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European
Officials Push for Bologna
In
a communique issued during a meeting in Prague last May, European
education officials from 30 countries reaffirmed their commitment
to further the harmonization of Europe's diverse university systems,
in accordance with the Bologna Process. The Bologna Declaration
aims to establish a unified system of European higher education
by 2010, comprised of compatible but distinct university systems
in order to better facilitate the transfer of degrees and academic
credits.
In
favoring a system of "easily readable and comparable degrees,"
the officials called for the adoption of a European credit-transfer
system, for the accumulation and transfer of credits, and for the
adoption of the Diploma
Supplement, which provides detailed information on completed
academic work to institutions or employers.
The
education officials also stressed their commitment to introduce
a system of bachelor's and master's degrees, already adopted in
many European countries. They added that the harmonization of national
systems and the strengthening of quality assurance would enhance
the attractiveness of European education around the world.
—
Chronicle
for Higher Education
June 15, 2001
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AUSTRIA
Tuition
Fees to be Introduced
Plans have been finalized to introduce tuition fees for all students in
Austria starting this autumn. Austrian and other EU students will pay
a common rate of 363 Euros (US$319) per semester. All others will pay
double this amount with some exceptions. Exchange students, refugees,
students from countries that do not require Austrian students to pay fees,
and students from developing Eastern European states will not be expected
to pay the fee.
—
Times Higher
Educational Supplement
March 23, 2001
BULGARIA
Inauguration
of New Virtual Classroom in Sophia
The Cervantes Institute in Spain
recently launched a new Cervantes Virtual Center for the study of Spanish
at the University of Sofia. This
classroom, equipped with modern computers connected to the Cervantes Institute,
will enable students to participate in forums, and to study Spanish through
the Internet. The inauguration is part of a project that is expected to
establish similar programs at Charles University
in Prague, Budapest's Eovtos Lorand University and English-speaking
Caribbean countries.
In addition,
the Cervantes Virtual Center in Sophia will offer on-line and experimental
video conferencing tutorials, and access to databases and information.
— Spanish
Newswire Services
May 12, 2000
CROATIA
New Degrees
at ACMT
The American College of Management and Technology
(ACMT) in Dubrovnik, conferred its first degrees -- bachelor's degrees
in hotel and resort management, and master's degrees in packaging science--
since the end of the shelling on June 2. The school was created through
a partnership between the Rochester Institute
of Technology (RIT) in the United States and the Polytechnic
of Dubrovnik.
The management-focused
program adopts an applied approach in contrast to traditional theoretical
Croatian programs. Tuition is $4,700 for Croatian students and $6000 for
foreign students. Most students are Croatian, including expatriates from
Germany, Italy and Austria.
For more
information on this institution, please visit their Web site at: www.acmt.hr/html/acmt_overview.html.
—
ACMT
homepage
FRANCE
Education
of Immigrants and Refugees
The French Ministry
of Education recently announced that efforts were underway to better
educate the children of immigrants and refugees currently residing in
France. The plan aims to make their schooling more effective and aid their
integration into the French school system.
The government
wants to provide new arrivals with more information about French culture
and society, and the structure of the country's educational system in
particular. It also plans to make training courses leading to professional
qualifications more accessible to older students of immigrants and refugees.
Various bodies, including a national committee, will be created to oversee
and implement these measures.
—
French
Education Ministry
March 30, 2001
Equal
Status for Regional and Foreign Languages
Jack Lang, France's
minister of education, recently declared that regional languages would
be given the same status as foreign languages within the country's curriculum.
Under the new program, students can choose to study a regional language
instead of a foreign one. Local authorities will be responsible for developing
long-term plans for the learning and teaching of their minority languages
throughout all levels of education. Minority languages, to be offered
for study include Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Breton, Créole and
Occitan (native to the Languedoc and the most widely spoken minority language
in France).
—
French
Education Ministry
April 25, 2001
NETHERLANDS
'Quality
Mark' for Dutch Programs
A bill, recently
put before the Dutch legislature, proposes introducing a "quality
mark" for higher education programs to ensure that quality standard
requirements have been met by the country's colleges and universities.
