25 septembre 2011

Par Marie-Laure Even. C’est ce qu’indique la circulaire de la DGEFP sur la mise en œuvre du Contrat de sécurisation des parcours (CSP) transmise récemment aux Préfets et directions du travail. Co-écrite par Philippe Dole*, elle précise le pilotage national et l’organisation territoriale. Un comité de pilotage présidé par le ministre en charge de l’emploi assurera le suivi du dispositif et l’évaluation du retour à l’emploi des bénéficiaires du CSP. Au niveau territorial, le Préfet de région a la responsabilité de l’organisation de la démarche, sachant le suivi de la mise en œuvre du CSP se réalisera au niveau départemental voire au niveau des bassins d’emploi. Les partenaires sociaux sont représentés à chaque échelon de cette organisation - via la participation du FPSPP au comité de pilotage national, via les Instances paritaires régionales au sein de Pôle Emploi et via la participation des OPCA aux comités de pilotage départementaux.
Pour mémoire
Le CSP s’adresse aux salariés dont la procédure de licenciement économique est engagée depuis le 1er septembre, dans une entreprise de moins de 1 000 salariés ou bien en redressement ou liquidation judiciaire. L’objectif est de faciliter le retour à l’emploi et le reclassement du salarié grâce à un accompagnement personnalisé associant des périodes de recherche d’emploi, de formation et de travail. Le CSP fusionne deux dispositifs: la Convention de reclassement personnalisé (CRP) et le Contrat de transition professionnelle (CTP). Depuis le 31 août 2011, il n’est plus possible d’entrer dans ces deux dispositifs. Toutefois, les CTP et CRP conclus continuent à s’appliquer jusqu’à leur terme. Pôle emploi et des organismes privés de placement tels que Transitio** sont chargés de l’accompagnement des bénéficiaires.
* Membre de l’Inspection générale des affaires sociales (IGAS), Philippe Dole est responsable du programme CSP au sein de la DGEFP depuis le 1er septembre 2011 et pour un an.
** Pour les bassins d’emploi de Charleville-Mézières, Montbéliard, Morlaix, Saint-Dié des vosges, Toulon, Valenciennes et Vitré.
En savoir plus
Instruction CSP du 8 septembre 2011.
Fiche Opcalia sur le CSP.
Convention relative au CSP signée par les partenaires sociaux le 19 juillet 2011.

L'agrément d'AGEFOS PME, après l'avis favorable du CNFPTLV du 19 septembre 2011, valide un modèle d'organisation qui combine des délégataires territoriaux interprofessionnels et un accueil spécifique pour les branches professionnelles.
AGEFOS PME engage à présent ses orientations stratégiques pour les prochaines années au service de ses entreprises adhérentes et de leurs salariés. Pour Philippe Rosay et Jean-Philippe Leroy, Présidents nationaux AGEFOS PME : « Nous nous félicitons que, sur proposition de l’Etat (DGEFP), lundi 19 septembre 2011, un avis favorable du CNFPTLV a été rendu concernant le réagrément d'AGEFOS PME, OPCA interprofessionnel et interbranches, parmi 7 autres OPCA de branche. Etre parmi les 1ers OPCA réagréés est un signe fort de confiance et de garantie de la continuité de l'action d'AGEFOS PME vis à vis de nos entreprises adhérentes et de leurs salariés ». Le chemin vers le réagrément du Fonds d’Assurance Formation, paritaire dans toutes ses composantes, a été jalonné de moments clés.
La reconnaissance des AGEFOS PME régionales
« Nous constatons avec satisfaction, l'adoption, comme le prévoit le projet de décret, des délégations territoriales paritaires dans les OPCA », soulignent les Présidents AGEFOS PME. Depuis près de 40 ans, AGEFOS PME a fait du service de proximité et de la présence des organisations constitutives de l'OPCA dans les Conseils d'administration régionaux, une condition de réussite et le trait d'union avec le terrain. « Tant sur les politiques de l'emploi que sur l'offre de services de proximité de notre réseau, il est indispensable de nouer des partenariats locaux », ajoutent Philippe Rosay et Jean-Philippe Leroy. L'écoute par les représentants de l'Etat au plus haut niveau, de Jean-François Roubaud, Président de la CGPME et des Présidents de l’OPCA, mérite à ce titre d'être signalée.
