AN All Ireland applications system for universities, which would examine access to all third level institutions, has been suggested by an academic at the University of Ulster.
A new advisory council on, higher education, set up by both governments, would identify and facilitate cross Border collaboration, writes Dr Bob Osborne, a professor of applied policy studies, in Higher Education in Ireland North and South, just published by Jessica Kingsley.
For universities this would include "whether there could be some form of joint system for entry into the institutions in both parts of Ireland". The new body would look at the harmonisation of entry criteria and the equivalence of qualifications, especially below degree level.
Joint senior appointments, such as the shared chair of business enterprise between the University of Ulster and University College Dublin, should be encouraged and grants offered to assist academics to prepare material on a NorthSouth basis.
Major economic and social data, such as population censuses and labour force surveys, might be stored in all Ireland data sources. Colleges and universities could improve their poor record on equal opportunities by developing new policies, pooling monitoring expertise and exchanging "best practice".
The new body should also try to increase opportunities for part time study and develop partnerships to improve health and personal social services on a cross Border basis.
The book recognises that there are strong barriers to North South co-operation in research. The partitionist mentality in the Republic and unionist opposition to all Ireland initiatives have deterred incentives to work together.
Few southern academics undertake any joint research, and when they do EU funding may encourage collaboration with British or other European institutions.
Membership of the UK system has brought Northern academics far higher funding than their southern colleagues, and career opportunities and funding councils in Britain have turned their eyes in that direction. Special funding may be needed to encourage joint research.
Dr Osborne sharply criticises the southern universities for their parochial and very conservative opposition to quality assurance in research and teaching. He claims they are guilty of a breach of trust because they are funded on the basis that all lecturers will do research, whereas some have done very little.
"The failure to undertake that activity represents a breach of contract. To the extent that institutions have failed to ensure individuals have fulfilled their contractual obligations, there has been a breach of trust with the funders of higher education, ultimately the public."
He adds that this failure to ensure that all academics have undertaken both main parts of their jobs has left universities vulnerable to government demands for efficiency and effectiveness in public expenditure.
"When the principles of accountability and transparency are advanced to enable governments to be sure that institutions allocated public funds are using them properly, the resistance of the universities is seen to be self serving and is taken as evidence that there is something to hide" he says.