A widely-held but false assumption about education can perhaps help explain the confusion: many people seem to believe that, because we have had essentially one dominant model for formal learning (with slight variations) for centuries, we will similarly continue with a new, single, dominant model of learning once the dust settles.  MOOCs come along, draw massive numbers, receive significant venture capital, are associated with a number of elite universities, and commentators make it seem this is the next silver bullet, the next singular model of learning.  Part of the near hysteria about MOOCs may be grounded in either/or thinking:  we either have the traditional classroom model of today or we all do MOOCs.  We may be laboring under the false assumption that learning can happen only one way; no matter what direction we go in with formal learning, we will have just one dominant model. Read more...

By Tamar Lewin. Stanford last year became the first university to raise more than $1 billion in a single year, according to the Council for Aid to Education’s annual college fund-raising survey.
Partly because of large donations from entrepreneurial alumni who have made their fortunes in Silicon Valley, Stanford has been the top fund-raiser for eight straight years.
Last year, the university, near Palo Alto, said its five-year capital campaign, which ended in December 2011, had taken in a record-setting $6.23 billion, far exceeding its original goal of $4.3 billion, and surpassing by more than $2 billion any other single higher-education campaign. Read more...

Auteurs: Cathy PERRET, Julien BERTHAUD, Laurent PICHON. Editeur: IREDU. Un nouveau dispositif d’accueil et d’accompagnement des étudiants entrants à l’université.
"Dans la rubrique "récits d'expérience", des formateurs peuvent présenter et analyser des formations dont ils ont été à l'initiative, ou simplement partie prenante, mais aussi adresser des questions au monde de la recherche, ce qui pourrait favoriser de futurs dossiers, numéros ou débats. Nous leur proposons un espace où pourrait se développer un "genre professionnel" de la formation, très peu visible pour l'instant, mais qui peut d'ores et déjà fortement s'appuyer sur les pratiques en vigueur Dans le cadre d'une étude de cas, cet article présente les points de vue des différents acteurs d'un nouveau dispositif pour les étudiants de licence. Ce dispositif qui repose sur l'intervention d'« enseignants-référents » introduit de nouvelles dimensions au métier d'enseignant-chercheur. L'évaluation réalisée montre un décalage entre les perceptions positives des étudiants et celles plus mitigées des enseignants. Différentes questions quant à son intérêt pour tous les étudiants entrants à l'université sont également avancées, notamment au regard d'autres actions d'aide et de soutien pour les étudiants." (19 pages). Télécharger le document: http://ife.ens-lyon.fr/.

LLORENS, Faraón (coord.). Tendencias Universidad. Nº 1. En pos de la educación activa. 2013. Madrid: Cátedra UNESCO de Gestión y Política Universitaria

The European Council of Education Ministers adopted conlusions on "Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes".
"Rethinking Education", presented by the European Commission on 22 November 2012, calls for more focus on 'learning outcomes' - the knowledge, skills and competences that students acquire. European education and training systems should be reorganised to fight high youth unemployment.
The European Council, e.g. Member States, have adopted Commission's conlusions. This means that the Member States are now recommended by the Commission and the Council to take "Rethinking Education" into consideration in their national education policies.
More information:
European Commission presents new Rethinking Education strategy.
EAEA calls for the recognition of non-formal adult learning.
EAEA statement on the European Commission's communication on Rethinking Education.

Council Conclusions on investing in education and training - a response to Rethinking Education
EU Education Ministers met on 15 February to discuss relevant issues concerning education in the context of the 2013 Annual Growth Survey. The conclusions adopted are a response to the Commission communication "Rethinking Education" presented in November 2012 and highlight priority areas for education and training reform with particular emphasis on improving overall skills and competence levels in order to boost employability and reduce youth unemployment.
Links: Council Conclusions on investing in education and training.
