Speech by Mr Seán Ó Foghlú, Secretary General at EAN Jubilee Conference

Check against delivery

You are all very welcome to UCD. I am delighted to have the opportunity to address you here this morning.

It is fantastic to see so many people here from so many different countries, from across the EU and beyond. It is testament to the work being done by the European Access Network. It also reinforces the fact that promoting access to higher education is an issue that crosses regional and national boundaries. We are all experiencing many of the same issues and challenges. It also means that we also have positive stories to share about our successes. I hope that you are able to share your positive experiences over the course of this conference. This will assist us all in finding ways to achieve our goal of making higher education more accessible.

The theme of this conference, ‘Retrospective for Perspective’, is very relevant from an Irish perspective.

We are being challenged to look back at the past 25 years of the European Access Network to identify the learning that will inform our goals and aspirations for the next quarter of a century.

Ireland is currently commemorating the centenary of the 1916 rising. It was the events of that year one hundred years ago that provided the foundation for an independent Ireland. As part of the centenary celebrations, we as a people have been engaging in commemorating the past, celebrating the present, and looking forward to the future.

One of the key messages of the leaders of 1916 was that all the citizens of an independent Ireland should be cherished equally. This is a goal that remains at the core to our mission as policy makers in modern Ireland. We want every citizen of this country to have the same opportunities to develop themselves and to contribute to society. Ensuring equality of opportunity in education, and higher education in particular, is fundamental to our mission.

It is therefore very fitting that the 25th. anniversary of the establishment of the European Access Network will produce a Dublin 2016 Access Proclamation. You have a real opportunity to learn from the experiences, both positive and negative, of the past 25 years and to identify your goals and aspirations for the next quarter century.

In the time available to me this morning I would like to outline some of the progress that has been made in recent years in promoting access to higher education, highlight some of the challenges that we currently face, and identify key measures that we in Ireland are taking to address those challenges.

The past 25 years have witnessed significant progress at national and international level in making higher education more diverse and representative.

The European Access Network (EAN) has made a significant contribution to this agenda since its inception in 1991. Through promoting effective policies, sharing information on best practice, and undertaking collaborative research, the Network has clearly illustrated the importance of making access everyone’s business.

You have also made it clear to policy makers that promoting access to higher education is a sound investment. In a fiscal environment of finite resources, governments are forced to make choices between competing policy areas. Education is competing with other important areas such as Health, Social Protection, Transport, the Environment, and many others.

Within education, there are choices to be made across the education continuum. Funding is required to build educational infrastructure, to train and professionally develop our educators, to pay those educators, to develop curricula, to establish quality standards for the education and training delivered, to cater for the needs of our students with special needs, and to promote social inclusion.

These are all very important areas of the education continuum and they all require adequate support and funding.

However, making higher education accessible to all who wish to participate is equally important. It is important to the individual whose life chances it can positively impact. It is important to wider society in providing equal opportunities for all of our citizens to impact positively on their communities and the world around them. It is also important economically as it allows us to provide an outlet for the talents and creativity of all of our citizens.

The European Access Network has contributed to ensuring that the importance of promoting access to higher education is clearly recognised by policy makers. The result is that we are in a much stronger position in 2016 than we were when the European Access Network was established 25 years ago.

We should be proud of the progress that has been made.

I would like to give you a few headline statistics that illustrate that progress in an Irish context:

• our overall progression rate to higher education is currently 69%. This has increased by 14 percentage points since 2007
• tertiary attainment for our population of 25 to 64 year olds stands at 41% which compares favourably to the OECD average of 33%
• tertiary attainment for our 25 to 34 age cohort is currently 51%, compared to the OECD average of 41%
• participation rates by full time students with disabilities have risen from 1% of full-time new entrants in 1992 to a current figure of 6%
• the percentage of mature student entrants to full time higher education has risen from 3% in 1992 to the current position of 13%

These are very welcome statistics. However, we should remember that behind these figures are real people who have had their lives positively enhanced by the opportunity to participate in higher education.

At the launch of Ireland’s third National Access Plan in December 2015 we heard first-hand accounts from students who have been supported through third level access measures. These included students from socio economically disadvantaged backgrounds, lone parents, and students with disabilities. It was very motivating to hear how participation in higher education had improved their confidence, their personal development, and their employment prospects. Perhaps most importantly of all was the impact that these students were having on their families and their communities. In many instances they were the first in their families to proceed to higher education. They are now active role models and ambassadors for others to follow. Promoting access to higher education gives us a real opportunity to break the cycle of educational disadvantage.

While our focus at this conference is on promoting access to higher education, we cannot ignore the importance of providing adequate supports at other stages of the education continuum. Higher education, in isolation, does not have all of the solutions.

We must also consider carefully the transition points between key stages of the education cycle. Moving from primary to post primary, or from post primary to higher education can be very difficult for many individuals. We need to have appropriate policies and supports in place to assist our young people in making those transitions.

We are working hard in Ireland to try and ensure that the various areas of the education continuum are joined up. This involves adopting a ‘life cycle’ approach that focuses on the individual as he or she progresses through education, and provides appropriate supports at appropriate times. This more seamless approach to social inclusion will hopefully yield benefits in the future.

