The Judith Herb College of Education The Role

The Judith Herb College of Education The Role of Short-Cycle Higher Education Programs and Qualifications in the Knowledge. Based Economies: Emerging Trends from the United States and Europe Snejana Slantcheva-Durst, Asst. Prof. Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership University of Toledo, Ohio, USA June 15 -16, 2009 1 st International Conference: Recognition and Quality Assurance of Short-Cycle Higher Education Golden Sands, Bulgaria

The Judith Herb College of Education Presentation Overview Ø Evolving Parameters of SCHE Ø European and US Developments Ø Challenges to SCHE in Europe and the US Ø Innovative approaches Ø Goals for us…

The Judith Herb College of Education The Evolving Parameters of SCHE “…post-secondary education of mainly terminal character designed to train students for middle-level manpower positions. . . ” provided in institutions established outside universities (SCIs)… in a few countries the universities offer a certain number of such short-cycle programs, while in others this training is the responsibility of secondary level establishments (technical training in Sweden, teacher training in France) (OECD, 1973)

The Judith Herb College of Education The Evolving Parameters of SCHE Central concern: structure of higher education systems 1. Integrated comprehensive university model 2. Binary model German Gesamthochschule Danish University Center U. K. Ontario, Canada

The Judith Herb College of Education The Evolving Parameters of SCHE 3. Combined development model 4. First cycle multi-purpose colleges Norway, France, Yugoslavia, Belgium, USA to some extent Quebec, Canada USA to some extent (Ross, 1972; OECD, 1973)

The Judith Herb College of Education European Developments Evolution of Perspectives Regarding SCHE: Institutions (SCIs) Program Degree Stages Learning Outcomes

The Judith Herb College of Education European Developments • 1960 s – a wider diversification according to types of higher education institutions • Development of a extra or non-university institutions and programs originally created to provide terminal and vocationally oriented post-secondary education – The British polytechnics - established in the early 1960 s – The French Instituts universitaires de technologie (IUT) - 1960 s as a third type, beside the university and the Grandes Écoles – The German Fachhochschulen – 1971 – The regional colleges of Norway (Bienaymé, 1991; Teichler, 1996, 2008; Kyvik 1981; Vangsnes and Jordell 1992)

The Judith Herb College of Education European Developments • 1980 s-90 s - in some countries - academic drift and “upgrading” of non-university institutions – Britain’s polytechnics (complete upgrading) – German Fachhochschulen (gradual upgrading); replaced by new “upgraded” vocational institutions (Berufsakadmien) • Creation of two-type structures in others (Austria, Finland, Switzerland)

The Judith Herb College of Education European Developments • 1999 – the Bologna Process emphasis on the stages of study programs • Degrees as the single most important mode of diversification in higher education - intra-institutional diversity is in the forefront (Teichler, 2008) • 2003 study of Tertiary SCHE (Kirsch et al. , 2003) “…a level or stage of studies beyond secondary education which can lead to a qualification recognized on the labor market…, ” undertaken in formal tertiary education institutions – universities, polytechnics, colleges; public and private – but also in a wide variety of other settings, including secondary schools, at work sites, via free-standing information technology-based offerings and a host of private public entities (OECD)”

The Judith Herb College of Education European Developments • 2008 EQF – SCHE through the prism of student outcomes • The 2005 Bergen Conference of European Ministers endorsed the “broader framework for qualifications for lifelong learning encompassing general education as well as vocational education and training” • Short-cycle higher education programs (seen as intermediate qualifications linked to the first cycle) have found a place in the European Qualifications Framework as programs offered within the first (bachelor’s) level of higher education (level 5) • Contribute to the social dimension of higher education and to expansion of lifelong and life-wide learning opportunities (Communiqué of the Conference of European Ministers, Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve, 28 -29 April 2009)

The Judith Herb College of Education American Developments Evolution of Perspectives Regarding SCHE: Program Degree Stages Institutions

The Judith Herb College of Education American Developments • Junior colleges – founded as transfer institutions – seen not so much as alternatives to universities but as “mechanism for relieving senior institutions from the burden of teaching first- and second-year students” (Bragg and Townsend, 2006) • Associate degree (Harper) – seen as an academic credential for completed first two years of college • The vocational mission was added later – preparing students for immediate employment in semi-professional occupations • Third mission: continuing education and workforce training – late 1950 s (26% in terminal occupational programs in 1960; 1975 – 35%; now – over 50%) • Community service, remedial service and developmental education

The Judith Herb College of Education American Developments • Currently, community colleges are seen as multi-purpose, multifunctional institutions: • • • Open access Widely distributed Affordable Rooted in their communities Tightly-linked to labor markets – workforce training, adult courses

