International university projects

An outline is given of four separate proposals for the creation of international institutions in higher education: the European University Institute (EEC); the European Institute for the Promotion of Multi-media Distant Study Systems in Higher Education (Council of Europe); the European Centre for Higher Education (UNES-CO); and the United Nations International University.     

Co-operation for Mutual Respect and Recognition in Higher Education

The author, the Chairman of the Steering Committee for Higher Education and Research of the Council of Europe, focuses on the long and constructive co-operation between UNESCO-CEPES and the Council of Europe, pointing out that some of the central building blocks of the Bologna Process are direct results of this co-operation. The Lisbon Recognition Convention and the Code of Good Practice for Transnational Education will be even more important when European higher education has to face the new challenges of global trade in educational services.     

35th MEETING OF THE COUNCIL OF. EUROPE COMMITTEE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH IN ATHENS

The 35th Meeting of the Council of Europe Committee for Higher Education and Research (CHER) was held in Athens from 27 to 29 May 1977. We give below information concerning discussions held during the Meeting and recommendations made.     

Civil Society and the Reform of Higher Education in Central and Eastern Europe: Perspectives from the Council of Europe

The author begins by defining “civil society” and then traces the historical origins of the concept. He summarizes the views in regard to civil society of the Council of Europe and explains how these views are reflected in the reform programmes developed by the organization for central and eastern Europe after 1989. The author concludes his article with a discussion of the role and place of higher education in civil society with reference to a major Council of Europe programme, the Legislative Reform Programme for Higher Education and Research.     

ASSISTANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION LEGISLATION: THE LEGISLATIVE REFORM PROGRAMME OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE

Between 1989 and 1992, the Council of Europe responded to the perceived need to assist eastern and central European countries to develop a legal basis for their higher education systems that would lead to a workable and equitable balance between state control and university autonomy and academic freedom. Thus the Legislative Reform Project of the Council of Europe got underway in the spring of 1992. The results so far have been very positive. In 1996, the Council on Higher Education and Research of the Council of Europe recommended the continuation of the Project, now known as a Programme, for another four‐year period and its extension to the sectors of science and technology.     

FIRST STAGE OF REFORM OF GREEK HIGHER EDUCATION

In August 1978 the Greek Parliament passed Law 815/1978 concerning higher education. We present below the main elements of this law, which concerns the administrative structure of higher education institutions and the organization of the system of studies in the context of the general situation of higher education in Greece. This information is based on a report prepared by Professor Lyssimahos Mavridis, of the University of Thessaloniki and Director General of Higher Education at the Ministry of National Education and Cults. The report was given at the 3rd Meeting of the Group on Reform and Development of Tertiary Education in Southern Europe, which was organized by the Council of Europe and held from 20 to 22 September 1978 in Delphi.     

SHORT OVERVIEW OF CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN LITHUANIA IN THE DOMAIN OF QUALITY ASSURANCE IN HIGHER EDUCATION AND RECOGNITION OF HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS

This article describes current developments in regard to quality assurance and the recognition of higher education qualifications in Lithuania. With the aim of internationalizing its higher education system, Lithuania acceded to the UNESCO European Diploma Convention in 1994 and to the Council of Europe Convention on the Equivalence of Diplomas Leading to Admission to Universities in 1996. The Ministry of Education created the Lithuanian Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education in January 1995. It has been very active in a number of directions since then. In addition, Lithuania has subjected its science to international evaluation, is a partner in the Baltic Higher Education Coordination Committee, and is participating in two PHARE projects for the development of co‐operation in higher education. The main obstacle to greater co‐operation in regard both to the recognition of academic qualifications and to quality assurance is lack of financial resources.     

THE NEW CONVENTION ‐ PROTOCOL ON INTENTIONS OR WORKING AGREEMENT?

A Joint Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European Region is a necessary evolution that takes into account the increased political and economic integration of Europe, the mobility of academic staff members and students, and the diversification of higher education. The latter tendency, indeed, explains the stress on general principles, particularly on recognition, in the draft Joint Convention, rather than on equivalence and attempts at formulating detailed equivalence procedures. However, along with the stress on recognition must come common agreement as to the guarantee of quality and on procedures for accreditation, on the one hand, and access to information on one another's education programmes and their quality ratings, on the other hand. The Joint Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention will be backed by the excellent European National Information Centres on Academic Recognition and Mobility (ENIC).     

FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF USSR'S HIGHER EDUCATION BASED ON THE DECISIONS OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY AND THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS OF USSR

In July 1979 the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the USSR and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted the document “ On further development of higher education and improvement of the training of specialists”. The main elements of this policy paper are presented in an article written for “Higher Education in Europe” by Professor Felix M. Volkov, Vice‐Rector of Moscow State University. Professor Volkov is also a Member of the CEPES Advisory Committee.     

THE POSSIBLE ROLE OF THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE IN ASSISTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENCE IN CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Most of this article consists of the reproduction of Recommendation No. R (95) 7 of the Committee of Ministers [of the Council of Europe] to Member States on Brain Drain in the Sectors of Higher Education and Research, adopted by the Ministers’ Deputies on 2 March 1995 and of its Annex consisting of a set of concrete measures to be taken in order to enact and to support the Recommendation. The Recommendation and Annex statements are preceded by two background statements, one suggesting ways in which the Council of Europe might aid the development of science and science policy in the countries of central and eastern Europe undergoing transition, the other, giving the background to Recommendation No. R (95) 7.     

