CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY OF CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMENDATIONS
Chapter 2: The Bologna Process
108. We endorse the voluntary and consensual
approach adopted by the Bologna Process and consider that it has
resulted in tangible benefits for Europe (paragraph 14).
109. The Commission, and the EU more generally,
plays a valuable role in the Bologna Process and adds value to
higher education in Europe. However, we believe that it is important
to retain clear demarcations between their respective remits and
objectives in order to avoid duplication and ensure continuing
complementarity (paragraph 16).
110. The familiarity of the Bologna Process in
the United Kingdom—such as the three-cycle degree structure—should
not make universities complacent about its potential benefits,
in terms of encouraging mobility and allowing greater collaboration
with Continental universities, and they should endeavour to keep
apace with developments in the rest of the European Higher Education
Area. It is in the interests of the Government, universities,
staff, students, employers and wider civil society for the United
Kingdom to continue to be actively engaged in the Bologna Process
(paragraph 18).
111. We call on the Government to be more proactive
in ensuring that the one-year Masters degree, which is already
recognised in theory, is accommodated within the European Higher
Education Area in practice (paragraph 21).
112. We regret the fact that the Government's
June 2011 White Paper on higher education made no reference at
all to the European context, despite the clear importance of initiatives
such as the Bologna Process to universities in the United Kingdom.
We urge the Government and universities more actively to promote
and exploit the actual and potential benefits of the Bologna Process
to their students and staff, including the utility of the European
Credit Transfer and Accumulation System and the Diploma Supplement.
Both of these instruments have obvious benefits but we regret
that while they have been fully adopted in Scotland, this is not
yet the case in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, despite their
adoption by the majority of the 47 Bologna countries (paragraph
24).
Chapter 3: The EU's contribution of the modernisation
of higher Education
113. European universities are currently operating
within a very difficult financial climate. This need not mean
that the modernisation agenda cannot succeed but it is important
for the Commission to be realistic about what can be achieved.
The continued availability of funding for European universities
from EU programmes is also important in this context (paragraph
26).
114. We reiterate our support for the objectives
of the Europe 2020 Strategy to achieve "smart, sustainable
and inclusive growth". We believe that the EU can add value
in this area, and can support the EU's economic recovery (paragraph
28).
115. Given the increasing need for higher-level
skills, higher education has a key role to play. To this end,
we believe that the Commission should investigate the collection
of further data linking higher education provision to employability
in order to achieve a better match between university programmes
and labour market demand, while recognising the more general benefits
of studying for a degree for students and employers alike (paragraph 29).
116. We believe that the EU can play an important
role in fostering greater collaboration between universities and
businesses. Various EU initiatives have yet to prove their worth
but have a great deal of potential. These include the European
Institute for Innovation and Technology, its Knowledge and Innovation
Communities and other initiatives, including the European Innovation
Partnerships (paragraph 34).
117. We are disappointed that the Wilson Review
did not take adequate account of the role that the EU can play
in fostering greater collaboration between universities and businesses
in the domestic context. We urge the Government to acknowledge
the role that the European Institute for Innovation and Technology,
its Knowledge and Innovation Communities and the European Innovation
Partnerships can play when taking forward the Review's recommendations
(paragraph 36).
118. We support the allocation of a bigger proportion
of the budget under the next Multiannual Financial Framework to
research, education and innovation, subject to reductions being
made in other areas of the budget such as the Common Agricultural
Policy, and overall restraint being achieved. Closer alignment
with the Structural Funds should also be further developed. We
consider that the targeting of resources in this way will result
in long-term economic benefits for the EU (paragraph 40).
119. We believe that the development of a European
Research Area can achieve real benefits for the United Kingdom
and EU. However, much progress remains to be made in increasing
the mobility of researchers, including career structures and pension
rights. We urge the Government to give particular attention to
this area, and to become fully engaged in any relevant proposals
brought forward by the Commission, notwithstanding their non-participation
in EU immigration measures (paragraph 45).
120. We reiterate our recommendation that the
Government should support the allocation of a greater proportion
of funds to Horizon 2020 under the next Multiannual Financial
Framework. We also call on the Government to develop a dedicated
strategy to encourage and facilitate industry's access to these
funds (paragraph 49).
121. We also believe that the provision of clear
information and guidance to students is important in order to
assist them in making an informed choice of university. However,
we also appreciate how difficult it can be to evaluate a wider
range of university performance indicators in an objective manner,
noting the limitations inherent in many of the existing ranking
systems (paragraph 56).
122. Therefore, it is important that the Commission
is clear about the purpose of U-Multirank, what information will
be provided and what methodology will be used. If the perceived
deficiencies in most other ranking systems are overcome in relation
to this proposal then we could be convinced of the benefits of
its introduction. However, until these deficiencies can be overcome,
we consider that the Commission should prioritise other activities.
In the meantime, rankings such as the Times Higher Education World
University Rankings may have a valuable contribution to make (paragraph 57).
