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ACA Newsletter n° 33 Academic Cooperation
Association CONTENTS
1. News from the ACA Secretariat and ACA Members‘What’s new in Brussels’ – new ACA seminar series ACA is pleased to announce a new series of one-day seminars for higher education experts on recent policy and programme developments in European education and training, particularly in an EU context. At least four seminars will be held in 2004. Themes to be addressed by the individual seminars will include the Bologna Process, the Lisbon Agenda, EU Third Country Policy, Language and Research Policy, as well as new programme developments, such as in Erasmus Mundus, Socrates and Leonardo after 2006, and others. The first of these seminars, under the title ‘What’s new in Brussels: New developments in European Policies and Programmes”, will differ from the others in that it is not to focus on any one single theme, but to provide a wide overview. The seminars will feature high-level experts from ACA, the European Commission and European education networks. They will have a workshop character, and thus will give participants an in-depth insight into the themes addressed. The first seminar of the series will take place in Brussels on 6 February 2004. Further details will be made available soon on the ACA website.
IIE: Stagnation in foreign enrolment at US universities On November 3rd the Institute of International Education (IIE) released the findings from Open Doors 2003, the annual report on student mobility in the US. This year's Open Doors report had been eagerly awaited because it covers the first full academic year after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the onset of the war on terrorism. It has also attracted significant media attention. According to the report, the number of foreign students studying in the United States almost stagnated, with a marginal growth of 0.6% only. Over the five preceding years, annual growth rates had averaged around a rate of 5%. Enrolment from Muslim countries dropped most significantly: New enrolment from Kuwait dropped by 25% compared to the autumn of 2002, and first-year students from the United Arab Emirates were 16 % lower. The decline from Muslim countries was, however, offset by increases in the number of students from countries such as South Korea and India. According to the IIE figures, visa restrictions appear to be the most important single reason for declining student enrolments or delays in student registration, cited by 59% of campuses surveyed. Other reasons include the high cost of U.S. education and competition from other countries. The Study Abroad portion of Open Doors 2003 will be released on November 17th, as part of international education week. IIE, together with the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, which funds this research, will hold a press briefing on Open Doors 2003 in Washington, D.C. on November 17th, to kick off the celebration of International Education Week. IIE's new “Atlas of Student Mobility” will be released on the same day. For more information see: http://opendoors.iienetwork.org
German ACA member DAAD continues to increase its presence in Asia. The organisation now opened a new office in Hanoi (Vietnam), after already being present in Beijing, Tokyo and New Delhi. Academic relations between Vietnam and Germany are close. Until 1989, some 5,000 Vietnamese studied at universities in the former German Democratic Republic. It is explicit DAAD policy to continue in the spirit of this heritage. Germany is also the most favoured destination for Vietnamese postgraduate and doctoral students, ahead of the US, Australia, France and the UK.
The creation of the new office is also part of
a marketing strategy for German higher education in Vietnam. Vietnam is
one of the key target countries of Germany’s “Hi! Potentials” campaign.
German universities, such as Dresden and Greifswald, already run
“off-shore” operations in the country. The office will also serve the
neighbouring countries
http://ic.daad.de/hanoi/index_eng.html
2. European PolicyEuropean Commission rings alarm bells over slow progress towards Lisbon objectives At their summit in the spring of 2000, the heads of state and government of EU member states had set themselves the very ambitious aim of turning the Union into “the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world”. In order to attain this aim, progress in the field of education and training was seen as essential. Therefore, the heads of state adopted, two years later, a “detailed work programme” for European education and training, which would make Europe the most favoured destination for foreign students and scholars and, more generally, a world-wide reference for education quality. In an interim report to the Education Council adopted on 11 November, which will provide the basis for a joint Commission/Council report to the spring 2004 meeting of EU heads of state, the European Commission now says Europe’s progress towards the Lisbon objectives is too little and too slow. Unless very determined action will be taken immediately, the Union might fall even further behind its competitors (US, Japan), rather than overtaking until the set deadline of 2010. Conceding “efforts” made by member states, the Commission criticises that investment levels in education have not increased as envisaged, that participation in lifelong learning is low, that school failure remains alarmingly high, and that the Union will face a serious shortage of teachers. In order to still attain the aims set, the Commission asks member states for a concentration of reforms and investments on the key Lisbon objectives, for the definition of a truly coherent and comprehensive lifelong learning strategy, for the introduction of a “European reference framework for qualifications in higher education and vocational training and, from 2004 onwards, the creation of a monitoring mechanism for progress (or otherwise) made towards the 2010 objectives. Only if all of this happens, and fast, could the Lisbon Process be brought to a positive conclusion.