To return to higher education, I have already mentioned some of the positive progress that has been made in promoting access to higher education in Ireland. I also want to outline some of the main challenges that remain.

A few statistics will help to illustrate the scale of some of these challenges:

• just one in four of young people from some lower socio economic backgrounds participate in higher education, compared to full participation among more advantaged groups
• there are also geographic and regional imbalances. If we consider Dublin as an example, in some areas of the city, 99% of school leavers progress to higher education. In less advantaged areas the proportion is only 15%
• while we have increased participation by mature learners to 13% of entrants to higher education, this remains low compared to other OECD countries (e.g. Australia, NZ and US)
• we have increased participation by students with disabilities, but it remains the case that students with sensory disabilities are much less likely to enter higher education
• the participation rate among Irish Travellers is very low
• there are specific challenges for groups such as lone parents, teen parents and some people from ethnic minorities
• there are limited supports for postgraduate students, and none for part-time students or for students attending privately funded colleges

One other challenge currently facing policy makers in many areas of the EU and beyond is the issue of radicalisation, and how to address issues of marginalisation and disaffection among some groups in our societies. As part of the Dutch presidency of the EU a recent conference was held in Amsterdam on the future of Higher Education. It was clear from many contributors at the conference that the issue of radicalisation is one that will require cooperation across boundaries - whether those boundaries are national, international, or institutional.

I am sure that your consideration of this issue yesterday, supported by the keynote speech by Professor Ghorashi and the addresses by other distinguished speakers, has highlighted both challenges and opportunities. This is an area were the European Access Network has the potential to make a real contribution in the years ahead by facilitating the necessary sharing of experience and expertise.

I have alluded to some of the challenges that are facing us in Ireland. These issues are not unique to Ireland and they will undoubtedly resonate with many of you. However, I want to identify some of the positive measures we are taking to address those challenges.

Ireland’s third National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education (2015-2019) was launched last December. We are still one of a few European countries to have such a Plan.

There are several advantages to having a National Access Plan:

• as it is developed in consultation with stakeholders, it provides a shared vision of where we want to be in the future
• it is a means of attracting resources from central Government
• it provides a coherent framework to inform policy and practice in the years ahead
• by including measurable targets to improve access by specific groups within society, it ensures that progress is monitored and maintained

The overall vision of the Access Plan is quite simple: that the student body in our higher education will ultimately be truly representative of our society. To achieve this vision, the Plan includes 5 key goals, and more than 30 actions.

My department will be working closely with the Higher Education Authority in implementing the new Access Plan.

I would like to briefly highlight 5 key priorities for my department in 2016.

We want to reach out and engage directly with those communities that currently have the lowest participation rates in higher education. We want to ensure that the benefits of progressing to higher education are promoted and fully understood within these communities. There are many examples of very good practice in terms of community engagement – by higher education institutions, local authorities, and community groups. We want to build on that expertise to develop measures that respond to the needs of the people in those communities.

Another priority for my department is to increase the diversity of the teaching profession. Teachers have enormous capacity to frame the expectations of their students. We want to ensure that the teaching profession includes teachers who have come from less advantaged backgrounds. There are a number of potential obstacles that may be preventing ‘disadvantaged’ students from entering the teaching profession. These include financial, cultural, and even curricular obstacles. However, a number of higher education institutions and colleges of education have already undertaken some exploratory work in identifying potential solutions. We will seek to build on this work to identify models that have proven to be effective.

An issue that has exercised the mind of policy makers across the EU for many years is how best to recognise (or ‘validate’) an individual’s prior formal, informal and non-formal learning. Indeed, there is an EU recommendation for Member States to have a policy for ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’ (or RPL) in place by 2018. RPL is a tool that can broaden the range of opportunities available to disadvantaged students, both in terms of accessing higher education and potential employment opportunities. We will shortly be establishing an expert group to identify the most appropriate measures to make real progress in this area.

We will also be developing programmes that are intended to provide mentoring supports to students before they enter college but also post-entry. Such programmes have been shown to be effective in providing disadvantaged students visible role models and practical advice. A number of our Higher Education Institutions are already providing mentoring programmes to pupils in some of our post primary schools. We want to work with these institutions to broaden the scope and reach of such programmes.

The final priority I want to highlight is non-completion or non progression. We are investing considerable effort and resources to support students to access higher education. This effort is in vain if those students drop out of college before completing their studies. At present there is an aggregate drop-out rate of approximately 16% across our higher education institutions. The non-progression rate varies by institution, faculty, and individual programme. Our performance in this regard is actually relatively favourable by international standards. But each student who does not complete their studies, for whatever reason, is a missed opportunity. There is a cost to the individual, there is a cost to the system, and there is a cost to wider society. We want to work with our higher education institutions to ensure that appropriate supports are in place to facilitate students to complete their studies.

I would like to conclude by reflecting again on the progress that has been made in promoting access over the past quarter century. We have removed many of the obstacles to specific cohorts of students for whom higher education was not a realistic option in 1991.

While challenges remain, and new challenges such as radicalisation have emerged, we should reflect positively on the progress that has been made.

By continuing to work together and share good practice, through such networks as the EAN, we can ensure that higher education becomes a reality for everyone who wishes to participate. We know that this will benefit the students themselves, their families and communities, and wider society.

I would like to wish you every success in the remainder of your conference.

ENDS