Categories: Europe & the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is about to debut a new type of educational opportunity for those in the 14- to 19-year-old age category: the University Technical College (UTC).  This new technical school will focus on vocational education and work-based learning to train its graduates on the skills needed to become builders, engineers, and technicians.  Expected to open beginning next year, this new type of institution will differ from further education colleges that already offer vocational training to this age group, the UTCs will be sponsored by colleges and universities (rather than local schools) , will hold up to 800 students, and will have at least two specializations that are focused on the needed skills for the local economy.

Critics of the UTC system feel that age 14 is too young for people to determine whether they want to go into an academic stream (GCSEs) or vocational, with the worry that students from working-class backgrounds will be shuffled into the vocational stream, creating a two-tier education system: academic and vocational as second-rate.  Proponents of the UTC plan feel that students with an aptitude for the programs will self-select based on interest rather than inability to succeed elsewhere since there are so many other options for the age group.

Another are of concern about the new plan is that these are not higher education institutions and will not be offering tertiary-level studies, and while many of them will be sponsored by universities, many others will be affiliated with colleges instead.  This makes the term University Technical College very misleading.

For more details, check out the original article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2010/aug/10/university-technical-college

French elite schools known as grandes ecoles are being ordered by President Nicolas Sarkozy to reserve 30% of new admissions places for poor students, many of whom are immigrants.  The schools have refused to adhere to this new policy of taking in more low-income students on the basis that it would lead to an unavoidable drop in academic quality.  The broadening of admissions to these elite schools – which produce leaders in politics and industry – is seen by the government as equal opportunity but is seen by the schools as an admissions quota.   The Ministry met its prior goal of carving out 30% of places in entrance exam prep classes for poor students, and now the President wants to go a step further by having elite schools reserve nearly 1/3 of their first-year seats for low-income students on scholarship.

http://www.france24.com/en/20100106-french-elite-schools-under-fire

Albania’s Ministry of Education announced that higher educational institutions in the country will begin equating diploma programs in Albania with those being offered in Kosovo and Macedonia.  They will begin standardizing  curriculum to align with the Bologna Process.  Albania and Macedonia are two of the 46 signatory countries participating in the Bologna Process, which aims to provide consistency, transparency, mobility, and understanding of the educational systems and credentials of member countries.

http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2009/11/30/nb-11

Germany joins the list of countries who have protested education in 2009.  Tens of thousands of students from all over the country have been demonstrating, protesting, and assembling around the clock.   Students are protesting new tuition fees now being charged at some universities as well as Germany’s implementation of Bologna-compliant degrees which follow a US model of Bachelor, Master, and Doctoral degrees.  There are also mentions of possible walkouts in France (whose students have been striking on and off this year about their country’s higher education reforms) and Austria as well.   Students are concerned about the Bologna degrees because they fear the new 3-year Bachelor/2-year Master structure will reduce their employment opportunities because employers will feel the bachelor degrees will be worthless.  German students will be entering higher education earlier since secondary education will now end after 12 years rather than 13, and they will complete their first level university degree in three years rather than five from the previous system.  In addition, students are concerned that the implementation of the new degree structure has not been handled well because reduced class sizes, improved teaching quality, and more financing to universities and needy students hasn’t been implemented yet.

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4901195,00.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/world/europe/20germanedu.html?_r=2

Both the Czech Republic and Slovakia are dealing with diploma scandals at the moment.  The Czech Republic is facing the repercussions  of students supposedly buying diplomas and receiving degrees after a summer.  In addition, hundreds of thesis papers have gone missing from university archives at the University of West Bohemia.  Now Slovakia may be facing similar concerns about diplomas awarded after inadequate time periods as well as some questionable practices regarding the the dean of the University of Alexander Dubcek and his adult children who were supposedly students at that same university.   A national parliamentary investigation is currently under way, and it has already discovered mistakes at the university, but the extent is not yet known.  Specifically, the commission is examining the details for students who might have received special treatment or been awarded degrees that were not properly earned, issues that could cause the university to lose its ability to award degrees at all.

http://www.spectator.sk/articles/view/36971/2/are_express_diplomas_available_in_slovakia.html

Increasing numbers of European universities are moving towards a fee-based model and away from an all-free, all-the-time system.  In some cases, however, institutions are finding that the best structures are those that are supported by both the state and the students since both are served by the higher education sector.

Private universities in Poland have formally requested financial assistance from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, a move that has the support of the Polish students’ parliamentary association.  Not only has the idea not yet been rejected, but some claim that the government has reacted in a positive manner, seeing the need for a common goal amongst all universities, both public and private, to work towards educating its citizenry.  The government has gone so far as to create a work group – which includes the Finance Minister/adviser to the Prime Minister – that is specifically tasked to examine the financial aspects of higher education in order to identify the legal and financial ramifications for financially assisting private universities.

http://polskieradio.pl/thenews/business/artykul116384_state_to_fund_private_universities.html

Finnish higher education is about to experience a major update, which is detailed in the Higher Education Management and Policy article, “Brave New World: Higher Education Reform in Finland” available online for free via University World News.  The article discusses the Finnish university reforms recently passed by the government, which includes university mergers, the creation of a new (world class) university, independent legal status for universities to increase autonomy but also will lead to tuition for students for some programs, a history and overview of higher education in Finland, and more.

http://www.universityworldnews.com/filemgmt_data/files/Brave_New_World_Dobson_%26_Elander.pdf

Germany’s higher education system is reeling under a suspected bribery scandal involving potentially dozens of professors at 10 institutions throughout the country.  The investigation, which began last March with the seizure of documents in a raid, may continue for several more months as investigators try to uncover the linkages between  the (recently convicted) director of a newly bankrupt consulting firm and German university professors who are rumored to have accepted bribes for smoothing the process for PhD applicants, though there do not appear to be any irregularities on behalf of the students themselves.

For more information, see http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hw9M7TYtB9FgJr3eHXr3U_r18ktQD9AA0NCO3