Tertiary Education in Ireland

1. Introduction

The mainstream education system in Ireland can be characterized as eight years primary education, followed by a six years secondary education, with options to continue after secondary education to non-degree further education or to four year degree higher education [1]. Postsecondary education consists of specialist Further Education Colleges and Post Leaving Certificate units often within secondary schools that provide postsecondary courses. Both offer non-degree level one-year and two-year subject specific courses with the dual role of preparing students to progress to employment or to progress to universities offering four-year degrees. The term tertiary education used internationally for postsecondary education has been to the fore European education debate since the 1990s [2]. This debate was first aired within Ireland at a conference in Dublin 2003 [3]. A reform agenda in Irish education has impacted all levels of the system over recent decades. In May 2022 the government finally published a policy platform on tertiary education, with publish briefings on the policy held by the relevant Minister on 20th June 2022.

In December 2022 the same Minister for further and higher education in Ireland, now Prime Minister of Ireland, announced a tertiary education pilot project. The model envisaged is consistent with the international norms of tertiary education. It is envisaged as postsecondary, field specific programmes of study, delivered through the specialist Further Education Colleges and not through secondary school Post Leaving Certificate units. A key objective is to develop post secondary education in Ireland so that the boundaries and transitions between further and higher education are less pronounced and less challenging for students. This development recognizes that progression to higher education is the dominant outcome of the Further Education Colleges. The Minister also envisaged tertiary education as an alternative to the mainstream Central Application Office (CAO) system of entry to higher education. The CAO is owned by the universities in Ireland and is the main, centralized entry system to higher education for seventy to eighty thousand applicants each year. Tertiary education was envisaged as an alternative to the CAO that would increase access to higher education specifically by providing a nationally coordinated, locally operated alternative entry system to four-year degree programmes.

Within this national motivation set down by the government, each organization that is party to the tertiary system has its own secondary objectives, relative to its place in the system and its organizational strategy. Thus policy was defined in 2022 for setting up a tertiary education system, defining how it would work within the existing education structures, education funding and academic quality assurance systems at national level. The 2023 pilot project was notable from the outset for its high level of ambition, for the proposed pace of change and for the level of centralized national management in an otherwise regionally managed education system.

2. Tertiary education concept

The replacement of the current binary system of universities and further education colleges with a more integrated, flexible and cascading tertiary system is the theory behind the development of tertiary education in Ireland [3]. A changing reality to a knowledge-based society and increasing demand for graduates to support social and economic development objectives are offered as the imperatives towards tertiary education reform. With the massification of postsecondary education, the current Irish postsecondary system of distinctive research-intensive universities, research-informed teaching focused technological universities and sub-degree further education colleges is considered as having too many hierarchical boundaries to serve future education requirements, as well as reinforcing social stratification. For example, the argument has been proffered that the primary social and economic need in the 21st century is for two-year postsecondary education as opposed to the current emphasis in four-year degrees [4, 5]. To remedy the perceived disfunction in the current postsecondary system and meet the anticipated social and economic needs of this century an integrated, postsecondary ecosystem based on the concepts of coherence, collaboration, coordination, and co-production has been suggested as one approach to tertiary reform [6].

The concept of tertiary education is stated as “bridging the divide between the higher and further education subsectors will lead to a more integrated but diversified postsecondary landscape” [7]. This diversification is considered necessary to address the needs of an increasingly technological world. Moreover, the level of mass participation by half the population in tertiary education is considered insufficient, with new pathways, micro-credentials and specialized sub-degree programmes required to address social and economic objectives. Tertiary education is conceived as providing the ecosystem to address a mismatch between educational attainment and societal needs. There remains the question of how a unified tertiary system can avoid mission drift and address the continuing requirements for a high-quality academic sector and a high-quality vocational sector.

The Higher Education Authority Act 2022 provided the statutory basis for tertiary education in Ireland. The act required the Minister to develop a strategy for tertiary education, including objectives and outputs. This resulted in the policy response below from government.

