Academics have warned that university standards are under threat from proposals to introduce more commercialism, accountability and quality assurance into the third-level system.
In a significant move at the weekend, the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) rejected the recently published Skillbeck report, which suggested a range of reforms to the university system.
It was written by third level expert, Prof Malcolm Skillbeck.
The report has found favour with the Higher Education Authority (HEA) and several university presidents.
But the main bodies representing lecturers in the universities, SIPTU and IFUT, have now come out strongly against it.
IFUT president Mr Patrick Burke, from St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, said the report was full of "tired Thatcherite" assertions and its dominant "idiom" was that of the market.
He said it remained to be seen whether the report was destined for the shredder or not.
Mr Burke was speaking at IFUT's annual conference in Dublin, which passed a motion rejecting the contents of the Skillbeck report and rejecting any further moves towards "managerialism" and "so-called accountability".
Ms Maureen Killeavy of UCD told the conference the Skillbeck report should concern all academics and it deserved the attention of people working throughout the university system.
She said the report was deeply influenced by the Australian experience of university education and this was not an experience Irish academics would want to see repeated.
Mr Burke said the document should be rejected because of the ideas underpinning it. "While it pays lip service on occasion to the educational philosophies of Newman, Humboldt and the 19th century German schools, its dominant idiom is that of the market, of managerialism, of so-called public accountability, of quality assurance and of the subordination of education to national policy," he said.
The conference also heard concerns about the withdrawal by some universities in Ireland of key disciplines such as classics and Italian.
Some speakers said there was a concern that with a new emphasis on more applied skills, other subjects and disciplines could be forced out of the universities.
One speaker said Queen's University Belfast had dropped some key disciplines in recent years and this would be very worrying if it was repeated in the Republic.
The other issue which surfaced at the conference related to the position of contract and temporary lecturing staff.
Dr Conchuír Ó Giollagáin of St Patrick's College, Drumcondra, said these staff were not provided with proper pension cover even though they were doing the same job as full-time staff.
He said it was a totally unacceptable situation.