Labour TD Ivana Bacik and Social Democrat TD Gary Gannon have said the Higher Education Authority Bill will decrease diversity and sacrifice the autonomy of third-level institutions.
If it is made law, the bill will impose sweeping changes on the boards of all Irish universities, but Trinity has secured an exemption from some reforms in consideration of its unique governance structure and legal status.
Speaking in the Dáil this evening, Bacik said: “We want to be very clear, I think, in bringing our statutory framework for higher education governance up to date, that we aren’t creating more problems by creating a one-size-fits-all model that’s overly bureaucratic, that treats all our education institutions as alike, when they’re patently not.”
The bill requires that all college boards have 17 members, including two student representatives. Until now, College Board, Trinity’s most senior decision-making body, has had four student members – the Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) president, education officer and welfare officer, and the Graduate Students’ Union president.
Trinity has been given special recognition in the bill due to the legal status of its governance system – in addition to the 17 members, Board will be able to appoint a number of Fellows, as long as Fellows do not comprise more than 40 per cent of the total Board.
TCDSU has said it will lobby for two of the external members, who are appointed by Board, to be elected student representatives.
Bacik said the bill’s proposals regarding Board structure represented a “missed opportunity” to increase diversity, despite having provisions for gender balance.
“For example, if only one board member has direct experience of conditions for students, that may not be sufficient to represent the experiences of perhaps the most important stakeholders”, she said.
“We do also need to ensure that the legislation provides adequately for the views of academic staff, research staff and others to be heard. Trade union representation is crucial here too, and I think there’s a frustration for many of the sector who feel … that their concerns might not carry the same weight as others at the table.”
Bacik added that some stakeholders are concerned that the bill is “placing undue emphasis on monetary value, degrees and outputs”.
Gannon criticised the use of the term “priority groups” in the bill to refer to demographics who are disadvantaged or underrepresented in third level. “I don’t believe that ‘disadvantaged’ is by itself a dirty word.”
“Students are not disadvantaged, but rather the system places them at a disadvantage. Students are not underrepresented because of a lack of interest or ability, but because the systems with trying to access the point of higher education are not as open to them as they may be to others”, he said.
“If we instead choose to call students with disabilities, students who come from poor areas and other students who are underrepresented in higher education … ‘priority groups’, then we need to actually prioritise their entry and their progression to higher education.”
Gannon highlighted that the bill does not mention postgraduate and PhD students. “This issue is also stifling diversity within research and we need to diversify in order to be excellent”, he said.
He described the current Irish research Council PhD stipend of €18,050 as “wholly inadequate for the cost of living”.
“We don’t recognise that as human beings behind the research, we have rights and basic needs that must be met”, he said. “I think we’ve made some significant strides in terms of increasing those who get to go on to university at third level, but when it comes to masters and PhD students, we still have a way to go.”
The bill would radically change the relationship between colleges and the HEA, prompting fears about colleges’ ability to maintain autonomy and academic freedom.
Bacik told the Dáil that the “lack of regard for autonomy” and the centralisation of power could have a “detrimental effect on academic freedom and academic creativity”.
“I think the contribution made by academics from all colleges and universities in terms of civic engagement, in terms of public service has been immense … for that reason, I think it’s critical that this legislation must emphasise the principles of autonomy and of academic freedom that’s served us so well.”
