Taking a broader view of diversity

www.dit.ie/researchandenterprise
Re-imaging Higher Education: Taking a
Broader View of Diversity
Professor Ellen Hazelkorn
Vice President of Research and Enterprise, and Dean of the
Graduate Research School
Higher Education Policy Research Unit (HEPRU)
Dublin Institute of Technology
5th
Global Meeting of Associations (GMA V), Manchester, April
2013

What are we trying to achieve?

A World-Class Higher Education System
• Coherent portfolio of horizontally diverse and distinctive high performing,
complementary and actively engaged institutions:
• Providing a breadth of educational, research and student experiences
which offer the widest chance to the broadest number of students; ;
• Working collaboratively to maximize capacity beyond individual
institutional capability.
• Developing knowledge and skills that citizens need to contribute to society
throughout their lives, while attracting international talent;
• Graduates able to succeed in the labour market, fuel and sustain personal,
social and economic development, and underpin civil society;
• Operating successfully in the global market, international in perspective
and responsive to change.

Overview of Presentation
• What is Meant by Diversity
• 21st
Century Diversity
• Valuing and Strengthening Diversity

1. What is Meant by Diversity

What is diversity?
Diversity a basic norm of HE policy because:
• Considered a “necessary consequence of the rapid growth in tertiary education
enrolments and the movement of many tertiary education systems from elite to
mass systems” and beyond (Santiago et al, 2008, 76);
• Permits the combination of elite and mass higher education – the former being
dependent upon the latter (Trow, 1979);
• Increases level of HEI effectiveness;
• Offers opportunities for experimenting with innovation;
• Best meets educational and societal requirements (Birnbaum, 1983) by:
• Providing opportunities for social mobility;
• Meeting the needs of different labour markets (via an increasing variety of
specialisations);
• Serving the political needs of interest groups.

Diversity is Broad
• Institutional core tasks: teaching; research; engagement; innovation; continuing
education; professional development; services; outreach;
• Distinctive Descriptors: traditional, civic/engaged, liberal arts, technological,
entrepreneurial, metropolitan, regional/community, specialist, etc.
• Programme and pedagogical profile: comprehensive disciplines/specialisation by
field; academic, technological, professional orientation; pedagogical profiles.
• Research: spectrum from basic/fundamental, use-inspired basic, goal-oriented,
problem-solving, national/policy relevance; multi/inter-disciplinary;
• Student profile: ethnic, religious, or social background, gender, qualifications;
• Staff profile: ethnic, religious background, gender, previous academic and
professional qualifications, functional emphasis, e.g., time spent on education,
research, continuing education, innovation services;
• Internal organisation: governance, functional orientation of different units, funding
mechanisms, reward structures. (adapted from Hazelkorn, 2011)

Changing Idea of the “University”
• Medieval University: focused around the seven liberal arts: grammar,
astronomy, rhetoric (or speech), logic, arithmetic, geometry and music, in belief
society would benefit from scholarly expertise generated from university;
• Modern European University: influenced by the scientific revolution and von
Humboldt led to the rise of the research university, with an emphasis on the
teaching-research nexus;
• US Land Grant University: focused on the teaching of agriculture, science, and
engineering as a response to the industrial revolution, and changing social class
rather than higher education's historic core of classical studies;
• Polytechnics and New Generation Universities: built on the tradition of
Workingman’s Colleges, they cater for wider range of socio-economic groups,
learner groups and educational requirements;
• New Providers and HE Models: public, for-profit and open-access; franchising,
over-seas campuses; global networks; MOOCs; joint and dual awards.

Drivers of Change
• Traditionally, HEIs reflected basic understanding of knowledge, social
classes, and skill/labour market requirements;
• University taught the classical canon of subjects, including philosophy,
medicine and theology – or basic knowledge;
• Hochschule, etc. taught natural and engineering sciences – or applied
knowledge.
• Over time, institutional boundaries have blurred:
• Demand for higher education has risen exponentially;
• Labour markets evolved, and disciplines have moved up the value chain;
• Bologna Process and harmonisation of educational quality;
• Knowledge more complex and divisions between fundamental and applied
less meaningful: “applied and not yet applied” (Boulton and Lucas, 2008, 9);
• Growing focus on global challenges and the need for interdisciplinary
responses.

