Regional
Students in Europe Commute by Plane
Overseas students in the UK are commuting to university on Monday and returning home by plane to continental Europe on Friday. The “student Eurocommuter” is becoming a familiar concept at campuses across Britain, reports the Guardian newspaper. Almost one sixth of first-year university students from European countries other than Britain plan to visit home “often,” according to a poll taken by Opinionpanel Research [1], which interviewed approximately 300 of them last November. And “often” now means as regularly as once a week. Budget airlines, with their cheap and frequent flights, make a Eurocommute financially and practically possible for many students. Modular degree programs, which make timetables more flexible, also play their part. So, too, do the completion rates, which are higher at British universities than at European ones.
“It might seem unusual to some, but Eurocommuting is fast becoming regarded as normal, particularly for postgraduates,” says Dr Paul Temple, a lecturer in higher education management at the Institute of London. “This is part of the internationalization of higher education.”
— The Guardian [2]
April 10, 2007
EUA Sets Agenda for the EHEA Beyond 2010
The European University Association [3] issued in April the “Lisbon Declaration, Europe’s Universities beyond 2010: Diversity with a Common Purpose [4],” outlining goals for higher education in Europe beyond 2010, the date by which the European Higher Education Area is scheduled for completion. The declaration is based on the findings of the latest Bologna progress report, Trends V [5], and centers on five themes: refocusing on longstanding Bologna themes such as lifelong learning, student-centered learning, ECTS, etc; the internationalization of the European Higher Education Area; promoting research and innovation; quality; and autonomy and funding.
— EUA [4]
April 13, 2007
European MIT ‘Not Feasible:’ UN Experts
An independent UN expert group has dismissed the European Commission’s proposal for a decentralized, virtual European Institute of Technology (EIT). Instead, they propose an alternative ‘Cluster EIT’ model built on existing local and regional strongholds in research, education and innovation.
The decentralized European Institute of Technology (EIT) proposed by the Commission is “not feasible” and the proposed financial basis is considered as “not sustainable”, argues an independent report [6] published at the European Parliament’s request by the United Nations University [7] on 5 April 2007. The report states that a decentralized institute would not significantly increase the research output, match Europe’s top universities’ training environment nor adequately organize technology transfer.
The report recommends an alternative model, a Cluster EIT, which would support existing local and regional strongholds in research, education and innovation. It would “see ambitious and successful regions and universities compete to create strong institutes at or linked to a strong university, and working closely with industry on problems that determine long-term industrial development”.
— Euractiv [8]
April 10, 2007
Universities Adopting Bologna Structures in Increasing Numbers
Over the last four years, European universities have adapted their degree programs to meet new European structures, as outlined under the Bologna Declaration, in rapidly increasing numbers. According to a survey of 900 institutions, 82 percent of European universities now offer Bologna-compliant degree structures – up from 53 percent four years ago. The latest Bologna progress report, Trends V [9], was conducted by the European Universities Association [3] and released in early May. The report concludes that a tipping point has been reached “where it is no longer relevant to question whether or not structural reforms will take place.”
Other findings of the survey show that only 2 percent of European universities do not plan to adopt the new three-year bachelor’s and two-year master’s degrees – down from 7.5 percent four years ago; while intra-European credit transfer has become somewhat easier. However, mobility patterns are unequal. In five countries — Britain, Finland, Ireland, Malta and Sweden — at least 80 percent of colleges report a significant increase in the number of students from other countries coming in than native students going abroad. Countries with the opposite experience are Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland and Turkey.
— European Universities Association [10]
May 10, 2007
Finland
Finns Object to University Mergers
More than 1,000 people in Finland have signed a petition against the merger of three of the country’s top universities. The Government has proposed to combine Helsinki University of Technology [11], the Helsinki School of Economics [12] and the University of Art and Design Helsinki [13]. Some felt it was inappropriate to include the art institution in a new elite body designed to help improve Finland’s economic competitiveness, while others feared that the new university would suck higher education funding away from other institutions.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement [14]
May 4, 2007
Greece
European Court to Rule on Degrees from Private Providers in Greece
The European Union could soon force Greece to recognize degrees issued by local private liberal arts institutions (KES) that are affiliated with universities and colleges in other European countries. According to European Court of Justice Advocate-General Yves Bot, Greece has failed to comply with a 1989 EU directive (89/48/EEC) concerning the recognition of higher-education diplomas of at least three years’ duration.
At present, 16 British universities and one from France provide their programs through KES institutions in Greece based on franchising agreements, and more than 20,000 Greeks have earned degrees through a KES institute in Greece that is affiliated with a European university. If a majority of judges at the ECJ agree with Bot, the Greek government will be forced to recognize those 20,000+ professional qualifications. The court is expected to rule on the matter in July. Judges do not have to agree with the advocate-general, although in the majority of cases they do.
As Greek legislation currently stands, all higher education in the country is conducted by state institutions free of charge, effectively banning all private higher education institutions, or at least preventing publicly run employers from employing Greeks with KES degrees. The Hellenic Federation of University Teachers’ [15] Association has vehemently opposed Bot, suggesting that it would be a major blow to public university education. Bot’s controversial opinion follows mounting controversy over the New Democracy government’s decision to lift the state monopoly on public higher education. To do so, Article 16 of the Greek constitution needs to be revised. The actual revision can only be passed by a two-thirds majority vote in parliament after the upcoming general elections, due in March 2008. Thousands of students and university teachers have already taken to the streets in the last six months to protest the privatization of higher education.