La création de services de gestion dédiés
L'accueil de nouvelles branches professionnelles et de nouveaux OPCA n'a pas été un processus simple.
Dans un 1er temps, à l'été 2010, AGEFOS PME a proposé un modèle d'accueil similaire à celui d'autres OPCA, la délégation paritaire de branche. Au printemps 2011, les pouvoirs publics nous ont fait connaître leur refus sur cette question. Les partenaires sociaux, dans l'accord du 6 juillet et dans la lettre paritaire du 9 septembre dernier, ont inventé une nouvelle réponse sous la forme d'un établissement de gestion dédié (EGD) pour les OPCA qui rejoignent AGEFOS PME. Ces établissements permettent de faciliter leur accueil, tout en constituant des services techniques dédiés permettant la continuité d'un service spécifique dans l'accompagnement des entreprises de ces branches et secteurs professionnels.
Un champ d'intervention élargi
Désormais, le périmètre d'AGEFOS PME, à la fois OPCA interprofessionnel et OPCA d'une cinquantaine de branches professionnelles, est confirmé dans l'arrêté d'agrément. Les Présidents nationaux d’AGEFOS PME se félicitent que « le cadre légal et réglementaire issu de la réforme de 2009 soit aujourd'hui proche de l'organisation historique de notre OPCA. C'est cette confiance dans notre fonctionnement que les organisations constitutives d'AGEFOS PME (CGPME, CFDT, CFE-CGC, CFTC, CGT et CGT-FO) ont reconduite avec l'ANI du 6 juillet dernier ».

Pour la qualité de son enseignement supérieur. Accessible à tous et l'un des meilleurs au monde: l'enseignement supérieur français !
L'excellence de l'enseignement supérieur français est largement reconnue à travers le monde. Que ce soit dans le classement de Shangai, dans ceux du Financial Times, du Times ou dans l'European Report on Science & Technologies de la Commission Européenne, des établissements français sont toujours au premier plan.
La France investit  chaque année massivement dans l'enseignement et la recherche: l'éducation est le premier poste de dépenses du budget de l'Etat, soit plus de 20%.
C'est un autre paradoxe français: l'un des meilleurs enseignements supérieurs au monde est aussi l'un des plus accessibles financièrement.
Les succès industriels, technologiques et scientifiques français (espace, transport, médecine, mathématiques), le nombre de prix Nobel ou de médaille Field démontrent que la France est un pôle d'innovation et de recherche parmi les plus dynamiques.
En France, les formations supérieures s'appuient sur des laboratoires de recherches accrédités ou sur le savoir faire de professionnels aguerris: quel que soit votre domaine d'étude, vous serez toujours au contact d'experts reconnus.
Pour l'ouverture internationale de son enseignement supérieur. L'enseignement supérieur français accueille plus de 278 000 étudiants internationaux.
Cinquième puissance économique, la France est aujourd'hui au troisième rang mondial pour l'accueil des étudiants internationaux. Elle mène depuis toujours une politique d'égalité de traitement des étudiants français et étrangers. Exemples: les frais d'inscription sont identiques pour tous et fixés, pour les diplôme nationaux, par le gouvernement, et tous les étudiants bénéficient des mêmes droits sociaux, quelle que soit leur origine (sécurité sociale, aide au logement).
Les dépenses en matière d'enseignement supérieur représentent environ 1,2% du PIB de la France, soit environ 20 milliards d'Euros chaque année. Le financement est très majoritairement public (87%). Cela représente un investissement moyen de 10800 Euros par étudiant, quelle que soit sa nationalité.
Avec 278000 étudiants étrangers (12% de l'effectif  étudiant total, dont 25000 doctorants), La France se situe au troisième rang des pays d'accueil,  après les Etats Unis (535000) et la Grande Bretagne (340000). Les établissements français délivrent des diplômes conformes aux normes eurpopéennes,  basées sur une architecture commune appelée "LMD" (pour Licence, Master, Doctorat). Ces diplômes sont largement reconnus et appréciés de part le monde.
