Quality Assurance and Higher Education in EU: Making ends. meet. G.K. Leontaris. Professor of Theoretical Physics. Theoretical Physics Division

Transcription

1 Kiev Workshop on Quality Assurance, 27 th June 2008 Quality Assurance and Higher Education in EU: Making ends meet. G.K. Leontaris Professor of Theoretical Physics Theoretical Physics Division Ioannina University GR Ioannina Greece Abstract In the first part of this presentation I give a short overview of the reforms and the qualifications framework in European Higher Education Area. In the second part I present in brief the Higher Educational System and the Recognition practices of foreign Tertiary Education Degrees in Greece. Head of Hellenic-NARIC, April 2003 April 2008

2 2 1. Advances in European Higher Education Area Higher Education (H.E.) is one of the cornerstones for the development of our society and the prosperity of the people. Educated citizens have the advantage to improve their abilities in all possible activities of modern life. They can be more efficient and productive, they are able to easier understand other cultures, they can be more tolerant when faced with differing attitudes and mentalities, they appreciate other civilizations and they can work better for peace and prosperity. In a Unified Europe the member states need to create a consensus in the quality criteria for H.E. and the recognition processes in order to facilitate mobility of students, graduates and employees throughout Europe. It is beyond any doubt, that higher education in Europe must provide the intellectual and creative energy required to improve social and economic development in the Continent. Furthermore, in a territory such as Europe with its long historical background and the variety of cultures and languages, education could be a vital component towards political and cultural cooperation. It was soon realized that one of the most important steps in this direction was the establishment of a unified Educational System all over Europe where all the qualifications are easily comparable and recognizable. Nowadays, in most European Countries, we witness a significant activity towards this direction which started with the Bologna Declaration almost a decade ago. As we know, the general tendency in European Higher Education is its organization in three cycles. The two cycles consist of a three-year Bachelor and a two-year Master degrees, or alternatively (but more rarely) a 4-year Bachelor followed by one-year Master. The third cycle is devoted to original scientific research which leads to a PhD degree. Painstaking efforts of the relevant European committees have been devoted the last decade to formulate an overarching framework for qualifications in H.E. European Area which was finally adopted in 2005 Bergen Conference by the European Ministers responsible for Higher Education. According to this framework, a rough description of these qualifications is as follows:

3 3 The first cycle qualification is awarded when the students have demonstrated knowledge and understanding indicating professional approach to their work. They should show ability to handle data relevant to the chosen field of study and, moreover, they should develop skills necessary to continue to a higher degree of autonomy. The second cycle degree should be awarded to those who have enhanced and integrated the first cycle knowledge, having been able to handle complexity and develop skills that allow them to continue self-dictated study. Finally, the third cycle qualification should be awarded to those who have demonstrated a systematic understanding of the scientific field and have contributed through original research which merits international, or at least national refereed publication, while they are able to promote academic and professional knowledge. A number of member states have already adapted their educational system so that the degrees issued do comply with the above qualification framework, while some others have initiated the procedures to reform it in accordance with the Bologna Declaration. There are cases however, where little has been done to this direction and the traditional educational system remains unaltered yet. There are many reasons for this, some of them I will attempt to summarize here: One of the basic obstacles is that the qualification framework of any individual member state usually reflects the cultural and historical background as well as the national priorities and the special needs of its economy, let alone prejudices and preconceptions. But, above all is that there is always the fear that an over-arching qualification framework will not be in favor of the educational system of smaller countries. This point of view is supported by the observation that the tendency of certain institutions is to expand their activities beyond their national borders and adapt the curricula according to the strict needs of the local labor markets; Indeed, since the target group is now the entire EU (and even beyond), stronger economies with long tradition and influence in Educational matters extend their

