CONFERENCE TO LAUNCH WORK ON THE ALBANIAN MASTER

CONFERENCE TO LAUNCH WORK ON THE ALBANIAN MASTER PLAN FOR HIGHER EDUCATION 22 -23 March 2006 The Social Dimension of Higher Education in Europe-Current developments and issues in the framework of the Bologna Process Athanassia Spyropoulou University of the Peloponnese

What is the Social Dimension of Higher Education? • The Social Dimension includes all provisions needed for having equal access, progress and completion of Higher Education studies

The Social Dimension in Higher Education • Emphasis on the social characteristics of Higher Education and on considering it a public good and a public responsibility • aiming at -reducing social gaps -strengthening social cohesion both at national and international level • by means of -equal and fair access -fostering of free education -public support to the Higher Education Institutions and public responsibility for Higher Education in general -social support schemes for students during their studies -removal of obstacles to mobility -support and promotion of lifelong learning

The Social Dimension in the Bologna Process The Bologna Declaration (1999) • No reference to the Social Dimension • Emphasis on the attractiveness and competitiveness of the European Higher Education Area • Non participatory procedures -Fairly weak or nonexistent involvement of the signatory countries -No student involvement

From Bologna to Prague • Opening of the debate on the Bologna Process across Europe • Stronger involvement of the participating countries • Involvement of European Organizations (Council of Europe, European Commission) • Involvement of H. E. Institutions (EUA, EURASHE) • Involvement of the students • The Social Dimension appears on the agenda of the Process

The Prague Communiqué (2001) • • • The Social Dimension appears for the first time in an official Bologna Document, the Ministers’ Communiqué as a general concept with reference to specific issues such as mobility and lifelong learning ”Higher Education should be considered a public good and is and will remain a public responsibility” as a result of random amendments and proposals made by various countries and the students during the Ministerial Conference ”the need to take account of the Social Dimension of the Bologna Process” was “recalled by the students” The Ministers asked for further improvement in all issues regarding the social dimension through a wider and more systematic analysis on the way to Berlin

From Prague to Berlin • The Social Dimension appears high on the agenda of the European Debate • Official Bologna events focused specifically on it -The Athens Seminar on the Social Dimension (February 2003) - the 5 th European Student Convention of ESIB in Athens (February 2003) • Other official Bologna events dealt with Social Dimension issues as well: -The Prague Seminar on Lifelong Learning (June 2003) -The Oslo Seminar on Student Participation (June 2003) • Wide and active participation of the participating countries and all the actors and organizations involved (EUA, EURASHE, ESIB, European Union, Council of Europe) in the preparation of the Berlin Communiqué through the works of the BFUG

The Berlin Communiqué (2003) • The Social Dimension gains a prominent position, in the Preamble of the Berlin Communiqué, together with the reaffirmation that Higher Education is a public good and a public responsibility • In the main body of the document the specific references to the various aspects of the Social Dimension are made in a systematic and coherent manner • Balance between the need to increase competitiveness and the need to improve the social characteristics of the European Higher Education Area • with the aim to -strengthen social cohesion -reduce social inequalities within each separate country and in Europe as a whole

For the first time in an official Bologna Process document: • equal access: Commitment “to making Higher Education equally accessible to all, on the basis of capacity, by every appropriate means” (U. N. Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights) • Student retention or drop-out issues: in the Communiqué the need is stressed “for appropriate studying and living conditions for the students, so that they can successfully complete their studies within an appropriate period of time without obstacles related to their social and economic background”

Student Mobility • Specific attention paid to the importance of student mobility “for the academic and cultural, as well as for the political, social and economic spheres” • Mobility should be available to all • Need to make every effort to remove all obstacles to mobility • Specific reference to enabling the portability of national loans and grants

Lifelong Learning • Prague Communiqué: Lifelong Learning cannot be limited to the perspective of mere employability. It should also be considered as one of the most important means towards improving social cohesion • Berlin Communiqué: “the necessity for improving opportunities for all citizens to follow the lifelong learning paths into and within Higher Education, established in accordance with their aspirations and abilities”.

From Berlin to Bergen Official Bologna Seminars -Public Responsibility for Higher Education and Research, Council of Europe, Strasbourg, September 2004 -Designing Policies for Mobile Students, Noordwijk, October 2004 -The Social Dimension of Higher Education facing world-wide competition, Paris, January 2005

From Berlin to Bergen (ii) • Paris seminar Ø Re-affirmation of the importance of the Social Dimension in the Bologna Process and of all the previous statements Ø Plus: -further development of scholarships for students from third countries; transnational exchanges based on academic quality and academic values; mobility of quality; reduction of the existing gap (a study on mobility? ) -socially cohesive system of student grants and loans; promotion of social equity and equal opportunities -need for more comparable data on the social and economic situation of students (a survey? ) -quality assurance mechanisms, internal and external: integration of the social dimension aspect as much as possible -social dimension a priority for 2005 -2007