Etudier en France, c'est aussi  l'occasion d'apprendre le français ou d'en parfaire sa maîtrise. Et de rejoindre ainsi 250 millions de francophones qui pratiquent la langue olympique, la langue de l'ONU ou la langue officielle et de travail de l'Union Européenne. Les étudiants étrangers - quelle que soit leur nationalité - bénéficient en France des mêmes droits et des mêmes avantages que les étudiants français. En dix ans, le nombre d'étudiants étrangers en France a crû de… 75%!
Pour le rayonnement des "savoir-faire" français. La France est particulièrement concurrentielle dans le secteur des métiers d'art et dans la formation des sportifs.
Des métiers d'art au premier plan.
L'artisanat représente environ 920.000 entreprises et recense 10% des actifs français. La France exporte son savoir-faire dans le domaine des métiers du graphisme et de l'animation "3D"  ainsi que dans celui des métiers de la mode et du textile. Les formations aux métiers du bois, de la pierre, de la terre et des senteurs (ébéniste, souffleur de verre, marbrier, potier, céramiste, parfumeur) sont reconnues mondialement.
Les métiers de bouches (chocolatier, confiseur, restaurateur, boulanger, patissier), représentés par de très grands noms comme Alain Ducasse, Paul Bocuse ou Pierre Gagnaire concourent au prestige international de notre pays.
Le sport
La France possède également une vraie tradition dans la formation des sportifs. Les sections "sports-études" des collèges et des lycées et les centres de formation adossés aux clubs professionnels permettent de former les sportifs de haut niveau, tant dans les disciplines individuelles (natation, patinage artistique, ski) que collectives (football, basket).
La France dispose d'infrastuctures sportives de très grande qualité, lui permettant d'acceuillir, en région parisienne comme en province des compétitions de niveau mondial (coupes du monde de football et de rugby, jeux olympiques d'hiver, Euro 2016 de football).
Pour la culture française contemporaine. Pour l'art de vivre en France. Pour la dynamique de l'économie française.

Monday 21 November–Thursday 24 November 2011. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The first International Leadership Conference took place from 8-12 November 2010 at The University of Nottingham Ningbo, China. Delegates attended from the UK, Denmark, China, Colombia and Australia to discuss and share best practice on important topics around the internationalisation of higher education.
"Attending the first 'International Leadership Conference: Managing Global Universities' last autumn in Ningbo, China was of considerable value in developing the internationalisation strategy for the University of Reading. The week was a valuable mix of high-level strategic discussion and knowledge-sharing to gain practical insights from university leaders with experience of building and running campuses overseas.
I would recommend the opportunity to attend to anyone involved in planning and developing their institution's worldwide reach." Professor Steven Mithen, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for International and External Engagement at the University of Reading
"...it was a pleasure to join such a stimulating event." Phil Baty, Deputy Editor, Times Higher Education.
Building on the success of this event, we will be hosting the 2011 event at The University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus, 30km from Kuala Lumpur.
This intensive four day programme is designed for senior managers and leaders from higher education institutions from across the world. It will take place at The University of Nottingham’s campus in Malaysia, an extremely successful research-led UK university with an excellent reputation for global leadership and management.
Keynote Speakers
    Ken Sloan, Serco
    Paul M. Marshall, 1994 Group
    Graham Cartledge CBE, Benoy
    Dr. Janet Ilieva, British Council
    Tan Sri Lodin, Boustead Holdings
    Phil Baty, Times Higher Education
    Professor Robin Pollard, Monash University
    Patrick Freeland-Small, The University of Melbourne
    Professor Craig Mahoney, The Higher Education Academy
    Professor David Greenaway, The University of Nottingham
    Datuk Prof. Dr. Roziah Binti Omar, Higher Education Leadership Academy (AKEPT)
    Dato Prof. Dr. Sharifah Hapsah Syed Hasan Shahabudin, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
Programme overview
During the four day programme a selection of the following will be covered in workshop and seminar sessions:
    developing university strategy
    different approaches to internationalisation
    enterprise
    effective financial management
    development and fundraising
    capital planning
    building research capacity
    leadership in an international context
    quality, ratings and rankings
    international partnership
    leading innovation in teaching and learning
    marketing on the global stage
    global governance
 For full details, please refer to the programme tab in the menu bar.