Tertiary Enrolment by Region, 1970-
2007

HEI growth in OECD countries, 1955-2011

From Elite to Universal Participation
Elite
0-15%
Mass
16-50%
Universal
Over 50%
Functions of higher
education
Shaping mind and character
of ruling class; preparation for
elite roles
Transmission of skills;
preparation for broader
range of technical elite roles
Adaptation of "whole
population" to rapid social
and technological change
Curriculum and
forms of
instruction
Highly structured in terms of
academic conceptions of
knowledge
Modular, flexible and semi-
structured sequence of
courses
Boundaries and sequences
break down; distinctions
between learning and life
break down
Institutional
characteristics
Homogeneous with high and
common standards; small
residential communities; clear
and impermeable boundaries
Comprehensive with more
diverse standards; "cities of
intellect" – mixed residential
& commuting; boundaries
fuzzy and permeable.
Great diversity with no
common model; aggregates
of people enrolled
but...many rarely on
campus; boundaries weak or
non-existent.
Research and
knowledge transfer
Pursuit of understanding of
fundamental principles
focused on "pure disciplines"
and arising from curiosity,
with no (direct or immediate)
commercial benefits.
Pursuit of understanding of
principles in order to solve
practical problems of the
modern world, rather than
to acquire knowledge for
knowledge’s sake.
Research is democratised,
co-produced with and
responsive to wider society,
with an emphasis on impact
and benefit.
(Hazelkorn, 2011 – Adapted from Brennan, 2004 and Trow, 1973, 1974, 2006; Gibbons et al, 1994)

2. 21st
Century Diversity

When systems and institutions evolve
(1)
• In the 20th
C, diversity was “solved” by a binary system – but this is
changing.
• Hungary has replaced its binary with more varied range of programmes;
• Netherlands has replaced its binary with a three-way differentiation;
• Finland and Norway are encouraging mergers between different institutions;
• South Africa, UK and Australia have adopted a unitary system;
• Many developing countries are encouraging different models of private and for-profit
HEIs.
• 21st
C knowledge economies require citizens who are motivated, dedicated
learners able to overcome unforeseen challenges of tomorrow – more
“versatilists” and fewer specialists & generalists (Schleicher, OECD, 2010):
• This has implications for HE and HEIs.

When systems and institutions evolve
(2)
• Mission evolution rather than simply mission creep/drift (Guri-Rosenblit et al,
2007):
• HE has evolved to take on a diverse range of functions and niches within and
between institutions (Clark, 1978);
• Some of today’s most well-known universities began life as more modest
institutions (Marcus, 2011);
• Terms such as “unitary” and “binary” are becoming out-dated.
• There has been a “gradual shift in meaning of diversity” from simplistic
differentiators to “diversification in institutions and programmes with
different profiles” (van der Wende, 2009, p323).
• Greater breadth of programmes and study opportunities at undergraduate level to
enable/support universal access and democratisation of knowledge;
• Greater specialization and professionalization at postgraduate level to support
advanced learning and research.

Diverse Research Missions
• Traditionally, research is usually interpreted/measured simply as:
• Binary between fundamental and applied research, e.g. R&D;
• Intensity, e.g. no. of researchers, researcher students, publications, research
income;
• Today, policy is promoting engagement as learning beyond the campus
walls, discovery which is useful beyond the academic community and
service that directly benefits the public – but there remains much
confusion.
Knowledge ceasing “to be something standing outside society, a goal to be
pursued by a community of scholars dedicated to the truth, but is shaped by
many social actors under the conditions of the essential contestability of truth”
(Delanty, 2001, 105);
• Research-innovation spectrum is a dynamic “continuum”.

The “multiversity”
Today, higher education is a vast complex organisation:
• Provides education from associate degree to PhD level, conducts
research, participate in outreach initiatives, and a source of innovation
and entrepreneurship;
• Emblem of nation-building, the engine of the economy and the source of
human capital;
• Actively engages with a diverse range of stakeholders through knowledge
and technology transfer, and underpinning the global competitiveness of
nations and regions;
• Medical schools, museums, theatres, galleries, sports facilities and cafes –
all of which play a significant role in their community, city and nation;
• Meets needs of demographically, ethnically and culturally diverse
populations, and responds to complex and challenging political-economic
environments.

21st
C.
University?
Vocational InstituteTraditional
University
Education/Learning
Innovation/EngagementResearch/Discovery
The Knowledge Triangle
Specialist Research Institute

University for 21st
Century (Duderstadt, 2000)
10 possible models:
• The world university – international focus;
• The diverse university – social/ethnic diversity, pluralistic learning community;
• The creative university – university of the arts, media, architecture;
• The divisionless university – interdisciplinary approach to learning;
• The cyberspace university – open and distance learning;
• The adult university – advanced education and training;
• The university college – undergraduate provision;
• The lifelong university – programme provision throughout lifetime;
• The ubiquitous university – new “life-form” linking/connecting social institutions;
• The laboratory university – new “green-field” site ‘experiment’ in learning.