Commission contribution to the Bologna Process The European Commission will continue to support the Bologna Process by means of a number of projects and initiatives in the run-up to the next Ministerial meeting (Bergen 2005), as it recently announced in the Socrates Higher Education Sub-Committee. A priority area for support is quality assurance. The key actor for the implementation of Commission support in this field is likely to remain the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA). One concrete measure concerns the setting up of a “European Register of Quality Assurance Agencies” (public and private, national, regional, European and international). Another is about the organisation of transnational evaluations of double and joint degrees as well as European accreditation in single fields, such as medicine or engineering. With regard to the introduction of the two-cycle degree structure (Bachelor/Master), and linked to its “Tuning” project, the Commission will support an initiative “to design an overarching framework of qualifications” in the European Higher Education Area. It will also fund a new promotion campaign for ECTS (and the Diploma Supplement). In a reaction to the new Bologna item of doctoral studies, a pilot project to examine the functioning of doctoral programmes in the different European countries is in the pipeline, which will also explore the possibilities of a “European doctorate”. In the framework of the new Erasmus Mundus Programme, joint masters schemes as well as European marketing are underlined as the Commission contribution. The Commission will also support the “stocktaking” exercise (on progress made) agreed by ministers in Berlin and the creation of a compendium of institutions having fully introduced the Bologna reform. Further, there will be “Bologna promoters” in all “Bologna countries”.
“Move your body, stretch your mind” - the European year of education through sport On 30 October, Commissioner Viviane Reding presented the “European Year of Education through Sport” (EYES). The EYES will start on 1 January 2004. Its official launch will be one of the key events at the start of the Irish Presidency. The decision to turn 2004 into the “European Year of Education through Sport” was adopted by the European Parliament and the European Council early this year, on the basis of a Commission proposal. Over 12 months, the European Union will be encouraging the promotion of the educational values of sport and reinforcing the links between the worlds of sport and education, demonstrating that, in addition to passion and competition, sport conveys civic values that contribute to a better education. The most important aims of the EYES are to raise the European public's (and in particular young people's) awareness of the importance of sport in the development of the personality and social skills, and to encourage the links between education and sport in Europe. “I hope that 2004 will give a fresh boost to European sport in all its dimensions, not just in terms of high-level competition but also as an educational and social activity. And I hope that, this year, we will also see sport enshrined in the Constitutional Treaty”, said Viviane Reding. In order to arrange events associated with the Year, the European Commission launched in May of this year a call for proposals for the selection of transnational projects for the first six months of 2004. The last phase of the call for proposals will be closed on 1 March 2004 and will relate to projects planned to run from July 2004 onwards. Almost 200 events will be organised during the 2004 as part of the EYES. For more information: http://www.eyes-2004.info
European Parliament resolution for more money for Erasmus Mundus At its Plenary Session on 21 October 2003, the European Parliament adopted a “legislative resolution” with a budget of €230 million for the new Erasmus Mundus Programme (2004 – 2008) for higher education cooperation with non-European countries. It thus followed its own Culture Committee’s proposal of 30 September. Whereas the “traditional” Erasmus programme supports higher education cooperation within the European Union, Erasmus Mundus seeks to open up Europe's universities and higher education institutions to students from other parts of the world. The programme, scheduled to start in the autumn of 2004, will provide grants for more than 4,000 postgraduate students and around 1,000 academics from non-EU countries (excluding the EEA/EFTA and accession countries). These students are to enrol in selected ”Joint Masters Programmes” offered by networks of universities in different European countries. In its first reading in April 2003, the Parliament had asked for the budget of €200 million initially proposed by the Commission to be increased to €300 million. The Council, in its “common position” adopted in June, had offered a budget of only €180 million. In the above-quoted legislative resolution, the Parliament now called for a compromise budget of €230 million. MEPs are hopeful that this amount will be accepted by the Council, since the Culture Committee’s rapporteur, Marielle de Sarnez, had informally arrived at this amount after “lengthy talks” with the Council. In anticipation of a final adoption of the programme, the Commission convened a “pre-committee” on November 13, a precursor of the future Erasmus Mundus programme committee.
Parliament compromise on eLearning budget On 21 October, in its second reading, the European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution on the multi-annual eLearning programme (2004-2006) for the effective integration of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in education and training systems in Europe. The overall aim of the eLearning programme is to encourage the integration of the new information and communication technologies into European education and training systems, thereby improving their quality and accessibility. The Parliament agreed on an amount of €44 million for the funding of this programme. In its first reading, it had still called for €54 million, while the Council had offered only €33 million, with the Commission proposal standing at €36 million. The compromise now proposed will be accepted by the Council, thus avoiding the need for entering into “conciliation”.
