Ronan Costello
Editor
Trinity College has fallen 41 places to 117 in the latest poll of university rankings. In what has been described as a devastating blow for the Irish higher education sector, Ireland now has no representation in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
The news has been hailed as a “wake up call” by the head of the Higher Education Authority, Tom Boland. “Whatever the reasons for our dramatic rankings falls, today’s report should sweep away the last vestiges of complacency. The status quo is no longer good enough and the system requires reform,” said Mr Boland.
Trinity’s new Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast, was quick to point to increasingly onerous cuts and staff shortages as the reason for Trinity’s misfortune in the new rankings. He said that a world class university requires funding at internationally competitive levels. He also noted that Trinity achieved a record high score for research levels, indicating the university’s capability to compete at the top level.
The results have lead to renewed calls for the re-introduction of third level fees, a measure seen by many heads of universities as the only way to maintain Ireland’s international reputation as a provider of top quality higher level education. The Irish Times reports that UCD President Hugh Brady said that Education Minister Ruairi Quinn should grasp the nettle of higher education funding.
Minister Quinn has told The University Times that there are no plans to re-introduce third level fees, despite reports to the contrary.
The rankings for Irish universities within the top 400 are as follows:
* Trinity College Dublin is 117th (down from 76th)
* University College Dublin falls from 94th in 2010 to 159th
* University College Cork is ranked between 301 and 350 (243rd last year)
* NUI Galway (299th in 2010) is in 351-400 band.
* NUI Maynooth is also ranked between 351 and 400.
