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Argues that higher education is essential for the facilitation of globalization, pointing out that in the Eastern and Central European transition countries, higher education has been a main engine of transition. Asserts that it too must adapt to change, such as the rigors of a market economy that require it to be accessible to all and financed from various sources, and government promotion of centers of excellence. (EV)

Although past educational planning has been most concerned with matching figures, in the future it may be more concerned with the creation of dynamic imbalances leading to new, constructive developments related to developments in the economy, struggle for equality, changes in power structures, and advancing technology. (MSE)

The dynamic of articulation between higher education and secondary education in England and Wales, the Netherlands, France, West Germany, and Sweden is examined from historical and administrative perspectives. (MSE)

This paper focuses on the relationships between higher education and the labour market in Serbia. In order to understand this relationship better, this paper will first provide a brief history of the country and the history of its higher education structures. The paper will then discuss higher education from post Second World War until the fall of communism, highlighting how tertiary education met the goal of preparing young people for life in a socialist economy. The second part of the paper will discuss higher education after the fall of communism, and will show how higher education is not inadequately preparing Serbian graduates for the needs not only of the free market, but the new global economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2010 sees the end of the process of establishing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Although not all countries may have achieved all the objectives, many are those countries and universities who have implemented many of the targets set. Within the Bologna Process, there have been many developments such as: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) for the transfer of period of study abroad; joint degrees; and quality assurance aspects among others. Guidelines for Quality Assurance and the development of an overarching European Qualifications Framework have been developed. While the Bologna Process brings with it many advantages on an education level, the discussion has not really considered the legal aspects of such a system. Once the EHEA is implemented comprehensively across Europe, situations may arise which would require universities to consider the legal aspects of learning that students may have experienced within different tertiary institutions. This paper considers what problems may arise, for example with fraudulent behaviour by students in the acquisition of ECTS credits in another university; with weaknesses or failure to prove quality of learning following an external quality assurance audit in another university; with the failure to deliver learning by one of the partner universities running joint degrees etc., and explores the possible legal implications of such situations as well as identifying the legal lacunae which exist and which need to be taken into consideration if the EHEA is to maintain the reputation that it aims for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purposes of this paper are twofold: a presentation of the theoretical basis of benchmarking and a discussion on practical benchmarking applications. Benchmarking is also analyzed as a productivity accelerator. The authors study benchmarking usage in the private and public sectors with due consideration of the specificities of the two areas. Special attention is paid to the presentation of the current picture of higher education and conditions for the application of benchmarking. The chosen examples of benchmarking projects conducted in higher education illustrate the spectrum of benchmarking usage. The authors conclude the paper with a recommendation for the employment of benchmarking in the higher education environment, especially in the light of competition pressures and rapid economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The state and status of higher education in different countries and regions has been the subject of considerable debate, research and publication; yet little continental scale research has been undertaken except in the United States of America. This paper reports on large-scale cooperation taking place in European higher education. It particularly examines the development, role, activities and actions of Thematic Network Projects (TNPs) that have been established to support the modernization of higher education and therefore the implementation of the Bologna Process. The paper reviews the operation and structure of TNPs in the context of the Bologna Process and their contribution to the European Higher Education Area, presenting research of the development, activity and some outcomes of thematic networks in higher education in order to examine the impact of such networks as agents of change in turbulent educational times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bologna Process is fostering a change in higher education systems in order to attain the objectives of educational convergence, comparability and mobility of students and academics. As a consequence, the structure of degrees, syllabuses, pedagogy and evaluation and assessment systems (for students, teaching staff and programmes) must be revised. The present paper presents a comparative analysis from an accounting education perspective of the educational context in the United Kingdom (UK) and Spain identifying differences in their institutional characteristics, culture, etc. This paper evidences that a comparative analysis of the conditioning factors of the change will be necessary to facilitate any implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bologna Declaration attempts to reform the structure of the higher education system in forty-six European countries in a convergent way. By 2010, the European space for higher education should be completed. In the 2005-2006 academic year, the University of Murcia, Spain, started promoting initiatives to adapt individual modules and entire courses to the ECTS-compatible credit system. In this paper, we describe the development of an experiment under the ECTS credit scheme for the module English Language and Literature I, a course for first year students of French Studies. This experiment took place in the 2005-2006 academic year. This was the first experiment of its kind to be carried out in the Faculty of Arts under the Bologna principles. A teaching team made up of three experienced language teachers was put together for this purpose. The experiment would have a very strict follow-through: three different types of questionnaires were designed and given to the students, teacher and observers respectively in order to establish how the new teaching plan was working. The data obtained from the questionnaires revealed how successful and rewarding this experiment was for the students and teachers involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the results of a case study exploring perceptions of selected administrators and instructors