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International scientific mobility and research careers are two concepts that are intimately related. Yet, it has been very difficult for scholarship to pinpoint exactly how international mobility impacts on research careers. This paper contributes to this question by investigating links between international mobility, research career stage progression and job changes. It does so using a large-scale survey (MORE) which targets researchers based in European universities. The results establish that the profile of international mobility varies by academic research career stage. They also show that for researchers in the established mid-career phase who are working internationally, there are career advancement benefits associated with return mobility to their home country. However, these benefits may reduce if the timing of return is too delayed. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these results for researcher mobility policy in the context of the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policies on comprehensive internationalisation are currently in the focus of discourses on the development of internationalisation in European higher education. However, it remains to be answered, whether in Slovenian higher education, internationalisation policies and practices are indeed being implemented consistently and comprehensively, contributing to the overall quality of the higher education system. The paper obtains answers to this question through the analysis of different documentary sources and findings from semi-structured interviews, which were conducted as part of the PhD research. Firstly, it provides a general overview of the Slovenian higher education system, whilst afterwards, it explores the comprehensiveness of internationalisation in Slovenian higher education through the analysis of internationalisation policies before and after the Bologna Process. Based on the distinction between the 'abroad' and 'at home' dimension of internationalisation in higher education (Knight 2008), it continues with the examination of trends in mobility and internationalisation at home, which represent essential parts of comprehensive internationalisation policies and strategies. On this basis, it discusses the real importance of internationalisation for the quality of (Slovenian) higher education and concludes that the existence of different internationalisation models results from diverse approaches and rationales for internationalisation and hence, from often-contrasting views of individual actors and stakeholders on what is the quality of higher education and its (comprehensive) internationalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the value of the Bologna Process in placing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) on a solid institutional footing. How far has Bologna contributed to firming up the views academia, management and students have of the EHEA? The article is based on a survey administered across four systems of higher education in 2008. It underlines the importance for those active in shaping policy both at national and at European level to take fully into account the views of the different interests in higher education, difficult and at times non committal though these latter might be. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major element in the creation of the European area of higher education is the adoption of a common structure of degrees, implying in several countries the reduction of the duration of the first degree to 3 years, which is a controversial change. Cardoso et al. (CESifo Econ Stud 54(2): 229–247, ) have analyzed student confidence in the curricula change, quantifying its impact on students’ first choices of academic programs. This paper goes two steps further. First, it concentrates on a variable that better translates total demand for an academic program, namely the total number of students who place the program among their six revealed preferences, instead of just the first option; and, second, an econometric model that better fits the data is estimated. Results confirm a positive impact of the Bologna process on the demand for programs, which varies with program size and across fields of study. Our results complement those in Cardoso et al. (), as they uncover that being a program leader, i.e. the only institution in the country that restructured a given program, was associated with higher demand by prospective students, which nevertheless stemmed from their “second best" options and not from their first choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Author argues that historical regional developments in Europe and East Asia greatly influence the formation of an East Asian Higher Education Area. As such, this article compares European and East Asian regionalization and higher education regionalization processes to show this path dependency in East Asian regionalization of higher education on its regionalization process. Lastly, the author advances that (1) defining the East Asian region; (2) developing regional guidelines/frameworks; and (3) establishing sub-regional higher education areas, using regional guidelines/frameworks, need to be done prior to integrating into an East Asian Higher Education Area. This integration process is to be advanced by institutionalizing regional mobility, quality assurance and mutual recognition of higher education and professional qualification with the establishment of regional institutions focused on these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The historical debate between a liberal orientation of university education and a university education with a more practical orientation has been reproduced by defenders and detractors of the course that is being adopted by the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Instead of resorting to a dichotomous view of these two arguments, this article employs an anthropocosmic worldview to look at the university by examining the past and present of Chinese higher education, in contrast to the philosophy and reality of the European university within the framework of the EHEA. The anthropocosmic view is central to Confucian holistic humanism, which asserts that humanity is part of a continuum consisting of community, Earth and Heaven. With the self as a 'centre of relationships', the individual is interconnected with an ever-expanding network of human relatedness, extending from the self to the family, the community, the country, the world and beyond. The authors argue that despite being based on a European model, the Chinese university, in fact, boasts a unique Chinese character that can be traced back to its Confucian learning tradition, which itself reflects this anthropocosmic worldview. In our world today, a world of unprecedented globalisation, an anthropocentric view of higher education is no longer sufficient. Instead, to address the challenges humanity faces, a Chinese model of the university based on anthropocosmism presents a potential new pathway for the global university of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

University expansion in higher education has been hierarchically differentiated. There is some concentration of certain social profiles in some degrees of study, so social composition between degrees can vary considerably. This article describes in terms of social composition 10 degrees of four public universities in the metropolitan area of Barcelona. We analyse 857 questionnaires filled in by mid-career students. From the perspective of agent's decision on the choice of studies, we explore what were the factors that made them choose a concrete degree. We examine several variables that can indicate whether their expectations have been met or not. The results show that the factors predicted by the theory by which working-class (WC) students choose degrees-instrumental motivations and conditions that minimize the risk-are often met. In this regard, the recent structural reform related with the implementation of the European Higher Education Area that removes short-cycles degrees (3 years) could lead to a problem of access for WC students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the European Higher Education Area is, among others, to adopt a comparable degree framework for both undergraduate and post-graduate studies. Different kind of studies, with a European extent (e.g. the Tuning Project and the DeSeCo Project), suggest that, on finishing their undergraduate studies, students should have acquired a series of general competences common to all courses. In this article, our hypothesis for discussion is that the acquisition of general competences, especially the interpersonal and systemic ones, is closely related to the objectives of ethical learning: the training of professionals and citizens who build their knowledge independently and act responsibly, freely and in a committed manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]