Launch of European Tertiary Education Register
3 Jul 2014 04:30 PM
The new European Tertiary
Education Register (ETER) publishes its first results, providing easy access to
information on universities in 36 countries, including all EU Member States.
For the first time at European level, ETER will provide a one-stop-shop for
detailed and comparable data on 2 250 institutions hosting more than 16 million
students. The data includes university size, number of students and staff,
subjects and degree levels covered, as well as information about research and
international activities. ETER was set up with €500 000 in EU funding from
the former Lifelong Learning programme (now Erasmus+).
Androulla Vassiliou, European
Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said:
"Better information is necessary if we are to improve the quality of
our education systems. The European Tertiary Education Register will be an
invaluable resource for policy makers and universities. It will increase
transparency in higher education and help develop a wider range of analysis and
information, improve links between education and research, and support the
diversity of higher education in Europe."
Using information from national
statistical authorities, ETER will build a permanent and regularly updated
database on Europe's universities. It will help policy makers to
better manage the European higher education system as a whole, allow
universities to compare themselves with others, and to identify opportunities
for research collaboration or specialisation. It complements other data on
university performance, such as U-Multirank, and system-level higher education statistics
(UNESCO-UIS/OECD/Eurostat).
In addition to the 28 Member
States covered, ETER provides information on universities in EEA-EFTA countries
(Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) and EU candidate countries
(the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and
Turkey).
The Register includes
statistical data on institutions with more than 200 tertiary-level students.
The institutions represent 85% of all the higher education students in the
countries concerned. Of the countries covered, 29 delivered a full set of
data. Belgium (French speaking community), Hungary, Montenegro, Romania,
Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia and Turkey provided a basic listing of their higher
education institutions.
Background
ETER is a follow-up to the
Commission's agenda for the modernisation of Europe's higher
education systems. The Register was created by a consortium involving four
partners: USI – Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano,
Switzerland; Joanneum Research, Graz, Austria; NIFU – Nordic Institute
for Studies in Innovation, Research and Education, Oslo, Norway; University of
Rome La Sapienza. The ETER consortium works closely with national statistical
authorities.
The foundations of ETER were
explored in the so-called EUMIDA feasibility study (2009-2010). EUMIDA reviewed
methodology, data availability, confidentiality and the resources needed for a
full-scale exercise.
For more
information
FAQ: European Tertiary Education Register
European Commission: Education and
training
Androulla Vassiliou's website
Follow Androulla Vassiliou on
Twitter @VassiliouEU
ETER website: http://eter.joanneum.at/imdas-eter.