ISSUES IN HIGHER EDUCATION, USA AND

EUROPEFEBRUARY 2008

Prof. Adel Safty,

Academic advisor to UNESCO Chair branch at SAPA

USA

• 1. Market-driven and free of central direction

• Scale and cost.

• 15 million students,

• 3,700 postsecondary institutions.

• Expenditures for higher education now exceed $200 billion a year

• A Bachelor Degree is Divided into:

• 1/3 General Education courses

• 1/3 Elective courses

• 1/3 Major courses

• At Issue:

• What Values should be taught in general education courses?

• Western Classics or multicultural topics?

• Because of Information technology, most campuses are wired up.

• Consequent explosion of distance education and on-line courses

Europe

• The Bologna Process:

• Started in 1999, with the signing of the Bologna Declaration by Twenty-nine countries.

• The Declaration states the following objectives:

• 1. adoption of a system of comparable degrees;

• adoption of a system based on two main cycles, undergraduate and graduate;

• establishment of a system of credits

4. Free movement of students, teachers, researchers and administrative staff;

5. Promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance;

6. Promotion of the necessary European dimensions in higher education.

• The Prague Communiqué of 19 May 2001 added the following actions to the Bologna process:

• lifelong learning is an essential to address economic competitiveness;

• The involvement of higher education institutions and students in the creation of a constructive European Higher Education Area;

• Promote the attractiveness of the European Higher Education Area among students in Europe and in other parts of the world

• The London Conference in May 2007 emphasized:

• 1. The principles of nondiscrimination and equitable access should be respected and promoted throughout the EHEA.

2. A significant outcome of the process will be a move towards student-centred higher education and away from teacher driven provision.

The Credit-hour System

• 1. The credit hour is used to measure student learning, faculty workloads and enrollments.

• One hour per week in class for 14 or 15 weeks equals one student credit; 120 student credit hours equals a bachelor degree.

• Critics say:

• 1. The Credit hour system usually measures students' seat time in the classroom, not learning.

• 2. No standardized criteria:

• One professor demands six hours of work outside class for each credit hour, another requires less than an hour, and another expects no work outside class. Yet students in all those courses receive the same three or four credit hours for each class

• The B.A. degree requires 120 credit hours, whether or not defined learning results are achieved

• learning outcomes should be the primary basis for credit accumulation.

• A defined set of university learning requirements should be satisfied before a degree is granted.

Quality Assurance

• based on five main elements:• a comprehensive review at the subject level• improved forms of public information about

quality• a greater voice for student representatives in

institutional quality systems;• a program of enhancement aimed at

developing and sharing good practice

Conclusion

• Three Topical Issues:

• 1. Teaching national values versus multicultural values;

• 2. The move from teacher-centered teaching to student-based learning;

• 3. Greater public expectation of quality and accountability

Activity

• Write two things you know about the following at SAPA, and two things you would like to see take place:

• 1. MISSION AND STRATEGIC PLAN• 2. MAIN EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS• 3. ATTAINMENT OF THE MAIN STRATEGIC

GOALS:• Teaching and Learning.• Organisation of Educational Programmes• Teaching Innovation• Academic Performance of Students• Student Access

• Research.

• Structure of Research Management

• Research Strategy

• Services to the Community: Technology Transfer and Innovation.

• International Relations

• GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

• Academy-Level Governance

• Management and Leadership

• Governance and Management at Department Level

• Development of Human Resources

• Academic Staff Workload

• Promotion of Academic Staff Based on Pedagogic Qualifications

• Internal Services

• Academy Image