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WELCOMES
1. The central role assigned to education and training as a key driver for growth and competitiveness in the Annual Growth Survey 2013, including the reference to the key role of investments in human capital for tackling and preventing unemployment and preparing a job-rich recovery.
2. The 2013 Annual Growth Survey's stance on differentiated fiscal consolidation, calling on Member States to preserve future growth potential by giving priority to, and where possible, strengthening investments in education and training.
3. The call of the 2013 Annual Growth Survey for reforms to raise the performance of education and training systems and overall skills levels, linking the worlds of work and education more closely together, while acknowledging that there is no "one-size-fits-all" agenda and that some reforms may take a significant amount of time to show effects.
4. The importance attached to skills, education, training and lifelong learning in enhancing employability and, in particular, tackling and preventing youth unemploy ment by addressing its root causes, many of which are examined in the recent communication of 20 November 2012 from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Rethinking Education: Investing in skills for better socio-economic outcomes.
INVITES THE MEMBER STATES, WITH DUE REGARD FOR THE PRINCIPLE OF SUBSIDIARITY, TO
1. Ensure that the social aspects of education and training are sustained and that equal opportunities for access to quality education are provided, so that education and training systems can continue to contribute to fostering social cohesion, sustainable development, active citizenship and personal fulfilment in European societies.
2. Strengthen the role of education and training in the Europe 2020 Strategy, taking into consideration the Rethinking Education communication as well as the education and training aspects of the Annual Growth Surveys and the country-specific recommendations (CSRs), and focusing - in accordance with national and "ET2020" priorities and on the basis of available resources - on the following areas:
a. raising the performance of education and training systems, and overall skill and competence levels, for instance by linking the worlds of work and education more closely, and by ensuring effective communication and strong partnerships between the relevant policy areas, education and training sub-sectors, the social partners, and different levels of governance;
b. promoting excellence in vocational education and training in cooperation with the social partners, for instance by developing quality-assured VET systems with a strong work-based learning component, by considering the development of short-cycle post-secondary or tertiary qualifications, in accordance with the EQF or linked to the first cycle in the context of the Bologna Process, and focused on potential growth areas or areas with skills shortages, and by aligning VET policies with national, regional or local economic development strategies;
c. improving the performance of young people at high risk of early school leaving and with low basic skills in line with the framework laid down in the 2011 Council Recommendation, for instance through the early identification of low achievers in basic skills across all phases of schooling, by providing individualised sup port - while validating the knowledge, skills and competences acquired in non-formal and informal settings - and by combating the causes of low achievement with the help of high quality and accessible early childhood education and care;
d. reducing the number of low-skilled adults, for instance by increasing incentives for adult training, by providing information on access to lifelong learning services, such as information on the validation of non-formal and informal learning and career guidance, and by offering tailored learning opportunities to individual learners;
e. introducing measures to develop transversal skills and competences as described in the 2006 Recommendation on key competences for lifelong learning, from early stages of education up to higher education, using innovative and  student-centred pedagogical approaches;
f. revising and strengthening the professional profile of the teaching profession (including teachers, school leaders and teacher educators), in cooperation with relevant stakeholders, for instance by ensuring effective initial teacher education and by providing coherent and adequately resourced systems for recruitment, selection, initial teacher education, early career support and competence-based continuing professional development of teaching staff;
g. optimising ICT-supported learning and access to high quality Open Educational Resources (OERs), for instance by supporting ICT-based teaching and assessment practices, by promoting the transparency of rights and obligations of users and producers of digitised content, and by supporting education and training institutions in adapting to the emergence of OERs, with particular regard to quality assurance andmonitoring;
h. prioritising, and where possible strengthening, investments in education and training, while working to enhance the efficiency of such expenditure and stimulating national debates on sustainable and balanced funding mechanisms, involving a broad range of stakeholders.
