Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013

Erasmus Mundus 2009-2013

Cluster on Recognition of Degrees and Joint Degrees – Action 3

Dr. Edith GenserHead of Sector – Action 3 of Erasmus Mundus and External CooperationEducation, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency

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Clusters - Objectives

• disseminate the results

• exploit synergies

• identify good practices & exchange experiences

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5 Cluster Themes

• Sustainability• Employability• Recognition of Degrees and Joint Degrees• Regional Cluster - Asia• Thematic Cluster – Climate Change

Mitigation and Sustainable Solutions

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The Survey

• Online: combined survey with closed and open Questions• Closed: Numerical overview• Open: Rich set of write-in comments

supplemented by interviews

• Online 25th October to 6th December 2011

• Follow-up interviews

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Target Groups & Response Rates

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n.b. The response rates by question for students and graduates, because some respondents chose to skip certain questions

Recognition and Sustainability Survey Contacted Responded % Response Rate

Master Course (EMMC) coordinators 123 87 71%Master Course (EMMC) partners 535 125 23%Master Course (EMMC) associate members 393 36 9%Brand Names (EMBN) coordinators 15 3 20%Brand Names (EMBN) partners 69 5 7%Brand Names (EMBN) associate members 60 6 10%Joint Doctorate (EMJD) coordinators 24 19 79%Joint Doctorate (EMJD) partners 111 30 27%Joint Doctorate (EMJD) associate members; 186 26 14%Erasmus Mundus Students (212) and Graduates (526) 7000 808 12%National Structures 30 24 80%Action 2 Projects 74 12 16%Action 3 Projects 42 13 31%

Recognition

• EUROPEAN: Activities at the EU and EHEA Levels

• INFORMATION: Support for students and graduates

• LEGAL: Legislative enablers and impediments

• STUDENTS: What are the student experiences?

• INTERNATIONAL: Activities of EM Joint Programmes, Actions 2 and 3, and National Structures

• CAREERS: What do employers need?

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Recognition Outcomes: Cross-Cutting Themes

• Supporting students• Information from application through to graduation

76.5% satisfied with information provided by the course about degree type, but only 32.6% satisfied with information about recognition

• Overcoming challenges of joint degrees• Collaboration with National Structures, policy influence, Bologna

Process and HE reforms National Structures report broad legal recognition of EMJCs by countries (45%), some (27.5%), none (27.5%)

• All actors raise global visibility of Erasmus Mundus• From European Commission to Students and Alumni

Building strong alumni networks; promotion and publicity; academic and professional links; connection to business, research and employer networks

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Recognition Outcomes - Complexity• No single Erasmus Mundus Degree, but instead a ‘cloud’ of degrees are issued

by EMJPs around:• Double degree; Multiple degree; Joint degree

Graduates: 12% received Multiple Degrees and 22% Joint Degrees signed by all consortium HEIs. 43% of graduates received a Joint or Double degree issued only by the Universities where they studied

• Presents significant recognition challenges for EMJPs• Each cohort of degrees influenced by where students ‘take’ them,

constraints imposed by mobility pathways, accreditation challenges, national legislation …

• 74% of students and graduates note EM degrees have particular added value, but National Structures report challenges in the added value being recognised widely by policy makers and HEIs

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Recognition Outcomes - Students

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• Graduate experience about degree recognition• Graduates: 58% experienced legal recognition in Europe for

further study, and 47% for employment. 40% and 43% for home country recognition

• 76% well supported with information during the course• 53.5% satisfied throughout; 18% had improved information

about employer recognition, 12.5% about legal recognition• Just over half satisfied with information given about ECTS and Diploma

Supplements etc. Range of good practice:• “I received information about the structure, career prospects,

networking opportunities and the quality of degree I stand to obtain from the consortium of universities after successful completion of the course”

Recognition Outcomes - Students

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• Joint and Double Degree awards prevail• Uneven timeliness in the provision of certificates and associated

information to students • 33% of students received their degrees within 3 months of

graduation, and 17% waiting a year later “One of my schools from France delivered to the original degree really

late - about a year late. The other two schools from Finland and the Netherlands awarded the degrees to me on my graduation day”

• Priorities for action are:• Legal recognition in Europe for further study & employment

