Regional

Commission Adopts Technology Plan

The European Commission has adopted a US$13.3 billion plan to improve information technology skills and promote online education throughout the European Union. The “eLearning Action Plan” outlines a three-year program to build up appropriate technological infrastructures at all European universities, including access to digital television and satellites. Schools that have not been able to afford the equipment to form campus networks will be provided with EU funding, while others will be given greater resources for research in their computer departments.

The motivation for the plan comes from the commission’s goal to equal the United States in its information technology industry, an ambition that necessitates an enhanced and more widespread distribution of IT education. It is hoped that a network of European universities, through which course content and education resources are available in online classes, will help Europeans regardless of age or regional constraints to gain computer literacy. To legitimize this education, officials are exploring the possibility of IT diplomas, similar to the recently introduced European Computer Driving License, granted after the completion of courses in Internet proficiency.

The European Investment Bank eib.eu.int is expected to contribute heavily to the financing of the plan, which will be implemented across all education levels. The plan calls for the establishment of online-learning platforms as early as 2002, accompanied by a broad drive to recruit and train teachers in the specifics of administering online courses.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
April 27, 2001

France

Many universities of the arts and social sciences have engaged in strikes and demonstrations in protest of a lack of resources and funding. Students and teachers from Metz University picketed outside the Education Ministry in Paris, while students at the University of Montpellier-III went on strike in early March. Most universities specializing in the humanities have complained of high student-to-teacher ratios and fiscal difficulties in modernizing their facilities.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
March 23, 2001

The Institute d’Etudes Politiques in St.-Ouen, also known as Sciences Po, has in recent years been the most influential institution of higher education in the country, graduating such notables as President Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin and Minister of Education Jack Lang. But in a move that some found surprising, the elite school recently started a new affirmative action program for students from neighborhoods that are largely populated by poor North African immigrants.

The program has caused an uproar along class and ethnic lines and engaged all types in a dialogue about higher education. Many contend the unintentional consequences of affirmative action will lead the general public to discount the achievements of nonwhite graduates of the school. Programs in the United States, they say, have already proven the faults of such a policy, and that this step is just another in the lamentable invasion of American influence in France.

Traditionalists maintain that a uniform entrance exam is the only way of determining intelligence fairly, but a growing opposition contends that standardized exams favor those with the economic means to better prepare for them. Applicants from wealthy families have better schools, special programs and tutors at their disposal. At Sciences Po, close to 85 percent of the students come from more privileged strata of society, while only 2 percent have working-class origins.

The applicants to the new program at Sciences Po will be subject to a procedure similar to college entrance applications in the United States, where the student is interviewed, given tests and required to submit recommendations. The diversity of applicants thus far, ranging from Senegalese immigrants to the children of domestic workers, has pleased the school’s officials, as has the students’ demonstrations of strong intellectual ability and independent thinking. The program’s 20 students will be selected from 7 eligible high schools in impoverished areas throughout Paris and will attend Sciences Po beginning next school year.

— New York Times
May 4, 2001

Germany

Despite its national tradition of intellectualism and sophisticated scientific research, Germany is facing a large faction of critics calling its system of higher education bulky, impersonal and inefficient. As European countries have opened up their systems to competition, German universities remain inflexible, underfunded and overly bureaucratic.

Only 16 percent of the population holds a university-level degree, while Britain, Holland and the United States all boast highly educated populations of over 30 percent. Companies in Germany are suffering from a lack of innovation and research, as many of the relatively few post-docs take on jobs in the United States.

Federal Education Minister Edelgard Bulmahn is questioning many of the fundamental tenets of university organization in the country and is seeking reform. A major part of the problem, according to Bulmahn, has been the extremely low rate of private spending on education, as companies are hesitant to invest in a “diplom” system that requires an average of six years. Bulmahn has pondered the introduction of a three-year bachelor’s degree, which would immediately bolster the number of degree-holders and give students more freedom to pursue a variety of subjects.

Within the universities, there are no quality-checking mechanisms to evaluate professors. Most receive pay based on their experience in the field, although they often fail to update their teaching material or pay sufficient attention to their students. Administrators at Humboldt University in Berlin have attempted their own reforms by training the staff to view the student as a customer, a radical departure from the past. They hope that a greater consciousness of higher education as a business will promote competition and self-improvement.

— Wall Street Journal
Feb. 28, 2001

Hungary

The European University Institute it has agreed to allow Hungarian students to enroll on the same basis as European Union citizens. The institute, based in Florence, Italy, is a research center for the human and social sciences, formed in 1972 to provide a pan-European cultural center of learning. Polish students were similarly included at the institute after an agreement was reached last year.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
March 23, 2001

Latvia

The Technical University of Riga and the University of Latvia are preparing to open an international information technology college in fall 2002. Officials anticipate high enrollments from all Baltic countries and are seeking funding from sources outside Latvia. The college will offer a three-year degree.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
March 30, 2001

Macedonia

Tension surrounding a rebel group from the country’s large ethnic Albanian population has erupted into fighting in recent weeks, and the controversial University of Tetovo has subsequently received a great deal of attention. The university is the only Albanian-taught school in the country, established in 1995 and still unrecognized by the Macedonian government. Last year, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, comprised mostly of Western European ministers, agreed to help fund the school to supplement the donations it receives from private sources.

The organization approved an additional US$4 million of funding for the university, despite its intense political involvement in the recent conflicts. Twenty or more faculty members and students have been arrested for violence in past weeks, and some have allegedly expressed their support of the ethnic Albanian National Liberation Army.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
March 23, 2001

United Kingdom

Thomas Telford School in Shropshire has enjoyed remarkable success in the sale of online information technology courses. The school was set up as a city technology college in 1991 and has emerged as a leader in online vocational training, with more than 820 schools eager to purchase their courses. Kevin Satchwell, head teacher at Thomas Telford, says the school can expect returns of up to US$3.5 million this year, which will go toward the establishment of similar schools throughout England.

“I believe that, within the near future, many schools will consider entering into commercial educational initiatives online, as it is a simple and effective way of sharing quality learning materials,” Satchwell said.

The school sold its services to 40 schools in April 2000, but that number jumped to nearly 500 schools by September. It will expand its services to 320 additional schools this fall.

— BBC
Feb. 21, 2001

De Montford University in the Midlands has announced that it will close its Kents Hill campus at Milton Keynes in Burkinghamshire in 2003. The campus now serves 800 students. Luton, another new university, also announced its intentions to restructure itself around courses such as media, design and computing, at the expense of more traditional academic subjects. The cutbacks will put more than 90 teaching and managerial jobs in jeopardy. Critics have blamed this trend on a lack of sufficient government funding, which some say is particularly unfair to new institutions.

— BBC
Feb. 23, 2001