European University Association annual report 2012

European University Association - EUA Annual Report 2012
Introduction - EUA: the largest and most comprehensive organisation representing European universities
With more than 850 members, including both universities and national rectors’ conferences, the European University Association (EUA) is the largest and most comprehensive organisation representing universities in Europe, with 17 million students enrolled at EUA’s member institutions. As the voice of European universities, EUA supports and takes forward the interests of universities and the sector as a whole. EUA provides unrivalled opportunities for members to share best practices by participating in projects, events and mutual learning activities involving a wide range of universities. Above all, EUA provides members with unique opportunities to influence and shape future European policies and initiatives affecting higher education and research. Through its work and contacts with the European Commission, Parliament and other key decision-makers, EUA ensures universities’ interests and concerns are taken up with all key stakeholders.
This year’s annual report outlines the different areas of EUA’s work over the course of the last twelve months: the first section looks at key developments in policy, project and other membership activities in 2012; section two provides an overview of EUA’s organisation, governance and membership development; the final section presents the financial statements of the association. The annexes compile details of all principal events, EUA position statements, projects and publications in 2012...
1. Learning and Teaching: Universities in the European Higher Education Area
EUA’s work on learning and teaching is undertaken in the context of developments at EU-level and within the broader framework of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). In 2012 the association’s priorities included providing input into the European Commission’s proposal for, and subsequent negotiations on, the content and budget of Erasmus for All, the next generation of EU programmes for education (2014-2020), and communicating the sector’s views in the context of the Bologna Process Ministerial discussions.
Based on the priorities highlighted by the university sector in EUA’s extensive membership consultation on the Erasmus for All proposal, such as the central role of recognition, funding and partnerships in enhancing mobility, a bilateral exchange took place between the European Commissioner for Education, Androulla Vassiliou, and the EUA Council in January. The association continued to feed the university perspective into related discussions with the Commission and Parliament throughout the year and in November issued a statement addressed to European heads of state and government ahead of the EU Budget Summit in November, outlining the reasons for prioritising investment in the education and research elements of the EU Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which sets out the EU budget for 2014-2020.
In April, an EUA delegation led by its President contributed to the discussion at the Bologna Process Ministerial Conference in Bucharest on the future priorities for the development of the European Higher Education Area in the context of the ongoing financial and economic crisis. EUA underlined the key issues at stake for its members, such as investing in higher education, strengthening mobility and enhancing quality, which were spelled out in detail in its Bologna input statement and taken up in the Bucharest Communiqué agreed by ministers. Much of EUA’s policy and project work over the year took up the topics highlighted in the Bucharest Communiqué. The results of the two-year TRACKIT research project, which examined the practice of tracking university students’ and graduates’ progression paths in 31 European countries, were thus published and widely disseminated. The report presented information on methods for tracking students’ and graduates’ progress at institutional and national level, and pointed to the positive impact of tracking in terms of raising awareness of teaching results and understanding student dropout rates. EUA also continued to monitor new developments in teaching and learning, for example by following closely the emergence and potential impact of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) on the European higher education landscape.
EUA also presented the outcomes of the MAUNIMO project, which explored how European universities are expanding and improving their mobility activities and strategies, thus picking up another key priority for both policy makers and universities. The project centred on better understanding mobility in an institutional context. The project report, which concluded with a series of reflections on linking mobility policies and practices, was disseminated widely to European higher education institutions, policy makers and other stakeholders in September. In the context of the EU-facilitated Pristina-Belgrade dialogue, EUA also assists in the process of certifying diplomas issued by universities in Kosovo or Serbia, as a means of facilitating the mobility of graduates in the region. Download EUA Annual Report 2012.