AGREES THAT
With a view to playing a more prominent role in the implementation of the European Semester, Member States' representatives meeting within the EYCS Council - and/or where appropriate, the relevant preparatory bodies - should consider, with the agreement of the Member States concerned, the progress made by Member States in responding to challenges identified in country-specific recommendations (CSRs) in the field of education and training. Furthermore, and in line with the ‘roadmap’ for the European Semester prepared by the Presidency, re levant Committees such as EMCO may be supported as appropriate by the Education Committee with regard to the examination of draft CSRs in the area of education and training.
NOTES THE COMMISSION'S INTENTION TO
1. While respecting the principle of subsidiarity and national responsibility for education and training, as well as the institutional autonomy of education providers, support Member States in their efforts to improve their education and training systems, making full use of EU programmes and funds in the field of education and training, and by means of an improved evidence base, a detailed cost-benefit analysis and increased transparency, including by:
a. stepping-up its country-specific and country-supportive expertise and its analytical capacity;
b. having structured contacts with Member States, including bilateral meet ings at key moments in the preparatory phase leading up to the Commission’s adoption of draft CSRs;
c. ensuring stronger co-ordination of the activities carried out by the OMC working groups established under the "ET2020" framework and that all such groups focus on the key policy challenges identified through the "ET 2020", Europe 2020 and European Semester processes;
d. examining the feasibility of supporting Member States, when requested, in inviting peers to an in-depth discussion of specific issues in their country, using relevant financial instruments, including by supporting the participation of internationally renowned experts;
e. in cooperation with the Member States, examining feedback on the operation of the first iteration of the new Education and Training Monitor and the Education and Training Forum, and making proposals to ensure added value from the application of these new tools in the European Semester;
f. in cooperation with the Member States, considering further methodological work in relation to the collection of relevant data in order to support the proposal made for a possible benchmark to be adopted by the Council in the area of language competences.
2. Support initiatives - such as the proposed EU-level Alliance for Apprenticeships - aimed at improving work-based learning and involving strong partnerships between education and employment, in particular social partners, business and VET providers, in line with the Copenhagen Process.
3. Explore with social partners at EU-level options for increasing the level and quality of education and training provision for adults with a view to re-skilling and up-skilling the workforce.
4. In close cooperation with Member States and relevant stakeholders, assess the impact of the potential creation of a European Area for Skills and Qualifications to promote stronger convergence between different EU and national transparency and recognition tools, so as to ensure that skills and qualifications can be easily recognised across borders.
5. In coordination with any initiatives by the Member States in this area, launch a new initiative on "Opening up Education", analysing the impact of providing EU support to increase access to and use of quality-assured Open Educational Resources and ICT.
6. Introduce actions promoting entrepreneurship education, in particular policy guidance, and a framework to encourage entrepreneurial education at institutional level.
7. Analyse the efficiency of public spending on education and training and initiate an EU-level debate with relevant stakeholders on the benefits of investments in differe nt education and training sectors.
INVITES THE MEMBER STATES AND THE COMMISSION TO
1. Establish a closer link between the key strategic policy challenges identified throughout the European Semester and OMC activities, and develop, when requested, the country-specific dimension to assist both individual and clusters of Member States in following up on country-specific recommendations (CSRs).
2. Fully tap into the potential of cooperation and peer learning established within the OMC through improved working methods including, as appropriate:
a. A stronger complementarity of activities and avoidance of duplication by better exploiting the presence which EU Member States have in other international organisations, such as the OECD, UNESCO and the Council of Europe;
b. Structures and procedures that increase the efficiency, effectivene ss and Member States' ownership of the OMC process, for example at the levels of Directors-General and frontline senior policymakers;
c. A structured voluntary peer review process focusing on the implementation of the country-specific recommendations and building on the experience gained in the pilot peer review of September 2012;
d. Regular feedback from all working groups to the Education Committee and/or other relevant groups and the presentation of their key policy findings to Council in the form of a standard template;
e. Regular communication between the Education Committee, in particular, and all thematic working groups in order to ensure that working groups are fully briefed on the context in which they are operating and on any ongoing developments relevant to their remit;
f. Clear mandates and standard operating procedures (i.e. terms of reference, deliverables, membership requirements and sunset clauses) for all thematic working groups, including ensuring the potential of ICTs is exploited through, for example, the holding of virtual meetings;
g. Structured dissemination arrangements entailing both an EU and a Member State dimension, to be established prior to the publication of working group results, including multilingual publication of summary versions of working group outputs.
