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ACA Newsletter nr 231 January 2001
In order to feed into the ministerial decision-making as much of the position of Europe's higher education institutions as possible, the CRE and Confederation are organising the "Convention of European Higher Education Institutions" in Salamanca on 29 and 30 March 2001. This meeting of some 450 representatives of European higher education institutions is to provide education ministers, prior to the Prague summit, with a clear and concise message on where Europe's academia would like to see the "process" heading. Josep Bricall (Barcelona, former President of CRE) and Klaus Landfried (President of HRK) will be keynoters. The recommendations will be worked out in six thematic working groups, on I: Freedom with Responsibility (Autonomy); II: Employability; III: Mobility; IV: Compatibility (Degree and Qualifications' Structure); V: Quality Assurance and Certification (Accreditation); VI: Competitiveness. Together with the EFMD, ACA is the only other higher education association to be involved in the programme, represented through the Director Bernd Wächter.
ACA has been contracted by the European Commission DG Education and
Culture to carry out a survey called "Borderless Education: Life-long
Learning Knows no Borders". This one year project with a budget of
100.000 EUR shall map the provision of transnational adult education in
Europe and try to suggest quality indicators that may enable the European
citizen to chose among the educational offers in Europe and elsewhere. The
Confederation of EU Rectors' Conferences is conducting a twin project also
commissioned by the EC on the provision of transnational higher education.
ACA is participating in the wider consultative group of this project,
which will reach its conclusion this spring.
The European Commission established on 1 January 2001 the EuropeAid Co-operation Office, in a significant move to unify all EU External Assistance management services. This Office, which is the successor to the "EC Common Service for External Relations", will manage the full project cycle, from identification to evaluation and be responsible for the technical and financial aspects of most EU and European Development Fund external assistance programmes. It’s accrued responsibilities and new operating procedures are designed to improve the management, quality, transparency and swiftness of EU external assistance to non-member states. The current "geographical" External Relations and Development DGs will remain responsible for the pluri-annual programming of external assistance. They will retain responsibility for the overall formulation of policies towards non-EU member states. In practical terms, this division of labour means the following. The External and Development DGs will be in charge, together with "third country" governments, to decide on which new activity (programmes, projects) the Union will start. Once an EU external programme or project will have been politically agreed, it will change over into the responsibility of EuropeAid. They will then be responsible for outcontracting the work (though the creation of management contracts) with third parties (for excample technical assistance offices) or for carrying it out themselves. More info: http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/scr/news/20001221_en.htm
A project launched by the Association of European Universities (CRE) with financial contribution from the European Commission aims at clarifying the context and the challenges of accreditation. Existing models will be examined and compared in order to collect information on good practice and to propose possible scenarios of convergence for European HEIs. The debate will involve various concerned actors: HEI leaders, organisations, existing accreditation and quality assurance agencies, and public authorities. A validation seminar will be held in Lisbon on 8-10 February.
In a recent commission report to the Ministry of Education of Sweden, various proposals are presented concerning how to increase the number of foreign students, primary full degree programme students. The goal is to receive 5000 more foreign students in five years. The plan contains i.a. the following elements: - a national strategy involving the concerned ministries and
authorities The commission report contains many comparisons with other systems and gives a good overview of the present situation, where Sweden has much in common with other countries with less widely spoken languages. The report is available in Swedish at http://utbildning.regeringen.se/propositionermm/sou/pdf/sou2000_92.pdf
Two years after the establishment of Edufrance, the state agency
created to attract more foreign students, the down-going trend has been
reversed. For eight years of diminishing numbers, from 162.000 to 150.000
foreign students, figures are now up again. A special package is offered
to foreigners providing them with assistance with enrolment, lodging and
insurance. The 350 packages sold last year, together with what the extra
350 students thus recruited were spending in France, meant an inflow to
France of almost 30 million Francs. Next year the ambition is to triple
these figures. Besides the 15 offices already in existence, Edufrance will
establish representations in Norway and Greece.
The International Association of Universities (IAU) is seeking to appoint a Secretary-General to replace Franz Eberhard who will retire from this position at the end of 2001. The Secretary-General acts also as Executive Director of the Association’s International Universities Bureau. The mission and activities of the IAU are described on its Website: http://www.unesco.org/iau The headquarters of IAU are at UNESCO, in Paris, and consist of a staff of around 20 people. Membership approximates 700 universities and university organisations in about 150 countries. Candidatures should reach the IAU by 30 March 2001. More information on the position can be obtained from the IAU or from Professor Luc Weber (e-mail: luc.weber@ecopo.unige.ch).
Leaders of universities and of regional associations in Latin America and Europe met in Turin, Italy, on 16-17 November to discuss how transatlantic co-operation activities, networks and mobility could be further developed. A proposal for the next decade was adopted. It aims at the creation of more compatibility between Europe and Latin America; promotion of quality evaluation and accreditation at all levels; increase of mobility of students and faculty and enhancement of the attractiveness and competitiveness of European and Latin American universities in their region and in the world. ACA Director Bernd Wächter contributed to the conference with a speech on new trends in internationalisation of higher education. |
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