Three years after the Lisbon Summit, which
called for Europe to be turned into “the most competitive knowledge-based
economy in the world”, education ministers of the enlarged Union convened
for an “informal meeting” on 27 and 28 October in Milan, on the invitation
of the Italian Presidency. The meeting focused on the "Development of
human resources in social Cohesion and competitiveness". It was chaired by
The ministers noted that "social and economic growth in Europe depends particularly on its educational policies which, compared to the past, must now come to terms with the novelty that modern technology becomes outdated within five years." They further identified, as one of Europe's biggest challenges, a quality provision in lifelong learning. Commissioner Reding stated that the EU is suffering from under-investment in human resources, in both the public and private sector. At present, average EU investment in education is 5% of GDP, and thus only half of US educational investment, with little contribution from the private sector. Calling for higher investment, she also demanded to "implement a coherent policy for human resources development together with other areas of action, be it employment, research, enterprise policy, social inclusion, or economy and finance". She also called for the reinforcement of co-operation at European level in matters of human capital. http://www.ueitalia2003.it/EN/Notizie/istrGiovCult/Notizia_10281732273.htm
The European Commission and seven of the foremost European scientific research organisations, which constitute EIROforum, have signed a “statement of intent” to develop the European Research Area. EIROforum and the Commission pledged to engage in consultation with one another, arrange for exchanges and secondment of experts, and to build on this collaboration by concluding further bilateral agreements. The “Statement of Intent” was signed by the Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin and the Directors-General of the EIROforum organisations. “This ‘Statement of Intent’ marks a new step towards the creation of the European Research Area,” says Commissioner Busquin. “With Europe's best scientists working together in world-class research infrastructures to spearhead Europe's performance in priority areas such as space applications, nuclear research and biology, EIROforum organisations, in collaboration with the European Commission, will play a decisive role in promoting the quality and consistency of European research. This is a concrete example of the European Research Area in action, for a more competitive EU and better quality of life for our citizens.” The European Research Area (ERA) project was launched at the European Council at Lisbon in March 2000 in the context of making Europe's economy the leading knowledge-based powerhouse in the world. Two years later, the European Council meeting in Barcelona set the goal of attaining a level of 3% of GDP for research and development (R&D) investment in the EU by 2010 to achieve the objectives set out at Lisbon.
For further information:
EU-Latin
Higher Education Institutions will still be able to apply for an ALFA grant with a new project in 2004 and 2005. Originally, these last two years of ALFA II had been scheduled for the evaluation of the programme and the completion of the chosen projects. New initiatives would have had to wait for at least two years for a possible third phase of ALFA – a situation that might have discouraged many potential applicants. The change of plan reflects the higher education institutions’ positive response to the ALFA programme. The new selection rounds follow-on the project proposal selection rounds covering the period 2000 – 2003. It is expected that the deadlines for the submission of project proposals will be kept: 30th April and 30th October. The programme documents (Guidelines for Applicants and Application Form) are currently under revision and will soon be available on the ALFA homepage, as will be the priorities for 2004.