123. The higher education sector is global in
character. Given the Commission's supporting role in higher education
policy and the importance of internationalisation to the sector,
we see value in the production of a strategy in this area. However,
any such strategy must identify, with full justification, those
areas where the EU can add value to avoid duplicating the work
already being carried out by universities and Member States. Areas
where the EU could potentially add value include supporting mobility
schemes and encouraging cooperation between European universities
(paragraph 60).
Chapter 4: Student mobility
124. Substantive research into the links between
mobility experiences and increased employability is urgently required
in order to substantiate the anecdotal evidence. In this vein
we endorse the Commission's intention to improve the availability
of data on learning mobility and employment outcomes but also
urge them to pay more attention to how such data is collected.
More information also needs to be made available about the proposed
European Tertiary Education Register before its potential to add
value can be considered by all concerned (paragraph 66).
125. The Erasmus programme provides benefits
to the universities and the students who participate, as well
as to the EU as a whole. Not only do students going abroad benefit
from their experience, but British universities benefit from the
presence of Erasmus students from other countries. We believe
that the benefits for students include improved interpersonal
skills, language skills, character development, building confidence,
increased cultural awareness and enhanced employability (paragraph
69).
126. We welcome the Commission's intention to
integrate the existing EU funding programmes for education, training,
youth and sport into one unified programme. We note the Government's
opposition to the Commission's preferred funding increase for
Erasmus for All but reiterate our view that this programme merits
a proportionately larger allocation under the next Multiannual
Financial Framework (paragraph 71).
127. We note that students in other European
countries appear to be more predisposed to participation in the
Erasmus programme and mobility schemes more generally. We urge
the Government and universities to do more to tackle the barrier
to mobility in the United Kingdom (paragraph 75).
128. We also support the notion that each Bologna
country should adopt a "mobility strategy" and urge
the Minister to support this at the forthcoming Ministerial Conference
in Bucharest (paragraph 76).
129. We consider the retention of the Erasmus
fee waiver scheme by the Government, in some form, to be essential
as it provides a substantial incentive for students to participate
in the programme, particularly those from lower income backgrounds
(paragraph 80).
130. The growing trend of using English as the
dominant language in the academic world, as well as in the EU
institutions, should not encourage the United Kingdom to be unconcerned
about the opportunities and benefits presented by learning and
working in another language. The United Kingdom has already fallen
behind in language-learning capability. If this is not reversed
it will not only threaten its ability to participate fully in
EU programmes such as Erasmus but will also severely hamper individuals'
employability and the country's competitiveness within the Single
Market and beyond (paragraph 84).
131. As part of their reappraisal of language
teaching policy, we recommend that language learning becomes compulsory
at both primary and secondary school. Account should also be taken
of the need for effective transition arrangements between primary
and secondary school in this respect. Students need to be persuaded
that they could benefit from Erasmus placements, even if they
do not speak the relevant language fluently at the start of their
assignments. Universities could also do more to encourage language
skills among their students through language centres and extra-curricular
courses, with support from the Commission where appropriate (paragraph
85).
132. The social dimension of the Bologna Process
and the Erasmus programme is of paramount importance in terms
of widening participation in higher education (paragraph 90).
133. We consider that socio-economic and cultural
considerations constitute significant barriers to mobility but
we acknowledge that these issues are much harder to address than
financial and linguistic challenges. In order to inform this matter
we urge the Bucharest Ministerial Conference to endorse the further
development of the Observatory on the Social Dimension in Higher
Education in order to improve data and monitoring in this area.
Intervention at an early age to ingrain mobility opportunities
could also prove crucial in overcoming this barrier. Improving
the flexibility of placements, and the provision of information
about them, could also help to achieve wider participation (paragraph
91).
134. We call on the Government and the Commission
to investigate the feasibility and potential advantages of introducing
more flexible and shorter Erasmus placements, including how any
administrative difficulties could be overcome in this respect
(paragraph 94).
135. We consider the provision of more information,
as well as promotional activities about the mobility opportunities
that are available, by universities and policy makers, to be key
in increasing engagement with the Erasmus programme. In this respect,
we welcome the British Council's development of an online information
portal for students (paragraph 97).
136. It is too early to tell what the effect
of higher tuition fees in England and increased competition from
Continental universities will be on the attractiveness of the
United Kingdom as a destination for EU, and even domestic, students.
We nevertheless urge the Government to be vigilant about this
and to engage actively with its partners across the EU in promoting
the strengths of the higher education sector in the United Kingdom
(paragraph 100).
137. We endorse the proposed Masters level student
loan guarantee facility if it incorporates competitive interest
rates and favourable repayment terms. We also call on the Government
to be vigilant in ensuring that the UK one-year Masters degree
is properly taken into account as the details of the proposed
scheme are developed (paragraph 103).
138. We endorse the Government's intention to
seek closer alignment between the revised Professional Qualifications
Directive and the European Qualifications Framework and Framework
for Qualifications for the European Higher Education Area (paragraph
107).
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