at a Ukrainian state institution regarding the effectiveness of the Bologna Process at their institution. Data were collected from focus group interviews with five volunteer instructors involved in the implementation process. The findings indicate that the success of the new initiative was hindered by: centralized administration; insufficient training; scarce resources; participants' attachment to the old system; the perceived decreased quality of education; and loss of tradition. Recommendations are presented for other institutions experiencing a similar transition, keeping in mind their individual history, culture, location, financial resources, students and staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the feasibility of higher education in relation to the demands of work life. The research is a comparative study involving four European countries: Sweden, Norway, Poland, and Germany. The research focuses on the view of freshmen, senior students and later graduates in Psychology and Political Science. Data were obtained by semi-structured interviews, which were subjected to qualitative analyses. The results indicate that higher education, with some exceptions, seems to produce a discipline-based identity among the students. These findings may be indicative of the value for employability of classical academic generic skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary objective of this paper has been to define a quality university from the user's perspective, based on what students expressed regarding different aspects of the institution. Two methodologically different formats of collecting information have assisted in testing the coherence of their opinions. A qualitative and quantitative approach helped to evaluate the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European universities must face the crisis of the Humboldtian model, and find new organisational solutions. This paper proceeds from two starting observations. The first is the one according to which we are in a “cultural shift” that makes culture the element on which performance, including technologically and cognitively, depends. The development of societies now depends on the culture shared by human beings more than on their economy or technology. The second observation is that culture itself and its ethical underpinning should be open for consideration. The development of society now depends on culture and on its adaptive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the apparent conspiracy of silence and/or culture of disinterest with regard to ethical issues in higher education. A first interpretation treats it as an almost entirely negative phenomenon – the subordination of university values to external political and market forces. The second interpretation, elaborated here, is more nuanced and less judgmental; the apparent erosion of the autonomy of the university and growing fuzziness of traditional academic values are seen as evidence not of decline-and-fall but of higher education's success within the expanding territory of the knowledge society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This author focuses on the ethical aspects of conducting university research and teaching. What function does the university perform in making the contemporary world more humane, and what threats are connected today with this mission? Scientific work is, of course, also practised outside the university, and teaching does not have to follow the university model; however it cannot be denied that the university is a ubiquitous scientific and educational institution, the values of which should be remembered and emphasized in light of modern scientific and cultural developments. This paper highlights first the features specific to the university, with an emphasis on educational and cultural production. Next, the challenges faced by the university in the context of modern civilization are addressed. To conclude, a few personal observations about moral dimensions and challenges are shared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Written with the intent to argue for the purposeful place of ethics in the curriculum, this paper examines the role of the university in the knowledge society, the moral challenges that arise from this, and the importance of developing a pragmatic ethics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European policy-makers hope that by 2010 tertiary education in European countries will be 'connected' and become the much sought for European Higher Education Area. The reforms currently unfolding will modernize the daily practices of European higher education institutions. From transferability of degrees, employing a credit-based system and improving the capital base of institutions, the shape and make-up of tertiary systems will yield more alignment from disparate systems with heterogeneous parts. The policy innovations in Europe, as a consequence, have implications for American policy-makers as well. As European tertiary education evolves, it will pressure American policy-makers to adapt and react, especially as its leadership in educational capital has slipped as a result of Europe's surge in degree attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many researchers trained in Europe leave to work abroad, namely in the USA. This brain-drain phenomenon is the result of a lack of openness and competition in European academic systems. Some aspects relating to the mobility of academic careers could make a difference in attracting - and maintaining - researchers, aside to serious structural reform. This article explains how, in terms of mobility, it is possible to distinguish four different higher education models in Europe, showing persistent heterogeneity in the tenth anniversary of the Bologna Declaration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In lieu of the usual ‘From the Editors’ piece, Jan Sadlak, Director of UNESCO-CEPES, and Henryk Ratajczak, Vice-President of the European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (EAASH), describe below the scope and highlights of the International Conference on Ethical and Moral Dimensions for Higher Education and Science in Europe, held in Bucharest on 2–5 September 2004. The articles in this issue, some of which are drawn from Conference presentations, are also introduced here. The Conference was organized by the above two organizations, in collaboration with the United Nations University (UNU) in Tokyo and the Division of Basic and Engineering Sciences of UNESCO in Paris. It took place under the joint high patronage of Mr. Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic, and Mr. Ion Iliescu, President of Romania, and received further distinction in the form of special messages from Pope John Paul II, HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, and Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO. All Conference documents can be accessed on the UNESCO-CEPES website, . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces the articles published in the December 2003 issue of the journal "Higher Education in Europe". Key issues related to the development and reform in the field of higher education; Working relationships between public and private higher education institutes; Development of advertising and public relation campaigns.