The theme of the meeting will be the enabling of flexible access to education, training and acquisition of qualifications through strengthening cooperation between VET, higher education, employers and other institutions from the public and business communities. Hotel Qubus, ul. Nadwiślańska 6, Kraków.
Objectives and content
    cooperation between VET, higher education, employers, social partners and stakeholders
    importance of learning languages in VET
    adult learning with regard to learning while working
    resenting the information concerning vocational education and training in Poland
    monitoring the progress in implementing the „Copenhagen process‟ for vocational education and training
Participants
    directors general for vocational education and training from 27 EU Member States
    representatives of adult learning sector from 27 EU Member States
    representatives of the EC (the directorate of lifelong learning policy: VET, adult education)
    representatives of Cedefop and ETF
    representatives of ECOTEC
    representatives of European social partners
    observers from non-EU countries
    representatives of candidate countries.

As several participants in Cedefop’s international seminar, learning later in life: uncovering the potential of investing in an ageing workforce (Brussels 21-22 September) stressed, prevailing attitudes about training for ageing workers - particularly employer attitudes - need to change.
Human resource departments tend to see training as a ‘retention strategy’ for older workers rather than as a means to improve skills, productivity and job satisfaction. This approach is unlikely to lead to a better use of an ageing workforce.
Companies need to develop a new ‘demographic literacy’:
- to understand that demographic change is imminent;
- analyse their own company’s age structure; and
- ensure that their efficiency, productivity and capacity for innovation are not affected by the rise of the average working age.
To do this successfully, they should factor age into all aspects of human resource management. Firms that have analysed their age structure are already adopting age-friendly HR practices.
Above all companies should not underestimate the value of training to their companies. Employers consider training less important than product development, marketing and work organisation – yet all of these depend on well-trained, creative employees of all ages.
Employer representatives argued that small and medium companies face difficulties in providing training, as older workers form a greater proportion of their workforce than in larger companies Such SMEs need a strategy to identify training needs, implement training, and evaluate its results.
Older workers do have specific requirements for training. They want their own experience and knowledge to be taken seriously, and to be integrated into the learning experience. But they enjoy being part of an intergenerational learning environment. Only ICT training, they feel, may require classes separated by age.
Training programmes for entrepreneurship also tend to focus too narrowly on young people. As seminar participants heard, Europe lags behind Latin America in entrepreneurship training for this age group. In fact, ‘grey’ entrepreneurs, with their greater human and social capital, tend to be more successful.
The seminar was organised in cooperation with the European Commission in the context of 2012, European Year of Active Ageing.

The Changing Concerns of Higher Education. Examining The World Bank’s Papers on Higher Education Since 1994.  In this article Amy H. Ewen of the University of Kassel presents a historical comparative analysis of the World Bank reports on Higher Education. She critically engages with the proposals of the World Bank emphasizing its success and learning process. She briefly reviews some of the core tenets of the WB reports passing from access and equity to finance and institutional autonomy.
The World Bank has been active in supporting higher education since 1963.  In 1992, they began an internal review of Bank higher education projects from the previous 30 years (New Challenges, 2004).  Perhaps it was this review that led to the Bank’s first publication specifically addressing higher education two years later: “Higher Education: Lessons of Experience”, (hereafter referred to as “Lessons”).  The executive summary of this publication states from the start that higher education is in a state of crisis.  The reasons are primarily financial, and as a sort of trickle-down effect, the financial issues lead to several other concerns.  “In an era of widespread fiscal constraints, industrial as well as developing countries are grappling with the challenge of preserving or improving the quality of higher education as budgets are compressed” (Lessons, p. 2).  The executive summary goes on to discuss the particular challenges facing the developing world as a result of this crisis, outlining the circumstances under which these lessons were learned.