“Due to its multi-disciplinarity, my degree was not recognised as an ‘education' master degree by a Swedish university when applying for PhD studies”

• Recognition back in graduates’ home countries

Recognition Outcomes - Degrees

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• 51% of Coordinators expect to award Multiple or Joint degrees signed across the consortium• 61% of coordinators note provision of Joint Diploma

Supplement relevant to the overall course; 19% Individual Diploma Supplement from all hosting HEIs

• Students and graduates are active ‘recognition players’• Actively seek information from home HEIs, colleagues and

friends, agencies (NARIC, QAAs, National Organisations)• But graduates note the often long time to undergo recognition

processes once they have their degrees• Formal legal and professional recognition vital

• But employers more understanding about the EM degree where legal recognition is not present

Recognition Outcomes - Doctorates

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• Recognition challenges less concern than for EMMCs• “The experience of the EMJD in Law and Economics (EMJD) - which

started as a joint doctorate programme in 2005 already - learns that all of the doctorate graduates have no problem at all to find a suitable job, most of the time at a university or as a consultant”

• Integrating examination practices in partner countries can be bigger challenge than external recognition • “The main challenge is the credit equivalencies for the Joint Doctoral

Programmes. This is especially so for proposed joint degrees between a European and a Southeast Asian university” .. “will this PhD be recognised by employers”

• Graduates yet to ‘test’ recognition in the labour market• “The doubt on the need to have two PhDs is still strong in our country, so

it is important for the potential students to realise how and why having two or more PhD is useful for their future”

Summary - Recognition Outcomes

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• Some issues are beyond direct Coordinator control• Legal issues and regulations (Institutional to National)• Complexity of the overall recognition process• Time taken to formally award degrees• Slow delivery of certificates & formal documentation• “I think the main challenge is the diversity of institutional

regulations and practices and relative rigidity. This may also linked to funding systems. But as joint degrees become more common I suspect that problems are ironed out”

• Overall degrees from EMJPs have added value, but that value is delivered through innovative complexity which introduces recognition challenges• “Helpful if the consortium in coordination with resident EU

delegation supports dissemination about the program, degree, and content of the course and how it is linked to contemporary economic and political development in countries”

Summary - Recognition Outcomes

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• Considerable work by coordinators and course teams• Institutional imperative to maximise recognition• National Structures have pivotal roles in bridging national and international

recognition processes • Supporting excellence: “What we need is a shared European

methodology to assess the quality of joint programmes”• Actions 2&3 help to increase EM Global visibility

• Action 3 projects provide a bottom-up support for HE reform and capacity building

“We produced a good practice booklet on the recognition of Asian degrees for acceptance into European HEIs”

• In terms of its volume activity compared to overall global Master and Doctoral programme activity, the Erasmus Mundus Programme has an impact beyond its scale

Common methodology and outputs

Status Oct 2012

Sustainability Employability Recognition Asia Climate change

Survey

Workshop

Publish guidelines Dec 2012

Publish survey report Autumn

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Recognition – Documents and Info

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• Clusters / Studies Action 3 within Erasmus Mundus:

http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/clusters/index_en.php

Recognition – Documents and Info

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Action 3 Project of Erasmus Mundus: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus_mundus/results_compendia/selected_projects_action_3_achievements_activities_en.php

• BRIDGE NARIC: EMNS project to share best recognition practice• JOQAR: knowledge base and guidelines on degree recognition• ADDE SALEM: specific focus on joint EU-LA degrees in

engineering

Action 3 Projects on Recognition

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• LEANES: best practice model on assessment of Asian qualifications

• EM-IDEA: tools and services available to coordinators of joint programmes, with a focus on recognition issues

• INTER-HED: on-line training course for the management on joint programmes (Module 3: Recognition process)

• EAR – European Area of Recognition Manual (LLP, 2012): Practical guidelines for fair recognition and assessment of qualifications awarded by joint programmes

KEYWORDS RECOGNITION

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• Collaboration, Dialogue, Communication• Quality, learning outcomes• Flexibility, Creativity• Transparency• Networking• Reference actors: NS, NARIC-Centres, Bologna

Experts, EU-Delegations, Accreditation Agencies, Network of EM-Coordinators, EMA

RECOGNITION - OUTCOMES

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Contact: EACEAEdith GENSER [email protected]