DISCUSSION PAPERS OF THE CEPES ROUND TABLE ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN EUROPE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHANGING SXIETIES

We continue to publish extracts from the discussion papers presented by participants at the CEPES Round Table on the Contribution of Higher Education in Europe to the Development of Changing Societies, held in Bucharest from 21 to 23 September 1976. Previous papers were published in the January‐February 1977 issue of this Bulletin.

The full text of these papers and the working documents of the Round Table will be published by CEPES, in the near future, in the form of a monograph.     

DISCUSSION PAPERS OF THE CEPES ROUND TABLE ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN EUROPE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHANGING SOCIETIES

The November‐December 1976 issue of this Bulletin gave information on the work of the CEPES Round Table on the Contribution of Higher Education in Europe to the Development of Changing Societies, which was held in Bucharest from 21 to 23 September 1976. In this and the next issues we are publishing resumes of the discussion papers presented by participants at the meeting.

The full text of these papers and the working documents of the Round Table will be published by CEPES, in the near future, in the form of a monograph.     

NEW FORMS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN EUROPE ‐‐ CONTRIBUTIONS TO CEPES SYMPOSIUM

In this issue of the Bulletin we are publishing the last resumes of papers, presented during the Symposium on New Forms of Higher Education in Europe (Bucharest-, 13-15 January 1976), by participants from Czechoslovakia, Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain and the USSR.

The full text of these papers and the working documents of the_ Symposium have been published by CEPES in the'form of a monography. Copies of this, which include texts in English and French, can be received on request to CEPES.     

THE SWISS SYSTEM OF HIGHER EDUCATION

We have received numerous requests to present in “Higher Education in Europe”, in relatively short form, the main features of higher education systems in the different countries of the Unesco European Region.

As partial response to these requests, we present below a survey on the Swiss system of higher education, written for “Higher Education in Europe” by Dr. Esther C. Garke from the Swiss Federal Office for Education and Science, and CEPES Liaison Officer in Switzerland.

We also take this opportunity to invite our readers to provide us with papers or documents for similar presentations.     

FACTS AND TRENDS

In this and the next issue of the Bulletin, we are publishing résumés of the papers presented by the participants at the Consultation for the Preparation of a study on Access to Higher Education in Europe, which was organized by CEPES in Bucharest from 18 to 20 October 1977.

A monograph containing all the documents of this meeting is currently being prepared and will be published later in 1978.

(For information on this meeting see N°6 November‐December 1977 issue of this Bulletin).     

THE CONTRIBUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN EUROPE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CHANGING SOCIETIES ‐ CEPES ROUND TABLE

The aim of the CEPES Round Table on The Contribution of Higher Education in Europe to the Development of Changing Societies (Bucharest, 21‐23 September 1976) was to exchange ideas and experience on the role of higher education in Europe in view of the general changes in present‐day society, and also with regard to the Final Act of the Helsinki Conference on Security and Co‐operation in Europe. The following eleven participants took part in the meeting:

• Professor György Adam (Hungary), Rector of Budapest University;

• Professor Gunnar Adler‐Karlsson (Sweden), Roskilde University;

• Professor Hélène Ahrweiler (France), President of the University of Paris I;

• Professor Johan Galtung (Norway), Director General of the Inter‐University Centre of Post‐Graduate Studies in Dubrovnik;

• Dr. Stefan Kwiatkowski (Poland), Deputy Director of the Institute of Science Policy and Higher Education in Warsaw;

• Professor Mircea Malita (Romania), Bucharest University,’ Counsellor to the President of the Socialist Republic of Romania;

• Professor Manfred Nast (GDR), Secretary to the Council of Higher Education Institutions of the German Democratic Republic;

• Professor James A. Perkins (USA), Chairman of the International Council for Educational Development (ICED);

• Professor Branko Pribicevic (Yugoslavia), Belgrade University;

• Professor Ludwig Raiser (FRG), President of the Standing Conference of Rectors and Vice‐chancellors of the European Universities (CRE);

Professor Yuri Zhdanov (USSR), Rector of Rostov University.

Also at the meeting were observers and representatives from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Council of Europe, International Association of Universities (IAU), the European Cultural Foundation and Association des Universités Partiellement ou Entièrement de Langue Frangaise (AUPELF).

The meeting was opened by the Representative of the Director General of UNESCO, Mr. René Ochs, Director of the Division of Higher Education and of Training of Education Personnel.

H.E. Mrs. Suzana Gddea, Minister of Education and Learning of the Socialist Republic of Romania, addressed the meeting during the inaugural session on behalf of the Romanian Government.

