Formation Continue du Supérieur

HEFCE is asking for views on its proposals on controlling student numbers from 2014-15 onwards.
The consultation asks for views on a more flexible approach to the student number control [Note 1]. It  has been developed in the context of the Government’s reforms to the funding and regulation of higher education in England [Note 2].
Each year HEFCE sets a student number control allocation for each institution it funds. The purpose of the control is to help manage public expenditure on higher education, while furthering the Government’s vision for a more diverse, dynamic higher education system that supports student choice and enables popular institutions to grow. For 2013-14, HEFCE is enabling universities and colleges to recruit to a certain level above their allocation without incurring a reduction in the grant they receive. In addition, students holding certain qualifications with high grades (currently set at ABB or above at A-level or certain equivalent qualifications) are exempt from the control. Read more...

Capital funding for directly funded further education colleges: 2013-14
1. This letter sets out the allocation of capital funding for learning and teaching infrastructure in further education colleges (FECs) funded directly by HEFCE for the financial year 2013-14. No action is required in response.
2. A total of £2 million is available to fund activity undertaken from April 2013 until March 2014. These funds will be paid automatically in three instalments in August 2013, November 2013 and February 2014.
Purpose of the funds
3. These allocations of capital funding are to help raise the quality of higher education (HE) learning and teaching facilities in FECs, to enhance the learning experience of their HE students. We expect colleges to use the funds in ways that will most effectively support their strategy for HE. The funds may be used to contribute towards:
    * investment in equipment used in learning, teaching and e-learning, particularly information technology (IT)-related equipment
    * replacement of premises for learning and teaching
    * refurbishment of existing teaching spaces, particularly involving IT-related enhancements, including improvements to internal IT networks or supporting infrastructure.
4. The funds should be used for HE provision, and may be subject to audit in the normal way. We recognise, however, that it may be neither feasible nor desirable to create ring-fenced boundaries between HE and further education (FE). For example, equipment purchased using these funds may be used by both HE and FE students. We look to colleges to adopt a pragmatic approach, whereby the primary focus of the projects is on HE even if there are links with, and marginal spin-off benefits for, FE.
5. We expect colleges to take account of the need to reduce carbon emissions as well as securing value for money in deciding how these funds are spent. Read more...

L'agence Europe-Education-Formation France organise un grand forum citoyen, « L'Europe, maintenant & ici », qui s'inscrit dans le cadre de l'Année européenne des citoyens, la semaine de l'Europe et le « