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Volume 13, Issue 1  REGIONAL NEWS PRACTICAL INFORMATION RESEARCH
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Regional News
Q: You have proposed breaking down higher education
study in France into three, five and eight-year cycles
in compliance with international standards. How will you
handle short-term programs such as the Brevet de
Technicien Supérieur (Certificate of Higher
Technician) or the Diplôme Universitaire de
Technologie (University Diploma of Technology), which
require two years of study after the Diplôme du Baccalauréat?
A: This is not just a proposition anymore. The plan has already been approved and the official texts have been published.
European harmonization (of education) is working successfully without any major problems. The mastaire, earned after a
two-year program following the licence (licentiate), is a new
diploma. We changed the regulation,
which dates from Napoléon, by adding a fourth
graduation certificate, the mastaire, along with the
baccalauréat, the licence and the
doctorat (doctorate). This emphasizes the importance
of the licence. Students who graduate with a
Brevet de Technicien Supérieur or a Diplôme
Universitaire de Technologie will become eligible to
obtain a professional licence after an additional
year of study that includes internships. Everybody
has been trying to establish European diplomas these
past 20 years. But with each country intent on keeping
its own particularities, no one could agree on a solution.
However, this method of harmonization is making higher education study
programs throughout Europe mutually compatible with one
another. Germany, Italy, Great Britain and France agreed on
two distinct levels of university education. One would be
similar to the American undergraduate level, and consists of three years of university study beyond the baccalauréat (high school) diploma. The other one would
require two additional years of study and be
equivalent to the universally recognized master's
degree level. This second level will include existing
diplomas such as the maîtrise and the Diplôme d'Etudes Approfondies (Diploma of Advanced Study) or the maîtrise and the Diplôme d'Etudes Supérieures Spécialisées (Diploma of Higher Specialized Studies). The 29 countries participating
at the conference of Bologna agreed on this system of
harmonization.
The principle of harmonization has another objective: to integrate the Grandes Ecoles into European higher educational system. While French people may be especially proud of their Diplôme d'Ingénieur (Engineering Diploma), it is not recognized in other countries. Henceforth, engineering students will obtain a mastaire diploma
when graduating from the Grandes Ecoles or engineering schools. This is the first time that universities will allow the Grandes Ecoles to
issue equivalent diplomas. The decision will allow the Grandes
Ecoles to enter into the European system of higher education. We are
integrating them; we are not trying to eradicate them. In
exchange, the Grandes Ecoles will accept students who have earned
licence diplomas from a university. L'Ecole Polytechnique is
now accepting 40 students from French
universities and 40 foreign students. Two-thirds of the Grandes Ecoles (the ones that
come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Education) have implemented this reform.
The philosophy behind these measures is obvious: Universities and Grandes
Ecoles are poles apart, and combining them is out of the
question. Both institutions (universities and Grandes Ecoles) should retain a separate identity. However, they should also coexist in harmony and should complement one another.
Q: International accreditation systems today (American and
European) give legitimacy to an increasingly global
market. Isn't a purely French label on education somewhat outdated?
A: It has nothing to do with a purely French label.
On the contrary, it means developing an internationally
recognized system within a French environment that respects particularities and
traditions. It should not be forgotten that, in most
countries, universities are autonomous.
Recognition of diplomas from one university to
another is a bilateral exercise. It does not involve
the government. From now on, they will all have common references.
Up until now, students graduating from the French
"Grandes Ecoles" were sometimes admitted at the
undergraduate level in the United States. L'Ecole
Polytechnique was not able to establish an equivalency
for its diploma with degrees offered at Oxford or Cambridge.
Under the current reform however, students will leave L'Ecole Polytechnique with a
mastaire.
Q: Business Schools are particularly fragmented, and
the smallest ones experience difficulties. What can
be done to improve the situation?
A: Most of these schools fall under the jurisdiction of the chambers of commerce.
Even if Hautes Etudes Commerciales (Higher Business Studies), ESSEC or universities such as Paris-IX Dauphine enjoy solid reputations, we have the problem of too many small schools but no real big ones. There is a risk that,
in the future, graduates of English-speaking universities will hold higher positions
while French graduates will be mostly relegated to middle management
jobs. Therefore it is essential for us to create high-level business
schools. In Europe there are no business schools in the same league with say the Harvard Business School or the Sloane School of Management at MIT. How do we
establish them? The British have proposed launching joint-programs between Oxford and the Hautes Etudes Commerciales and a German school. But I am not sure that this is the answer. Moreover, we are behind
the United States in the field of technology management. A team (involving the
Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Industry) is
actually doing research and working on this issue right now.
Q: The business schools are behind engineering
schools and universities in terms of globalization.
What is the next step to facilitate student exchange
abroad?
A: We created EduFrance to recruit students. It managed to enroll
about a hundred Brazilian students inour engineering schools. The number of students
coming from South East Asia has increased by 40 percent. About 4,000
Chinese and 250 Indians are currently studying in
France. We are also trying to attract more students from India, Japan, China and Mexico. In addition, we will soon be targeting South Korea,
Argentina, Africa, the Mediterranean countries and Eastern Europe. Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) has been really successful in this respect. About 50 percent of its
enrollment is currently international students. I am hoping that Polytechnique, Centrale,
Arts et Métiers or the Ecoles Normales Supérieures
will have similar success. As for French students, we hope
that within five years every student who graduates after five years of university study will have spent at least 6 months in a foreign European country.
Q: Many Business Schools are merging today to remain viable. Do you think this will
happen to public engineering schools?
A: I am not sure. However, we have a real problem with schools of
chemistry, which are too small and spread out.
Some of them only have 40 students at each level,
which is making it difficult to maintain high quality laboratories.
Germany does not have chemistry schools with fewer
than 1,000 students. Other problems exist, as well.
We do not have any major schools in computer science nor in
biochemistry. These fields have only been
developed within universities. Should we create a parallel system of "Grandes
Ecoles" or reinforce the university system, represented by the IUP (Professional University Institute), which has the advantage of being research based?
— Le Nouvel Economiste
More than 150,000 candidates apply for a limited number of tertiary places each year. Good examination results are not enough to guarantee a student entry into the faculty of his/her choice. As a result, a large number of Greeks (those who can afford to) end up studying abroad in Europe and the United States. The most popular countries among these students are the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy.
OU expects to have 60,000 places available this year, in addition to adding new courses to accommodate the 5,300 new students it has admitted at graduate and undergraduate levels. It plans to give preference to adult students between the ages of 23 and 45.
Unlike other countries around the world, there are very few adult students in Greek universities. It is very rare and exceedingly difficult for Greeks who have finished college to go back to school later in life. Those who try are subjected to a formal examination and a time-consuming application process.
Public universities cannot keep up with the demand. Because private schools are forbidden by the Greek constitution, which guarantees free education for all citizens, it is hoped that the establishment of the new Open University can help expand educational opportunities to more Greeks.
However, higher education at OU will not be offered free of charge. Each student will end up paying more than $5,600 to complete an undergraduate degree. Although the university's decision to charge fees met with the approval of the Ministry of Education, it poses a serious legal problem. To justify the move, significant changes will have to be made to the country's constitution. Such revisions could open the door for private universities.
In 1988, legislation was passed that sanctioned the establishment of private institutions of higher education only if they were run as charities. These colleges offer a viable alternative to the public university system, but the high fees they charge put them beyond the reach of most Greek students. Furthermore, degrees earned through these institutions — often with the collaboration of foreign institutions — are not recognized by the Ministry of Education.
Although many educational reforms have been implemented in Greece over the last seven years, most of the changes have been at the secondary school level. At the tertiary level, insufficient funding and centralized bureaucratic administration remain the two biggest problems.
— Times Higher Education Supplement
The faculty of liberal arts will also adopt this tiered model in time. University officials explained that the change was part of a larger trend towards harmonizing Europe's diverse systems of higher education. The German Diplom inhibits the international exchange of students and scholars.
Students currently pursuing the Diplom track in math, physics, astronomy, biology and geology will be given the opportunity to switch to the tiered program of study during the five-year transition period.
— Sueddeutsche Zeitung
The number of students graduating from faculties of law, economics and social sciences was down by 4 percent, while math and natural science faculties reported a 5.7 percent drop. There was even a 9.4 percent decrease among graduates of engineering schools. Close to half (45.3%) of all university graduates last year earned a university Diplom, 31.3 percent were awarded a Fachhochschule Diplom, 12.8 percent completed a teacher training program, and 10.9 percent finished a Ph.D. program.
Of the students who made it to graduation last year, 95.2 percent were German citizens and 42.2 percent of all graduates were women. The average age at graduation for those in their first university program was 28.2. These students had studied for 5.9 years on average. The official length of the programs, however, averaged 5.3 years.
— Handelsblatt
The following part-time master's degrees are currently offered at OU: MA in education; Dr. of Education; MA in humanities; MA in open and distance learning; MA/MSc in Social Science; MSc in Science; MSc in math; MSc in manufacturing, management and technology; MSc in computing for commerce and industry; MSc in development management; and MSc in environmental decision making.
OU's master's courses are conducted like the undergraduate degree programs; they are designed for part-time students at home or at work using printed materials, TV, audio and video, and electronic media.
On average, it takes three years to complete a master's program at OU. Most postgraduate courses require students to have honors degrees (with the exception of manufacturing and computer science). However, students who do not have these qualifications can prepare themselves by taking additional OU undergraduate courses in the field they wish to do graduate work in.
— The Independent
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The following is a recent interview with the French Minister of Education, Claude Allègre