UNIVERSITY presidents said last week that cutbacks could force them to curtail essential services, but their warning does not include “executive coaching” — senior staff being taught how to improve their management skills on courses costing €400-an-hour.

University College Dublin (UCD), the state’s largest university, has advertised for a company to give it “a programme of leadership development for senior staff”. The college is planning executive coaching for between 80 and 100 personnel over the next year.

The coaching programme will be financed from a Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF) grant from the government. Along with NUI Galway and University College Cork, the college was given €1.7m for “institutional reform” this year, some of which has been set aside for “leadership development”.

The college said the training would be tightly focused. “It will improve the management skills of our staff, many of whom come from academic backgrounds. The funding is ring-fenced for institutional reform, so the money cannot be spent on other essential services,” it said.

University leaders said last week that funding cuts could force them to close libraries early, restrict weekend opening hours, increase class sizes, reduce the number of tutorials and cut down on PhD output because of a lack of teaching staff. Without improved funding, obsolete IT equipment would not be replaced and all but essential building maintenance would have to be suspended, they said.

Executive coaching typically costs about €400 an hour. Companies providing the service say it improves executives’ “interpersonal skills” and “raises their self-awareness”. They say it can help organisations retain key personnel and boost workforce morale.

Shane Kelly, president of the Union of Students in Ireland, said: “The priority of universities should be teaching. At a time when they claim to be cash-strapped, and with third-level fees back on the agenda, it’s another slap in the face for students.”

Batt O’Keeffe, the education minister, wants to reintroduce university fees, the favoured model being a system of student loans similar to that of Australia. Last July the education minister instructed higher-education managers to reduce pay bills by 3% as part of government spending cuts.

Kelly said senior management at some universities are leading a cosseted lifestyle. “Spending thousands of euros on executive coaching probably seems reasonable to them.”

The Higher Education Authority, which oversees the SIF scheme, backs professional development courses. “Universities are major businesses as well as education providers, controlling huge budgets and thousands of staff. It’s essential that senior staff have good management skills,” it said.

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