For further information see:
3. Public Tenders and Calls for Proposals in the EUCall for proposals EAC/72/03: “Transfer of innovation from the Leonardo da Vinci programme” In its own cryptic language, the Commission describes the aim of this call for proposals as “the transfer to and by various structures (private and public training centres, companies, schools, etc.) of innovative content developed under the Leonardo da Vinci I and II programmes”. The applicant will have” to choose at least two final products from the Leonardo I and II programmes, and to analyse, adapt, test/exploit, transfer and integrate them in the vocational training practice of one or more public or private entities in at least one other participating European country”. The Commission expects to fund around five projects, of a maximum duration of 12 months, starting on 1 May 2004. Maximum funding is 150,000 €. The contracting
authority: European Commission, DG
Education and Culture
4. PublicationsThis book contains the reflections of CHEPS on a four-year dialogue with colleagues from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovenia. The dialogue took the form of 12 policy workshops held between 1999 and 2002. The introduction, written by Guy Neave, places this dialogue in an historical and European perspective on higher education. After a concise overview of the infrastructure, trends and policy issues in higher education in the four countries, the book focuses on four key policy areas: institutional funding and change; cost sharing; quality assurance and degree recognition; and governance, management and system change. A brief comparative reflection on the four systems completes this book. The publication can be downloaded at: http://www.utwente.nl/cheps/documenten/engbook03realtimesystems-pdf
Tertiary education reform is in a dynamic phase in Switzerland as it grapples with national and global challenges emerging from the transition to a knowledge society. This review makes recommendations for further improvements to the tertiary education system in Switzerland. Switzerland has made major strides in improving access to and providing greater diversity of tertiary education. The report recommends additional measures for improving permeability in access routes and for building closer relationships between different parts of the tertiary sector. It also advocates expanding areas of study in the newly created universities of applied sciences, and for more flexible arrangements to meet the learning needs of adults. While the Swiss system gets high marks in coping with internationalisation, the flow of Swiss students studying abroad needs augmentation. The report also offers a range of recommendations in the area of the overall steering of the system and in improving effective internal management of the tertiary sector, two of the biggest challenges for reforms. OECD reviews of national education policies provide a well-established means for member countries to engage their peers in reviewing their country’s policies. This report was prepared at the invitation of the Swiss authorities. It is divided into two parts: a background report, prepared by the Swiss authorities, and the OECD examiners’ report. http://oecdpublications.gfi-nb.com/cgi-bin/OECDBookShop.storefront/EN/product/912003031P1
Atlas of Student Mobility, Todd M. Davis, IIE 2003, 104 p., ISBN 0-87206-272-4 The Institute of International Education (IIE) has published a new “Atlas of Student Mobility” to examine where the nearly 2 million students who are currently seeking education outside of their home countries come from, and where they go to obtain a trans-national higher education. With Ford Foundation support and in close cooperation with its partners, the British Council and IDP Education Australia, IIE has built a system for collecting, organizing and disseminating a minimum basic data set on internationally mobile students worldwide, in order to create a global focus on international student mobility. By creating a shared image of international mobility, the publication is to highlight the globe-spanning aspects of higher education, make apparent the emerging world higher education economy, and establish a conversation space for those concerned with global education mobility issues. The Atlas of Student Mobility contains national flow data for 21 leading global destination countries for international students (text panels placing the countries' international student populations in context, tables of leading places of origin for international students, a worldview of international mobility from the perspective of the host country), as well as data tables on the 75 most important places of origin for internationally mobile students (leading destination countries, percent studying in EU and in English-speaking countries, details of the higher education systems and total number of nationals seeking education abroad, national, historical and cultural context for each country). http://www.iiebooks.org/atofstudmob.html
The second edition of the EFA Global Monitoring Report has been released by UNESCO. The report focuses on gender equality in education, which is one of the six goals of the Education For All programme endorsed by 164 governments at the World Education Forum, in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000. As a first step to achieving equality, they set the target of 2005 to achieve gender parity (equal enrolment of boys and girls) in primary and secondary education. The report measures efforts being made in all parts of the world to enrol more girls in school. The report also includes an EFA Development Index, providing an overall view of the progress countries are making towards the four Dakar goals that can be most easily measured: universal primary education, adult literacy, quality of education (survival to grade 5) and gender parity. This first index presents data for 94 countries for the year 2000. The Education for All Global Monitoring Report is prepared by an independent international team based at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (France). It is part of the follow-up to the Dakar World Education Forum, and benefits from the advice of an international editorial board. It is funded by UNESCO and a number of bilateral agencies.
How widespread is student disaffection with school in different education systems? What policies and practices are most effective in fostering students’ sense of belonging and participation in school? These questions are of great concern to educators in many countries, not only because of the interrelationship between student engagement at school and learning outcomes, but also because student engagement represents a valued outcome in itself. The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) provides not only information on students’ literacy skills, but also on their attitudes and values, their social backgrounds, and on important features of the schools they attend. This report examines several aspects of student engagement at school. The results indicate that the prevalence of disaffected students varies considerably both within and among schools in most countries, and that this variation is not attributable solely to students’ family backgrounds. The analyses also identify some of the school factors related to student engagement and provide evidence that achieving strong student engagement at school does not have to be at the expense of academic performance. http://oecdpublications.gfi-nb.com/cgi-bin/OECDBookShop.storefront/EN/product/962003131P1
5. Upcoming ConferencesNovember 23-25
November 24-26
November 27-28
December 3-5
December 3-6
December 3-6
December 5-6
December 7-13
December 10-12
December 11-12
2004
January 3-6
January 8-9
January 8-10
January 22- February 2
January 26-28
February 1-5
February 2-6
February 6-7
February 18-19
February 20-22
February 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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