Hedda Blog

Tyler was a student in the European Masters Programme in Higher Education (HEEM) from August 2004 to July 2006. This unique joint-degree programme allows students to complete their studies at 3 universities; University of Oslo, Norway, University of Tampere, Finland and University of Aveiro, Portugal. HEEM was selected as an Erasmus Mundus funded programme in 2004. Here is a short interview with Tyler in regards to his HEEM experience:

Highlights of your programme experience? Experiencing the vast linguistic, cultural, social and culinary differences between northern and southern Europe.

A few words that describe your experience? Deeply fulfilling, life changing, and entirely refreshing!

Thesis topic? The Implementation of the Erasmus Mundus Programme

Words of wisdom for future/current students in programme? Try not to get caught up too much in the mundane details of mobility (and there are a lot) and try to view your experience as a whole and embrace all the positives and negatives that you will encounter (i.e. - don't sweat the small stuff and most of it is small stuff).

Current position? International Programme Officer at the Bocconi University School of Management in Milan, Italy

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In the past few days, we have highlighted a University level reform, a national level call for reform and today we look at a regional area reform that transcends nation state borders. Welcome to the Bologna process!

In 1999, the Bologna Declaration was signed by 29 European countries, the Declaration comprised of a number of reforms to make the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) more competitive and attractive. The goals of the Declaration is, "To create a European space for higher education in order to enhance the employability and mobility of citizens and to increase the international competitiveness of European higher education." Since 1999, a total of 45 European countries have signed onto the Declaration and these ministers have met continuously to converge policies and create a European space for higher education by 2010.

Prague 2001
Berlin 2003
Bergen 2005
Next Ministerial Summit: London May, 2007

10 action items for reform:
Established in the Bologna Declaration of 1999:

1. Adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees

2. Adoption of a system essentially based on two cycles

3. Establishment of a system of credits

4. Promotion of mobility

5. Promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance

6. Promotion of the European dimension in higher education

Added after the Prague Ministerial summit of 2001:

7. Focus on lifelong learning

8. Inclusion of higher education institutions and students

9. Promotion of the attractiveness of the European Higher Education Area

Added after the Berlin Ministerial summit of 2003:

10. Doctoral studies and the synergy between the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area

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Today, we look at a call for reform at the national level, the United States.

To help keep American higher education competitive, Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, formed a 19 member commission comprising of higher education experts from around the United States in the summer of 2006. In August 2006, the U.S. Department of Education Commission on the Future of Higher Education released a final report outlining the need to reform the U.S. higher education system. In this report, the commission presents findings along with recommendations to improve the higher education system. The topics that are covered in the report include; the value of higher education, access, cost and affordability, financial aid, learning, transparency and accountability and innovation.

Insidehighered.com posed a few provocative questions in an article posted on June 26, 2006, "Does the United States have the best postsecondary education system in the world, but one that is facing some significant problems that need addressing? Or is it a once-great system that is under such stress that it needs a major overhaul to keep up with the rest of the world?" WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Secretary Margaret Spellings explains the need to reform,
"While our universities are known as the best in the world, 90-percent of the fastest-growing jobs require post-secondary education and only one-third of Americans have a degree. Over the years, we've invested tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer money and just hoped for the best—we deserve better. To remain competitive in the 21st Century global economy, we must act now and continue the national dialogue and work together to find the right solutions."

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Around the globe, systems of higher education are being challenged by the increase of knowledge, students and the effects of globalization. This week, we will take a look at many reforms taking shape around the world. Today, we will highlight the University of Tokyo.

In 2005, 3 year action plan was presented to make the University, "...a place that attracts the most talented youth on earth and fosters their abilities, a place where researchers generate new knowledge through friendly competition and promote its beneficial use throughout society as the common property of mankind." The action plan is a detailed account of initiatives aimed at different levels in the institution; research, education, international activities, organizational administration, finances, campus environment, information dissemination and linkages with society. Everything from creating a safe and sustainable campus to supporting research strategies to enhancing the alumni program is included in this action plan to reform the University of Tokyo. The university president, Hiroshi Komiyama, states, "Let us put into practice the bold claim that we offer the 'best education and research in the world.' Our mission is to educate the next generation of talent that shares in our collective ideal to remain sensitive to others while courageously taking the lead."

