“Higher Education Reform and the Renewed Lisbon Strategy: Role of Member States and the European Commission”

«Discussions on problems in higher education in Europe typically focus on rising enrolment rates, access, governance, underperformance in research and teaching, lack of internationalisation, the lack of private and public funding. Our proposals for reform are based on more autonomy for universities, higher tuition fees, more private funding, introduction of income-contingent loans, better governance, more competition and internationalisation. Taking a subsidiarity perspective, the role of the EU in reforming the higher education sector in Europe is providing mutual policy learning opportunities on higher education reforms across Member States and supporting the building of higher education infrastructure in Member States (through the Structural and FP Funds). But beyond the support to Member States policies, the EU should further develop the European dimension, through furthering the goals of the Bologna reforms, cross recognition of qualifications, funding and promoting intra-EU mobility of students, researchers and teachers. The EU should take more initiatives to facilitate global mobility and cooperation. Finally, consistent with the subsidiarity principle, the EU can develop "flagships" initiatives.»

Frederick van der Ploeg

Reinhilde Veugelers

Keywords: higher education, enrolment, access, governance, research, teaching, funding, tuition fees, income-contingent loans, open market for the EU, Bologna reforms, mobility, competition, subsidiarity, flagships.
Date: 2007
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eui:euiwps:eco2007/33&r=edu

(resumo de “paper”, disponível no sítio referenciado)

“Demand for Higher Education Programs: The Impact of the Bologna Process”

”The Bologna process aims at creating a European Higher Education Area where intercountry mobility of students and staff, as well as workers holding a degree, is facilitated. While several aspects of the process deserve wide public support, the reduction of the length of the first cycle of studies to three years, in several continental European countries where it used to last for four or five years, is less consensual. The paper checks the extent of public confidence in the restructuring of higher education currently underway, by looking at its implications on the demand for academic programs. It exploits the fact that some programs have restructured under the Bologna process and others have not, in Portugal. Precise quantification of the demand for each academic program is facilitated by the rules of access to higher education, in a nation-wide competition, where candidates must list up to six preferences of institution and program. We use regression analysis applied to count data, estimating negative binomial models. Results indicate that the programs that restructured to follow the Bologna principles were subject to higher demand than comparable programs that did not restructure, as if Bologna were understood as a quality stamp. This positive impact was reinforced if the institution was a leader, i.e. the single one in the country that restructured the program. Still an additional increase in demand was experienced by large programs that restructured to offer an integrated master degree, thus conforming to Bologna principles while not reducing the program duration.”

Ana Rute Cardoso (IZA and University of Minho)
Miguel Portela (Tinbergen Institute, NIPE-University of Minho and IZA)
Carla Sá (Tinbergen Institute and NIPE-University of Minho)
Fernando Alexandre (NIPE-University of Minho)
Keywords: education policy, European Higher Education Area, economic, social and cultural integration, count data
Date: 2006-12
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp2532&r=edu

(resumo de “paper”, disponível no sítio referenciado)

“Higher Education as a Form of European Integration: How Novel is the Bologna Process?”

“Higher Education as a Form of European Integration: How Novel is the Bologna Process?”

Anne Corbett
Keywords: multilevel governance; institutionalism; Europeanization; educational policy
Date: 2006-12-18
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:erp:arenax:p0226&r=edu

( “paper” disponível no sítio referenciado)