Leading, Following, or Coalescing: Higher Education Institutions and Ireland's New Higher Education System Performance Framework

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Changing Higher Education Within an International Context

Abstract

This research examines the strategic responses of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to Ireland’s new Higher Education System Performance Framework during its first three-year cycle (2014-2017) to determine the extent to which HEIs and the Higher Education Authority are coalescing around the Key System Objectives (KSOs). An exploratory case study design frame is used with cases drawn from small, medium, and large institutions. A concurrent triangulation design strategy is deployed with qualitative data elicited from interviews with 24 key informants, performance agreements/evaluations/reports, and quantitative data elicited from performance evaluations. Oliver’s (1991) strategic response framework was adapted for deployment in the study. Findings indicate a congruence between KSOs and HEIs’ strategic objectives, attributable mostly to self-exertion on the part of HEIs.

Authors

• Seamus O Shea, Institute of Technology Tralee

• Joe O'Hara, Dublin City University