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ACA Newsletter n° 30 Academic Cooperation Association
Rue d'Egmontstraat 15, B-1000
CONTENTS
1.
News
from the ACA Secretariat and ACA Members
Good
response to ACA Conference on Networks and Networking in European Higher
Education
Scheduled
for 1-2 September 2003 in Hanover, Germany, the ACA-organised Bologna
Process conference on “Networks and Networking in European Higher
Education” is already being very successful. Up to date, ACA has
received so many applications that it has been decided to switch from
the original venue, the University of Hanover’s conference centre
“Leibniz Haus”, to a more spacious lecture auditorium offered by the
University of Hanover. ACA organises the conference in cooperation with
the University of Hanover and is being supported by the German Federal
Ministry of Education and Research.
The
conference targets academics and practitioners of internationalisation
and features high-level speakers, from the European Commission, national
government and European higher education associations and networks.
It is intended to assess past achievements of networks and
multilateral “networked” cooperation in Europe, and, more important,
to establish an agenda of future needs in the framework of the Bologna
Process. Its results will be brought to the attention of the Berlin
ministerial meeting of autumn 2003, and thus be fed directly into the
next stages of the Bologna Process.
For
further information see:
ÖAD
publishes information package to promote Austria as a study and research
location
The
ÖAD, as a platform for Austrian universities, Fachhochschulen
and teacher training colleges, has produced an information package which
illustrates the spectrum of study options in Austria. The project is
starting off with the brochures “Higher Education in Austria“,
“Study in Austria“, as well as the redesigned website www.oead.ac.at.
The
brochure “Higher Education in Austria. Multiple Choice“ is a joint
presentation of universities, Fachhochschulen
and teacher training colleges in English language, which illustrates the
variety of the study options with short presentations and a great number
of pictures. “Study in Austria. A Brief Guide to Educational
Opportunities for International Students” is a short guide for
international students. This brochure contains information as to entry
and residence regulations, admission requirements, and vital hints
concerning the studies and thus helps students with the planning of
their studies in Austria. These brochures can also be downloaded from
the restructured ÖAD website www.oead.ac.at
that is online in English now.
The
information materials compiled and produced by the ÖAD are part of the
project “Presentation of Austria as a location for study and
research“, which is financed both by the Federal Ministry of
Education, Science and Culture and the individual educational
institutions.
Professor Theodor Berchem Re-Elected as President of DAAD
At
its meeting of 13 June, DAAD’s General Assembly re-elected Professor
Dr. Theodor Berchem as its President for another four years. Berchem, a
professor of French and Romance Literature, who is also the long-term
President of Würzburg University, has been the President of DAAD since
1988, and the President of the German Rectors’ Conference prior to
this. During his Presidency, DAAD has seen fast growth, and has entered
into many new internationalization fields, and particularly into
education policy. At the meeting of 13 June, DAAD in fact re-elected its
entire Board (“Vorstand”), including the Vice-President, Professor
Huber, whose mandate was also renewed.
DAAD’s
German sister organisation, the Hochschulrekorenkonferenz (HRK) also
announced changes in its leadership. After appointing a new President
earlier in the year (Professor Peter Gaethgens), who will succeed Klaus
Landfried this summer, Dr. Christiane Ebel-Gabriel has now been elected
for the post of Secretary General.
Dr. Ebel-Gabriel started her career in DAAD, whose London Office
she headed for some years, before taking up a high position in the
education ministry of Lower Saxony.
2. European PolicyNo Bologna à la carte in Graz?
"Bologna
cannot be implemented à la carte. It has to be done across the board
and wholeheartedly." This was the message that Viviane Reding,
European Commissioner for education and culture, passed on to Europe’s
universities at the 2nd Convention of European Higher Education
institutions, held from 29-31 May 2003 in Graz, Austria. It was
organised by EUA, the European Universities Association and hosted
jointly by the three local universities.