从教师教育认证委员会产生的合理性看美国教师教育认证的趋势

教师教育认证委员会是美国1997年新成立的教师教育认证机构,并于2001年和2003年分别得到了高等教育认证委员会和美国教育部的承认,对原有的国家教师教育认证委员会的独家认证权构成了挑战。文章试图通过分析新成立的教师教育认证委员会产生的背景及动因表明其存在的合理性,并从中找出目前美国教师教育认证的一些发展方向,进而对我国教师教育认证的发展完善带来启示。     

Reviews

Mr Coler was formerly Pricipal of Bede College, Durham, and was Consultant to the Council for Educational Techbology's Colleges of Education Learning Programmers Project 1971–76 Making the Best of It: the final report of the Nuffield Foundation Group for Research and Innovation in Higher Education .
Mr Hallqorth is Director of Wiltshire County Council Library and Museum Service New Media in Public Libraries: a survey of current practices by James W Brown     

European Engineering Formation: The Problem of Trans-national Recognition

The need for an international, or at least European, system of recognition of academic and professional qualifications increases as the professional job market becomes more and more international. On the contrary, no widely accepted European system exists at present, not even in engineering, although in this field the situation appears more advanced than in others, thanks to the comparatively great international experience and exchanges in the academic and professional worlds. Thus, notwithstanding a European Community Directive of 1989 that intended to make easy the trans-national mobility of all professionals, and the 1997 ‘Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European Region’ promoted by the Council of Europe and UNESCO, international exchanges and mobility still encounter difficulties, due partly to long-standing prejudices, but also to insufficient mutual knowledge of the different national systems and significance of the degrees awarded. This paper summarizes briefly the present situation in the European Union with regard to recognition and accreditation of engineering degrees and qualifications, illustrates the actions undertaken by Working Group 2 of the EU-supported Thematic Network ‘Higher Engineering Education for Europe’, and advances a tentative proposal with regard to the gradual, bottom-up establishment of a system for mutual recognition and accreditation of degrees and professional qualifications in engineering.     

THE SITUATION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN GREECE

We give below current information on higher education in Greece based on the report presented by Mrs. Lina Cantifaris, the Undersecretary of State for Higher Education of the Greek Ministry of Education and Ecclesiastical Affairs, during the 35th meeting of the Council of Europe's Committee for Higher Education and Research (CHER), which was held in Athens from 27 to 29 April 1977. (For a report on this meeting see page 3 in this issue).     

A New Forum for Business/Higher Education Interaction: The Australian Business/Higher Education Round Table

This paper outlines some of the early work of the Australian Business/Higher Education Round Table modelled partly on the British Council for Industry and Higher Education and the Business-Higher Education Forum in the United States. The main results of two surveys of employer and university opinions are summarized and they show considerable consensus about the objectives of secondary and higher education, desirable characteristics of university graduates and their current standards.     

Student Guidance and Attention to Diversity in the Processes of Quality Assurance in Higher Education

The main objective of this article is to analyse the importance given to student guidance and diversity in the standards and criteria used in the quality accreditation and evaluation processes in Europe and the US. Agencies selected in this study are the members of ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education), EQAR (European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education) and regional and programme accrediting organisations in the US that are recognised by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The data were analysed by means of qualitative and content analysis of the principles, standards and criteria published in the guidelines of the respective agencies. The results of this study reveal that guidance and attention to diversity are included in the quality evaluation guidelines for university study programmes and for higher education institutions in different ways. The main conclusion is that most guidelines include general criteria about guidance and diversity. In order to assist HEIs in the way to plan this support, guidelines should include specific criteria for the provision of academic, career and personal guidance within general student support services. Additionally, criteria should specify the actions to be taken and the resources to respond to diversity.     

ORIENTATION OF RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Responding to the interest of readers of issue No.1, Vol.IV, January‐March 1979 of “Higher Education in Europe”, which had as its main topic “Higher Education in Relation to Problems of Environment”, it was decided to continue devoting some attention to these problems in later issues of the Bulletin. In this context, we present the following article, written for “Higher Education in Europe” by Mr. Victor Kolybine from the Environmental Education Section of Unesco.

We also invite other readers to write on this important topic which concerns all of us.     

A BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE U.S. PERSPECTIVE IN REGARD TO THE JOINT COUNCIL OF EUROPE/ UNESCO CONVENTION ON THE RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE EUROPEAN REGION

Admissions personnel in the United States may question the necessity of American participation in the joint Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the European Region. With a long history of international exchanges and given the decentralized system of education of the United States, it can be argued that there is no need for or practicality to U.S. participation. However, participation is viewed as an important agenda for the United States, presenting an opportunity for the sharing of information about American education, for the promotion of an international standard for the recognition of academic credentials, for building global relationships, and for strengthening democratization.     

THE MUTUAL RECOGNITION OF ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS IN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AND THE USA 1

The origins of the problem addressed by this article go back to the Fourteenth Session of the Standing Conference on University Problems (CC‐PU) of the Council of Europe, meeting in March 1991, during which the delegation of Austria evoked certain difficulties which Austrian and other European university students and graduates were having in obtaining proper recognition for their credentials by higher education institutions in the United States. As the Council of Europe requested the collaboration of UNESCO in dealing with the problem, a Working Group was formed in 1992 to propose solutions. The present article is an abridged version of the draft report of this Working Group which is to be presented at the Seventh Session of the Regional Committee of the Convention on the Recognition of Studies, Diplomas, and Degrees concerning Higher Education in the States Belonging to the Europe Region, meeting in Budapest on 18 June 1994. It outlines and explains the differences in role, scope, structure, and philosophy of higher education in the USA and in Europe that have given rise to problems of recognition and equivalence and proposes solutions.