Since Lessons was published in 1994, the Bank has published four major policy papers on higher education.  In 1998 the Bank published Higher Education Relevance in the 21st Century, (hereafter referred to as “Higher Education Relevance”), by Michael Gibbons.  In 2000 the Bank published a paper in partnership with UNESCO entitled “Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise”, (hereafter referred to as “Peril and Promise”).
In 2002, the Bank published “Constructing Knowledge Societies: New Challenges for Tertiary Education”, (hereafter referred to as “New Challenges”), which also reflects upon the Bank’s history of support, calling it “piecemeal” (p. 100) and again noting the narrow focus.  Projects undertaken throughout the 1970’s and 1980’s tended to work primarily with top government officials, and relied only on a sound and intelligent proposal for reform (New Challenges, 2004).  This approach occasionally resulted in isolated successes, but without a comprehensive plan for follow up, these “well-equipped academic oases” (p. 100) could not be maintained.  There was often no follow up plan for sustained institution building.  It was soon realized that a system-wide approach would render more consistent and entrenched accomplishments (New Challenges, 2004).
Finally, in 2009 the Bank published “The Challenge of Establishing World Class Universities”, (hereafter referred to as “Establishing World Class Universities”) by Jamil Salmi. The Bank has published several other smaller papers addressing specific aspects of higher education which serve to supplement the major policy papers.  While each of the major papers has a specific focus, there are a few themes that are echoed in several papers.   However, The World Bank could not remain a relevant actor in the higher education arena if their studies and recommendation did not change and evolve to fit the times.  This article will examine the themes that emerge in the Bank’s publications.
Consistent and Evolving Themes
The problems of access and equity are often considered jointly in World Bank publications, and the implication is that one directly affects the other.  In order to address the problem of inequality in higher education, it may be beneficial to view it as a two-step process. Improving access will bring more applicants to the higher education system, and improving equity will bring a larger number and greater diversity of enrollees in the system. There are dozens of potential solutions to eliminating the inequality in a particular system, but deciding upon the most constructive strategy must come from understanding the nature of the problem. Still, in several Bank publications a few overarching solutions are identified that can help to increase access in equity in all cases.
First, the Bank advocates a focus on access to financial support for disadvantaged students. Students from wealthier families simply have more resources at their disposal, giving them an advantage when pursuing higher education (Peril and Promise, 2000). These patterns can be particularly degenerative in countries where there are high numbers of high quality private secondary schools. Students who are able to attend these schools are usually from families with higher income and often better prepared for public university entrance exams (New Challenges, 2004).  This leads to the second recommendation that the Bank makes: improved primary and secondary education for all classes, genders and groups.
Often, when a student from a disadvantaged minority is facing admission to a university, the system has already failed them.  It’s a harsh reality that many of these interventions “come too late to assist the cast majority of disadvantaged students, who have already suffered institutionalized discrimination in access to primary and secondary education” (New Challenges, p. 58).  Therefore, the Bank argues that improvements at the lower levels of education will improve student’s chances when pursuing higher education.
The last general solution that the Bank mentions is adapting admissions criteria and imposing admissions quotas.  (Lessons, 1994)  “Admissions quotas” eventually evolved into the practice of affirmative action, which is discussed at length in New Challenges.  The authors define affirmative action as “preferential treatment of minorities and disadvantaged groups” (p. 57). To be clear, while this practice is mentioned in more than one Bank publication, the Bank doesn’t fully advocate the use of affirmative action. The authors of Lessons concede that this is often the most direct way to increase representation of minorities in higher education, but cautions that it is “fraught with difficulties” (p. 78).  While it is important to ensure that admissions processes are fair and just, the integrity of the university cannot be compromised.  “Merit criteria cannot be relaxed.  Awarding degrees or certificates to people who do not deserve them cannot be in the public interest” (Peril and Promise, p. 41). This leads to the issue of quality.
