Introduction

Abstract

Although it has almost become a cliché to describe the contexts in which higher education (HE) is situated as being ‘challenging’ or representing a ‘period of change or flux’, it is, in the case of the Republic of Ireland, not too far removed from the truth. In common with many European and non- European societies, Irish HE has over the past half a century evolved from an ‘elite’ to a ‘mass’ system in accordance with international trends, albeit with residual ‘elite’ features, particularly in older universities, and continu- ing social stratification. In 1965 there were five universities and a number of teaching training colleges which accommodated 18,127 full-time under- graduate students. By 2012, the HE system encompassed over 40 institutions, including 7 universities and 14 Institutes of Technology (IoTs): Higher Education Authority (HEA)-funded institutions accommodated 163,046 stu- dents, including 21,560 postgraduates. Beneath this headline data is a heterogeneous arrangement of HE institutions and state organisations, suc as the HEA.