Information gaps holding back higher education in many EU countries
23 May 2014 12:39 PM
Not enough countries are
using the information they collect on higher education to improve their
universities and the opportunities they offer for students. This is shown in a
Eurydice report; 'Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Access,
Retention and Employability'.
"Higher education needs
to do more to respond to areas of weakness: for example, we want to encourage
more diversity in the student population. Universities need to attract more
disadvantaged students, especially people from low-income backgrounds, with
disabilities, of migrant status or different ethnicities. As well as inspiring
greater diversity, relevant data can help us to better assess the impact of our
policy priorities and to alter course where necessary. We must move to a more
proactive use of data and feedback to inform decision making," said
Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and
Youth.
The report shows
that:
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Although many countries collect
information about their student populations, data analysis is often not linked
to concrete objectives (such as ensuring access of disadvantaged students to
higher education), and many countries are unaware if their student population
is becoming more diverse (see Figure 1).
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Very few countries (BE(fl), IE,
FR, LT, MT, FI and the UK (Scotland)) have set targets for improving access to
higher education for people from underrepresented groups such as low-income
backgrounds.
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About half of European higher
education systems have bridging programmes for entrants not coming directly
from secondary education (BE, CZ, DK, DE, IE, FR, AT, PL, PT, SI, SE, SK, UK,
IS, HR) and award higher education credits that recognise the value of
students' prior learning (also ES, IT, LI, FI, NO). A clear geographical
divide is visible regarding measures to widen access to higher education, as
they remain most prevalent in the north and the west of
Europe.
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A significant number of
countries do not systematically calculate completion and/or drop-out rates.
This includes countries that have policies addressing retention and completion,
but clearly lack basic data to analyse the impact of these
policies.
-
In most countries, higher
education institutions have to submit information on employability (e.g.
employment rates of their graduates, how they develop the skills necessary for
their graduates to find a job) for quality assurance. However, graduate
tracking information is as yet rarely used to develop higher education
policies.
-
Using quality assurance to
promote crucial policy goals for wider access and better retention and
completion rates can help in monitoring students' progress, and identify
how higher education institutions (e.g. universities, colleges) use this
information to feed back into a cycle of quality enhancement.
Figure 1: Changes in the
diversity of students in higher education, 2002/03-2012/13
Background
The Modernisation of
Higher Education in Europe: Access, Retention and
Employability examines policy and practice related to the student
experience of higher education through three stages: access, which requires
awareness of the offer of higher education, the requirements to be admitted,
and the process of admission; progression through the study programme,
including support that may be provided when problems are encountered; and
transition from higher education into the labour market.
The Commission's Agenda for Modernisation of Higher
Education underlines the issues of flexible pathways into higher
education; how to assure effectiveness and efficiency in higher education; and
provision of employable skills to students for easy transfer to the labour
market after graduation.
Eurydice
The Eurydice Network's task
is to understand and explain how Europe's different education systems are
organised and how they work. The network provides descriptions of national
education systems, comparative studies devoted to specific topics, indicators
and statistics. All Eurydice publications are available free of charge on the
Eurydice website or in print upon request. Through its work, Eurydice aims to
promote understanding, cooperation, trust and mobility at European and
international levels. The network consists of national units located in
European countries and is co-ordinated by the EU Education, Audiovisual and
Culture Executive Agency. For more information about Eurydice, seehttp://eacea.ec.europa.eu/education/eurydice.
For more
information
The full report is available in English on the Eurydice
website
European Commission: Education and training
Androulla Vassiliou's website
Follow Androulla Vassiliou on
Twitter @VassiliouEU