3. Ireland’s policy platform

Having established DFHERIS, a new, all-encompassing government department for further education, higher education, research, innovation and science in 2020, Ireland set about the task of developing a single tertiary system that reflects this unified view. Consistent with the tertiary education concept and system reform, in 2022 DFHERIS published a Policy Platform: Progressing A Unified Tertiary System for Learning, Skills and Knowledge [8].

A key concept in the policy platform is that irrespective of how the student enters the tertiary system they should experience a responsive, unified system that can meet their needs for knowledge, skill and learning as these arise and change during a lifelong learning journey. Within this potentially homogenous system, individual institutions are expected to maintain mission differentiation. This differentiation should nonetheless support cooperation and coordination across the tertiary education ecosystem to fulfill common social and economic requirements. Progressively the institutional independence and operational autonomy of tertiary institutions is giving way through legislation, funding and performance controls to a centrally constructed model of unity.

The policy aims to increase collaboration and system coherence across the further education, higher education research and innovation sectors. Acknowledging that all the components of a tertiary system are already present in the current system, the policy states, “the purpose of this work is to unify them to ensure that they are coherent, complementary and well balanced, and are well positioned to address future challenges” [8]. Structured around five key policy messages the tertiary policy aims to:

• Build on the strong existing sectoral system to develop a unified system.

• Address the government change agenda and future challenges through the development of a coherent and comprehensive knowledge, skill and learning system.

• Set broad objectives for the unified tertiary system, such as

  • Offer a wide range of more joined up learning and development opportunities to learners, researchers and innovators.

  • Grow equality, diversity and inclusion across the system.

  • Enable the system to adapt to change.

  • Create more unified regional systems.

  • Provide for the skills, knowledge and talent needs of individuals, the economy and society.

• Implement and monitor progress through a wide range of actions across a range of policy lines towards specific outcomes.

• A co-creative approach based on identification of lead organization and collaborative organizations for each thirty-five policy actions, grouped under the five policy objectives.

4. Tertiary pilot project

The tertiary project commenced in August 2022. The national agencies managing higher education and further education provision, the HEA and SOLAS, met with paired representatives of Technological Universities (TU) and regional Education and Training Boards (ETB). A national director of tertiary education was appointed and a National Tertiary Office (NTO) was established. At a second meeting with the national agencies in November the TU/ETB partners indicated the number of tertiary programmes they proposed to offer in 2023 and in return funding was approved for the appointment of tertiary Programme Development Co-ordinators in each of the TU and ETB partners. By January 2023 these key roles were allocated and the tertiary project moved to the implementation stage at regional level.

Concurrent with the regional partnership programme development initiatives, the NTO was tasked with oversight of the tertiary project. With limited staffing at the initial stage and with the policy platform as its generic guide, the NTO found itself stretched to address the many system definition and operation aspects of establishing a new tertiary model that crossed the boundaries of the existing systems models for further education, higher education, state funding, quality assurance systems, student status and industrial relations consequences of working across distinct sectors.

The NTO is responsible for supporting and facilitating the establishment of tertiary degree partnerships between FE and HE institutions. Discussions at a sectoral level were key to establishing how the different sectors could collaborate and work within the constructs of existing systems. As a national project communication with key stakeholders across all levels was required. This ranged from discussions reviewing the systematic and operational aspects of processing students on tertiary programmes, to managing the academic governance and quality assurance of the programmes and co-ordinating the delivery of the programmes by educators across institutions. These initial discussions led to the agreements in relation to student funding, data sharing within partnerships and the role of educators delivering on tertiary programmes.

During the initial stage of the project the NTO worked with DHFERIS, SOLAS and the HEA in relation to national funding agreements. This support was key for the Tertiary project to enable students attending an ETB campus to avail of HE grants including the Student Assistance Fund, 1916 Student Bursary, the Sanctuary Scholarship and EU Protection Directive for Students from Ukraine. As a pilot project, progresses reviewing the operational and logistical aspects of tertiary education are ongoing to ensure the effectiveness of the project for the sector. There has been a tendency within the NTO to reinvent a new Tertiary process, where existing further education or higher education processes could be used. Creating a third sector seems contrary to the tertiary policy of education integration. A review of the first year of the tertiary project is now underway to gather lessons learned and best practice experiences.