— Athens News [16]
April 27, 2007
Italy
US For-profit Provider Acquires Top Italian Fashion School
US for-profit provider Career Education Corporation [17] (CEC) recently announced that it has acquired Istituto Marangoni [18], a prominent Italian postsecondary fashion and design school with locations in three international fashion capitals: Milan, London and Paris. The acquisition, the company’s first in 18 months, expands CEC’s European operations and marks its entry into the Italian market.
Istituto Marangoni, which has approximately 1,500 students, offers diploma and certificate programs in fashion design and other related fields such as fashion styling, fashion business, fashion promotion, furniture design, product design, interior design and graphic design. The acquisition of the three Istituto Marangoni campuses broadens CEC’s network to 15 internationally based schools and campuses, including the INSEEC Group [19] (10 locations in France), American InterContinental University [20] (London) and the International Academy of Design and Technology [21] (Toronto).
— CEC News Release [22]
April 2007
United Kingdom
British Education Authorities Advised to Tighten Laws on Degree Mills
Addressing a UK National Recognition Information Center [23] conference on combating fraudulent documents, former FBI degree-mill investigator, Allen Ezell, recommended that Britain tighten its laws in line with US efforts to crack down on degree mill operators. It is currently illegal in the UK to award a qualification that could be mistaken for a UK degree unless the awarding body is on the Department for Education and Skills [24] (DfES) recognized list. But there is nothing to stop an overseas institution operating as a “university” in the UK and offering overseas degrees.
“A phony degree is a phony degree. It shouldn’t make a difference whether it’s pretending to be a UK degree or not,” Mr. Ezell said. In certain US states, such as New Jersey and Texas, it is illegal to use degrees from institutions that are not accredited by a federally recognized body. Legislation passing through Congress will mean that degrees used “for purposes of federal employment” will be recognized only if they come from institutions accredited by organizations recognized by the US Department of Education [25]. Mr. Ezell suggested that the DfES follow the example of the State of Oregon’s Office of Degree Authorization [26], which carries a list of approved diploma-awarding organizations, as well as listing US states that have low standards or poor enforcement.
— The Times Higher Education Supplement [27]
April 20, 2007
Lawmakers Express Bologna-Encroachment Fears
Members of Parliament in April warned that the European Commission is encroaching upon the independence of British universities by interfering in plans to make British degrees more comparable with those in Europe. In a report on the European higher education harmonization initiative, or Bologna Process [28], by the education select committee, the government warned that “the expanding role of the European Community in the field of education … and the belief that it is seeking to expand its role through the mechanisms of the Bologna Process, is a major cause of concern to UK organizations and institutions.
“Some of our evidence … has demonstrated that anxieties still exist … that working to achieve comparability … might in practice lead in the direction of standardization or uniformity and therefore undermine the autonomy and flexibility of the UK system.
“It remains crucial to the success of the Bologna Process that it remains outside the framework of the European Commission. The role of the European Commission must be appropriately circumscribed.”
All the countries that have signed up to Bologna are expected to adopt a three-year undergraduate degree, two-year master’s degree and a three-year doctorate. But the British system contains one-year masters and four-year combined undergraduate and masters programs (BSc) for some science and engineering degrees, which if left intact might result in negative equivalency decisions for holders of these shorter master’s degrees.
— The Guardian [29]
April 30, 2007
Universities Reject Bologna Fears
University heads in the UK have rejected warnings from lawmakers that the European Commission (EC) is trying to leverage control of higher education from member states. Representing university leaders, Universities UK [30] responded to government concerns (see above) by stating that there was “no sign of a conspiracy” to take over the process of making degrees more comparable across Europe.
The head of Universities UK, Professor Drummond Bone, said “threats” from the EC had not actually materialized. His colleague and vice-president of the European University Association [3] Professor Sir Roderick Floud said the Commission had put money into parts of the process concerned with student mobility and employability. “But there’s absolutely no sign of an EC conspiracy to take over the process.” The MPs had got the wrong end of the stick in their report, he suggested.
Professor Bone said the great strength of the process was that universities, students and other interested parties were driving it and it was right that this was allowed to continue.
— The BBC [31]
April 30, 2007
Oxford Tops Guardian Rankings
Oxford University [32] has been rated number one for students by this year’s Guardian rankings [33], released at the beginning of May. Cambridge [34] and Imperial College [35] came in second and third, while Prince William’s alma mater St Andrews [36] hit new highs in fourth place on the strength of high student satisfaction ratings. The rest of the top ten is filled by University College London [37], the London School of Economics [38], Edinburgh [39], Warwick [40], Bath [41] and Loughborough [42] universities.
Less familiar names shone in some individual subjects. For example, Bournemouth [43] and Brighton [44] were ranked first and second in tourism, Oxford Brookes [45] ranks first for social work, while Bedfordshire [46] (formerly Luton) ranks third in media and communication behind the more established names of Newcastle [47] and Sheffield [48].
The Guardian’s University Guide 2008 is aimed at helping prospective students choose courses – so it concentrates less than alternative tables on research ratings. It judges courses on the student verdict on teaching and feedback, gathered from final year undergraduates in the National Student Survey [49], plus spending per student, staff/student ratios, job prospects, entry qualifications and a value-added measure comparing individuals’ entry qualifications with their degree results.
— The Guardian [50]
May 1, 2007