The
convention showed that Europe's universities are committed to advancing
the Bologna process of convergence by 2010: “Our common vision is a
Europe of knowledge based on strong research and research-based
education in European Universities across the continent. (…)
Recognising our role in the global competitive agenda set up by heads of
states in Lisbon we have to create a European brand for European higher
education.” Academic
quality, employability of graduates, attractiveness of European
education and increasing mobility were identified as “central driving
forces towards the EHEA.”
Still,
there were doubts about some issues universities will be asked to
tackle. The preliminary conclusions state that universities “have to
allow time for the academic consensus type culture to cope with the
tremendous possibilities for fundamental reforms” and “recognise the
dangers in pushing reforms in a top down approach.” Pre-eminent among
these doubts was the proposal to integrate doctoral training within
Bologna - a move many at Graz said needed to be spelt out in greater
detail. And there was a consensus on the need for further discussions on
European-level quality assurance that is still being considered to be
for the individual higher education institutions. Nevertheless, it was
suggested that EUA would organise a provisional committee with the
concerned stakeholders to build a first version of an operational body
to develop a European dimension in quality assurance.
The
theme of the Convention, "Strengthening the role of
institutions”, was again reflected in the conclusions:
“We expect of governments to take action to empower
institutions by providing stable legal and funding environments and to
safe-guard the autonomy of institutions. We expect from ourselves, as
higher education institutions, to take on the reforms whole-heartedly in
a holistic perspective in close cooperation with students and
stakeholders. We foresee a period of experiments and exchange of best
practices to create the European Higher Education Area making best use
of our diversity.”
Around
500 higher education leaders from 40 different countries across Europe
attended the Convention. The outcomes will be presented by EUA as the
contribution from the higher education institutions to the next
Conference of European Education Ministers in Berlin in September 2003.
The
Times Higher Education Supplement, 6 June 2003
The
European Parliament has adopted a legislative resolution on the
Commission’s proposal for a “Council directive on the conditions of
entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purposes of
studies, vocational training or voluntary service”. The proposal sets
out to enable third-country nationals to enter Member States for these
purposes on the basis of a minimum set of rules common to all the Member
States. In the process, the Commission is also supplementing the
measures already presented on immigration for purposes of employment and
family reunion.
This
proposal reflects the goals set out in the Bologna Declaration and
further elaborated in the Lisbon Strategy, with the overall aim of
converting Europe into a world-reference. Although the parliament, in
this case, is merely involved in a consultation procedure, the adoption
of the text shows that the issue is on the European agenda. Among other
amendments, the parliament amplifies the proposal as to include
“unremunerated researchers” and requests that “each year, the
Member States shall forward a statistical breakdown to the Commission by
sex and
country of origin of the students, volunteers, unremunerated trainees,
school pupils and unremunerated researchers concerned.”
If put into practice, this might contribute to compensate the lack of
Europe-wide statistical data on international student mobility.
http://www3.europarl.eu.int/omk/omnsapir.so/pv2?PRG=CALDOC&TPV=PROV&FILE=030603&SDOCTA=10&TXTLST=1&POS=1&LASTCHAP=14&Type_Doc=FIRST&LANGUE=EN
The
European Commission has proposed a five-year programme that is to group
together a range of European Union grants promoting studies of European
law, politics, human rights and associated topics. The 2004-08 programme
allows for grant applications from any institution looking to promote
the study of EU unity, notably the funding of "academic research on
EU priority subjects, such as the future of Europe or dialogue between
peoples and cultures, including research by young academics".
Assuming the as-yet-unnamed programme is approved by EU ministers, it
would be assessed by the commission in 2007, which would then decide
whether to ask ministers to approve another five years of spending.
The
programme has a budget of € 129.6 million. It formalises existing
spending on the operating costs of bodies such as the European
University Institute, Florence; the European Law Academy, Trier; the
European Institute of Public Administration, Maastricht; and the
European Inter-University Centre for Human Rights and Democratisation.
There is also money available for running pan-European higher education
organisations, including grants for the "creation of national
associations of teachers specialising in European integration".
