Mary Immaculate College in Limerick is to consider seeking affiliation with other State universities in a dispute over a new degree programme offered by the university to which it is academically linked.
The decision to consider establishing relationships with another university follows a decision by the University of Limerick (UL) to introduce a new bachelor of arts degree, although Mary Immaculate College (MIC) presently offers such a degree.
A spokesman for MIC said there had been an undertaking by UL three years ago that no duplication of degrees would arise. He added that the decision by UL to introduce the two-subject joint honours degree would create "serious difficulties" between the university and the college, which is home to some 2,500 students.
MIC has been academically linked to UL since 1991 when its teaching degree programme became the first degree to be accredited by the university. In 1992, MIC launched its four-year liberal arts degree (BA) programme which will now have a competitor in the form of UL's proposed BA.
This new addition to the UL prospectus offers alternative subjects such as criminal justice, economics, politics, public administration and sociology.
Prof Don Barry, vice president of UL, said the new degree was a response by the university to the institutional review carried out last year by the European Universities Association. This recommended increased flexibility in creating variations within courses.
"The university is aware that there is a certain overlap between this new programme and the long established liberal arts programme offered at Mary Immaculate College. However there are significant differences, especially regarding the mix of subjects on offer in both programmes," Prof Barry said.
The university believed the new programme would offer a framework for increased collaboration between UL and MIC in the development of Limerick as the place of choice for the arts and humanities, he added.