“Today, more than ever before in human history, the wealth- or poverty- of nations depends on the quality of higher education.”  This quote from Malcolm Gillis, President of Rice University, is prominently displayed atop the first page of the introduction of Peril and Promise (2000).  Gillis expresses the weight of this issue so succinctly, and the Bank publications underscore the importance of higher education quality in the developing world.
The authors of Lessons state from the start that higher education is in a “state of crisis” (p. 1), and go on to discuss the effect that expansion has had on higher education systems. The crisis is “most acute” (p. 2) in the developing world, as higher education is the fastest growing segment of education, but responses to the growth have resulted in “fiscally unsustainable enrollments growth and a sharp decline in quality” (Lessons, p. 2).
The issue of expansion is also addressed in Peril and Promise.  As systems grow and enrollment rates continue to increase, the existing resources are stretched thin.  It’s a daunting task for universities and higher education systems to respond to the new phenomena, while maintaining quality (Peril and Promise, 2000).
New Challenges also addresses the issue of quality: “Many universities operate with overcrowded and deteriorating physical facilities, limited and obsolete library resources, insufficient equipment and instructional materials, outdated curricula, unqualified teaching staff, poorly prepared secondary students, and an absence of academic rigor and systematic evaluation of performance” (New Challenges, p. 58). This last point is of particular note, as regulation and accreditation have emerged as central aspects of quality control and assurance. The procedure of establishing external bodies to review and ensure quality is advocated repeatedly by the World Bank, and happily, most transition and developing countries have supported this practice fully.
Furthermore, the Bank has continually stressed that a successful higher education system needs government involvement.  However, the World Bank has also been consistent in their support of institutional autonomy.
In 1994, the World Bank stated that “greater institutional autonomy is the key to the successful reform of public higher education, especially reform aimed at more efficient use of resources” (Lessons, p. 63). Later, the Bank established a direct correlation between a lack of autonomy and an institution’s ability to stay relevant. When there is too much pressure for a national system to expand, more resources are put towards expansion and personnel costs, and less is earmarked for research.  Without the ability to conduct research, universities can no longer serve as relevant reference points for the rest of the knowledge society (Peril and Promise, 2000).
When universities are heavily dependent on government funds, often the result is a line-item budget that reflects the needs of the state, rather than the institution. This can have a stifling effect on research when there are funds allotted for it.  When the state is providing the funding for research, the topics and issues are frequently defined by the state (New Challenges, 2002).  Research institutions are left with the uncomfortable choice of rejecting state funding, or giving up their autonomy to do research that the state sees as relevant. The Bank recognizes and maintains that “autonomy remains largely an empty concept as long as institutions are dependent on a single government funding source” (Lessons, p. 64).
New Challenges presents institutional autonomy as an essential part of a successful transformation of public systems.  “Autonomous institutions are more responsive to incentives for quality improvement, resource diversification, and efficient use of available resources.  Tertiary education institutions must be in a position to exercise meaningful control over the principal factors affecting the quality and costs of their own programs” (p. 89).  It is important for institutions to have the ability to make swift changes in response to changing needs and circumstances.  The ability to make decisions and react quickly to one’s own unique circumstances will make an institution a stronger and more relevant part of the whole system.
The issue of relevance is a newer theme in World Bank publications, and is a key issue along with those discussed above.  However, relevance has not simply been added to this list, but has in effect become a key element of quality.  Eventually, “‘relevance’ in general will be translated into a nest of performance objectives relation to teaching quality and research performance, among others” (Gibbons, p. 2). In reading the Bank’s recent publications on higher education, it becomes clear that relevance has quickly become an essential issue in higher education reform.  In fact, New Challenges has a full section devoted to the matter of quality and relevance.  Conversely, Lessons has just one short paragraph mentioning relevance, and only in the context of ensuring “that institutions’ enrollment patterns and curricula reflect local skill requirements” (p. 74).  International relevance is not mentioned at all.
Another new issue addressed by the World Bank is that of “brain drain”.  A major obstacle in curbing the harmful effects of brain drain is that it is a global issue, and not one that can be dealt with by one national government or administration. It is this aspect of the problem that puts the World Bank and other global organizations in a unique and influential position.  The goal is not to hinder movement and internationalization, but to foster it in a mutually beneficial way.  In other words, it’s alright to have skilled people headed out of a country for schooling and employment, as long as there are a comparable number of skilled people coming in as well.