This money would be paid in addition to the existing Socrates and
Leonardo da Vinci programmes.
The
proposal follows a series of EU declarations in recent years to the
effect that the Union should supplement national government education
policies, boost EU cooperation on human rights and guarantee budgets of,
for example, the European Masters Programme.
The
Times Higher Education Supplement, 4 July 2003
The European Commission funds Latin American Research Networking
A
new European Commission initiative aims to bring together
researchers from a number of EU Member States and Latin American
countries: The Commission has signed a € 12.5 million contract with
the UK-based non-profit organisation DANTE (Delivery of Advanced Network
Technology to Europe) for the creation of a Latin American
intra-regional research networking infrastructure and its
interconnection to the pan-European research network, GÉANT. The
project, ALICE (America Latina Interconectada Con Europa), is part of
the @LIS programme, a cooperation programme with Latin America aiming to
promote the information society and fight the digital divide throughout
Latin America. The objective is to foster research and education
partnership and advancement within Latin America and between Latin
America and Europe, by overcoming the current limitations of
international research collaboration within and between both regions. It
constitutes a step towards a broader co-operation for the development of
a World Wide Research and Education Network, as proposed in the
Commission Communication on the UN World
Summit on Information Society, to be held in December 2003 in Geneva
(“Towards A Global Partnership in The Information Society: EU
Perspective In The Context Of The United Nations World Summit On the
Information Society (WSIS)”).
An
international and open tender for the connectivity will be launched by
DANTE imminently. As a result, the new research networking
infrastructure bridging the European Union and Latin America is expected
to be operational by the beginning of 2004.
http://www.europa.eu.int/rapid/start/cgi/guesten.ksh?p_action.gettxt=gt&doc=IP/03/811|0|RAPID&lg=EN&display=
Academia
Europea questions feasibility of the communication on the role of
universities
The
Academia Europea has called into question the feasibility of the goals
of the Commission's recent communication on the role of universities in
the 'Europe of Knowledge'. The academia,
which
is composed of some 2,000 individual members (including 36 Nobel
laureates) in 35 European countries,
has issued a statement on 30 May. According to this statement,
fulfilling these goals is unlikely given the many diverse and
over-burdening pressures that modern universities are now facing. It
says that, if the Commission's aim of achieving a knowledge society is
to be taken seriously, "much greater care had to be taken to
engineer a real and sustainable balance between the diverse goals and
functions of universities".
The
statement also disagrees with the communication's conclusions, claiming
that they wrongly lead people to believe that 'European universities
have not adapted and evolved in terms of achieving a new role and place
in society.' Furthermore, it outlines its concerns about the absence of
'non-utilitarian' research from key policy documents at all levels,
reminding policymakers, that 'students cannot just be trained to be
specialised and 'employable' in their limited field.
The
statement calls on the European Commission to establish a systematic
process for strategic consultations between stakeholder groups and
academics. Such consultations would help 'develop joint European-country
priorities and packages of support, applicable both to mobility and
co-operation within Europe and aid the delivery of a first-class
university system'.
http://dbs.cordis.lu/cgi-bin/srchidadb?CALLER=NHP_EN_NEWS&ACTION=D&SESSION=&RCN=EN_RCN_ID:20341
The
Italian Presidency‘s agenda for higher education
Since
1 July and until 31 December 2003, Italy holds the Presidency of the
Council of ministers. According to the work programme in education, the
Italian Presidency intends to make efforts towards the
"knowledge-based Europe". It will particularly deal with the
E-learning and Erasmus Mundus programmes and the new generation of
European education, training and youth programmes. The Italian
Presidency's work programme in education is guided by the Joint
Operational Programme for 2003 agreed together with the Greek Presidency
at the end of 2002.
