Formation Continue du Supérieur

By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Editor. Taxpayer funding for universities should be withdrawn unless students are consulted fully on the appointment of principals and their salaries, MSPs have been told. The National Union of Students (NUS) led a major attack on a draft code of governance drawn up by the chairs of university governing bodies, arguing that it ignored reform in the hope of protecting vested interests.
Students must be given more power over the “appointment and appraisal” of principals along with helping set the pay packets of such senior officials, they argued. Read more...

Diane Schmitt gives the lecturer's perspective on the role English language plays in university learning and teaching
Where do you work and what is the focus of your role?
I teach on an MA in English language teaching at Nottingham Trent University (NTU) where most of my students are international. I also teach English for academic purposes (EAP), mainly in-sessional at the moment. Historically, when my university had a very small scale international office, its English language entry requirements were set based on my advice. Now this role is mainly carried out by staff in marketing.
What is your involvement in English language testing?
My main role is outside my institution working with BALEAP, a global forum for EAP professionals. Prior to becoming chair of BALEAP, I was testing officer on its executive for five years and led a working party that developed a new set of guidelines on English language tests for university entry. The aim was to raise awareness among admissions staff and decision makers in universities about how to select appropriate exams for assessing English language readiness for university. Essentially, the guidelines provide guidance on the right questions to ask about the validity and reliability of any given test in relation to making university admissions decisions. Read more...

Prochain webinaire #3 CAEI - Le rôle des langues dans la mobilité de la connaissance dans les Amériques
Patrick Chardenet, Responsable de l’antenne Amérique latine, Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF)
Mai 22, 2013, 14h00 (heure de Montréal, Canada). Langue: Français
La francophonie universitaire et scientifique joue un rôle dans la construction d'un espace interuniversitaire américain à la fois intégré et ouvert sur le monde. À cet égard, l'Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) favorise les différents types de mobilité internationale des chercheurs et des étudiants. Ces mobilités sont mises en œuvre dans un cadre plurilingue faisant du français parmi les autres langues, un vecteur du savoir dans un continuum variable, entre la production, la diffusion et l´enseignement des connaissances. De Monterrey à Montréal, de São Paulo à Moncton, de Buenos Aires à Port-au-Prince en passant par Dakar, Paris, Beyrouth ou Hanoï, la francophonie universitaire stimule la recherche et l’enseignement comme facteurs d’un développement durable partagé.
Ce Webinaire sera l’occasion de présenter les principes de cette politique et leur application par des exemples d´actions de mobilités mises en œuvre par l’AUF avec ses universités membres, ainsi que leurs perspectives dans l’université de demain.

Departmental, faculty or institutional teams are invited to join the EQUIP change programme.
The Evidence-informed quality improvement programme (EQUIP) is the latest change programme from the HEA and aims to help higher education providers take an evidence-informed approach to quality enhancement.
The programme is designed to enable providers to interpret internal and external data and work towards developing policies and practices to improve the quality of the student learning experience.
The HEA’s change team will provide support and expertise in change processes and organisational development. Previous institutional participants in the EQUIP change programme include The Open University, the University of Huddersfield and Newcastle University.
The Open University used the project to ‘understand the student experience in a changing world’ by rationalising and using quantitative and qualitative information from students about their experiences of modules and qualifications.
While at Huddersfield, EQUIP aided a focus on developing virtual learning environments (VLEs) to enhance the student learning experience.
Newcastle University’s participation in the change programme involved using evidence from UK and international students about their experiences to promote learning experiences abroad for UK students and to engage more effectively with incoming students.
The call for applications opens today (8 May 2013) and closes on 28 June 2013. The year-long programme will begin in September 2013.
Change Services
Higher education providers are experiencing unprecedented changes which are challenging traditional approaches to learning and teaching. The HEA offers a range of services designed to help institutions, faculties and/or departments adapt to these changes and thereby enhance the student learning experience.
CALL NOW OPEN
Evidence-informed quality improvement programme (EQUIP)
EQUIP is a one-year programme to help providers develop a widespread evidence-informed approach to quality enhancement. It will help HEIs to interpret and apply the institutional and national evidence to the learning experiences of their students.
The call for expressions of interest to participate is now open. The programme will run from Septembe 2013 to September 2014.
Click here for more information and to submit a proposal.
Current Change Programmes

• Green Academy
• Student Retention and Success
• Recognising Teaching Excellence
• Students as Partners
• Internationalisation

Overview of Services
Our short guide provides an overview of our services for 2012-13, the nature of our support and the benefits of participation. Download the HEA Short Guide to Change Services.
Past Change Programmes
Click here to view all past HEA Change Programmes.

