Vol. XXV • Edition 2
Best Beauty Buys
September 2016
Letter to the 8th
Designing our Future
UL Falls in University Rankings
By Aisling O’Connor
The University of Limerick lost its place in the top 500 of QS World University Rankings earlier this month after falling 30 places on the list. UL is now in the 501550 ranking on the list. Norita Kelleher, the Project coordinator of UL Alumni said that “While it’s disappointing that UL’s place in the QS World University Rankings has dropped this year, similar to all but one other Irish University, I would question how, in fact, are rankings compiled, what is measured and how is it measured – is it a level playing field?” The UL Alumni believe a more important measure of UL’s status is the fact that UL graduates are 14% more likely than any other Irish University graduate to be employed following graduation, according to Kelleher “For most of us, our University Education is about securing employment in our chosen career and the fact that UL leads the way in this regard is truly encouraging,” she added. Paul McCutcheon of
the President’s Office believes that the decline of Irish universities in the international league tables reflects poorly on how the Irish university sector is viewed from abroad. The National University Ireland, Galway (NUIG) rose by 22 places this year and was the only Irish university to rise in the list. The University College Cork (UCC) fell from 233rd place to 283rd , Trinity College was down 20 places, and the University College
Dublin (UCD) fell 27 places. Former Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan said that while the drop in ranking is concerning, UL has a high quality learning experience for students and that good teaching and engaged learning is not captured in the rankings. UL was not the only Irish university that did not make the top 500 on the list as the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) and Maynooth University both placed
in the 651-700 ranking for 2016. The fall in ranking is “a question of national, as well as individual institutional reputation, with foreign academics and rankings agencies currently aware of declining exchequer funding, deteriorating student-staff ratios, a lack of investment in facilities and equipment and no obvious national commitment to ensuring that Irish students benefit from a world class university system,” McCutcheon
said. The Minister echoed the concern of reputation and suggests that it cannot be ignored. A lack of funding is said to play a role in UL’s decline on the list. Kelleher believes it is the government’s responsibility to realise the importance of Irish universities and that investment is needed to ensure our reputation as a nation of highly educated and employable graduates is maintained. O’Sullivan said that
following the collapse of the economy, higher education suffered deep cuts. A case chaired by Peter Cassells suggests a number of funding options to be considered by the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills and by the government in the near future. “A decision needs to be made without undue delay so that University of Limerick and other Universities can maintain both excellence and affordability for students into the future”, she continued. With regards to individual subjects, UL is in the 201-250 category for English Language and Literature, and has the same score for Modern Languages, both Education and Training, and Engineering and Mechanical were in the 201-300 group, with Computer Science and Information Services being placed in the 351-400 category. McCutcheon also said that it is the duty of each university to be proactive and progressive in its development. UL intends to implement a series of strategic developments, [continued on page 2]