The initial pilot phase of the project involved five HE institutions and nine FE institutions across five partnerships. The five partnerships were established throughout the country with each partnership consisting of at least one FE and one HE partner. The tertiary programmes have set criteria across each programme creating consistency across the sector for Tertiary programmes. Students are registered in both partner institutions, so they have access to and can avail of the supports and services within both the HE and the FE partner. The programmes are designed to allow students gain accreditation at different stages along their journey with step-back awards/embedded awards. All students registered on a tertiary programme can apply for the HE state grant (SUSI) as well as other higher education funding such as the 1916 Bursary awards.

However, the model allows for autonomy in the design and delivery of the programmes by each of the partner institutions and maintains local governance and academic independence. The first suite of Tertiary programmes was launched by the Minister for DFHERIS in July 2023, with programmes commencing in September 2023. A total of 159 students commenced their studies across 13 programmes offered by the different partnerships, a slow update for the new system in its first year. As students come to the end of the first stage of their tertiary degree programme the sector is preparing to extend the range of offerings to include additional programmes in the second year, with an anticipated trebling of student numbers to over 400.

5. TUS-LCETB tertiary pilot

6. From pilot to mainstream reform

The pilot allowed for the realization of a tertiary partnership between FE and HE institutions. Willingness and support for the project has been demonstrated by institutions across the sector to establish and run the 13 programmes currently being offered across Ireland. While the opportunities and potential from the pilot are recongised, establishing tertiary programmes between FE/HE partners as part of a wider sectoral reform will need to address the challenges faced throughout the pilot to enable the effectiveness of mainstreaming these programmes.

Attendance at NTO national and regional events by the programme development coordinators has contributed to a growing awareness of the tertiary programmes. As the pilot moves into its second year engaging key stakeholders across the sector is an ongoing process. While feedback from the sector has been positive in relation to the addition of an alternative pathway to HE, for some there is concern regarding how tertiary programmes overall will impact on existing HE provision. It is important that the sector distinguishes the tertiary programmes as an alternative to the CAO process and provides a unique offering, enabling students to commence their studies towards a HE award within the FE partner institutions through a co-designed and co-delivered collaborative initiative. While the structures and embedded awards across the different programmes varies, this variance provides an enriched view of the different approaches that can be used for the development of tertiary programmes.

Due to the short timeframe for setting up the initial programmes within the pilot and to enable students to enroll in the 2023/2024 academic year, many of the programmes offered were existing HE programmes running currently within the HE institutions. Within the pilot, the different partner institutions offer tertiary programmes with varying transfer models between FE and HE institutions, such as 1 + 3, 2 + 2 and 1 + 4 delivered by the FE and HE institutions. The awards offered vary also, with some partnerships offering FE and HE awards for the different stages of the programme and other partnerships offering HE awards only for each stage of the programme. The variance and flexibility across the different partners enhances the range of offerings that can be made available under tertiary education and will further add to the evaluation of the pilot.

The effectiveness of the convergence of tertiary education across FE and HE partnerships is reflective of the inputs, the process and the outputs identified and prioritized across the sector. Recognizing the need for adequate inputs from national bodies through financial support and funding for tertiary programmes is key. Identifying the funding model in relation to staff resources, facilities, programme materials for both the FE and HE partners is currently underway by the National Tertiary Office. A Joint Tertiary Degree Funding Model Review Group has been established with members from DEFERIS, the NTO Office and the different FE/HE partners. Having a funding model for supporting the further development of new programmes as well as programmes on new campuses to support regional development should be considered.

Effective processes at both a sectoral and local level are required to support the seamless progression from FE to HE. At a sectoral level this involves looking at how system level processes can enable data sharing, facilitate access to funding and allow for the processing of students on different student registration systems. A key strength of a national project is the consistency for the tertiary offerings across the sector, which should inform understanding and awareness of the distinctive nature of the tertiary programmes. While the consistent implementation of key processes is needed at a sectoral level for programmes in the national tertiary initiative, the governance and operational aspects of the programmes will vary across the partners and should be managed through local processes. Within the local context it is important that processes for managing the quality assurance and governance of the programme are managed and agreed by the partners through the Memorandum of Agreement. Processes that look at the management of the programme, the policies and procedures that staff and students on the programme adhere to and the processes in relation to the examination of students on the programme, fall under the governance of the HE and are agreed between the FE and HE partners.