From Berlin to Bergen iii • 3 rd EUA Convention of European Higher Education Institutions in Glasgow, 31 March-02 April 2005 Ø The Social Dimension should be seen as an overarching or transversal action line that affects all aspects of HE. Ø The Social Dimension a priority for 2005 -07 Ø In line with the Paris seminar, eg: More data needed; solidarity towards students and countries with less favorable conditions to reduce gaps; more data needed; integral aspect of internal QA mechanisms

The Bergen Communiqué (2005) • A separate paragraph on the social dimension “The social dimension of the Bologna Process is a constituent part of the EHEA and a necessary condition for the attractiveness and competitiveness of the EHEA. We therefore renew our commitment to making quality higher education equally accessible to all, and stress the need for appropriate conditions for students so that they can complete their studies without obstacles related to their social and economic background. The social dimension includes measures taken by governments to help students, especially from socially disadvantaged groups, in financial and economic aspects and to provide them with guidance and counselling services with a view to widening access” • About mobility: “… Aware of the many remaining challenges to be overcome, we (Ministers) reconfirm our commitment to facilitate the portability of grants and loans where appropriate through joint action, with a view to making mobility within the EHEA a reality. We (Ministers) shall intensify our efforts to lift obstacles to mobility by facilitating the delivery of visa and work permits and by encouraging participation in mobility programmes…. ”

Emphasis on implementation – Stocktaking: “The future stocktaking will have to take into account the social dimension as defined above” “We (Ministers) also charge the Follow-up Group (BFUG) with presenting comparable data on the mobility of staff and students as well as on the social and economic situation of students in participating countries as a basis for future stocktaking and reporting in time for the next Ministerial Conference”.

Toward London (2007) At the Bologna Process Level: • Working Group on the Social Dimension and Academic Mobility At national level: Commitment to • promote equal access (appropriate conditions for students, guidance, counseling) • and lift obstacles to mobility

Working Group on the social dimension and academic mobility • Subject: “Social dimension and data on the mobility of staff and students in participating countries; report on comparable data on mobility of staff and students as well as on the social and economic situation of students, as the basis for future stocktaking” Lead by Annika Persson, Sweden Austria • Members: Bosnia Herzegovina, Croatia, France, Ireland, Luxembourg, Ukraine, UK , Bologna Secretariat rep. • Consultative members: , EUA, EI – Pan European Structure, ESIB, Eurostudent, OECD, Eurostat • • Terms of Reference agreed by BFUG in November 2005. Two meetings of the working group so far: Brussels, 14 -15 December 2005 and Stockholm, 19 January 2006

Terms of Reference “Mission statement: 1. To define the concept of social dimension based on the ministerial communiqués of the Bologna Process; 2. To present comparable data on the social and economic situation of students in participating countries; 3. To present comparable data on the mobility of staff and students; and 4. To prepare proposals as a basis for future stocktaking. The Working Group will be led by a Steering Committee. The work will be organised along three broad projects and with subsequent subgroups working with (a) and (b) and (c) will be the responsibility of the Steering Committee: (a) Definition of the social dimension using the previous communiqués as a starting point for discussion; (b) The collection and exploration of data with three strands: socio- and economic situation of the students based upon the definition, mobility of students and mobility of staff; and (c) Recommendations on the scope of a future stocktaking exercise on the social dimension and on mobility, according to the definition emerging from subgroup (a) and the availability of comparable data as identified by subgroup (b). ” Source: BFUG WORK PROGRAMME - 2005 -2007, http: //www. dfes. gov. uk/bologna/ , accessed 12/03/2006

The Way Forward In the framework of the Bologna Process • The prominent position the Social Dimension has gained in the Bologna Process is a significant improvement • Efforts need to be continued to strengthen the position of the Social Dimension within the Process and to safeguard what has been achieved so far • The commitments taken by the Ministers in Berlin and in Bergen need to be implemented • It is the responsibility of governments to implement the commitments and of the academic community (institutions, academic staff and students) and other stakeholders to ask or even push for the implementation of these commitments

The Social Dimension and the Lisbon Strategy The Social Dimension is also one of the links of the Bologna Process to the Lisbon Strategy. The famous statement of the European Council in 2000 about the necessity to make Europe “the most competitive and the most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world”, has a second part as well, that Europe also needs “sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”

The way forward as regards the Social Dimension of Higher Education in general • Attractiveness, competitiveness and excellence social cohesion; the two sides of the coin as regards the improvement of Higher Education both at national and international level • The Social Dimension: a key feature of Higher Education in Europe regardless of the Bologna Process and an indispensable underlying value of Higher Education itself. Defending and promoting the Social Dimension is one of the major means and at the same time one of the major guarantees for the accomplishment of the full mission of Higher Education within the institutions and within society at large.