Recent developements in Higher Education in France : towards new opportunities to collaborate

Helsinki, May 13th 2008

Recent developements in Higher Education in France : towards new

opportunities to collaborate

Patricia PolVice President Université Paris-Est

Bologna expert


Outline of the presentationI. The French context : facts and figuresII. The French reforms - an answer to the European and

international context of competitionIII. The French reforms- a new framework to give opportunities

for cooperation policies


I. The French contextFacts and figures


• Stabilisation of the student population since 2002

2,25 M students in 2006 ( 1,1M in 1980- 1,7 in 1990, 2,1 in 2000)

- 12% foreign student (8% in 1998)• Moderate growth of the enrollment rates in

HE but willingness to increase it- after the « baccalauréat » at 18 : 59%

(success rate of the bac : 70% in 2006)41% (18-25 years) graduated from HE35% (25-35 years) / 50% in Canada, 40% US15% (55-65 years) / 15% Canada, 30% US


• Low public investment in HE and research

(lower than in the secondary sector, under the European and OECD average)

- Public budget for HE: 15,8 billions euros Harvard : 12 billions dollars…

- The average public expenditure /student/year in a Public university : 7210 euros , in the best « engineering schools » Polytechnique : > 20 000 euros


A great diversity of institutions

Mass and research Universities (86) : 67 % studentsNo selection at the entry (except for medical and

technological studies-IUT), low fees (200 -300 euros), high failure rates for the BA level (30%)

4 institutions in the top 100 Shanghaï ranking, 22 in the top 500

Prepa classes and Grandes écoles : « élite schools » (< 10%)

High technicial schools : (BTS) 13%Specialised schools : art, medico-social… 10%Selection, different levels of fees



A significant investment in international policies

• Mobility - France is the third or fourth country for incoming

mobile students after the United States, the UK and Germany : 13% of foreign students in the universities but only 20% of Europeans

- A significant national grant policy (100 M euros - BGF (bourses du gouvernement français))

- Second and balanced Erasmus country, a very good position in Eramus Mundus or in the 7th FP



Trends V, EUA, May 2007

Trends V, EUA, 2007


• The difficult definition and implementation of international policies

- Compulsory in the « contracts » with the Ministry : from a « volet international » to an integration in the whole policiy

- But an unbalanced investment in the international process


II. The French reforms An answer to the European and

international context of competition


A very strong incentive : the Bologna process


The main steps till 2010

1998La Sorbonne

2000Lisbonne1999

Bologna

2001Pragua

2003Berlin

2005Bergen

2007London

2002 Copenhague

2004 Maastricht

2005Europass

2009Leuven


Autonomy is a long process…many reforms since 40 years

The 1968 act (loi Faure)Universities become « autonomous » Scientific and

Cultural Public InsitutionsThe 1984 act (loi Savary)Scientific, Cultural and Profesional Public Insitutions

with more autonomyThe LMD reform (2002) : more academic autonomyThe research law (2006) : new facilities to create

consortia (pôles) connecting HE and research(PRES, RTRA, RTRS), a new evaluation agency

(AERES)


The Pecresse act : LRU (August 2007)« Freedom and responsabilities »

for universities : A significative reform for the universities :

towardsmore market


Still a high commitment in strong values

Equity « égalité des chances »No selection at the entry of the university

for the BA and the master levelLow fees (including for international

students)National degreesDemocratic decision processes


More freedom- With the Ministry : more decentralisation• The increasing role of the « contract policy »- Within the internal decision process• Still democratic (election of the president, the

deans, a more restricted administration board)

• But more power for the Presidents- In terms of management• Human resource, financial management


New responsabilities, more accountability

• Two new missions -Participate in the European Higher Education and Research area- Student guidance and employability « Orientation active et insertion professionnelle »• Collect more private resourcesThrough private foundations for instance, private contracts• Manage the public funds through a global budget Necessity to define a strategic plan, develop a quality culture and assess the results


III. The French reforms New opportunities to cooperate at a national, European and international

level


The « PRES » : new forms of cooperation at a national level

• Pôles de recherche et d’enseignement supérieur

Universities + écoles together to be more lisible and more attractive by coordinating their academic and scientific policies

A strong involment of the RegionsFrom 9…. to 15 in 2008 Université européenne de Bretagne, Université

de Lyon, de Bordeaux, de Marseille, Nancy, Toulouse, Universud, Paris-Tech, Paris-Est


The second phase of the LMD reform : be more European or

international ?• More European- Aiming at a good use of the academic

recognition tools to increase the lisibility of the curricula

ECTS, student workload, learning outcomes and competences,

Diploma supplement and the professional qualification document (RNCP, Répertoire national des certifications professionnelles)


• Developing new curriculaIn English (see the Campus France

catalogue) to attract more Finnish…!Specific funds for Joint masters

(Germany, Italy, Tcheque Republic? Greece…), co-tutelle thesis, European doctorate schools

Invited professors


• Investing more in the participation in the European programmes through the PRES and with the Regions

- Life long learning and Erasmus- 7 th Framework programme - Europaid (Alfa, Tempus, Edulink…) By offering better services to answer

the tenders and manage the contracts


• But still more international- By promoting the Euro- LMD reform abroad

(North and west Africa)- By exporting more programmes outside

Europe « délocalisation »- By attracting more students from the

emerging countries But a strong willingness to attract more

European at Master and doctorate levels…


ConclusionThe European Higher Education area is a

reality : the Bologna process remains very original in the world

Within this context, the French system has moved a lot to become more competitive and more global

But the tradition of cooperation in research as well as in training programmes should be a competitive advantage and European networks become an even stronger challenge than ever…

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Recent developements in Higher Education in France : towards new opportunities to collaborate