Discussion/Conclusion
The last three decades have been a time of transition and expansion in the higher education sector in Ireland. The
institute of technology sector has been at the forefront of these developments and has had to cope with rising student
numbers and expectations and the diversification and differentiation of institutions and courses. The publication of
the Qualifications (Education and Training) Act 1999 brought new challenges and placed the issue of accountability
and quality assurance to the forefront of most agendas. The growing need for quality assurance impacts on all staff
and levels within the sector but has a particular impact on academic staff that has experienced a degree of autonomy
and with limited individual assessment and accountability.
This study confirms that the implementation of quality assurance and the balancing of autonomy with
accountability is an intricate process and needs to be looked at in the context of other major trends such as the
expansion of the higher education system and the changing student profile. Despite the investment in campus
development, administration and management functions, the respondents in this study felt that such developments
had provided little or no benefit to them and had not helped them in their role and had led to more bureaucracy and
structure. Although the institute of technology sector was set up to increase participation rates and support widening
access to the HE system, it was evident from the responses that some of the academics had ideologies that were in
conflict with this and were more in line with ‘elitist’ or ‘traditionalist’ view of higher education. They were
particularly concerned about the fall in the general standard of the student. Perhaps this was related to their own
background and time spent as a student in the higher education system and their professional background.
The respondents’ attitude towards the growing focus on quality assurance was consistent with the findings in
Henkel’s (2000) study. The respondents accepted the need for quality assurance and accountability. However they
were concerned about the form it would take and that it would lead to bureaucratisation and paperwork and was
driven by consumerism and academic surveillance. This conflicted with the academics’ beliefs, as they wanted to
see the process enhancing the students learning environment and that quality assurance should permeate all areas of
the organisation.