We give below a summary of the discussions. This is not an official report of the meeting. (For further information on this meeting and its follow‐up see page 32 in this issue.)     

EDINBURGH: 14th SEMESTRIAL CONFERENCE OF CRE

The 14th Semestrial Conference of the Standing Conference of Rectors and Vice‐Chancellors of the European Universities (CRE) on “Social Relevance of the University” was held in Edinburgh from 21 to 22 April 1977.

The following three subjects constituted the main points of discussion:

• the concept of relevance with respect to undergraduate and postgraduate courses;

• the role of manpower planning in relation to university admissions and curricula;

• the responsibility of universities for training the professions, for the needs of industry and public service.

We give below the main elements of papers presented during the Conference on these themes. (For CEPES participation in this meeting please see page 27 in this issue.)     

10th CONFERENCE OF THE MINISTERS OF HIGHER EDUCATION OF SOCIALIST COUNTRIES

The 10th Conference of the Ministers of Higher Education of Socialist Countries was held in Moscow from 16 to 18 November 1976. The 8th and 9th conferences were held in Ulan‐Bator (Mongolia) from 12 to 14 September 1973, and in Havana (Cuba) from 19 to 22 November 1974 respectively.

Ten countries ‐ Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic, Hungary, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, USSR and Vietnam participated in the work of the Conference.

The forthcoming issue of the international journal of the socialist countries Sovremiennaja Vysza Shkola (Contemporary Higher Education) published in Warsaw will be devoted to the works of this Conference.

We give below information on the main problems discussed during this meeting.     

7th GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF CRE

One of the important events relevant for higher education in Europe which took place in 1979 was the 7th General Assembly of CRE ‐the Standing Conference of Rectors and Vice‐Chancellors of the European Universities (13‐17 August 1979, Helsinki).

The present membership of CRE includes 352 universities and institutes of higher education in 23 European countries.

The following article, written by Dr. Andris Barblan, Secretary General of CRE, reflects major problems discussed during the General Assembly (Editor's Note: This article is based on the paper presented by Dr. A. Barblan at the Seminar “University Today” which was held on 28 August 1979 in Dubrovnik).

For CEPES participation at this conference see page 42 of this Bulletin.     

BASIS OF FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA

We give below the main elements of the programme on which the long‐term future development of higher education in Czechoslovakia will be based.

This information was specially written for the Bulletin by Professor Jiri M#akeri?ka, director of the Research Institute for Engineering studies in Prague, who is also a CEPES liaison officer.     

THE DECLARATION OF HELSINKI AND THE UNIVERSITIES OF EUROPE

The 13th Bi‐annual Conference of the Standing Conference of Rectors and Vice‐Chancellors of European Universities (CRE), held on 21‐22 October 1976 in Athens, discussed the problem of co‐operation between European universities in view of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The participants put more emphasis on the removal of obstacles to existing forms of links between universities than on seeking new ways of inter‐university co‐operation.

Two papers were presented during the conference:

• “Necessity and evolution in the European Scientific Community” by Professor Zygmunt Rybicki, Rector of Warsaw University;

• “Difficulties in European Inter‐University Co‐Operation” by Professor Jean Tuscoz, President of Nice University.

The Bureau of CRE prepared a report “The Declaration of Helsinki and the Universities in Europe”, on which the information below is based, It gives an idea of the present state of development of relations between universities in Eastern and Western Europe.     

WOMEN AND HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE NETHERLANDS

This is a summary, written for CEPES, of the background paper prepared for the study conference “Women and Higher Education” organized by the Study Centre OTO, October 29‐30 1980 in Noordwijkerhout, Netherlands.

The article summarizes the principal currents of discussion in the Netherlands pertaining to the question of women in higher education, and draws an analytical picture of major obstacles encountered by women in Dutch higher education.     

THE RESTRUCTURING OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE USSR

Great interest is being expressed in higher education circles everywhere and at all levels in the fundamental changes envisaged with regard to the organizational structure and contents of higher education in the USSR. These changes constitute an important part of the restructuring; the “perestroika”, currently going on in all spheres and at all levels of Soviet society.

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CC CPSU) adopted the Principal Directions for the Reorganization of Higher Education and Specialized Secondary Education. As a follow‐up to that framework document, the CC CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR adopted a number of decisions, dated 13 March 1987, aimed at giving substance to and at amplifying the basic principles enumerated. As change in Soviet higher education has been in the air for some time, we were able to preview some of its directions in previous issues of Higher Education in Europe, specifically in No. 4, Vol. XI (1986), pp. 80‐81 and in No. 2, Vol. XII (1987), pp. 83‐84.

