Transcript Conference on the Bologna Process: European Higher Education Policies and Reform Baku, 20-21 April 2005 The Social Dimension of Higher Education in Europe-Current developments and.

Conference on the Bologna Process:
European Higher Education Policies
and Reform
Baku, 20-21 April 2005
The Social Dimension of Higher Education in
Europe-Current developments and issues
in the framework of the Bologna Process
Athanassia Spyropoulou
University of the Peloponnese
What is the Social Dimension
of Higher Education?
• The Social Dimension includes all
provisions needed for having equal
access, progress and completion of
Higher Education
The Social Dimension in Higher Education
• Emphasis on the social characteristics of Higher
Education and on considering it a public good and a
public responsibility
• aiming at
-reducing social gaps
-strengthening social cohesion
both at national and international level
• by means of
-equal and fair access
-fostering of free education
-public support to the Higher Education Institutions
and public responsibility for Higher Education in
general
-social support schemes for students during their
studies
-removal of obstacles to mobility
-support and promotion of lifelong learning
The Social Dimension in the Bologna
Process
The Bologna Declaration (1999)
• No reference to the Social Dimension
• Emphasis on the attractiveness and
competitiveness of the European Higher
Education Area
• Non participatory procedures
-Fairly weak or nonexistent involvement of
the signatory countries
-No student involvement
From Bologna to Prague
• Opening of the debate on the Bologna Process
across Europe
• Stronger involvement of the participating
countries
• Involvement of European Organizations
(Council of Europe, European Commission)
• Involvement of H.E. Institutions (EUA,
EURASHE)
• Involvement of the students
• The Social Dimension appears on the agenda
of the Process
The Prague Communiqué (2001)
The Social Dimension appears for the first time in an
official Bologna Document, the Ministers’ Communiqué
• as a general concept
• with reference to specific issues such as mobility and
lifelong learning
• ”Higher Education should be considered a public good
and is and will remain a public responsibility”
• as a result of random amendments and proposals made
by various countries and the students during the
Ministerial Conference
• ”the need to take account of the Social Dimension of
the Bologna Process” was “recalled by the students”
• The Ministers asked for further improvement in all
issues regarding the social dimension through a wider
and more systematic analysis on the way to Berlin
From Prague to Berlin
• The Social Dimension appears high on the agenda of the
European Debate
• Official Bologna events focused specifically on it
-The Athens Seminar on the Social Dimension
(February 2003)
- the 5th European Student Convention of ESIB in
Athens (February 2003)
• Other official Bologna events dealt with Social
Dimension issues as well:
-The Prague Seminar on Lifelong Learning (June 2003)
-The Oslo Seminar on Student Participation (June
2003)
• Wide and active participation of the participating
countries and all the actors and organizations involved
(EUA, EURASHE, ESIB, European Union, Council of
Europe) in the preparation of the Berlin Communiqué
through the works of the BFUG
The Berlin Communiqué (2003)
• The Social Dimension gains a prominent position, in
the Preamble of the Berlin Communiqué, together
with the reaffirmation that Higher Education is a
public good and a public responsibility
• In the main body of the document the specific
references to the various aspects of the Social
Dimension are made in a systematic and coherent
manner
• Balance between the need to increase
competitiveness and the need to improve the social
characteristics of the European Higher Education
Area
• with the aim to
-strengthen social cohesion
-reduce social inequalities
within each separate country and in Europe as a whole
For the first time in an official
Bologna Process document:
• equal access: Commitment “to making Higher
Education equally accessible to all, on the basis of
capacity, by every appropriate means”
(U.N. Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights)
• Student retention
or drop-out issues: in the
Communiqué the need is stressed “for appropriate
studying and living conditions for the students, so
that they can successfully complete their studies
within an appropriate period of time without
obstacles related to their social and economic
background”
Student Mobility
• Specific attention paid to the
importance of student mobility “for the
academic and cultural, as well as for the
political, social and economic spheres”
• Mobility should be available to all
• Need to make every effort to remove
all obstacles to mobility
• Specific reference to enabling the
portability of national loans and grants
Lifelong Learning
• In the Prague Communiqué is mentioned that
Lifelong Learning cannot be limited to the
perspective of mere employability. It should
also be considered as one of the most
important means towards improving social
cohesion
• In the Berlin Communiqué is stressed “the
necessity for improving opportunities for all
citizens to follow the lifelong learning paths
into and within Higher Education, established
in accordance with their aspirations and
abilities”.
From Berlin to Bergen
Official Bologna Seminars
-Public Responsibility for Higher
Education and Research, Council of
Europe, Strasbourg, September 2004
-Designing Policies for Mobile Students,
Noordwijk, October 2004
-The Social Dimension of Higher
Education facing world-wide
competition, Paris, January 2005
From Berlin to Bergen (ii)
• Paris seminar
 Re-affirmation of the importance of the Social
Dimension in the Bologna Process and of all the previous
statements
 Plus:
-further development of scholarships for students from
third countries; transnational exchanges based on
academic quality and academic values; mobility of quality;
reduction of the existing gap (a study on mobility?)
-socially cohesive system of student grants and loans;
promotion of social equity and equal opportunities
-need for more comparable data on the social and
economic situation of students (a survey?)
-quality assurance mechanisms, internal and external:
integration of the social dimension aspect as much as
possible
-social dimension a priority for 2005-2007
From Berlin to Bergen iii
• 3rd EUA Convention of European Higher
Education Institutions in Glasgow,
31 March-02 April 2005
 The Social Dimension should be seen as an
overarching or transversal action line that
affects all aspects of HE.
 The Social Dimension a priority for 2005-07
 In line with the Paris seminar, eg: More data
needed; solidarity towards students and
countries with less favorable conditions to
reduce gaps; more data needed; integral aspect
of internal QA mechanisms
The Way Forward
In the framework of the Bologna Process
• The prominent position the Social Dimension has gained
in the Bologna Process is a significant improvement
• Efforts need to be continued to strengthen the position
of the Social Dimension within the Process and to
safeguard what has been achieved so far
• The commitments taken by the Ministers in Berlin and
the ones that will be taken in Bergen have to be
implemented
• It is the responsibility of governments to implement the
commitments and of the academic community
(Institutions, academic staff and students) and other
stakeholders to ask or even push for the
implementation of these commitments
• Bergen: Priority for stocktaking?
The way forward as regards the Social
Dimension of Higher Education in general
• Attractiveness, competitiveness and excellence social cohesion; the two sides of the coin as regards
the improvement of Higher Education both at national
and international level
• The Social Dimension is -or should be- a key feature
of Higher Education regardless of the Bologna
Process. It is an indispensable underlying value of
Higher Education itself. Defending and promoting the
Social Dimension is one of the major means and at the
same time one of the major guarantees for the
accomplishment of the full mission of Higher
Education within the institutions and within society at
large.