4 4 educational activities to other EU member states (usually by the method of franchising), often leading to unsatisfactory quality and... a lot of controversy in the society. Supporters of the traditional educational systems do also have reservations about the emerging landscape of higher education in European Union. They stress that in an area where the giants of science Galileo, Newton, Gauss, Maxwell, Einstein and numerous others have put the foundation stones of science, today s academic priorities are solely dictated by the ephemeral needs of the market economy. This impression is also enhanced by the fact that these days the terminology learning outcomes, competence, labor market, productivity etc is much more often used than the words academic excellence, original research, scientific discovery etc. In several cases, the procedures for the necessary changes in national legislation are particularly slow. One of the basic reasons is that some governments are circumspect about proposing radical changes in the legislation for Higher Education lest they face vigorous student protest and possible opposition parties reaction. Even though several countries have adopted the qualifications framework, it is widely recognized that essential differences continue to exist. There are endless discussions about this, however, some of these essential differences tend to become Unsettled Differences. For instance, H.E. Schools awarding five or six year degrees in significant scientific areas, (Engineering, Medicine etc) consider that the splitting of their five-year integral academic programs in 3 +2 year degrees is nonsense and artificial. Grandes Ecoles in France and Advance Polytechnic Institutes in Greece are such examples. They insist that a three year Bachelor s degree falls too short to bestow the holder with professional rights for the cases of regulated professions in particular. On the other hand, there are cases when even the minimum requirements of the Bologna Declaration (for instance the time duration of the two cycles), are presumably not fulfilled. Substantial differences also exist concerning the professional qualifications of the academic staff; personally, I was completely bewildered by

5 5 the fact that in certain University department(s) there is not even one PhD holder in the academic staff. Further differences concern the courses composing the educational program of the department, the research activities (a rare phenomenon in certain institutions) and many other crucial parameters which determine its academic profile. Given the above difficulties, in my opinion, the implementation of this qualifications framework in an essential and unambiguous manner in all European Union is a rather complicated and non-trivial task. Besides, there is sometimes the wrong impression that compatibility of qualifications would also automatically ensure the same quality. Even if all national qualifications are compatible with this over-arching qualification framework and the H.E. degrees can be recognizable, yet we cannot infer that the same degrees are comparable. The qualification framework is a necessary step, but it is not sufficient to ensure the quality and high scientific performance in Higher Education. Quality Assurance and Accreditation of educational programs seem to be more appropriate tools to create transparency on this huge H.E. European Area. To this end, generic quality descriptors have been developed to clarify relationships between qualifications issued by EU institutions. But, is this enough? Today, there exist more than 2000 Universities and Higher Education Institutions in the European Union, awarding Bachelors, Masters and PhDs to their students but only a small portion of them fulfil high quality standards according to global league tables. For example, according to a 2005 ranking of Shanghai s Jiao Tong University rating system, only nine (9) European Universities are included in the top 50 list, while 36 of them are in the United States of America.. (The first twenty of this ranking list universities are shown in Table 1). Criteria used to formulate this list of high class universities are of the type: Nobel prizes and Field s Medals that have been awarded to the institution staff. Scientific articles published in referred journals and academic performance Highly-cited researchers in 21 broad subject categories and various science citation

6 6 indices. Although the above criteria may look subjective, they yet reflect indisputable quality standards characterizing the Institution s scientific performance. In my opinion, they are in the right direction, since they concentrate on the major components that a modern University should build upon, i.e., original basic and applied research, innovation and high standards in teaching performance. The Scientific community has long ago developed (and continues to build upon purely scientific criteria) its own benchmarks, descriptors and indicators to assess the staff s as well as the institution s scientific and academic performance. 1 If our endeavors concentrate on these quality issues, then learning outcomes and competence of the qualifications holders will come out as a natural result. It is my personal feeling that the interaction and collaboration of the scientific community and the European policy makers concerning Higher Education should be further strengthened in order to systematically elaborate on these quality issues and propose measures that will enable us to compete with overseas internationally recognized H.E. institutes. As I have already noticed, the overarching qualifications framework is a bold step that will facilitate the transparency and the comparison of qualifications, while it will increase the mobility of students, graduates and employees. However, without deep reforms on the scientific and academic issues and generous State support in EU Higher Education institutes, only few of them will evolve to become world class leading figures. Quality Assurance and Accreditation is of course a major step and the eventual results should be analyzed and interpreted with great care in order to infer satisfactory conclusions. But, irrespectively of the outcome of this process, in a rapidly developing World Economy which constantly demands new resources, global sustainability, advanced technological solutions to new problems and many other innovative actions, we should realize that the EU needs 1 For instance, the impact factor of scientific Journals where research papers are published, the Science Citation Index and the h-factor are only few of them.