The Bank has set out a few recommendations for dealing with “brain drain” that serve to improve the situation in developing countries. Joint degrees, scholarships, increased funding for up to date equipment, allocation of funds for travel to supplement knowledge, and specializations in a particular field are among the suggestions that are offered (New Challenges, 2002). Peril and Promise does not offer specific strategies for combating “brain drain”, but rather outlines what the conditions should be to attract gifted individuals to a nation. “The retention of top-level talent in developing countries requires improved governance in higher education institutions, greater intellectual opportunities, higher professional salaries, and better working conditions” (p. 73).
Conclusions
The Bank has acknowledged their mixed record of success in higher education investment. As a result, with the publication of Lessons in 1994, the World Bank sought to make their investment in higher education more equitable and cost-effective, and “to support countries’ efforts to adopt policy reforms that will allow the subsector to operate more efficiently and at lower public cost” (Lessons, p. 13).  Eight years later, the authors of New Challenges echoed this concern that the Bank had not been entirely successful in their response to the needs of higher education. However, this time the criticism was that the Bank’s lending had not “matched the growing importance of tertiary education for economic and social development” (p. 2).
Once again we see that the changing global environment has steered the role of primary players. In 1994 the concluded goal was to assist higher education systems in using their existing funds to operate more efficiently, and in 2002 the presented goal was to engage the international community in a dialogue about investment in higher education.  The Bank can act as a “bridge-builder” (New Challenges, p. 107), and bring together stake-holders from across the education sectors.  It is no longer enough to work only with government officials. The reform of higher education affects every level and sub-section of the system, and representatives are needed from each level to make any change possible and productive (New Challenges, 2002).
It is also clear that basic education and higher education are no longer mutually exclusive. The quality of higher education directly affects the quality of primary and secondary education through training of teachers and administrators, and the quality of secondary school graduates has a direct influence on the quality of the higher institutions (New Challenges). In the earlier years of World Bank involvement, higher education was a relatively low priority in many developing nations, pushed to the side in favor of investment in basic education. The idea was perpetuated that investment in higher education yielded far lower returns than investments in primary and secondary education.  The result of this misleading, but generally accepted idea is that higher education systems in developing countries were under a tremendous strain (Peril and Promise). Currently, the link between higher education and basic education is recognized and a key component of education investment. New Challenges goes so far as to say “it is doubtful that any developing country could make significant progress toward achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for education—universal enrollment in primary education and elimination of gender disparities in primary and secondary education—without a strong tertiary education system” (p. 79).
The World Bank has been a consistent actor in the field of international education, and while there have been varying degrees of success over the course of their involvement, the Bank has learned from experience, and shared those lessons. After studying the Bank’s major publications over the past 15 years, it seems that there is a commitment to self-evaluation and a willingness to adapt as needed. The World Bank will be involved in the development and support of higher education in developing and developed countries for a long time to come, and with every project and investment, there will be lessons to learn and knowledge to share.
Reference List
Gibbons, Michael (1998). Higher Education Relevance in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: World Bank Publishing
Institution for Higher Education Policy (Ed.) (2007). College and University Ranking Systems; Global Perspectives and American Challenges. Washington, DC: Institute for Higher Education Policy Publishing
International Ranking Expert Group (IREG) (2006). Berlin Practices on Ranking of Higher Education Institutes. URL:  http://www.ireg-observatory.org/
Lin, Justin (2009). Foreword. In Salmi (2009) The Challenge of Creating World Class Universities. Washington, DC: World Bank Publishing , pp. ix – xi.