Measuring the outputs of the programmes should be consistent across the sector to provide an accurate view of the impact of the initiative. This should look at the provision and diversity of tertiary programmes across the sector, the impact of the programmes regionally, graduation and retention rates across the programmes and the impact of unifying FE and HE provision to form a new tertiary sector.

7. How tertiary programmes address the need for a more unified sector for current and future students

Facilitating seamless progression from FE to HE, the tertiary programmes offer students the opportunity to avail of higher education programmes at a local level. The programmes allow students to begin their HE learning journey locally, making it more accessible and enabling wider participation across the region. Managing the mainstream reform requires national and sectoral support along with local backing and cooperation with partner institutions to ensure the effectiveness of the co-design and co-delivery of tertiary programmes.

The collaboration and cooperation across the FE and HE sectors have been further strengthened by the tertiary project. The establishment of new partnerships and further consolidation of existing partnerships has been a key enabler in developing a more unified tertiary education system. A key strength in the provision of tertiary programmes across FE/HE institutions is provision of an education programme offering with the distinctive advantages of both FE and HE providers. Utilizing the strengths of the FE sector to nurture and support learners in a smaller, regional learning environment and enabling students to seamlessly progress to the HE environment and further develop their potential. The development of a new educational pathway for students who commence their learning in FE and continue to HE enhances the overall provision of education across sectors.

It is important to consider the profile of the student for whom the programmes are being designed. Currently all tertiary programmes are for undergraduate full time programme provision. As the tertiary programmes expand and integrate further across the regions it will be important to look at the potential for more part time provision and how this may facilitate greater access to a wider cohort of potential students. For many who may be interested in upskilling while continuing to work the flexible provision of tertiary programmes that are delivered more regionally may be an additional option worth developing. The SOLAS Winer Skills bulletin 2023 [9] highlights transversal skills and competencies such as ‘adapt to change’ and ‘work in teams’ as the most frequently sought after skills by employers. The report evaluates the main transversal skills across the various relevant occupations. The integration of these transversal skills should be a key consideration for the development of new tertiary programmes. The Future FET: Transforming Learning report [10] acknowledges trends including digitalization, globalization, aging demographics and climate change and how they change the demand in the provision of learning as well as a shift in the skills, knowledge and competencies required for future graduates. It is important to contemplate how tertiary programmes being delivered across FE/HE partnerships can support these changing demands.

Another consideration for further unifying FE and HE is looking at the potential of how tertiary programmes can be utilized for supporting students who start in HE and cannot continue on their current programme. Exploring options for how students can step back to a tertiary programme at a local FE institution to continue their studies may offer a more constructive outcome than dropping out. Leveraging the strengths of collaborative approaches for developing pathways is a potential strength of tertiary that needs to be explored further.

8. Discussion

In a review of the Australian tertiary education sector, Karmel [11] noted that “it would be a mistake to let the university way of doing things take over… any integration needs to build on the VET sector not weaken it”. The tertiary degree programme is centrally focused on widening access and participation to students, but also looks at how the FE and HE sector can seamlessly collaborative and be used to further enhance the provision of education to meet the needs of people within the region. It is important for tertiary programmes to define their place in the system and offer a range of programmes that support students who most benefit from programme provision across the sector.

There is also a need to look at staffing requirements and how co-design and co-delivery of new tertiary programmes can be appropriately integrated across FE and HE institutions. Where new programmes are being designed and new resources, labs, classrooms and other facilities are to be put in place, exploring opportunities for new FE/HE collocated campuses. National level agreements on key functional aspects of the development and delivery of new tertiary programmes need to be considered within the national industrial relations frameworks, agreements and contracts.