3. Stimulate a constructive process of follow-up of the country-specific recommendations by sharing, with the relevant policy committees (i.e Economic Policy Committee and Employment Committee) and on a regular basis, the results of the aforementioned OMC cooperation mechanisms."

"Transition to open and on-line education in European universities". 24-25 October 2013, Paris.
Announcement - CALL FOR PAPERS
EADTU’s Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference 2013 has opened an opportunity to publish research papers in the well-established research journal “Open Learning”: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning
The Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference 2013 is organised by EADTU and hosted by FIED and the Ministry for Education and Research in Paris (F) on the 24th and 25th of October 2013
The Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference 2013 is kindly hosted by FIED and the Ministry for Education and Research in Paris (F) on the 24th and 25th of October. Following the latest developments in policymaking and university strategies, this year’s conference scope is about "Transition to open and on-line education in European universities".
Like former years, all selected papers will be published in the on-line conference proceedings publication by EADTU with reference of ISBN. However, the papers submitted under the research strand are eligible for publication in the well-established research Journal “Open Learning”: The Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning. Papers submitted under the research strand therefore follow a separate procedure of submission and selection. In cooperation with this journal, the EADTU starts in 2013 with a research strand incorporated in the programme.
Scope and themes
This year’s scope of EADTU’s Open and Flexible Higher Education Conference is about "Transition to open and on-line education in European universities". This concerns topics directly related to:
1. National and institutional aspects of opening up education: the open education market, participation in lifelong learning, international marketing, demands international students, the ability of governments and universities for opening up education, financial mechanisms for open and online education, business models, policy incentives
2. Institutional models for online or blended course and curriculum development and delivery: strategies and business models, organisational models, collaborative courses, online and blended mobility, innovation and change processes in the transition to technology based teaching and learning, enriched learning environments, tutoring and learning communities, reorganisation of curricula involving blended teaching and learning
3. Innovations in technology enhanced learning for the future: mobile learning apps, tablet computing, next generation e-books, open publishing, open educational resources, MOOCs, learning analytics, game-based learning, augmented reality, commercial short courses for professional development, assessment for learning with diagnostic feedback, badges to accredit learning, seamless learning,… (see also Innovating Pedagogy 2012, the Open University; Horizon Report – 2012 Higher Education Edition, the New Media Consortium)
4. Quality assurance in online and distance learning: internal and external quality assurance processes, accreditation processes, benchmarks and standards for online and distance education, online or blended education and quality assurance and accreditation agencies
5. Other and related topics to be covered are:
• Modernising universities
• Educational technology
• Networked Curricula
• QA in e-learning
• Open Educational Resources and MOOCs
• E-learning forecast studies
• Good practices of transitions to open and flexible learning
• Models of open and flexible learning
• Current procedures in OER and MOOCs
• Schemes for virtual and blended mobility
• Innovative pedagogies
• On-line assessments
• E-learning forecast studies
The conference board of the EADTU will select papers submitted for all the conference themes listed according to the schedule. The Open learning Editorial Board will be responsible for the selection of papers submitted under the research strand. The editorial Board consists of well- established experts in the field of open and flexible learning.
