W2D-006 University legislation-0.txt
FOREWORD BY THE MINISTER FOR EDUCATION

The White Paper on Education - Charting Our Education Future - published in April, 1995, sets out the key principles and policy directions which will underpin the future development of education in our country into the next century, including the development of university and other forms of higher education.

The White Paper articulates the principles and considerations which will underpin the future development of higher education, including the specific principles and considerations relating to university legislation.

The White Paper also promised that I would issue a position paper outlining further my approach to legislation for the universities and to the principles underpinning it. This is the position paper. Instead of confining the circulation of the position paper to the universities and the Higher Education Authority, as signalled in the White Paper, I have decided that it should be published and given a wide circulation to all those who are interested and concerned about this important topic.

My period in office, as Minister for Education, has been characterised by an openness and a willingness to engage in dialogue and consultation, based on the conviction and the belief that real change and reform in our educational structures and systems will be most effectively achieved through this process. It was this conviction and belief that led me into the extensive, and most valuable, process of consultation which preceded the publication of the White Paper on Education. The publication of this position paper on university legislation is a further and manifest indication of my commitment to openness and dialogue in the formulation and implementation of important policy proposals.

We are now in the implementation phase of educational change in this country. The White Paper has set out the policy directions and principles which would underpin this change. This position paper sets out in greater detail the practical implementation of the White Paper principles and policy directions in relation to the important topic of university legislation. This detailed implementation derives from, and is in accord with, the policy directions set out in the White Paper published in April, 1995.

Accordingly, this position paper sets out my thinking and that of my Department in relation to the implementation of these policy directions and principles at this time.

I would like to acknowledge the advice which has been given to me, through my Department, by the heads of the universities. In all cases this advice was given on a personal basis and it does not imply the agreement, explicit or implicit, of the relevant individuals or institutions to the proposals in this document. The position paper sets out my thinking on the issues involved - but in preparing this paper I have been immeasurably assisted by the constructive advice which has been freely given to me. Niamh Bhreathnach, T.D. Minister for Education

CONTEXT

1. The Government's White Paper on education - Charting Our Education Future - published in April, 1995, sets out the key principles and policy directions which will underpin the future development of higher education. The White Paper seeks to clarify the role of the state in relation to education and underlines the empowerment of colleges and institutions of education to nurture and promote their particular values, traditions and character and to set out their philosophical approaches to education.

2. The overall policy approach to higher education was set out in the White Paper in terms of seeking to balance institutional autonomy with the needs of public policy and accountability, having due regard to the respective rights and responsibilities of the State and the institutions. A number of considerations are set out, in the White Paper (page 88), which will underpin this approach;

the promotion of equality in and through higher education

the recognition of the legitimate autonomy of institutions, particularly in relation to determining the educational aims and content of programmes

the promotion of the highest standards of quality

the preservation of diversity and balance of provision, within the system, while avoiding unnecessary overlap or duplication

the development of flexible strategies to meet the expanding and changing demand for higher education

the promotion and facilitation of the key leadership role of higher education as a source of social and economic development, together with the need to ensure continuing relevance to the needs of the economy and the promotion of links between institutions and their social and economic environments

the continuous development of a framework of accountability for individual institutions and for the higher education system as a whole

the provision of an appropriate legislative framework, which affirms well-established values while reflecting the role of higher education in modern society.

3. The White Paper sets out a range of initiatives and policy directions to give practical expression to these principles. Specifically, in relation to legislation, the White Paper contains a specific Government commitment to the introduction of a new legislative framework for universities. This legislation would cover three broad areas.

4. First, it would deal with governing bodies. The White Paper indicates that there would be a broadening of the composition of governing bodies of universities in order to provide for representation from society and the economy. In addition, academic staff, non-academic staff and students would have statutory representation on all governing bodies coupled with appropriate provisions to ensure gender balance on governing bodies. The White Paper indicates that there would be statutory provision for Ministerial nominees on all governing bodies.

5. Second, the White Paper indicates that legislation would amend the National University of Ireland legislation on the basis of proposals put forward by the Senate of the National University of Ireland.

6. Third, the White Paper indicates that more comprehensive legislation for the university sector as whole would also be introduced. The White Paper affirms a number of the principles upon which this legislation will be based namely:- regard for proper institutional autonomy coupled with appropriate public accountability affirmation of the ethos and tradition of universities, together with changes, to reflect the role of universities in modern society preservation of the diversity of universities the enhancement of the developmental role of universities

7. The White Paper also states that the legislation would seek to set out in appropriate form the roles and functions of governing bodies and executive structures respectively. The role of the university president as accounting officer would also be set out.