7 7 Universities pioneering in scientific research and academic excellence in order to compete with the prestigious world class ones, already existing in other Continents. I conclude this part of my presentation mentioning three main remarks that should be taken into consideration in order to open up new perspectives for European Higher Education: Higher Education institutions need a considerable degree of autonomy in order to settle their academic and scientific priorities. The State should avoid top-down initiatives and start instead, a creative dialogue with the academic community in order to help institutes develop those scientific and academic activities they are capable of. Higher Education Institutions should be given the freedom to adjust and get reorganized on the basis of their own educational goals and preserve or even develop further their multi-disciplined character. They should be given the flexibility to adjust their own academic programs without leaving aside the eventual needs of the economy and the labor market, while, they should be encouraged to put in their highest priorities of basic and applied research. In order to protect their autonomy, universities also need a more generous State funding. Today, the member states invest an average of 1.2% of their Gross National Product which is rather too low. On the other hand, the fiscal policy in many EU member states puts rather tight constraints on the possible increase of university funding. In this case, Quality Assurance and Accreditation outcomes could serve for a more selective allocation of state funding. Needless to say, tuition fees and possible private funding seem to be unavoidable in the near future. I believe that tuition fees should not be charged to the 1st cycle studies which should remain open and free to all citizens which fulfil the required entrance criteria. E.U. finally should also encourage initiatives for cooperation and collaboration of Universities on common research and teaching programs. This will give opportunities to students and academic staff to interact and exchange knowledge, methods of teaching and

8 8 Rank University Country Rank University Country 1 Harvard USA 11 Yale USA 2 Cambridge UK 12 Cornel USA 3 Stanford USA 13 Univ. of California, LA USA 4 Berkeley USA 14 Univ. of San Diego, LA USA 5 M.I.T. USA 15 Univ. of Pennsylvania USA 6 California I.T. USA 16 Univ. of Washington USA 7 Columbia USA 17 Univ. of Wisconsin USA 8 Princeton USA 18 Univ. of California, S. Francisco USA 9 Chicago USA 19 John Hopkins USA 10 Oxford UK 20 Tokyo Univ. Japan Table 1: The first 20 Universities according to Shanghai s Jiao Tong University rating system. research experience from one country to another.

9 9 2. Higher Education In Greece In this second part of my presentation I will describe in brief the Higher Educational System in Greece and the Recognition practices followed by the Hellenic National Recognition and Information Center, DOATAP (.O.A.T.A.Π.). A more detailed presentation on these issues can be found in the article Best Practice on Quality Assurance in Higher Education of Greece, by C. Batzios and A. Tsingotjidou so my description here will be complementary to theirs. II-A. Higher Education structure in brief Higher Education in Greece is provided by the following two classes of institutions, funded explicitly by State authorities: 1) University type institutions, including Advanced Institutes of Technology (e.g. National Technical University of Athens-NTUA, etc) 2) Technological Educational Institutes (TEI), upgraded to Higher Technological Educational Institutes since There are in total 21 Universities and 14 Technological Institutes, several of them located in the area around Athens, while the rest are scattered across the Greek territory, from the north-east area of Greece (Thrace) to the island of Crete, south. Entrance in Higher Education Institutes is achieved after succeeding in the national exams, but to get admitted to prestigious Departments (National Technical University, Aristotle University Technical School, Medical Schools, School of Law etc) is extremely competitive. Those failing to pass the exams, or do not succeed to enter the high-quality Departments, either choose to study abroad, or to attend courses in a private school in Greece (franchising). The latter are not recognized since in Greece according to the Article 16 of the Constitution, all higher education is free and state operated. 2 2 These days the Ministry of Education tries to overcome this obstacle, proceeding to the necessary