As promised in the latter issue, we are now presenting the main provisions of these “Measures”, and “Decisions” via excerpts taken from five documents which were published partly in Byulleten’ Ministerstva Vysshego i Srednego Spetsialnogo Obrazovaniya, No. 6, 1987, and partly in Pravda, 27 March 1987.

The editors are solely responsible for the choice of excerpts as well as for the editorial and stylistic modifications that they believed necessary in order to fit them into the content of Higher Education in Europe.     

FACTS AND TRENDS

In the framework of a joint CEPES/Institute of Education of the European Cultural Foundation project on the relations between non‐traditional forms of higher education and regional development, a Symposium was held in Bucharest from 23 to 25 May 1978

The purpose of the meeting was to analyse the main findings of nine national case studies which had been prepared in the framework of the project (Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania, United Kingdom) and to make suggestions regarding a synthesis study to be elaborated on that basis.

A preliminary draft of this study was presented as a working document to the Symposium. The main objectives of the meeting were, therefore, to facilitate an exchange of views and experience on the proposed topic and to identify the most significant data contained in the case studies which might be reflected in the synthesis study.

For information on the discussions of this meeting see page 36 in this issue.

The three following articles are based on the case studies on Hungary, Romania and Poland.     

EVENEMENTS ET TENDANCES

Dans ce numéro du Bulletin nous publions des résumés du second groupe de documents présentés par les participants à la Consultation pour la Préparation d'une étude sur l'Accès à l'enseignement supérieur en Europe, qui a été organisée par le CEPES à Bucarest du 18 au 20 octobre 1977

(Pour le premier groupe de documents voir le No. l ‐ Vol. III, Janvier‐Février de ce Bulletin)

Une monographie où seront ras‐semblés tous les documents de cette réunion sera publiée au mois de mai: on purra l'obtenir en faisant la demande par écrit au CEPES.     

UNIVERSITY FUNDING BASED ON PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The following article reflects on a recent study concerned with university funding, a problem which has now come to the forefront, because of an obvious tendency to increasingly link funding with performance.

The article, written for CEPES, gives a well balanced account of the study which proposes to establish a number of university performance indicators.     

CREATION OF A CENTRE FOR INTERNATIONAL CO‐OPERATION AND SERVICES AT THE OPEN UNIVERSITY

During the late 1960s the United Kingdom was one of many countries which faced a potential educational crisis arising from a growing demand for post‐secondary education linked with inadequate resources for its conventional provision.

“Distance learning” techniques, providing an alternative form of study based on multi‐media methods outside formal educational systems, have emerged in response to this new demand.

Within the sector of higher education the Open University of the United Kingdom is one of the most comprehensive distance learning systems.

Many requests have been made to the University for information on distance education and for advice and assistance in establishing similar ventures elsewhere. In response to these developments the University Senate has created recently a Centre for International Co‐operation and Services (CICS).

We give below information on the main functions of this Centre within the framework of the Open University activities.     

QUALITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION FROM AN INTERNATIONAL POINT OF VIEW: THE ROLE OF UNESCO

Although admittedly quality is very hard to define, UNESCO, particularly its European Centre for Higher Education and its Division of Higher Education, have undertaken a number of actions to further quality in higher education. Thus CEPES created EGAA (European Group on Academic Assessment) and the Division of Higher Education stressed the questions of quality in higher education in a recently prepared UNESCO draft policy paper. A strong component of the UNESCO UNITWIN and UNESCO Chairs Programme is directed at improving the quality of universities and university programmes in developing countries. The effort in favour of quality thus dovetails into other policies and actions of UNESCO, such as those in favour of the development of Centres of Excellence in the academic world. Yet quality improvement should not mean the imposition of one university model throughout the world but drawing upon what is best in local customs and indigenous culture.

     

HEIDELBERG: INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON IMPROVING UNIVERSITY TEACHING

The Second International Conference on Improving University Teaching, sponsored by the University of Maryland in co‐operation with Heidelberg University, was held in Heidelberg (Federal Republic of Germany) from 13 to 16 July 1976. Approximately 130 educators and administrators, from 23 countries, discussed a number of problems concerning university teaching which were presented under the following headings:

‐ facilitating student learning;

• educational technology;

• improving teacher performance;

• assessing teaching effectiveness.

We give below information on some of the issues covered during this conference. (For information on CEPES participation at this meeting see page 31 in this issue.)