The student perspective in the EHEA The European Students’ Union Bert Vandenkendelaere Chairperson Istanbul, 15 th of June 2011 back to basics !

the student perspective in the EHEA

The European Students’ Union

Bert VandenkendelaereChairperson

Istanbul, 15th of June 2011

back to basics !

A long story short•1989: Wall falls and WESIB becomes •1999: The Bologna Process starts and

ESIB creates content committees▫Information exchange to more advocacy

•2007: ESIB is renamed into ESU•2009: The Bologna Process celebrated

its 10th anniversary•2012: 3oth anniversary of

WESIB/ESIB/ESU

30 years of ESU

From an informal gathering of 7 unions with no budget and no mandate…

… to a strong union defending students’ rights, with 17 elected representatives, 7 secretariat members and 45 memberunions from 38 countries…

… with a fixed seat around the table in all Bologna-gatherings

The voice of more than 11 million European students…•45 members = National Unions of

Students•38 countries

•No member union from Turkey Last Country study visit in 2007

In cooperation with (and thanks to…)

ESU’s contribution

•Bologna With Student Eyes, monitoring the progress from a student perspective.

•Policy input and discussions in BFUG and national level.

•Concrete initiatives on action lines, for example Student-Centered Learning project.

Student-centered research

•The heart of the research for BWSE and BAFL is based on students' views as reflected by their respective National Student Unions (NUSes)

•But also taking national stocktaking reports and other data sources into account

•From this data, conclusions are derived and recommendations and suggestions for future policy lines put together

Bologna at the Finish Line … ?•Finish line was not 2010•Bologna “à la carte” implementation caused

negative effects, inequality and confusion•Not enough information on why and how•Bologna Lisbon?•Focus on attractive parts

(attractiveness/mobility/ECTS/cycles) •Focus on financial input from the market•Focus on Global attractiveness•Focus on Social Dimension?

back to basics !

for a

llHigh quality Higher Education

stud

ent-

centr

ed

with student participation

with academic freedom

in a society where education is both a public good and a public responsibility

an opportunity to be mobile

in a society where education is both a public good and a public responsibility

for a

ll

in a society where education is both a public good and a public responsibility

for a

ll•The social dimension, an ambition

made of paper?•Tuition fees are raised•Merit-based access doesn’t necessarily

equal participative equity•Recognition of informal/NF learning•Tuition fee fleeing begins…

in a society where education is both a public good and a public responsibility

for a

ll

for a

llHigh quality Higher Education

stud

ent-

centr

ed

with student participation

with academic freedom

in a society where education is both a public good and a public responsibility

an opportunity to be mobile

stu

den

t-cen

tred

stu

den

t-cen

tred

“Student-Centred Learning represents both a mindset and a culture within a given higher education institution and is a learning approach which is broadly related to, and supported by, constructivist theories of learning. It is characterised by innovative methods of teaching which aim to promote learning in communication with teachers and other learners and which take students seriously as active participants in their own learning, fostering transferable skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking and reflective thinking.”

• Requires empowering individual learners and approaches to teaching and learning,

• Effective support and guidance structures and a curriculum focused more clearly on the learner in all three cycles.

• But still very large regional differences • Not enough student consultation on curricula

development• Removing obstacles such as inflexible hours, lack of

choice on curricula or learning methods, use of only conventional teaching methods urgently needed

• Give the teacher time to teach!

stu

den

t-cen

tred

an opportunity to be mobile

ECTS and Learning Outcomes: still work to do!• Credit and accumulation system, that should be

applied consistently • One of the best-implemented tools?• Needs to be properly linked to student workload

and learning outcomes.• Superficial implementation without this link is

still a main challenge with the Bologna Process in some countries

• Use of learning outcomes for recognition!• Recognition remains a main barrier to

mobility

an opportunity to be mobile

for a

ll

with student participation!

ESU’s Priorities for the next decade•Not allowing for further confusion regarding

the main goals and tools of the Bologna Process.

•Holistic, in-depth and financially supported continued implementation of all Bologna action lines, with a special focus on the social dimension, mobility and student-centred learning.

ESU’s Priorities for the next decade•Inter-governmental solidarity to overcome the

ill-effects of the 'two-speed' Bologna implementation, rather than an excessive focus on the individual promotion of national higher education systems.

•Full student participation in all decision-making structures at national, regional and institutional levels.

ESU’s Priorities for the next decade•Completing the Bologna reforms should be a

priority, before new reforms are initiated.

•Minimum standards of implementation are needed to deserve the “Bologna label”

•or it risks becoming an empty, expensive shell not changing higher education for the better

for a

llHigh quality Higher Education

stud

ent-

centr

ed

with student participation

with academic freedom

in a society where education is both a public good and a public responsibility

an opportunity to be mobile

Thank you!

More information www.esu-online.org or [email protected]