The Judith Herb College of Education American Developments • • • Community Colleges: Certify nearly 80 percent of first responders in the United States (police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians); Produce more than 50% of new nurses and other health-care workers; Account for nearly 40% of all foreign undergraduates in America; Enroll 46% of all U. S. undergraduates, including 47% of undergraduates who are African American, 47% - Asian or Pacific Islander, 55% - Hispanic, and 57% - Native American; Award more than 800, 000 associate degrees and certificates annually; Nationally, half of all baccalaureate degree recipients have attended community colleges prior to earning their degrees. (College Board, 2008)

The Judith Herb College of Education Challenges Facing European SCHE Ø Articulation of SCHE Ø amongst countries Ø within countries, with Bologna cycles and Bologna aims for intermediary qualifications Ø SCHE and the “social dimension” Ø SCHE and Lifelong Learning “More than two-thirds of countries have not found it necessary to modernize vocational education at ISCED 5 B level as a part of the Bologna reforms. ” “In most countries, the issue of developing bridges between the ISCED 5 B level and the newly Bologna organized ISCED 5 A level programs is a matter of concern and attention” (Higher Education in Europe 2009)

The Judith Herb College of Education Innovative European Approaches Ø France: Diplome Universitaire de Technology (DUT) (1966) • 2 -year programs • Not open-access • Offered by 100 Instituts universitaire de technologie (IUTs), all attached to a French university, often on the same campus • Competencies embedded in the program qualifications • Seamless transitions - fully articulated with the first cycle licence and licence professionelle degrees offered across the street • Most of their traditional students have passed the French Baccalaureat • Around 2 -3 rds of their graduates continue their education in the university across the street (80% in 2005; 57% of them earned their degree within 1 year of receiving their DUT) (Adelman, 2009)

The Judith Herb College of Education Innovative European Approaches Ø UK: The Foundation Degree (2001) • 2 -year full-time, 3 -year part-time • A transfer degree devoted to a “foundation” in a field (23 fields) • All course modules are “validated” (reviewed and approved) by a university, and delivered either by the validating university or (in most cases) by Colleges of Further Education – open-access, “bridge” institutions • Half of enrolled earned credentials on time, and roughly another 30% were still enrolled; in 2003/04, 54% of those who earned a FD continued in a 1 st cycle honors program and of them, 71% earned the honors degree • Serves the social dimension agenda • “Second chance” function for adults

The Judith Herb College of Education Challenges Facing American SCHE Ø SCHE and Degree attainment Ø Community colleges seen as critical institutions in closing the “degree gap” and raising the educational level of the population Ø SCHE and the Workforce (jumpstart the economy) Ø Community colleges seen as central in upgrading skills and qualifications and training the workforce needed to support a knowledge-based economy

The Judith Herb College of Education Challenges Facing US Community Colleges Low transfer and degree completion rates (culture traditionally emphasizing access, not success): • just over half of full- and part-time freshmen return for a second year • 36% earn a certificate or degree within 6 years (compared to more than 60% of students at 4 -year institutions) • only 26% of their students transfer to four-year institutions • 42 percent of first-year students at community colleges enroll in at least one developmental education class • challenge of monitoring student outcomes

The Judith Herb College of Education Challenges Facing US Community Colleges Loosing edge in educating adults (the “new majority) : • Declining adult credit student numbers, between 1995 -2004: 25 -39 olds – down by 11% incrased by 254% in private, for-profit colleges 40 and older – increased by 3. 6% increased by 376% in private, for-profit inst. (Dept. of Ed. ) • work-force programs and continuing education – the “non-credit side of the house”

The Judith Herb College of Education Innovative US Approaches ACADEMIC PATHWAYS Partnership initiatives between K-12, 2 -year and 4 -year institutions bachelor INTO the higher ed. system AP, Tech Prep, Dual Cr. /Enrollment, Virtual School, Bridge Programs, CLEP, IB, GED, Senior-to. Sophomore… assoc. degree 12 th 8 th WITHIN the higher ed. system Transfer and articulation agreements, dual enrollment

The Judith Herb College of Education CAREER PATHWAYS The partnership initiatives between community colleges and the world of work (workforce training programs): • Partnerships with the Workforce and Social Service Systems • Partnerships with Community-Based Organizations • Partnerships with Adult Basic Education Providers • Partnerships with Employers • From Strategic Partnerships to a Regional Approach (WSC, 2006)

The Judith Herb College of Education Thank you! Snejana Slantcheva-Durst, Asst. Prof. Judith Herb College of Education University of Toledo, Ohio, 43606 USA snejana. slantchevadurst@utoledo. edu