10 10 The majority of the Departments of University type Higher Education (H.E.) Institutions in Greece offer also Master programs (2nd cycle degree) and PhD (3rd cycle degree). The minimum duration of studies in Greek Higher Education Institutes is four (4) years. In particular: Natural Sciences, Social and Human Studies, Economics, Law etc, provide a 4-year 1st cycle program. The obtained degree is called Ptychion. Civil, Mechanical, Electric and Electronic Engineering, Architecture, Veterinary etc, provide 5-year 1st cycle degrees. Medical Schools offer 6-year programs. II-B. Recognition Practices According to the Greek legislation (Presidential Decree 3328/2005), recognition of other parties qualifications should fulfil certain general requirements (minimum duration of studies, number of credits etc), while at the same time they should meet the quality standards of the corresponding degrees issued by Greek H.E. institutions. In the recognition process the following steps are followed: A review is undertaken by the appropriate scientific committee to determine whether the foreign higher education institution is essentially equivalent to the Greek H.E. institutions. Assessment of the particular Department s program the student has attended, where parameters as admission requirements, number of professors who are PhD holders, teaching etc are taken into account for the evaluation. Once the institution issuing the qualification meets the above requirements, a detailed comparison of the curriculum and material studied is done by the appropriate committee (the members are University or TEI professors). The qualification may be considered either equivalent, which means that the degree is of equal value with those issued by Hellenic changes of legislation in order to allow recognized private higher education institutes in Greece.

11 11 Universities. equivalent and correspondent. In this case the degree is considered identical with the degree issued by a specific Greek University Department, relevant to the holder s field of study. This type of recognition is a prerequisite for the corresponding professional rights. Given the vast variety of the qualifications per year awarded to Greek citizens by foreign H.E. institutes around the Globe, to facilitate and speed up recognition processes the Scientific Board of DOATAP, adopted and issued certain well-defined recognition rules which are -of course- in accordance with the Presidential Decree 3328/2005. Thus, the following general rules apply: A three year Bachelor in scientific subjects related to Technological Education (engineering etc) is equivalent to a four-year Degree of the Higher Technological Education Institutions (TEI), provided that the number of credits are at least equal to the credits of the four year program offered by Greek universities. A three year Bachelor together with one year Master degree are considered equivalent to a four year Greek University s Ptychion, provided that the number of credits are at least equal to the credits of the four year program offered by Greek university departments. Exceptions to this rule are considered if the qualification obtained results from an intensive 3-year program and the department meets high international standards. In this case, the 3-year bachelor is considered equivalent to the 4-year Ptychion. This exception is not applicable if the corresponding program in Greek institutions is a 5-year 1st cycle degree (see below). A Higher Education degree is considered equivalent and correspondent to Ptychion if -in addition to the above requirements- the material studied does not have substantial differences compared to the syllabus of the Greek Department the holder wishes to correspond her (his) Degree. If there are substantial differences, the holder is asked to attend the courses not-taught in the corresponding Department of the Greek institution so

12 12 that a full recognition (equivalent and correspondent degree) is obtained after successful examination. The Bachelor and Master degrees are both necessary for recognition of foreign qualifications obtained in Civil, Mechanical, Electric Engineering and Architecture. If all the requirements are fulfilled, they are considered equivalent and correspondent to Diplomas of Advanced Technical Schools (NTUA etc). If the degree is equivalent and correspondent the holder automatically enjoys full professional rights. In general for qualifications whose corresponding studies in Greece are integrated through a 5-year 1st cycle program, the Master Degree is a prerequisite for recognition with respect to University type institutions. All the same, if a BA holder does not have a Master Degree, her (his) qualifications are assessed with respect to Technological Institutes. EU Qualifications of Medical Schools are considered equivalent and correspondent to Greek ones, unless substantial differences on the core courses are observed. References [1] Overarching Framework for Qualifications in the EHEA, adopted at the Bergen Conference of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education, May 2005 ( [2] A Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area, Report of the Bologna Working Group on Qualifications Frameworks, February 2005 ( [3] Stephen Adam, (University of Westminster): Presentation in Qualification Structures in European Higher Education, Danish Bologna Seminar, 27-28th March [4] R. Lambert and N. Butler, The future of European Universities: Renaissance or Decay?, June 2006.