From the University of Tokyo website:
"Having entered the twenty-first century, the University of Tokyo is facing its most decisive turning point since its founding, leading to great leaps, as various universities around the world are advancing reform. It is both the goal and task of the University of Tokyo to raise its autonomous management qualitatively, to aim for further advancements in education and research activities, to expand exchanges with the world–particularly with Asia, to create diverse links with society, and to cultivate human talent that can contribute to the peace and welfare of humanity."

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The Faculty of Education at the University of Oslo has launched the International Student Network in Education (ISNE) on December 12, 2006. This network is an on-line forum for University of Oslo international master's degree students and graduates. It will not only serve as a resource for higher education news, jobs, links, conferences and networking activities, but it will also build community among students and graduates involved in the various programmes. ISNE is coordinated by students, for students with support from the Faculty of Education. To become a member, click here.

From the ISNE website:

"Motivation
To provide an online meeting point for all students - prospective, current and past (alumni) - associated with the (3) international master programmes at the faculty.

Vision
The network is to become the preferable informal channel amongst students in the dissemination of relevant information surrounding the educational areas covered by the master programs.

Main Objectives

To help develop a sense of identity and community amongst students and graduates from the three programs.

To provide a value-added platform that: (a) enhances students’ learning; (b) improves students’ social and cultural life; and (c) facilitates students’ employment during their studies and upon graduation.

To bring together the widely disperse international student (and staff) communities present at UV, and facilitate links with their Norwegian (local) counterparts.

Target groups
The primary beneficiaries of the network are all current, past (alumni) and prospective (future) students, involved with each one of the (3) international Master programmes at UV: Comparative and International Education (CIE), Special Needs Education (SNE), and Higher Education (HE).

The secondary publics of this initiative are: (i) all academic staff involved with the respective Master programmes; (ii) all international experts in the fields of specialisation; and, (iii) any other (external) party - students, academics, others, etc. - with a broad interest in the educational issues covered by the network.

Infrastructure
The main focus of the network is an online (web) environment composed of the following elements:

A News/Events section with the latest around the programs, the university, and the fields covered.

A Networking section providing easy access to a database with contact details and info of all network members.

A Resource section with a variety of valuable educational and information rich materials.

A Web-Log (Blog) with the latest news and informal communication amongst students.

Participation & Future Expansion
All network members are highly expected to regularly contribute with content and information. The network is constantly being updated, expanded and improved. It is likely that new information/content areas will emerge in light of students' needs and desires. "

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Back in the Midieval times, scholars such as Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466 – 1536), would travel around Europe and study at different institutions in quest for knowledge. In 1987, this idea was revisited and formally supported as the European Commission launched the Erasmus student exchange programme. Celebrating 20 years of student exchange, as well as encouraging teacher mobility, the programme has also been instrumental in promoting transnational cooperation among universities throughout Europe. European Commission President José Manuel Barroso and Education Commissioner Jàn Figel’ have announced a string of events to celebrate 20 years of this 'social and cultural phenomenon'.

On January 18, the European Commission Committee of Regions, will host an opening conference to celebrate the 20 years. To view the tentative conference schedule, click here. In addition, the International Exchange Erasmus Student Network (IESN) has launched a website dedicated to celebrating the 20 years.

The first year of the Erasmus Programme, in 1987, 3,244 students participated and the programme has grown to accomodate 144,032 in 2005. To date, over 1.5 million students have participated in this programme and the European Commission is hoping that 3 million students will participate by 2012. For more statistics, click here.

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The Higher Education Development Association (Hedda) was established in January 2001 to strengthen the relationship between higher education research and the practice of higher education within Europe. There are eight European centres, institutes and groups, who together offer expertise and cutting-edge knowledge concerning the Europeanisation of higher education as well as international development issues. Since 2001, Hedda has developed a Masters Degree Programme in Higher Education, improved the dissmenination of research outcomes and stimulated European reseach cooperation on international topics.