Salmi, Jamil (2009). The Challenge of Establishing World Class Universities. Washington, DC: World Bank Publishing
Task Force on Higher Education and Society (2000). Higher Education in Developing Countries: Peril and Promise. Washington, DC: World Bank Publishing
The World Bank (Ed.) (2002).Constructing Knowledge Societies:New Challenges for Tertiary Education. Washington, DC: World Bank Publishing
The World Bank (Ed.) (1994). Higher Education: The Lessons of Experience.  Washington DC: World Bank Publishing
The World Bank (Ed.) (1995).  Priorities and Strategies for Education. Washington, DC: World Bank Publishing
United Nations (n.d.) URL: http://www.un.org/ (Retrieved October 24, 2009)
World Bank Higher Education (n.d.). World Bank Higher Education website. URL: http://go.worldbank.org/ (Retrieved October 24, 2009)
World Bank Lending Figures (n.d.). World Bank Lending Figures website. URL: http://go.worldbank.org/ (Retrieved October 30, 2009).

Theme
The vast majority of analysts and actors in international higher education concede that internationalisation has come a long way during the past two decades. It moved from being a peripheral trait of institutional activities to the very core of institutional (and sometimes national-level) strategies, not only in the West, but in most corners of the world.  In what appears to be a close to global internationalisation euphoria, we cannot help but wonder if our understanding of this concept has managed to keep up with ever changing international, national and institutional realities. What do we truly mean when we talk about internationalisation today? What kind of activities and ambitions are now at the core of internationalisation? Are they the same as ten, twenty years ago, or have they tremendously changed? Was/is there a shared understanding of internationalisation at all, or should we rather use the plural when referring to this phenomenon? And more importantly, what are the implications for the years to come? What kind of internationalisation do we want and need for the future?
We find it timelier than ever to ask these questions and encourage a general reflection around this central concept. The last ACA European Policy Seminar (EPS) of the year - Internationalisation revisited - will provide a venue for this pressing debate, in the company of a host of highly-inspiring and extremely knowledgeable speakers from around the world.  The agenda will include: overviews of ongoing discussions within international fora and organisations; examinations of some of the “traditional” internationalisation activities (from cross-border student mobility, to curricular internationalisation and international partnerships) and recent trends in these areas; as well as nuanced views of this process from the institutional level.

The main aim of the EUROSTUDENT project is to collate comparable data on the social dimension of European higher education.
It focuses on the socio-economic background and on the living conditions of students, but it also investigates temporary international mobility. The project strives to provide reliable and insightful cross-country comparisons.
It does this through coupling a central coordination approach with a strong network of national partners in each participating country. In this way, an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the respective national frameworks in international comparison can be made.
The main users of our findings are higher education policy-makers at national and European level, researchers in this field, managers of higher education institutions and - of course - students all over Europe.
Next to publishing a comparative report towards the end of the project, we will provide national country profiles and make sure our results are being used in other studies on the social dimension of higher education in Europe. The fourth round of EUROSTUDENT began in November 2008 and will be completed in October 2011. 25 European countries are actively contributing to the project.
Comparative Reports
Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life in Europe. Synopsis of Indicators EIV. Conference Version June 2011.

As part of the German Rectors’ Conference’s (HRK) “Project nexus”, an international conference titled “Promoting International Student Mobility – Awarding Credit for Coursework, Recognising University Degrees” will take place in Beethovenhalle, Bonn, Germany on 8-9 November 2011. Programme.
The conference will address current issues and challenges concerning credit transfer and degree recognition as well as possible solutions. The objectives are to promote “best practices in line with the Lisbon Recognition Convention and offer solutions to existing problems, thereby contributing to the improvement of international student mobility”.
Themes and Objectives of the Conference
The way students decide to spend one or more semesters studying abroad, or to pursue a master's degree abroad, depends on many factors. One such factor is whether or not the coursework completed during their studies abroad will be recognized for credit when they return to their home institutions.
The “Project nexus” conference will address various topics concerning credit transfer and degree recognition and present possible solutions. The objectives are to promote best practices in line with the Lisbon Recognition Convention and offer solutions to existing problems, thereby contributing to the improvement of international student mobility.
The following topics will be addressed:
>Reference systems for the comparison of learning outcomes
>European cooperation agreements regarding credit transfer
>The ECTS Label
>Recognition of coursework and examinations as an aspect of quality management
>Learning outcomes and quality assurance
>Degree recognition
>Legal frameworks