In
the field of higher education, the Italian Presidency plans to promote
the adoption of the decision on the new European elearning programme and
to launch the debate on the next generation of European education,
training and youth programmes (Socrates, Leonardo and Youth). The
Italian Presidency should also oversee the launch of the new Erasmus
Mundus Programme which aims to foster cooperation and mobility with
regard to third countries. A Ministerial Conference, including UNESCO
and MEDA countries, will be held on inter-university cooperation in the
Mediterranean.
A
priority objective of the Lisbon strategy is to strengthen the range of
policies aimed at creating a knowledge based Europe. The Italian
Presidency intends to rise to this challenge, in the sense that Europe's
education and training systems have to be adapted to the demands of
society and to the need to raise employment levels and upgrade
employment. The coordination of education and training instruments at
European level is to be tightened in order to lay solid foundations for
student and trainer mobility, providing them with the opportunity to
extend and share their knowledge. The Presidency will also work on the
preparation of the report which has to be submitted to the Spring 2004
European Council on progress achieved in implementing a detailed work
programme on the follow up of the objectives for education and training
systems in Europe. A draft report should be submitted to the Education
Council taking place at the end of November.
http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/527935-66?204&OIDN=1505857&-home=home
Joint
declaration of European University Networks with regard to Berlin
conference
The
Coimbra, Compostela, Santander and UNICA networks, representing 176
universities within Europe, have issued a joint declaration with regard
to the Conference of European Ministers responsible for Higher Education
in Berlin.
The
networks ask the Ministers to “encourage the identification and
expression of the common values, principles and ethos that underpin and
define European higher education as something distinctive, valuable and
meaningful.”
According
to the statement, “networks are in a unique position to contribute to
this process; note that the successful creation of the European higher
education area depends on the embedding of the Bologna reforms at the
level of the institution and that university networks should play a
fundamental role in this quality enhancement process, i.e. promoting
international best practice and sharing good governance and
standards.”
http://www.bologna-berlin2003.de/en/aktuell/index.htm 3. Public Tenders and Calls for Proposals in the EU
Second
call for proposals for the Asia-Link programme EUROPEAID/115157/C/G
The
Asia-Link Programme is an initiative by the European Commission to
promote regional and multilateral networking between higher education
institutions in EU Member States and South Asia, South-East Asia and
China. The programme aims to promote the creation of new partnerships
and new sustainable links between European and Asian higher education
institutions, and to reinforce existing partnerships.
The
contracting authority:
European
Commission, DG EuropeAid 4. News from other sources
Australia
could become the most expensive country for students applying for a visa
Australia's
booming education export industry could be threatened by a federal
government decision to increase the fees foreign students pay for their
visas and their university courses. Overseas education is worth A$5
billion a year to the Australian economy and universities earn more than
A$1 billion in fees from the 150,000 foreigners they enrol.
Institutional incomes look certain to rise, given predictions that
overseas numbers could double over the next decade - up from the 280,000
enrolled last year.
Education
minister Brendan Nelson promised to spend an extra A$113 million (€66
million) to "support and expand" international education over
the next three years. But the money will largely come from the foreign
students he hopes to recruit: Under the changes to come into effect on
July 1, new students will have to pay a A$400 (€230) visa application
fee - a rise of 27 per cent - plus A$55 for the right to work while
studying. Convener Adrian Wong accused the government of taxing
international students since 1996 when it introduced a A$30
"student information services charge" to fund overseas
programmes. Mr Wong said the latest increase would make Australia the
most expensive country for students applying for a visa.
The
nation's main student recruiting organisation, IDP Education Australia,
warned the increased charges could harm Australian competitiveness.
According to this organisation, prospective students took note of visa
and tuition fees, and made comparisons on a country-by-country basis.
The
Australian University Quality Agency is to undertake regular audits of
universities' overseas operations. The government has allocated A$35.5
million to establish four international centres of excellence, including
$8.8 million for a centre in Asia Pacific studies. Some 80 per cent of
Australia's international students are from the Asian region. The
government also announced an A$8 million scholarship scheme to attract
high-performing foreign students.