The article presents an introduction to papers on European higher education that appear in this periodical.

This article presents a comparative study of the recent developments of the academic profession in European universities drawing on the results of a policy questionnaire. First, it outlines that the profession is highly diversified and hierarchical, with an unsolved gender issue. Second, it discusses the reasons behind its attractiveness, paying particular attention to the balance between duties and salaries. Third, it presents evidence regarding the evolution of the profession in the context of the broader changes operating in the European higher education arena. And finally, it highlights the political issues that are likely to shape the evolution of the profession in the coming years and the pending political agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various reports published within the issue, including one by Ignacio J. Alfaro and colleagues on the student opinion of the information policies of four Spanish universities with regard to Erasmus and other international programmes, one by Joanna Urban and colleagues on the general concept of benchmarking and its application in higher education in Europe, and one by Amparo Jimenez Vivas and colleagues on the professionalization in universities and European convergence.

Europe's higher education system is currently undergoing a process of change and convergence in order to guarantee equal conditions for labour mobility within its borders. Spain, like any other European country, must adapt its legislation, homogenize its studies, and raise awareness among its educational institutions (beginning with their teaching staff) of the suitability and benefits that these changes involve. The aim of this article is to present the main results obtained from assessment of this pilot study of adaptation over the last five years. This longitudinal study covered questions such as the usefulness of the Course Guide as a basic resource for the teaching/learning process, and student performance and satisfaction with the new system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beginning with a view of the role of tertiary-level educational institutions in the globalizing world and the condition of the Polish higher education system in 2007, the author presents the factors affecting the regional development as well as those that exert the strongest influence on long-term regional development. While examining current ventures undertaken by the Wyzsza Szkola Biznesu - National-Louis University (WSB-NLU), the author postulates a new model of higher education institution, 'the Fourth Generation University', which has a significant impact on its environment and also transforms itself. The postulated model has been supported by a brief description of a large project, launched in 2006, of the Nowy Sącz Network of Innovation and Knowledge Transfer and the Multimedia City. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the findings of two research projects, examining organizational culture by means of two different models of analysis - one at university level and one at department level - which were carried out over the last four years at Catalonian public universities (Spain). Theoretical and methodological approaches for the two investigations are also considered with remarks both on positive and negative aspects of each work. The authors eventually point to the two different research methodologies that identify common and divergent features in the two contexts, and to the results of this analysis that could be used as a methodological tool for future research on organizational culture in educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bologna Process is almost at its end and European policy-makers currently reflect on appropriate objectives and policies for the next decade. Given that the Bologna Process is generally seen as an example of unprecedented change in European higher education and that the major overarching objective of the Process was to increase the competitiveness of European higher education vis-a-vis the USA and Japan, it is worthwhile to investigate how and to what extent US higher education has responded to the European developments. This article analyses to what extent elements of the Bologna Process are reflected in recent US higher education policy discourse, using Tolbert and Zucker's (1996) framework of institutionalization which assumes a gradual process of the diffusion of an innovation. This analysis stresses a more uneven, piecemeal and even haphazard process, particularly in the initial stages of the institutionalization process, and suggests an adaptation of the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid the Bologna Process and as a direct effect of it, European higher education institutions have to rethink their core institutional policies in order to effectively deal with the increasing demands and needs of their 'customers' and society at large. The higher education management programmes across Europe, with some specific needs and educational types, are the focus of this article. The authors sketch possible future tasks related to and opportunities in these programmes, that is, a hopeful wind that could blow higher education institutions in Europe a competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Centre for Higher Education Development (CHE) has designed a 'Ranking of Excellent European Graduate Programmes'. In its first round, in December 2007, this ranking concentrated on the natural sciences and mathematics. The centre applied a two-step approach for analysis. First, four general indicators were identified for European universities. Second, for those universities that excelled in at least three out of these four indicators which means that they achieved a gold or silver medal, an in-depth analysis was run based on institutional questionnaires and on-line surveys. The results show that Europe in general provides a very high level of research and graduate teaching in the academic fields that were analysed. It is intended to apply this approach to other academic fields in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the idea of a European doctorate has been discussed since the earliest years of the European Union it is only very recently that its time has finally come. This progress is the product of the efforts of a number of important players, including the European Commission, the European University Association, the main representative of institutions of higher education awarding doctoral degrees in Europe, and the Bologna Process. In synergy with the European Research Area's goals, the Bologna Process, in particular, has played a vital role in providing a new impulse to internationalisation of the doctorate in Europe. Despite the important steps already achieved towards the joint European doctorate, full recognition of its legal value is still a work in progress. Problems arise because of the national laws of some European Union members, but are also due to a still pervasive conservative view in European higher education that encourages academic 'protectionism' instead of promoting cooperation. The two main reasons for resistance to innovative joint doctoral programmes remain, however, the misinterpretation of international mobility as the goal rather than one of the strategic tools of doctoral training and a widespread fear that harmonisation will homogenise the diversity of European doctoral curricula, reducing its current richness to uniformity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines accreditation as a component of the Bologna Process quality policy. The focus is on an analysis of the concept of accreditation in policy documents from four countries (Finland, the Netherlands, France and Sweden). The article focuses on the following questions: (i) how does accreditation appear, as a concept and as action, in national reports, produced for the purposes of the Ministerial meetings?; and (ii) how is accreditation presented, as a concept and as action, in the national context and for national actors? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study deals with the introduction of an international grading scheme from the perspective of the educational providers, with the aim of creating a theory that accounts for their problems and actions. Interview data was collected from two institutions in a country participating in the Bologna Process. The results show that the educational providers are faced with a number of concerns and that they address these concerns by adaptation and adjustment. These two core processes are complemented by five additional processes: information seeking, trusting, safeguarding, problem-solving, and evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If we take into account the growing functional differentiation in the late modernity, and the changes in society, knowledge, as well as the new needs, then there are reasons to question the activity profile of many institutions of today (political, military, communicational, commercial, etc.). In the case of the university, the changes involve fundamental aspects, such that the second oldest institution in Europe - after the Church - is requested to legitimise itself once again in a society already torn away from the continuity of history and reconfigured as a result of reorganisation of its own resources: money, administrative power, knowledge, information, culture. The author approaches the legitimacy of the European university, its cultural legitimacy by evoking the initial legitimization of universities which modelled the history of European higher education, by identifying the mission and the functions of the European university, and by showing the challenges that the legitimization of the European university faces today, and by highlighting its cultural profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the external dimension of the European space for higher education: what is being done to create greater cooperation among higher education institutions in Europe and why it is essential to set this process in the wider context of development and globalisation. An emphasis is put on the role of education as 'a powerful tool in the powerless' hands' for the future of economies, societies and people's lives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the many requests for change which the University of Belgrade, as a university in a transition country, has been facing from its foundation to the present day. Over the last decade, the University of Belgrade has had to overcome a range of difficulties in an attempt to follow European trends in reforming higher education at the institutional level. Today, it is obvious that the outcome of higher education reform will depend entirely on the academic community, which must play an active role and enter the "knowledge business", as a prerequisite for the success of future generations of university graduates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are several areas of intersection between tertiary education and basic education. This article examines four such areas – teacher education, academic research, policy analysis and research, and university outreach – and explores possible policy alternatives by which collaboration in these can be strengthened and optimized. The author submits examples from case studies and policy options as related to the four areas identified. The article concludes with a reflection on the possible new paradigms of education for a vastly different future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article deals with the question of how the segmentation of higher education participation connects with the segmentation of the graduate labour market into jobs with different levels of quality. With data comprising educational and labour market histories of graduates with Master's degree from nine European countries, the author analyses how graduates with traditional higher education careers come off on the European labour market compared to those with non‐traditional educational careers. When examining the quality of the employment that graduates obtain early on in their career, three criteria are applicable: the job stability and the quality of the education‐job match to both the level of their studies and skills. The method used in the analysis is logistic regression. Results indicate that being a traditional/non‐traditional graduate does affect the odds of finding proper employment; however, whether the influence is positive or negative greatly varies with respect to gender; the number of graduates with the same type of educational career on the local market and the criteria used to evaluate the adequacy of the employment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article seeks to analyse and draft an ethical framework of governance in the area of higher education and science. To this end, a distinction is made between ethical challenges as such, and preventive measures and remedies. An outline of ethical challenges to both higher education and science and governance is provided, addressing the quest for knowledge; conflicts with dignity and violations of academic equality; and failures in policing, responsiveness, and the balancing of aspirations. This outline is followed by proposed remedial or preventive ethical frameworks of governance, namely the cultural integration of governance and ethics, and the management of ethics and risk prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Is it still possible to combine two programmes of study in higher education, and if so, what are the characteristics of these double-students and what kind of obstacles do they face? In the Netherlands, about 10 percent of students in university education take two studies at the same time. Different theoretical approaches offer hypotheses to explain the choice of students for a second study, compared to students who pursue the regular one-study programme. Human capital as well as financial (socio-economic) capital theory provides some insights in this choice process. Education programme-related factors, as well as motivational and (social and academic) integration (Tinto, 1987) factors, will possibly be important determinants for pursuing one or two study programmes in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles derived from presentations made at the international conference 'The External Dimension of the Bologna Process: South-East European Higher Education and the European Higher Education Area in a Global World,' held in March 2003 in Romania. Efforts by South East European countries to meet the requirements of the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area; Educational reform.