Perspektywy Education Foundation announced the winners of the Perspektywy University Ranking 2013. The winner is Jagiellonian University of Krakow followed, by a narrow margin, by the University of Warsaw. Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznan took the third place. The Kozminski University was first among the Polish private higher education institutions.
In the Perspektywy University Ranking 2013 overall as many as 33 criteria were used, grouped into six categories: prestige - with the weight of 25%, academic strength (potential) – (15%), academic effectiveness (30%), studying environment (10%), internationalization (15%), and innovation (5%). The results of the Perspektywy University Ranking 2013 were announced in Warsaw in the presence of highest officials the Ministery of Science and Higher Education, the President of the Polish Academy of Sciences and members of the academic community.
To assure quality and transparency, the Board that supervised ranking process was composed of former rectors and outstanding public figures. Prof. Michal Kleiber, President of the Polish Academy of Science chaired the Ranking Board (Kapituła in Polish). In fact, Perspektywy ranking consists not of one but several rankings. The ranking of academic institutions (universities) is the main and the most important one but it there are also: ranking of master level private institutions, ranking of bachelor (engineer) level private institutions on, and ranking of state vocational institutions. Altogether 219 Polish higher education institutions were evaluated in the 2013 ranking. In addition to the Perspektywy University Ranking, Ranking by Field of Study was also published covering 40 most popular fields such as humanities, social sciences, nature, science, psychology, law, engineering, technology and IT.
The 14th edition of Perspektywy University Ranking was published together with a leading Polish daily newspaper “Rzeczpospolita”. All results are listed on www.perspektywy.pl (in Polish). More information: Waldemar Siwinski, w.siwinski@perspektywy.pl.

The NTEU Indigenous Policy Committee will conduct the 2013 NTEU National Indigenous Forum on Thursday the 23rd & Friday the 24th May at the Brambuk Cultural Centre, Halls Gap, Victoria. The theme for Forum 2013 is: Bargaining – What do we want?
Indigenous Forum 2013 will have a focus on the current Bargaining Round, in particular, the National Indigenous Claim incorporating numeric targets for maintaining and increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment in the Australian higher education sector.
A number of institutions have already finalised their negotiations for Round 6, while in the main, other institutions have either served their log of claims or are in the throes of negotiations.
While negotiations take place, the looming Federal Election in September presents the possibility for political change; we need to consider what this political change will bring and how it may influence bargaining outcomes?
This year’s Forum will also discuss the 2012 Review of Higher Education Access and Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People (Behrendt review), in particular how the new membership of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Advisory Council (formerly IHEAC) will seek to implement the 35 Review recommendations.
Indigenous Forum 2013 offers delegates the opportunity to provide input into the future development of NTEU Indigenous higher education policy and strategies, relating to Indigenous employment, student income support, research, teaching and social justice issues.
Registration — All those attending Indigenous Forum 2013 must submit a Registration form to the National Office by COB 1st May 2013.  Due to the need to coordinate bus travel to and from the airport it is important to get your registrations in by the due date.

Two Agencies admitted to Register at Committee meeting in Berlin
At its meeting in Berlin on 2/3 May 2013, the Register Committee renewed the registration of the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation of Spain (ANECA) and admitted the European Council on Chiropractic Education (ECCE) to the Register. Based on external reviews of the two agencies the Register Committee concluded that they operate in substantial compliance with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG).
Having satisfied the requirements of the EQAR Merger Policy, the Flemish Council of Universities and University Colleges' Quality Assurance Unit (VLUHR QAU), established as a result of a merger between the two quality assurance agencies VLIR and VLHORA (both admitted to the Register in 2009), was granted provisional registration. During the two-year period VLUHR QAU will have to undergo an external review against the ESG.
Register of quality assurance agencies
AAC-DEVA - Andalusian Agency of Knowledge, Department of Evaluation and Accreditation, Spain.
ACQUIN - Accreditation, Certification and Quality Assurance Institute, Germany.
ACSUCYL - Quality Assurance Agency for the University System of Castilla y León, Spain.
ACSUG - Agency for Quality Assurance in the Galician University System, Spain.
AEQES - Agence pour l'Evaluation de la Qualité de l'Enseignement Supérieur, Belgium.
AERES - Evaluation Agency for Research and Higher Education, France.
AHPGS – Accreditation Agency in Health and Social Sciences, Germany.
ANECA - National Agency for the Quality Assessment and Accreditation of Spain, Spain.
AQAS - Agency for Quality Assurance through Accreditation of Study Programmes, Germany.
AQU - Catalan University Quality Assurance Agency, Spain.
ARACIS – Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, Romania.
ASHE - Agency for Science and Higher Education, Croatia.
ASIIN e.V., Germany.
CTI - Engineering Degree Commission, France.
ECCE - European Council on Chiropractic Education, Germany.
EVA - Danish Evaluation Institute, Denmark.
evalag - Evaluation Agency Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
FIBAA - Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation, Germany.
FINHEEC - Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council, Finland.
IEP - Institutional Evaluation Programme, Switzerland.
NEAA - National Evalution and Accreditation Agency, Bulgaria.
NVAO - Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders, Netherlands.
OAQ - Swiss Center of Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education, Switzerland.
PKA - Polish Accreditation Committee, Poland.
QANU - Quality Assurance Netherlands Universities, Netherlands.
SKVC - Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education, Lithuania.
The Accreditation Institution, Denmark.
VLUHR QAU - Quality Assurance Unit of the Flemish Council of Universities and University Colleges, Belgium.
ZEvA - Central Evaluation and Accreditation Agency, Germany.