

“The Government has today (Monday 9 March 2020) announced a €3 million pilot programme to improve energy efficiency and support decarbonisation in higher education institutions as part of targets in the Climate Action Plan. The programme is co-funded by the Department of Education and Skills and Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment (DCCAE) under Project Ireland 2040, and administered through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and Higher Education Authority (HEA) …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 9 March]

“The seven universities represented by the IUA are implementing risk mitigation measures across our campuses and are developing detailed contingency plans to respond to the evolving Coronavirus crisis. Our absolute priority is to protect the health and well-being of our staff, students and visitors …” (more)

[IUA, 11 December]

“Ireland remains in the Containment Phase regarding the COVID-19 (coronavirus) and all necessary measures, based on public health advice, should continue to be implemented. It is advisable that higher education institutions are appropriately prepared for any incidents which might arise and are ready to take appropriate measures, as required …” (more)

[Maura O’Shea, HEA, 10 March]

“Indecon International Consultants have been appointed by the HEA to undertake research on the issues and challenges associated with first-time mature student participation in higher education and to make recommendations for how access to, and participation in, higher education by mature students can be supported in the future. The full terms of reference can be downloaded here …” (more)

[Mari Tighe, Higher Education Authority, 27 February]

“The purpose of the 20 posts approved under the Senior Academic Leadership Initiative created by Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor was to improve the representation of women in senior positions in the Irish higher educational system …” (more)

[Pat O’Connor, Irish Times, 18 February]

“Student welfare services in third-level colleges are “overburdened” as a result of Government cuts to funding and day-to-day running costs, now €550m less than in 2007. The strain is among concerns raised at recent meetings of the Higher Education Authority (HEA) about how long the system has to wait before the funding issue will be sorted …” (more)

[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 10 February]

“Trinity could spend €29 million to recruit 263 new academic staff members over the next five years, The University Times has learned, as part of an ambitious plan to bring its staff–student ratio in line with other major European universities and arrest a series of rankings slides …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 29 January]

“The Department of Education has clashed with the country’s largest State-funded research agency over how taxpayers’ money should be spent, documents show. Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) has been drawing up a strategy for the years 2020 to 2025 to guide the direction of future investment …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 20 January]

“The number of students studying or doing traineeships abroad is increasing as a growing number of undergraduates see the value of foreign experience. Figures from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) show that the number of students participating in the EU’s Erasmus+ programme has doubled over the past decade …” (more)

[Kim Bielenberg, Independent, 15 January]

“IT Tralee’s planned purchase of a technology park was stopped on account of its financial situation. The information was revealed in documentation sent between the Institute of Technology Tralee and the Higher Education Authority in relation to finances in the third level institute …” (more)

[Radio Kerry News, 3 January]

“The HEA says IT Tralee has been running a deficit since 2013. The Higher Education Authority, which leads the strategic development of the higher education and research system, raised the issue of recurring deficits in a letter to the institute in 2015 …” (more)

[Radio Kerry, 19 December]

Abstract: This research examines the implementation of Ireland’s higher education system performance framework (HESPF), through its first 3-year cycle 2014–2017, in a sample of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). In particular, it examines the extent to which the HESPF aids or inhibits HEI planning towards the related national policy objectives. Integral to the HESPF are performance agreements (PAs) that specify how HEI strategies contribute to national priorities. An exploratory case study design frame is used to address the research question, with cases drawn from small, medium-sized and large institutions. A concurrent triangulation design strategy is deployed with qualitative data drawn from 24 key informants and PAs, and quantitative data elicited from 92 questionnaires. Oliver’s strategic response framework was adapted for deployment in the study. The design of the PAs associated with the HESPF is generally consistent with the core building blocks of PAs internationally. The HESPF is generally considered a good concept that has resulted in constructive relationship building between the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and HEIs.’ Strategic planning capacity building, self-reflection and institutional learning are regarded as strengths of the process. However, it appears that the levers being used by the HEA to bring about performance improvements are having very little behavioural influence. Reputation and a desire to respond to regional and national needs along with global expectations appear to be driving performance. The process is not operating at a sufficiently strategic level and lack of enabling/incentive funding is regarded as a major weakness.

Seamus O Shea and Joe O Hara, The impact of Ireland’s new higher education system performance framework on institutional planning towards the related policy objectives. Higher Education. First Online: 17 December 2019.

“The gender pay gap among third-level graduates widens with time, with men earning an average €14 more per week than women within a year of graduating and €130 more per week after eight years, according to new research from the Higher Education Authority (HEA) …” (more)

[Emer Moreau, University Times, 16 December]

“A pay gap between male and female graduates opens up within a year of leaving college and widens over time, a study by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) has found. While women outperform men in the Leaving Cert and at third level, pay for men outstrips that of women by, on average, €14 per week within a year of graduating, rising to €130 per week after eight years …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 16 December]

“The Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh TD and the Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD today announced €10 million funding in capital grants for the country’s 11 institutes of technology (IOT) and TU Dublin. The investment is being made under Project Ireland 2040 for the current academic year and the money will be used on small-scale and necessary infrastructure works and improvements …” (more)

[Department of Education and Skills, 11 December]

“Senior academics have little confidence in the governance and management capacity of their own higher education institutions, according to a new survey. It also finds many are sceptical over the Government’s ambition to provide the best education system in Europe over the next decade. The findings are contained in a survey of more than 340 senior staff in higher education institutions and agencies by the polling firm Prospectus …” (more)

[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 20 November]

“The Irish Universities Association (IUA) today officially launched the Enhancing Digital Capacity in Teaching and Learning in Irish Universities (EDTL) project as the final event of the World Conference on Online Learning. This is an ambitious three-year project, funded by the Higher Education Authority’s Innovation and Transformation Programme …” (more)

[IUA, 7 November]

“The Higher Education Commission consultation is a missed opportunity to address all key issues in the sector. The current Government process and consultation aims to update the Higher Education Authority Act, 1971, which sets out the functions of the HEA and provided for its governance. The Act provides for the funding and overall financial monitoring of designated institutions of higher education by the HEA …” (more)

[IFUT, 7 November]

“Trinity has appealed for an exemption to controversial government proposals for higher education, asking for time to implement ‘similar reforms’ itself rather than allow the state to make sweeping changes to its governance structures, The University Times has learned …” (more)

[Cormac Watson, University Times, 6 November]