The
Times Higher Education Supplement, 6 June 2003
Finland:
Demand
for PhDs set to continue in the labour market
The
Academy of Finland published on 28 May 2003 the results of a survey
commissioned by the Ministry of Education on PhD employment, placement
and demand in the Finnish labour market. The survey indicates that at
the current rate, almost 12,000 new PhDs will graduate in Finland by
2010. So far PhDs have had little difficulty finding employment:
throughout the 1990s the PhD unemployment rate was less than 3 per cent.
People graduating with a PhD from engineering, medicine and the natural
sciences have been the most successful in terms of finding employment.
These are also the fields of study with the highest numbers of PhD
graduates. People with a PhD have also made good use of their training
in that they usually have found jobs compatible with their
qualifications. There are no signs that the demand for people with a PhD
will decline in the future.
Responding
to the need for information to support decision-making in education and
science policy, this survey provides an overview of the employment and
placement of PhD graduates in different fields of study. It has
its background in the recent debate on the increasing number of doctoral
degrees awarded and in growing concerns about stiffening competition and
the declining prospects of PhD employment.
http://www.aka.fi/index.asp?id=a47d4388293641d4975d59c422202077
UK:
Quality Assurance Agency could make or break new universities
Colleges
given university status under controversial government plans could be
stripped of their titles after six-yearly quality audits. The British
government intends to revise the criteria for taught degree-awarding
powers (DAPs) as part of a fundamental shake-up that will allow
non-research and specialist institutions to call themselves universities
from next year.
Its
proposals, which have angered many in higher education who see them as
diluting the meaning and purpose of universities, will allow
institutions to call themselves universities if they gain DAPs and
maintain degree standards over time, as well as meeting a criterion on
minimum HE student numbers. The power to award research degrees, such as
PhDs, will not be necessary to gain the title university under the
plans.
The
Quality Assurance Agency audits universities and other higher education
institutions every six years. The agency is drawing up draft revised
criteria for DAPs that will be reported to the government. A QAA
spokesman confirmed there were no mechanisms in the current system to
take degree-awarding powers, or a university title, away from an
institution – nevertheless, the government said in a statement this
week that “new orders for degree-awarding powers granted by the Privy
Council will be for a time-limited period, with renewal of the powers
subject to achievement of a satisfactory QAA audit result."
The
Times Higher Education Supplement, 6 June 2003
Alan
Johnson Appointed New UK Education Minister
Alan
Johnson has been appointed as the New UK Education Minister (Minister of
State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education). Johnson
(born 1950), who holds no higher education degree, was educated Sloane
Grammar School in Chelsea. Originally a postman, he made a career in the
Trade Unions, and became one of their leading figures. He was elected a
Member of Parliament (for the Kingston-upon-Hull and Hessle
constituency) in 1997.
The
new head of the UK Department for Education and Skills succeeds Margaret
Hodge, whose name for many in UK higher education is associated with the
introduction of top-up fees in leading research universities. Some
players, and particularly the lecturers’ unions, expect Johnson to
take a more egalitarian stand than his predecessor.
From
23 to 25 June 2003, UNESCO hosted the follow-up to the "World
Conference on Higher Education". The results of a world-wide survey
examining how systems are changing were presented.
Around
400 Experts and authorities from some 120 countries attended this event
aimed at evaluating the changes in this domain over five years since the
World Conference on Higher Education held in Paris in 1998. Experts drew
particular attention to the role of information and communication
technologies in higher education, the impact of new education providers
and the expansion of the private sector in a global market. These
changes imply the tackling of two main issues in the coming years: how
to guarantee quality of education and how to ensure academic freedom.
Participants
agreed to organise a campaign for public education on 13 September 03,
coinciding with the WTO conference in Cancún, Mexico.
http://www.euractiv.com/cgi-bin/cgint.exe/527935-66?204&OIDN=1505799&-home=home
Controversies
about visa regulations make waves in the US
Four
advocacy organizations representing thousands of colleges and
universities sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in
June asking that he postpone the State Department's requirement that
nearly all international visitors to the United States undergo an
in-person interview before they get their travel visas. College
officials are afraid that the new mandate will lead to increased delays
that will keep students and scholars from arriving on campuses in time
for the fall term. They fear that that, in turn, will discourage foreign
students and scholars from coming to American institutions to study,
teach, and do research. 5. PublicationsThe Condition of Education 2003, available in PDF file: http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2003067
The
National Center for Education Statistics, NCES, located within the U.S.
Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences, has now
released the 2003 edition of the report The
Condition of Education. The report can be viewed or downloaded
in PDF format. The web version will be available in early July. The
Condition of Education summarises important developments and trends in
education using
the
latest available data. The 2003 print edition includes 44 indicators in
six main areas: (1) enrolment trends and student characteristics at all
levels of the education system from elementary education to adult
learning; (2) student achievement and the longer term, enduring effects
of education; (3) student effort and rates of progress through the
educational system among different population groups; (4) the contexts
of elementary and secondary education in terms of courses taken, teacher
characteristics, and other factors; (5) the contexts of postsecondary
education; and (6) societal support for learning, including parental and
community support for learning, and public and private financial support
of education at all levels. This edition also includes a special
analysis on the reading achievement and classroom experiences of
kindergardeners and 1st graders.
Globalizing
Practices and University Responses: European and Anglo-American
Differences,
Currie, Jan, Richard DeAngelis, Harry deBoer, Jeroen Huisman, and Claude
Lacotte,
Westport, CT:
Greenwood Publishers, 2003. 229 pp $64.95 (hb). ISBN 0-89789-868-0.
Address: Greenwood Publishers, POB 5007, Westport CT 06881, USA.
In
an analysis using case studies of key trends in higher
education-privatisation, accountability, the use of new technologies,
redefining the work of teaching staff, and others-the authors examine
universities in the United States, France, Norway, and the Netherlands.
They point out that while academic institutions are faced with similar
challenges worldwide (they refer to these challenges as
"globalisation") the responses differ.
Beyond
All Reason: Living with Ideology in the University,
Barnett, Ronald,
Buckingham,
UK: Open University Press, 2003. 231 pp (pb). $34.95. ISBN 033520893-2.
Address: Open University Press, 22 Ballmoor, Buckingham MK18 1XW, UK.
Barnett,
one of Britain's most thoughtful analysts of higher education, focuses
in this book on the role of ideologies in higher education development.
Barnett argues that ideological approaches such as marketisation,
entrepreneurialism, managerialism, and others have come to dominate
thinking about higher education. He argues that new "virtuous"
ideologies should also be considered-aspects such as communicating
values, uniting research and teaching, and others.
Globalization and the Market in Higher Education: Quality, Accreditation
and Qualifications, Uvalic-Trumbic,
Stamenka, ed., Paris: UNESCO, 2002. 212 pp. (pb). ISBN 92-3-103870-2.
Address: UNESCO Publishing, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75015 Paris, France.
The
focus of this book is on quality assurance and accreditation in the
context of global trends in higher education. Analyses of overall issues
are provided. Of special value are the regional discussions of Asia, the
Arab states, Latin America, and Europe. National case studies concerning
Russia, Nigeria, Mexico, and Romania are included as well. A final
analysis of international trends and the role of the emerging
marketisation of higher education on quality assurance and accreditation
concludes this book. 6. Upcoming Conferences
July
14 - 16
July
14 –16
July
21 -
23
July
26 - 29
August
24 – 27
August
26 - 29
August
29 - 31
September
2003 – February 2005
September
01- 02
September
04 – 06
September
09 - 13
September
10 – 11
September
10 – 13
September
12 - 17
September
17- 20
September
23 - 26
September
28 - October 01
October
20- 24
October
30- 31
November
06 - 07
November
07 - 10
November
09 - 12
November
27- 28
Internet: www.aca-secretariat.be, Phone +32 2 513 2241, Fax +32 2 513 1776
Questions and replies to info@aca-secretariat.be
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