6 University Models (OECD, 2004)
Post-secondary system: collection of specialised HEIs carrying out several
missions/functions for different population groups and kinds of knowledge:
•Tradition – catering to relatively small share of youth for credentials;
•Entrepreneurial - teaching, research and service are well balanced;
•Free Market – market forces drive specialisation by function, field, audience;
•Lifelong Learning and Open Education – universal access for all ages w/ less research;
•Globally networked – teaching/training institution in partnership with other orgs.;
•Diversity of Recognised learning – disappearance of formal institution – distance,
‘open course’ education.

Responding to Society
Wedgwood, 2004, 10.

U-Multirank

Diversity Examples (1)
Name Keywords Description
Danube
University
Krems,
Austria
Professional; Problem Solving/Goal-oriented;
Specialist Disciplines; MA/PhD; Mature/Part-time;
Young; City; Single-campus; International
Postgraduate continuing education studies in health/medicine,
communication/globalization, business/law, education and media as
well as of arts, culture and building.
Open
University,
UK
Classical/Professional; Use-inspired Basic And
Problem Solving/Goal-oriented; Research-
informed; Open Access; ODL; Dual-sector; Young;
International;
Dedicated to modern distance learning with programmes across the
arts, social sciences, business and science. It promotes interdisciplinary
research, and new modes of teaching and learning. Emphasis on open
access.
Franklin W.
Olin College
of
Engineering,
US
Professional/Technological; Problem Solving/Goal-
oriented; Specialist/Entrepreneurship;
Undergraduate; Private Not-for-profit; Young;
Selective; Single-campus
Founded in 2002, to prepare “students to become exemplary
engineering innovators who recognize needs, design solutions, and
engage in creative enterprises for the good of the world”.
Asian
Institute of
Technology,
Thailand
Professional/Technological; Problem Solving/Goal
oriented research focused on the region's
sustainable development and its integration into
the global economy; postgraduate education;
Promotes technological change and sustainable development in the
Asian-Pacific region through higher education, research and outreach.
Established 1959, AIT has become a leading regional postgraduate
institution, working with public and private sector partners throughout
the region and with some of the top universities in the world.
RMIT
University,
Australia
Professional/Technological/Vocational; Problem
Solving/Goal-Oriented; Mass; Meritocratic; Dual
Sector; Old; Public Dependent; Managerial; Multi-
campus/International Campuses; Large
From 1887, is a university of technology and design, providing
educational pathways between vocational and higher education or the
option of qualifications combining the best of both. Has 3 campuses in
Melbourne, Australia, and two in Vietnam.

Diversity Examples (2)
Name Keywords Description
Albukhary
International
University,
Malaysia
Private; non-fee paying; priority to disadvantage
students; undergraduate specialist;
Established 1996. Programmes offered in business and ICT. All
students required to undertake planned social and community
engagement activities throughout period of study. The objective is
to inculcate in them the passion to serve and contribute to others.
University of
the Arts,
London, UK
Professional/Vocational; Specialist Disciplines;
Problem-solving/Goal-oriented Research;
Selective; Dual Sector; Old; Managerial.
Developed from 5 independent art, design, fashion and media
colleges in 1986. Provides professional education from foundation
to PhD, with focus on practice-based research.
Earth
University,
Costa Rica
Private international institution, non-profit;
undergraduate; student centred and experiential
learning environment.
Founded 1986 by Act of Government, offers four-year
undergraduate in agricultural sciences and natural resources
management. Focus on scientific education and techniques which
emphasizes ethical values, entrepreneurship and environmental
and social commitment.
University of
the West
Indies,
Caribbean
Comprehensive; public; multi-campus across 16
countries; BA-PhD;
Established 1948 to provide innovative, internationally
competitive, contemporary university committed to enhancing
every aspect of Caribbean development and improving the well-
being of the people of the Caribbean. Originally an extension of U
of London, aim to help "unlock the potential for economic and
cultural growth“ allowing for improved regional autonomy.
Warsaw
University of
Technology,
Poland
Technological; Problem Solving/Goal-oriented
and Pure Application; Technology Transfer;
Specialist Disciplines; Metropolitan; BA-PhD; Old;
Residential/Commuter; Multi-campus;
Government/Public controlled; Large.
Began as Warsaw Institute of Technology, there are 28 fields of
study primarily in science and technology. Research is focused on
industrial and commercial applications.

