Initial Study Result

The latest edition of the IAU Horizons (Vol. 19 No.2) is now available online.
By Ellen Hazelkorn, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland (ellen.hazelkorn@dit.ie). The global economic crisis (henceforth Crisis) is having a profound impact on higher education: increasing pressure for higher education institutions (HEIs) to demonstrate greater relevance to and better value-for-money for individuals and society. The continuing shift to the knowledge-based economy, and the rising demand for and costs of higher education, are occurring at the same time that many governments face financial strain – with a knock-on effect on higher education budgets. At the same time, HEIs jockey for an improved position at national or international level as global rankings boost competition, placing issues of quality and performance under intense scrutiny. Faculty are also under pressure; calls for greater productivity and accountability challenge traditional work-practices and values.
Many of these challenges were manifest decades ago, but the confluence of factors associated with the Crisis has intensified their impact. It has become commonplace to say that HEIs need to “do more with less” but the changes being experienced now are not transitory modifications. Rather, these developments are combining to bring about a transformation in our broadly-accepted model of mass higher education. There is, however, a lack of deep-level evidence on what is actually happening in higher education: on the extent of change taking place, and on the impact on institutional priorities, quality and educational programmes, student choice and participation, resources and academic work.
An on-going study by the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), in association with the International Association of Universities (IAU), aims to fill this gap in the knowledge of leaders, policy-makers and researchers. Using data on 34 institutions from 29 different countries, the study focuses on five key themes: mission, strategy, finance, quality and work practices. Institutions completed a web-based self-study between August 2012 and May 2013. Every continental region is represented at least once, although the majority of institutions are from Europe (52.9%); 80% are based in metropolitan areas with populations of over 50,000 people and were established from 1900 onwards, with 38% being established since 1970. Fifty per cent of respondents described themselves are research-informed or research-intensive. Participating institutions gathered for a Roundtable discussion on 10-11 June 2013, hosted by the Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA) to share their experiences, talk about some of the main issues and challenges they face, discuss how these issues can be addressed, and share good practices. These discussions will feed into the final report.
Preliminary results shows that the global economic crisis has affected all types and ages of HEIs with varying degrees of severity (see Figure 1). Almost 77% of respondents said the global crisis had made it more difficult for their institution to achieve its mission and goals. Fifty-six per cent respondents say they have been “quite a lot” or “very much” affected with respect to the income they receive or earn This affects not only the total income received or earned but the proportion between different sources. HEIs anticipate that the proportion of funding received directly from government will continue to fall over the years to 2015 while the proportion of institutional income constituted by research grants is likely to increase. Interestingly, respondents think that tuition fees are likely to remain relatively static as a proportion of income.
Accordingly, HEIs are making reductions in administration support, faculty recruitment, travel to conferences and meetings, and library budgets (see Figure 2). In an effort to find a sustainable business model, HEIs are looking at making wide ranging changes, including increasing academic workload; increasing class size; reducing or ceasing recruitment of staff; re-structuring institutional departments; improving procurement practices; and reducing salary overheads. The final report will be made available on the IAU website later in 2013; a notice about this will be included in a later version of this newsletter. In the meantime, if you would like to hear more about this study, please do not hesitate to contact Ellen Hazelkorn (ellen.hazelkorn@dit.ie).