Presents Asian perspectives on higher education in Europe. Educational mobility among countries; Importance of bilingualism and quality education; Application of knowledge management and risk management.

The author focuses on capital-led globalization and its accompanying ideology of economic liberalism and discusses its effects on European higher education. She focuses first on the well-known tendencies to operate higher education institutions like profit-making corporations and to turn academics into intellectual workers. Then she examines the linguistic vehicle for this kind of globalization, the increasing predominance of English to the detriment of the academic use of so-called small languages. English language-dominated economic globalization, the author feels, decreases the ability of higher education to further the aims of cultural enrichment and the advancement of knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides comprehensive information about new developments in the field of quality evaluation in Europe. It focuses on the most important international documents adopted and signed by the European authorities responsible for higher education—the Sorbonne and the Bologna Declarations and the Prague Communiqué. It briefly analyzes the follow-up activities of the Bologna process initiated by the academic community of European higher education institutions, their students and their various organizations, and describes certain important consequences linked to them. Some background information about several European countries is given so as to highlight real situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author, a historian and the administrator, for twenty-six years, of the NGO set up to develop the European dimension of higher education, the Conférence des Recteurs Européens (CRE) from 1959 to 2001, and now the European University Association (EUA), places inter-university developments in their historical context. He views higher education as but one area in which political and economic changes press for transformation. His text represents a testimony of the work achieved by CRE over a period of more than forty years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

If regional groupings are a legitimate step on the road to European integration, co-operation in education, particularly university education, has a principal role to play in the process. In Central and Eastern Europe, university education is essential for finding solutions to the common problems of adopting a market economy and of achieving scientific and technological parity with the West. Its aims can be furthered by co-operation and emphasis upon multiculturalism and initiatives aimed at furthering the aims of the Bologna Declaration of June 1999 on a European Area of Higher Education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In June 1999, the Ministers of Education of some thirty European countries signed the ''Bologna Declaration''. Its aim is to establish the European area of higher education and to promote the European system of higher education in the world. It proposes the adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees, the establishment of a system of credits, and the elimination of all remaining obstacles to free mobility. This article discusses the potential importance of this Declaration for both the comparability and the competitiveness of European higher education. Particular attention will be paid to the role of the various stakeholders in the process and the possible implications for quality assurance and accreditation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article derives its arguments from case studies reflecting the situations of Estonia, Bulgaria, and the United Kingdom, the access and equity agenda in each country being viewed in the light of its own social concerns and financial priorities. Local institutions, in their turn, reinterpret the agendas of their respective countries in the light of their own missions and objectives. The role of the Society for Research into Higher Education is shown to be of importance, along with that of other NGOs, in ensuring that the cross-fertilization of ideas and approaches takes place as effectively and as efficiently as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the contributions of modern universities to civil society in the light of recent university reforms in western European countries. It seeks to position modern higher education reforms based on New Public Management ideas into three different contexts: the normative ideals surrounding university activity, the organizational ideals related to university governance, and finally, the actual recent reform processes and their implications for civil society. A central idea in the following analysis is that the university makes its primary contribution to civil society in its capacity as a cultural institution. The article concludes with a discussion of the conditions under which such a contribution may be sustained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on developments relevant to higher education in Europe as of October 1999. Role of technical and vocational education as a vehicle of social advancement in a changing global economic landscape; Role of higher education systems and institutions in societal development.

The "European Access Network" is the only European-wide non-governmental body that focuses exclusively on widening participation in higher education, but in an age of "mass" higher education, who needs advocates for access? Surely the case for greater equity has already been made and won? A close look at the evidence, however, indicates that those who were under-represented before are often under-represented still. The European Access Network highlights this problem, demolishes the myths by examining the evidence, identifies solutions, promotes good practice, and puts on pressure for a more equitable higher education. This article investigates the progress that is being made, identifies what remains to be done, and suggests the most effective strategies for success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]