Further education bridges the roles between second level and third level education and is currently more closely aligned to the second level model. The development and delivery of tertiary programmes has the potential to support growth and development of FE institutions to align more closely to higher education values, behaviors and operating models. Throughout the pilot cross campus induction, support sessions and peer-to-peer welcome sessions took place to support student engagement and develop a sense of belonging for students within the HE institution. It is important to ensure that the strengths of the FE sector, such as smaller class groups, additional one-to-one support and additional learning support services, are not lost through the provision of tertiary programmes.

Traditional research focused universities are in discussions with the NTO seeking to enter the tertiary education space. The natural synergy between the values and pedagogical approaches of ETB’s and TU’s may not transfer as easily for students progressing to traditional universities, undermining a major strength of the tertiary model. A scaffolded support programme, ranging from induction in the FE campus through to commencement within the HE campus, needs to be in place as students transition through tertiary from FE to HE. This support is a fundamental aspect that should be integrated across tertiary programmes. FE and HE partners need to consider and make provision for this support as part of the distinctive delivery of tertiary programmes.

As the portfolio of tertiary programmes grows how will tertiary partnerships be defined? Will tertiary education in Ireland be built on strong bilateral partnerships or will the sector fragment with multiple HE institutions partnering with multiple FE partners. If it is the latter, then the volume of tertiary activity may not be sufficient or viable to merit a high level of commitment from any single HE institution. FE institutions that choose to collaborate with multiple HE partners, and visa versa, need to consider how the establishment of new pathways for tertiary programmes across partnerships will fit with the strategic goals of education partners within a region. The decision to develop exclusive or non-exclusive partnerships to drive tertiary education will invariably impact the level of commitment of the different institutions to the tertiary sector.

Further development and growth of tertiary programmes is dependent on the continued support and funding from the DHFERIS. As the provision of tertiary programmes expands across the sector the tertiary funding model needs to be consistent with both the current FE and HE funding models. Avoiding duplication and maintaining consistency with current funding models will be a challenge. Developing a distinct third model for tertiary operations could create a bureaucrat overhead that partner providers would not welcome. Evaluations of costings within the pilot highlight the variances that exist between developing new programmes and offering existing programmes with core resourcing in situ. Differences is set-up costs for programmes across different discipline areas are also a significant variable.

A key aim of the tertiary project in Ireland is seamless integration across FE and HE for students to attain qualifications in a timely and effective manner. In the initial pilot phase of the project, variances presented in programme structure across the different programmes being offered, with most degree programmes matching the normal four years. However, some programmes had a 1 + 4 structure, penalizing the tertiary student pathway with an additional year of study and cost to attain the standard four year degree. As additional tertiary programmes come under the tertiary project a key factor for consideration is the development of tertiary degree programme that can be achieved within the standard four-year timeline for an honors degree (level 8) programme. Provision of programmes without the additionality of time for the tertiary student is fundamental to the parity of esteem between students and education pathways.

9. Concluding remarks

The National Tertiary Pilot Project in Ireland has established a new pathway for tertiary education and further developed the collaborative process for FE/HE partnerships. This has the potential to expand the range of programmes institutions offer and also facilitate wider regional access to higher education for students. The pilot project has created an opportunity to look at how FE and HE institutions can align processes and develop effective collaborative practices that enable wider access, a national objective of social and education policy in Ireland. This seamless transition across FE/HE is reliant on support through government funding models. Tertiary development in Ireland has reached a point of development where funding models, operational policies and the framework for collaborative commitment of FE/HE partners are essential for further progress and mainstreaming of this new pathway or sector.

Tertiary education is a welcome enhancement in education provision. The pilot project has been very exciting time, creating an opportunity for innovative delivery of tertiary education across FE/HE partnerships. As the pilot expands and additional FE/HE partnerships engage in tertiary, defining how best to manage the overall portfolio of programmes across different partnerships will be important. To ensure the viability and effectiveness of tertiary programmes it is important to look at how they support regional needs and the strategic development of the FE/HE institutions involved.

Evaluating how students adapt and transition through the tertiary pathways will be key to enhancing the provision of tertiary programmes. At a sectoral level these insights may provide guidance on how best to move forward with the tertiary pilot project. Ireland has yet to decide how the provision of HE programmes in conjunction with the FE providers should be configured as an effective system.