Multi-dimensional Diversity
• As knowledge has become more complex and society more demanding,
diverse higher education models have developed – giving birth to multi-
dimensional diversity;
• HE sits at the intersection of an expanding and multifaceted set of
objectives and stakeholders, interpreted and prioritised in different ways
rather than in a bipolar world of teaching and research;
• Possible to “envisage a larger and still more varied array of providers,
both public and private, national and international, global and corporate,
campus-based and virtual” (Skilbeck, 2003; Skilbeck, 2001, 58-71) or identify
institutions which may straddle the line between categories;
• Higher education systems are increasingly horizontally differentiated
according to distinctive missions or field specialisation.

Aligning Diversity with Performance
• Academic recruitment and promotion reflects traditional disciplines and
patterns of knowledge production and accountability;
• Yet, advances in knowledge – solving global challenges – increasingly
requires the collaboration of scholars from many fields and perspectives:
• Interdisciplinary research impeded by policies on hiring, promotion, tenure,
and resource allocation (US National Academies, 2004);
• Academic norms and values can be a road-block to diversity (van Vught, 2008).
• Tension between public policy objectives and official methodologies of
resource allocation and academic recruitment/promotion;
• We need to institutionalise new forms of academic credentialism and
assessment, including defining the appropriate peer.

Differentiation vs. Stratification
• Increasing concern about rising demand and costs of higher education vs.
declining national budgets is leading to policy trade-offs;
– Governments finding it difficult to provide all the higher education its citizens
want and its society requires;
– Rankings have pushed up the status premium of elite universities, their
hosting nations, and graduates from those institutions.
• Differentiation of mission: excellence vs. equity; talent vs. access:
“...following expansion and democratisation of higher education,...our ability to
maximise the talents of the intellectually gifted have diminished...” (Murphy, 2011)
• Growing distinction between world-class research universities and mass
teaching HEIs
– Institutional differentiation obscures relationship between social hierarchy of
students and hierarchy of institutions.

3. Valuing and Strengthening Diversity

Valuing Diversity
• Around the world, policymakers realise sustainable prosperity in the
global economy requires greater diversity of educational and research
opportunities and perspectives – and people to work in jobs we don’t yet
know about (Porter, 2002; IHEP, 2010);
• The idea of the university as a stand-alone “ivory tower” has faded.
• There is greater recognition that a higher education system requires
diverse and distinctive HEIs, each contributing valuable knowledge and
skills, with mutual respect, for in the interests of the success of the overall
eco-system –
• Strategy of institutional collaboration and alliances, and geographical
clustering;
• System coherence = Maximising capacity beyond individual capability.

A Dynamic Eco-system
Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem. Used by
ecologists, it refers to the totality of genes, species, and ecosystems of a
region. Within the eco-system, each species plays a critical role, mutually
supporting each other, without which the entire system may collapse (Rosen,
Wilson).
Research is conducted increasingly through bi-lateral, inter-regional and
global networks, with inter-locking innovation systems because complex
problems require collaborative solutions (Gibbons et al, 1994; Nowotny et al., 2001).
“With rapid technology changes, single universities or research institutes may
not be able to accommodate the needs of business development for skills,
knowledge and innovation....[T]he most successful high-science locations
today are those that take a multiple form, rather than a link between firms
and a single university.” (OECD, 2006, 119).

Drivers of Diversity
• Governance
• Reward system and public/policy values should support wider range of
institutional missions – and research activity and outputs;
• Quality assurance and rankings can be a process of homogenisation.
• Competition – for students, staff, socio-economic changes, reputation
• High levels of autonomy or inter-institution competition do not encourage
diversity if there is insufficient funding;
• Reward structures
• Financial reduction – forcing definition of institutional niches
• “Underfunded institutions will tend to scrounge for funds no matter where
they find them” and ignore institutional identify and mission (p155);
• Policy needs to take into account “whole array” of actions to be effective
– including parity of esteem.
(adapted Reichart, 2009)

Reimaging Higher Education

“Diversity has been identified in the higher education literature as one of the
major factors associated with the positive performance of higher education
systems” (van Vught 2008: 154).
“Diversity is not necessarily desirable particularly if, in the name of
differentiation of resources, one lets slide into penury those institutions
which bear the brunt of mass teaching and learning whilst creating poles of
excellence for the fortunate few. How does diversity of resources for
instance, square with the notion of equality of access to public service across
the national territory?”(Neave, 2000: 19)

Higher Education Policy Research Unit (HEPRU)
Dublin Institute of Technology
ellen.hazelkorn@dit.ie
http://www.oecd.org/edu/imhe/rankings

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