Please find below the most commonly asked questions that UUK receives relating to Europe and UK higher education together with their answers.
What are the implications of EU policy and other European issues for UK HEIs?
The EU is playing an increasing role in European higher education issues. However, the European Commission does not have treaty competence to legislate directly in the area of higher education. Its actions in this sphere are based on Article 149 on the EU treaty which allows it "to contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging co-operation between Member States".
Key areas where the European Union seeks to develop quality education and encourage cooperation between Member States include: research and development and the framework programmes for research; mobility programmes for students and academic staff; recognition and transparency of qualifications; quality assurance; the establishment of a European qualifications framework.
The UK HE sector will play a vital role in helping the EU to achieve the goals of its Lisbon Strategy, which is to make the EU "the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy in the world by 2010".
Since the Lisbon summit in 2000, which gave birth to the Strategy of the same name, EU heads of state have consistently mandated the EU to act in the sphere of education to help establish the European knowledge society and economy.
The Bologna Process on creating a European Higher Education Area is an important European initiative which exists outside the decision-making procedure of the European Union and involves more countries.
For further information, please visit the UK HE Europe unit's website
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What is the Bologna Process?
The Bologna Process is an intergovernmental initiative, which aims to create a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by 2010 and to promote the European system of higher education worldwide. There are now 45 countries involved and it is conducted outside the formal decision-making framework of the European Union. Decision-making within the Process rests on the consent of all the participating countries. I
It was launched in 1999 when Ministers from 29 European countries, including the UK, met in Bologna and signed a declaration establishing what was necessary to create the EHEA by the end of the decade. The broad objectives of the Bologna Process became: to remove the obstacles to student mobility across Europe; to enhance the attractiveness of European higher education worldwide; to establish a common structure of higher education systems across Europe, and; for this common structure to be based on two main cycles, undergraduate and graduate.
Since 1999 Ministers have met four times to assess progress towards the creation of the EHEA - in Prague in 2001, in Berlin in 2003, in Bergen in 2005 and in London in 2007. These summits have resulted in a number of new actions required of HEIs including the introduction of the Diploma Supplement (student transcript) by 2005. The next Ministerial Summit is scheduled to take place in Leuven and Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) in 2009.
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Are there any umbrella bodies representing the interests of European HEIs?
There are two: The European University Association (EUA) and the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE).
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Where can I find out more about European HE?
For more information about European HE issues and their implications for the UK HE sector, please visit the sector-wide Europe Unit's website.
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We hope you have found these questions and answers useful. Please note that if you do not find the answer to your question within this section or the other FAQs please contact us using our enquiry form.