Center for Higher Education Policy Studies (CHEPS), Enschede, The Netherlands

The Centre for the Study of Education and Training (CSET), Lancaster, the United Kingdom

Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies (CIPES) , Porto, Portugal

Institut de Recherche sur l'Economie de l'Education (IREDU), Dijon, France

NIFU STEP - Studies in Innovation Research and Education, Oslo, Norway

Institute for Educational Research (PFI), Oslo, Norway

Coordinating Structure of Finnish Higher Education Research (FINHERT), Finland

Centre for Higher Education Studies (CHES), Prague, the Czech Republic

Centrum für Hochschulentwicklung (CHE), Gutersloh, Germany

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In 1999, 29 countries signed the Bologna Declaration, a process to create an open European Higher Education area by 2010. Currently, there are 45 Bologna member countries actively working to harmonize such processes as: degree structures, credit transfer systems and quality assurance. The aim is to increase mobility and attractiveness of the European Higher Education area. The Bologna Secretariat just recently posted "procedures & requirements" outlining the admission criteria for interested countries. The deadline for applications is 31 January 2007.

From the Bologna Declaration website:

"The criteria for admission of new members to the Bologna Process have been set by the Berlin Communiqué:

Countries party to the European Cultural Convention shall be eligible for membership of the European Higher Education Area provided that they at the same time declare their willingness to pursue and implement the objectives of the Bologna Process in their own systems of higher education. Their applications should contain information on how they will implement the principles and objectives of the declaration. "

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Fulbright New Century Scholars Program
From the fulbright website,
"The Fulbright New Century Scholars Program (NCS) brings together annually 30 outstanding research scholars and professionals from the United States and around the world. NCS Scholars engage in multidisciplinary collaboration under the leadership of a Distinguished Scholar Leader and work together to seek solutions to issues and concerns that affect humankind."

One of the Hedda partner faculty members, Seppo Hölttäis,
Professor of Higher Education Administration and Finance at the Department of Management Studies of the University of Tampere in Finland, participated in the 2005-06 program. Professor Hölttä has his disciplinary basis in Economics.

The 2005-06 NCS scholars discussed the issues surrounding "Higher Education in the 21st Century: Global Challenge and National Response". Philip G. Altbach, Director of the Center for International Higher Education in the Lynch School of Education at Boston College, was the Distinguished Scholar Leader. The group of scholars presented their findings and recommendations to UNESCO in Paris October 2006. A few of the issues they contemplated were related to the effects of globalization in regards to student mobility and the academic profession.

In its 5th year, NCS will continue to address critical issues in higher education around the globe, and will focus on “Higher Education in the 21st Century: Access and Equity.” Dr. D. Bruce Johnstone, Director, Center for Comparative and Global Studies in Education at the State University of New York at Buffalo, will serve as the Distinguished Scholar Leader.

From the NCS application:
Overview
"Higher education faces significant challenges throughout the world. Among the most universal and complex are those related to ensuring equitable access for the rapidly growing number of individuals seeking education at the postsecondary level. Meeting the burgeoning demand for higher education and developing policies and resources that provide the benefit of higher education to diverse populations of students will require national commitment and international cooperation. In today’s global, knowledge-based economy, the economic growth and social well being of nations around the world are increasingly dependent on a well-educated workforce and individual access to quality education. Understanding the principal components of this challenge and the relationship between cultural norms, social and political policies and the development of higher education will require deeper understanding in order to realize the goals to expand access and equity.

The Fulbright New Century Scholars Program provides an ideal vehicle for the kind of cross cultural and transnational examination that will contribute to a significant comparative analysis of access and equity issues. By bringing together a diverse group of scholars and educational leaders to examine the topic in national and international settings, NCS will seek constructive ways for contemporary institutions to develop policies responding to the challenge of ensuring equitable access within the framework of higher education in the 21st century.

Three themes related to the central topic of access and equity in higher education will be examined:
1. Cultural and societal norms that affect access and equity
2. Role of K-16 in limiting or advancing access to higher education
3. Resources and polices that provide greater access to higher education"

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The International Herald on November 26 reported, "For many Indians, higher education does more harm than good. " For many Indian students finding a good paying job after graduation is a mere dream. If they did not graduate from one of the top-tier, elite schools, their marketability becomes quite grim. "It's almost literally a matter of life and death for them," said Kiran Karnik, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies, an influential trade body that represents many of India's leading employers. These students do not possess the practical skills employers are seeking and therefore are destined to a future of low-paying jobs. The article states, "The Indian educational system is locking millions of students in the bottom berth of a two-tier economy, critics argue, depriving the country of the fullest expression of their talents and denying students a chance to share in the fruits of reform."

How can this stark reality be transformed into a system of equal rights and a guaranteed quality of education?

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