8. These are the policy commitments in the White Paper. They are now being delivered.

9. The White Paper stated that the minister would issue a position paper outlining further her approach to legislation and the principles underpinning it. This is the position paper. The White Paper envisaged that the position paper would be circulated within the university communities. However, this position paper is being given the widest possible circulation, given the obvious and clear public and widespread interest in this important issue.

10. The position paper builds upon, and seeks to give effect to the policy directions and principles articulated in the White Paper.

11. The White Paper was produced following an extensive, and in many respects unprecedented, process of consultation and dialogue with all the partners in education, including the universities. The National Education Convention was a notable element of the consultative process. The Convention, which included representatives of the universities as well as other concerned interests, discussed the issues involved in future university legislation and there was agreement that legislation should allow for flexibility permitting diversity of structure and practice, and acknowledging the ethos of individual institutions. There is a broad and solidly based foundation of consensus for these fundamental principles and policy directions. This gives considerable grounds for optimism and confidence in the detailed elaboration of these principles and policy directions into specific legislative proposals for the university sector.

12. The commitment to publish a further position paper on university legislation in the White Paper, and now the publication of that position paper, is a manifestation of the Minister's continuing commitment to consultation, openness and dialogue in the formulation and implementation of policy. An important purpose of the position paper, is to base discussion and dialogue on fact.

13. The legislative proposals for the university sector are indeed significant. They contain the potential to equip the universities as we enter the twenty first century with a new and robust legislative foundation. They also have the potential to lay the ground work for a new, and in many respects innovative relationship between universities and the wider society, including the State. This relationship will be one which respects the autonomy of institutions and the legitimate rights of the wider society.

14. Building from the policy position, principles and directions set out in the White Paper, the following sections of this position paper set out the Minister's thinking at this time in relation to the implementation of those principles and policy directions and their incorporation into legislation.

15. Detailed legislative proposals will, of course, have to be approved by the Government. When that is done, they will be debated in both Houses of the Oireachtas.

BACKGROUND

16. The concept and nature of the university have always been dynamic. Many of the early European universities evolved from the monastic centres of learning and the cathedral schools. From their origin in the early medieval period the essential role of the universities, that is the generation of knowledge, the development and dissemination of ideas, the promotion of intellectual debate and the fostering of a critical conscience of society, has developed hand in hand with the increasing importance of universities in economic and social life. Indeed, the increasing dependence of modern societies on knowledge has drawn the universities closer to the centre of economic and social decision-making. This is in itself an appropriate reflection of the role of the universities in generating the knowledge and ideas which are increasingly the basis for the development of our society.

17. This development has been reflected in the history of universities in Ireland from the foundation of Trinity College in 1592 to the establishment of the National University of Ireland (NUI) in 1908 and the setting up of Dublin City University (DCU) and the University of Limerick (UL) in 1989. St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, which was established in 1795, became a pontifical university in 1895 and a recognised college of the NUI in 1910. The growth and development of the university sector during the twentieth century is reflected in the growth in the numbers of undergraduate students (just over 4,000 in 1920, 6,000 in 1940, 10,589 in 1960 and 48,794 in 1995), an increasing participation rate, a greatly diversified student body, the widening range of adult and community programmes, the significant increase and diversification in postgraduate and research work, the increasing extent of the interaction between the Irish universities and Irish economic and social development through their links with business and industry, their important contributions to the development of policy in many areas of Irish life and the increasing size of the Exchequer contribution to the running of the universities (£ 172 million in 1995). Throughout this period the Irish university institutions have secured and maintained a high international reputation for the quality of their scholarship and the high standards achieved by their students.

A NEED FOR FRAMEWORK LEGISLATION

18. Universities, in the role they play in modern society, have come a long way from their early beginnings. Universities, formerly open only to a few, now play a crucial role in society as an integral and mainstream part of our education system. Universities and third-level institutions are acknowledged, nationally and internationally, as key contributors to social, economic and cultural renewal in modern society. Access to university education is no longer the privilege of a few but the realisable objective of many.

19. For our young people, universities, as one of the two major components of our higher education system, fulfil the aspiration for higher learning and personal development, building upon the foundations of primary and second-level schooling. For all age-groups in the community, universities provide an opportunity for lifelong learning and continual intellectual, cultural and artistic growth. For the economy, universities provide a resource of skill, enterprise and innovation to meet the needs of agriculture, business, industry, the professions and the public service. For society as a whole, universities contribute, through research and new knowledge, to the generation of the critical thinking and analysis which is essential in any modern, mature democracy.
