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This paper examines the impact of an academic degree and field of study on short and longterm unemployment across Europe (EU15). Labour Force Survey (LFS) data on over half a million individuals are utilised for that purpose. The harmonized LFS classification of level of education and field of study overcomes past problems of comparability across Europe. The study analyses (1) the effect of an academic degree at a European level, (2) the specific effect of 14 academic subjects and (3) country specific effects. The results indicate that an academic degree is more effective on reducing the likelihood of short-term than long-term unemployment. This general pattern even though it is observed for most of the academic subjects its levels show significant variation across disciplines and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2010 sees the end of the process of establishing the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Although not all countries may have achieved all the objectives, many are those countries and universities who have implemented many of the targets set. Within the Bologna Process, there have been many developments such as: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) for the transfer of period of study abroad; joint degrees; and quality assurance aspects among others. Guidelines for Quality Assurance and the development of an overarching European Qualifications Framework have been developed. While the Bologna Process brings with it many advantages on an education level, the discussion has not really considered the legal aspects of such a system. Once the EHEA is implemented comprehensively across Europe, situations may arise which would require universities to consider the legal aspects of learning that students may have experienced within different tertiary institutions. This paper considers what problems may arise, for example with fraudulent behaviour by students in the acquisition of ECTS credits in another university; with weaknesses or failure to prove quality of learning following an external quality assurance audit in another university; with the failure to deliver learning by one of the partner universities running joint degrees etc., and explores the possible legal implications of such situations as well as identifying the legal lacunae which exist and which need to be taken into consideration if the EHEA is to maintain the reputation that it aims for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the outcome of a dimensional core curriculum analysis. The analysis process was an integral part of an educational development project, which aimed to compact and clarify the curricula of the degree programmes. The task was also in line with the harmonising of the degree structures as part of the Bologna process within higher education in Europe. An electronic core curriculum analysis matrix was designed for describing scientific and professional knowledge and skills. The generation of the descriptions was supported by the application of a participatory working process. The resulting descriptions were stored in a database and available for all the teachers to redesign the curricula. The descriptions were analysed in order to assess their usefulness in curriculum design. The teachers had described their courses in qualitatively different ways. The emerging description categories were named as implicit, explicit, brief and extensive. Our study emphasises the benefits of core curriculum analysis and of a course description database as a tool for curriculum design. The study also points out the importance of teachers' description strategies and the challenges arising during the process. The regularly updated electronic database of the core curriculum of courses is a very useful means for curriculum design, as well as student guidance, mobility support and the orientation of new staff. The analysis process enhances educational design on all levels of education. It offers support for documentation and participatory curriculum development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bologna Declaration attempts to reform the structure of the higher education system in forty-six European countries in a convergent way. By 2010, the European space for higher education should be completed. In the 2005-2006 academic year, the University of Murcia, Spain, started promoting initiatives to adapt individual modules and entire courses to the ECTS-compatible credit system. In this paper, we describe the development of an experiment under the ECTS credit scheme for the module English Language and Literature I, a course for first year students of French Studies. This experiment took place in the 2005-2006 academic year. This was the first experiment of its kind to be carried out in the Faculty of Arts under the Bologna principles. A teaching team made up of three experienced language teachers was put together for this purpose. The experiment would have a very strict follow-through: three different types of questionnaires were designed and given to the students, teacher and observers respectively in order to establish how the new teaching plan was working. The data obtained from the questionnaires revealed how successful and rewarding this experiment was for the students and teachers involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governing boards have a long tradition and prominent role in U.S. higher education. The diversity of institutional types, and thus governing boards, represents a multifaceted tapestry of functions, roles, and responsibilities. This paper will attempt to define the parameters of public higher education governing boards in the USA and offer critical insights into their degree of effectiveness. It is the author's position that both positive and negative lessons can be learned through an examination of these public governing boards in the USA. The recent emergence of university boards in Europe is examined and their characteristics are compared against the characteristics of public and private boards in the USA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), its creation, its guidelines, and its inherently innovative potential. It looks closely at the theoretical proposals, the innovative regulations and institutional practices in the process of academic change that relate to teaching, research and management. It also describes the emergence of creative processes in quality assurance and methodological renewal. These bring new professional challenges and educational opportunities to the fore; challenges which raise ethical issues for those involved in these approaches to universities in Spain and the European Union. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the relationships among life goals, job prospects and fields of study for a sample of young European higher education graduates. The results show that there is a characteristic pattern for each field of study with regard to the variables used. Graduates in a given field have similar life goals and job prospects, as well as a similar educational and social background, irrespective of cultural and labour market differences associated with their country of residence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This author focuses on the ethical aspects of conducting university research and teaching. What function does the university perform in making the contemporary world more humane, and what threats are connected today with this mission? Scientific work is, of course, also practised outside the university, and teaching does not have to follow the university model; however it cannot be denied that the university is a ubiquitous scientific and educational institution, the values of which should be remembered and emphasized in light of modern scientific and cultural developments. This paper highlights first the features specific to the university, with an emphasis on educational and cultural production. Next, the challenges faced by the university in the context of modern civilization are addressed. To conclude, a few personal observations about moral dimensions and challenges are shared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

European universities must face the crisis of the Humboldtian model, and find new organisational solutions. This paper proceeds from two starting observations. The first is the one according to which we are in a “cultural shift” that makes culture the element on which performance, including technologically and cognitively, depends. The development of societies now depends on the culture shared by human beings more than on their economy or technology. The second observation is that culture itself and its ethical underpinning should be open for consideration. The development of society now depends on culture and on its adaptive capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the apparent conspiracy of silence and/or culture of disinterest with regard to ethical issues in higher education. A first interpretation treats it as an almost entirely negative phenomenon – the subordination of university values to external political and market forces. The second interpretation, elaborated here, is more nuanced and less judgmental; the apparent erosion of the autonomy of the university and growing fuzziness of traditional academic values are seen as evidence not of decline-and-fall but of higher education's success within the expanding territory of the knowledge society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]