Who is responsible for employability? Student perceptions and practices

The paper examines to whom Portuguese students attribute responsibility for the development of employability, and what extra-curricular activities they undertake to improve their employability. Particular focus lies upon how far students internalise responsibility for employability and if/how they seek to position themselves in the job market. The data was obtained through a survey of 828 Portuguese students. The analysis explored differences among student groups (higher education sector, gender, age and discipline). The attribution of responsibility was primarily to students themselves and to higher education institutions as key vehicles for employability development, echoing the theoretical conceptualisation which sees employability as an individual ability/responsibility. Yet, the observed variations provide empirical support for the conceptualisation of employability as complex and multi-dimensional. The study also revealed relatively high engagement with extra-curricular activities, evidencing that students not only assume responsibility for employability, but are proactively seeking to gain positional advantage in the job market.     

The impact of programme accreditation on Portuguese higher education provision

The paper analyses the impact of programme accreditation in Portugal further to the operations of the Agency for Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Education, which were initiated in 2009. Tracking the evolution of study programmes, the paper found that, out of the initial 5262 programmes on offer in 2009/2010, 40% have been either discontinued or not accredited as of July 2015. The analysis revealed differences between the private and the public sectors, with higher proportions of discontinuations and closures in the former. For the discipline with the highest percentage of non-accredited programmes (Law), the main reasons for denied accreditation were analysed. The identified reasons were related to a lack of academic quality, for example, the programmes’ lack of compliance with legal requirements regarding teaching staff qualifications and full-time employment, the blurred identity of programmes, undifferentiated between university and polytechnic sectors, or curricular inconsistencies. The paper suggests that the identified reasons are likely to be symptomatic of the quality shortcomings in the provision of higher education programmes in Portugal. The data provide evidence that programme accreditation has had a powerful impact, reducing the number of programmes, increasing the number of PhD holders among teaching staff and raising institutional awareness of quality.     

Equity,Access and Institutional Competition

Tertiary Education and Management - In 1974, when a successful revolution had overthrown a dictatorial regime, Portugal had an elite higher education system with low participation rates. In the...