The quality
mark, to be renewed every five years, will be issued on the basis of ministry-approved
guidelines by an accreditation council for universities, and a separate
agency for professional education. Accreditation will be required for
all institutions that award their own qualifications and ensure students
are eligible for state financial support.
—
Netherlands
Ministry of Education Culture and Science International Newsletter
2001, No. 2
SPAIN
Spain
to Scrap Entry Exams
The Spanish government
has announced plans to abolish the country's long-standing national university
entrance exams, and to introduce a new test for would-be lecturers, as
part of the proposals for the Universities Law. Under the new system,
universities will be free to set their own entrance exams or use other
means to select candidates, although the methods must comply with "the
principles of equality, merit and ability," according to Education
Minister Pilar del Castillo.
As a result,
students may have to take exams at several universities to ensure they
get a place. The government will continue to limit the number of places
in popular majors such as medicine, telecommunications and engineering.
The new system is scheduled to replace the much-criticized existing entrance
exam by 2004.
Lecturers
will have to pass a national exam before applying to universities for
a job. New lecturer contracts will be introduced for instructors with
at least two years of postdoctoral research or teaching experience, and
a trainee lecturer contract for those who hold a doctorate but have less
teaching experience. Trainee lecturers will be required to have at least
two years of training at two different institutions before they apply
for a post.
A national
evaluation and accreditation agency will also be set up, although participation
will be voluntary and there are no plans to use the results to determine
funding. However, top-performing universities will receive money for specific
projects based on their quality ranking. These measures, however, only
represent a statement of the government's intentions, and many changes
could occur before the law is finally passed in September.
—
The Times
Higher Education Supplement
April 27, 2001
UNITED KINGDOM
Kasparov
Sought For Chess Program
Aberdeen University in Scotland will
be launching the world's first doctoral program in chess this year and
hopes that former world champion Garry Kasparov will agree to lecture
there. This program aims to produce chess grandmasters and develop intelligent
computers that act like humans and therefore can learn from their own
experience.
According
to Professor Peter Vas, computers will be designed using techniques from
the study of artificial intelligence. Applicants, numbering more than
a dozen so far, are expected to be skilled in computing and mathematics
and will probably be required to play a chess grandmaster as part of the
entrance procedure. Multinational companies have shown interest in sponsoring
the course because success in developing the new software would lead to
applications for all kinds of computer games.
—
BBC news
online
June 5, 2001
Rise in
University Applications
Figures suggest that the number of applications to U.K. universities this
year could reach record levels. According to the University
and Colleges Admission Service, 4,000 more people (a total of 390,626
by May 16, 2001) have applied to full-time undergraduate courses this
year, with a notable 11.5 percent increase in nursing to 27,000 applicants.
This seems to be linked to the offer of special student subsidies to encourage
people to enter the profession.
On the other
hand, applications for undergraduate teacher training courses have fallen
12 percent, although the number of postgraduates applying for teaching
courses, where grants are available, has increased by about 20 percent,
according to the admissions service. Computer science and media studies
saw increases of 11.9 percent and 9 percent respectively. Pharmacy, marketing
and engineering subjects, except for electronic engineering, underwent
sharp declines. In addition, statistics show an 11.5 percent increase
in the number of students wanting to take a gap year. Applications from
China have almost doubled since last year to nearly 3,000, making China
the second largest source of overseas applicants after the Republic of
Ireland.
—
BBC World
News
May 31, 2001
Universities
Plan to Combine
London Guildhall University and the
University of North London have announced
plans to merge into a single institution. The collaboration would increase
the total number of students to 25,000, increasing annual revenues to
up to £110m (about US$157 million). It would also widen the range
of subjects offered and provide a firm financial base for further growth,
according to representatives from both universities.
The
University of East London has also expressed interest in participating
in this venture. The merger proposal, which has already been approved
by the Higher Education Funding Council
for England, will be finalized sometime this fall.
—
BBC World
Service
May 16, 2001
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