Brussels, 19/09/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 20 September the European Commission will present a strategy to increase the number of graduates, improve the quality of education and maximise the contribution that higher education establishments can make in helping the economy find an exit-strategy to the crisis.
The Commission has made three major observations: firstly, the contribution that higher education establishments can make to society in general is still not used to its full potential, despite member states seeking to introduce modernisation. Secondly, study programmes put forward are late in meeting the demands required by the labour market, which continually requires a greater number of graduates. According to the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop), 35% of jobs in the EU will require higher qualification levels by 2020, although the number of higher education graduates currently only accounts for 26% of the total workforce. Thirdly, university graduates are not really representative of the diversity in society and access to higher education establishments still appears to be reserved for an elite.
In the Shanghai rankings, only 28 European higher education establishments are included in the 100 top universities in the world. This ranking is eagerly awaited every year but the criteria used are not to the advantage of European universities compared to their US counterparts, which tend to emphasise research to the detriment of quality education, the international character of the student body and innovation.
In addition to improving quality, the Commission intends to create a multidimensional system for university rankings, which would be a more student-friendly tool and more appropriate to helping prospective students find the kind of higher education establishment that suits them best. (IL/transl.fl)