Paper submissions
a. Submitting abstracts of conference papers:
Contributions should be in line with the scope and topics mentioned above and submitted to mieke.vanderleegte@eadtu.eu by the 1st of May 2013 with accompanying title, theme reference,  keywords. Full format specifications can be downloaded here. The Programme Committee subjects the programme and the abstracts to a process of review. Acceptance of your contribution is announced by mail and web-publication of the finalised programme. For more information, please visit http://www.eadtu.eu/
b. Submitting research papers:
All papers for EADTU’s research strand need to be submitted directly on-line using Scholar One via Taylor & Francis online for the review-process by the 1st of May 2013.
The research strand is restricted to only the two first interlinked themes of the conference:
• National and institutional aspects of opening up education;
• Institutional models for online or blended course and curriculum development and delivery.
Details on the specific formal specifications of the papers are given at Taylor & Francis Online. We expect papers with a length of maximum 6000 words.
The Open Learning editor, Gill Kirkup of The Open University will work with guest-editors Fred de Vries of the Open Universiteit (The Netherlands) and Teresa Sancho-Vinuesa of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (Spain) on this special issue in collaboration with the EADTU. The peer-reviews will be organized with the Editorial Board of this special issue, relying on well- established experts in the field of open and flexible learning.
Scientific Committee
Fred de Vries, Open Universiteit, The Netherlands (guest editor)
Teresa Sancho-Vinuesa, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain (guest editor)
Erik Duval, Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Yoram Eshet, The Open University of Israel, Israel
Theo Bastiaens, Fernuniversität in Hagen, Germany
Fred Mulder, Open Universiteit, The Netherlands
Marcus Specht, Open Universiteit, The Netherlands
Josep m. Duart, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Spain
Guglielmo Trentin, Istituto per le Tecnologie Didattiche, Italy
Sandra Safourcade, Centre de Recherche sur l’Education les Apprentissages et la Didactique, France
Geneviève Lameul, Centre de Recherche sur l’Education les Apprentissages et la Didactique, France
Sandra Schön, SalzburgResearch, Austria
Sirje Virkus, Tallinna Ülikool, Estonia
Ugur Demiray, Anadolu Üniversitesi, Turkey.
There are still academics joining the Scientific Committee. Please check for the latest information:
http://www.eadtu.eu/activities/conference-2013.
Contributions are to be reviewed in a double-blind peer-review process. Papers are to be published online in Open Learning during the conference on 24 and 25 October 2013 as they are being presented by at least one of its authors. Selected papers will be published in the February 2014 print edition of Open learning.  If you have any questions on this special issue you can e-mail Fred de Vries.
Important Dates
Online paper submission opens (a. and b.)
15 February 2013
Deadline for submission of abstracts (a.) and research papers (b.)
1 May 2013
Notification of acceptance (a. and b.)
15 June 2013
Deadline for submission of full conference papers of accepted abstracts (a.)
15 August 2013
Deadline for revised versions of conditionally accepted research paper (b.)
15 July 2013
On-line publication for conference participants and subscribers of the journal (a. and b.)
24th October 2013.

Les conseillers du salarié sont des personnes bénévoles, qui ont été désignées par le préfet du département pour assister et conseiller gratuitement les salariés, sur leur demande, soit au cours de l’entretien préalable au licenciement, soit au cours du ou des entretiens préparatoires à une rupture conventionnelle du contrat de travail à durée indéterminée, en l’absence de représentants du personnel dans l’entreprise.
En savoir plus: Fiche pratique Le conseiller du salarié.
Les conseillers du salarié sont inscrits sur une liste départementale établie par le préfet.
Ils possèdent une compétence territoriale qui s’étend à l’ensemble du département dans lequel ils sont nommés. Ils ne peuvent donc intervenir qu’en faveur d’un salarié qui est convoqué à un entretien devant se dérouler en un lieu situé à l’intérieur de ce département. Liste des conseillers du salarié-Seine-Maritime. Liste des conseillers du salarie-27 (01-2013).
Le salarié, convoqué à un entretien préalable au licenciement ou à un entretien préparatoire à une rupture conventionnelle, choisit librement un conseiller sur la liste du département où se tiendra cet entretien.
