Regional
Magazine Summary of Bologna Achievements Published
A summary of progress made under the Bologna reforms up to 2010 was released by the Hungarian and Austrian Ministers for Science and Research, Education and Culture, who co-hosted the 2010 Bologna ministerial meeting.
The purpose of the magazine, 1999-2010: Achievements, Challenges and Perspectives [1], is to simplify the dimensions of the Bologna process and the progress that has been made towards those dimensions. Over 30 opinions are represented in the publication, from most of the major participants in the reform process. The majority consensus is that the Bologna process has provided impetus for collaboration and new goals for European institutions of higher education.
According to Stephen Hunt at the US Department of Education, “the Bologna process is almost certainly the most important multinational reform of higher education undertaken since the teaching guilds and the student nations established the revolutionary concepts of the studium generale and universities in the 11th and 12th centuries.”
– European Ministries of Education [1]
April 2010
Belgium
Top EU Court Pressures Belgium to Admit More Foreign Students
The European Union’s top court has asked Belgium to justify a measure that places a 30 percent cap on the numbers of foreign students who can attend medical and veterinary programs in the French-speaking part of Belgium. If the number of non-resident applicants exceeds 30 percent the students are chosen by lottery.
The decree, adopted in 2006, is designed to free up places for local students, who before the decree was enacted were outnumbered by more than 3 to 1, mostly by French students. Belgian officials say this caused a risk to public health, as not enough Belgian medical graduates were serving in the Belgian health system.
The European Court of Justice said there could be a link between the numbers of Belgian health professionals being trained and the quality of healthcare provided in Belgium – but the authorities would have to prove it. The European Court says the 30 percent limit set by the decree amounts to “indirect discrimination,” in a region where all students from EU member countries are guaranteed equal admissions rights as those nationals of any other EU country, domestic or foreign. However, under EU law indirect discrimination can be justified in certain cases, but the national authorities have to prove that the legislation is appropriate and proportionate.
In 2005 the European Court ruled against Austria over restrictions on foreign students’ access to Austrian higher education. Austrian law stipulated that foreign (mainly German) students could only study at an Austrian university if they could prove that a university in their home country would accept their grades.
– BBC News [2]
April 13, 2010
Czech Republic
New Secondary Examinations Slated for 2011
The Czech government is hoping to pass a set of higher education reforms that would include the introduction of a new and controversial secondary school leaving examination that is strongly opposed by teachers and students.
The introduction of a common state secondary school leaving examination is scheduled for 2011. Media reports say the government has already invested CZK500 million (US$25 million) in the project, despite its uncertain future. Currently all secondary schools prepare their own leaving tests – maturita – an arrangement that has led to much criticism because of varying standards and degrees of difficulty, and also because results are not comparable between schools.
The proposed new examination would resolve those issues as it would be standardized nationwide, and therefore Czech universities would consider it as an entrance examination. However, opponents say the proposed model does not take into account the diversified secondary education system in requiring all students to take the same examination. A final decision is expected later this year, along with further higher education reforms that could take shape after the parliamentary elections on 28-29 May.
– University World News [3]
May 2, 2010
France
International Enrollments Hit New Highs
French institutions of higher education had a record number of international students enrolled in 2008-09, posting an increase of 2.3 percent over the year prior, according to research from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research [4]. Moroccans remained the largest source country (30,000) among the 266,400 international students in France, while the number of Chinese students continued to rise rapidly (27,100). The other countries sending most students were Algeria, Tunisia, Senegal, Germany, Cameroon, Italy, Vietnam and Lebanon.
Overseas students accounted for almost 12 percent of France’s total student population of 1,410,000. Three-quarters of the foreigners were studying in universities and more than a third were in institutions in Paris or the surrounding Ile-de-France region (compared with only a quarter of French students). In 1998, there were 152,000 foreign students in France, accounting for 7 percent of all students, so enrollment growth from abroad has been rapid.
Regionally, African students accounted for 44 percent of overseas enrollments, with a quarter from the Maghreb and a fifth from the rest of the continent. Only 22.6 percent were from Europe, including 18 percent from the European Union, 24 percent came from Asia and 8 percent from the Americas.
– Ministry of Higher Education [5]
February 2010
Monaco
US For-Profit Buys University on Cote d’Azur
Career Education Corporation [6] (CEC) announced in April that it has purchased the International University of Monaco [7] (IUM), which offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in business related fields. The business school is located in the Principality of Monaco, Monte-Carlo. English-language IUM will join CEC’s INSEEC group [8], based in Paris, France. According to the magazine The Economist, IUM is ranked among the top 50 full-time MBA institutions in the world.
Career Education Corporation is a U.S.-based publicly traded company that currently enrolls more than 116,000 students worldwide in a variety of career-oriented disciplines at campuses in the United States, France, Italy and the United Kingdom.
– Business Wire [9]
April16, 2010
The Netherlands
International Joint Degrees Cleared
The Netherlands in April began offering joint degree programs between Dutch and foreign universities with accreditation from Nederlands-Vlaamse Accreditatieorganisatie [10] (NVAO), the educational accreditation organization of the Netherlands and Flanders.
– AEI newsletter [11]
May 5, 2010
Turkey
German-Turkish University Gets Legislative Green Light
The German-Turkish University (DTU) is scheduled to admit its first students for the 2010/11 winter semester, after the Turkish Parliament recently passed the appropriate legislation in late March.
A German university consortium of 26 institutions was formed to establish the German-Turkish University, in collaboration with the German Academic Exchange Service [12] (DAAD). Different German universities have taken over the coordination on the German side for setting up each of the separate schools of DTU.
An intergovernmental agreement ratified by Turkey and Germany preceded the adoption of the founding charter by the Turkish Parliament. The agreement provides that Germany will make substantial contributions to academia and teaching and, in particular, to teaching German at the new university. The German contributions will be funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research [13].
The German-Turkish University is projected to begin its teaching and research activities in October of this year. It is planned as a full-fledged public research university.
– Today’s Zaman [14]
March 31, 2010
United Kingdom
Industry Body Warns Against Visa Sponsor Scheme
Citing ‘poor-quality’ student-visa rules, Universities UK [15] (UUK) has advised its members not to apply to become a “highly trusted sponsor,” under a scheme which is part of a tightening of student immigration rules ordered by the prime minister to crack down on abuse by economic migrants.
Higher education institutions have until the end of June to apply for the sponsor scheme managed by the UK Border Agency (UKBA). The initiative is designed to ease the bureaucratic burden on universities while preventing abuses of the immigration system.
But others fear that universities’ international reputations and recruitment will be damaged if they fall short of exacting requirements and fail to qualify for the annually renewed status. Sponsors must ensure that no more than 3 percent of international students fail to complete their courses, and university staff will have to mount in-depth background checks on prospective students – detailed in a 21-page UKBA document.
UUK advised members not to apply for the highly trusted sponsor scheme in its current form, after it was introduced without any formal consultation of institutions. The concerns emerge as income from international students grows ever more precious to universities in the wake of public funding cuts.
– Times Higher Education [16]
April 29, 2010