La Direccte de Haute Normandie a réalisé un memento des conseillers du salarié.
Cet ouvrage aborde notamment le rôle, les attributions, les devoirs et obligations du conseiller du salarié. Outre de rappeler le cadre juridique dans lequel intervient le conseiller, ce document a surtout pour objectif de tracer une ligne de conduite du conseiller conforme à la volonté exprimée par le législateur au-travers des débats parlementaires et de la loi, et de souligner quelques règles de déontologie qui découlent de la mission d’intérêt général confiée au conseiller du salarié.
Le lecteur trouvera donc dans cet ouvrage non seulement des précisions contenues notamment dans les circulaires ministérielles ou dégagées par la jurisprudence, mais aussi des renseignements sur les conditions d’exercice des fonctions de conseiller du salarié ainsi que des réponses concrètes aux questions les plus fréquemment posées, traduisant sur un plan pratique l’esprit et la lettre de la loi.
La Direccte de Haute Normandie édite une publication périodique qui s’adresse à tous les conseillers du salarié nommés dans l’un ou l’autre des deux départements qui composent la région Haute-NormandieLe « Bulletin régional des conseillers du salarié » apporte toutes les informations utiles au bon exercice de leur mission. Chaque numéro contient toute l’actualité juridique et jurisprudentielle relative au mandat de conseiller du salarié et au droit du licenciement. Bulletin régional - Janvier 2013. Bulletin régional spècial rupture conventionnelle.
Le service « Études Statistiques Évaluation » de la Direccte de Haute-Normandie a réalisé en 2009 et en 2011 deux études, l’une quantitative, l’autre qualitative, sur le fonctionnement au plan de la région du dispositif des conseillers du salarié. Liste des conseillers du salarié-27.
Comment avoir recours au conseiller du salarié: Dépliant recours au conseiller du salarié.

Le mot d'accueil des rapporteurs
La commission sénatoriale pour le contrôle de l’application des lois nous a confié la mission d’évaluer la mise en œuvre de la loi du 10 août 2007 relative aux libertés et responsabilités des universités, dite « loi LRU ».
Conjuguée aux effets de la loi de programme pour la recherche de 2006 et aux investissements d’avenir dans le cadre du grand emprunt, la réforme de l’autonomie des universités a profondément bouleversé les modes de gouvernance, de pilotage et de gestion budgétaire et financière de nos établissements d’enseignement supérieur. Dans un contexte de concurrence internationale accrue, la définition d’une politique de formation et de recherche toujours plus innovante, réactive et attractive s’est imposée comme un enjeu déterminant pour les universités.
Les effets de la loi LRU se sont fait sentir jusque dans les nouvelles responsabilités et obligations de service assumées par les enseignants-chercheurs mais aussi dans les conditions d’apprentissage et de vie des étudiants. En parallèle, l’émergence d’entités nouvelles (PRES, RTRA, CTRS, Idex, Labex, Equipex, SATT, IRT, Alliances…) a généré une complexification sans précédent de notre paysage universitaire. Pendant cinq ans, c’est donc la capacité d’adaptation de l’ensemble de la communauté universitaire qui a été mise à l’épreuve.
Cette mission de contrôle est ainsi l’occasion de recenser tout autant les avancées que les difficultés recensées par la communauté universitaire dans la mise en œuvre de la loi LRU. À l’heure où des contraintes considérables pèsent sur les finances publiques, il nous appartient d’évaluer l’investissement de chacun des partenaires en présence (l’État, les équipes dirigeantes, les équipes administratives et pédagogiques, les étudiants, les organismes de recherche…) dans le développement du principe d’autonomie au sein des établissements d’enseignement supérieur.
Le présent espace participatif donne précisément à chaque acteur de la vie universitaire l’opportunité d’exprimer son sentiment et de partager son expérience sur le sens et la mise en œuvre de l’autonomie des universités.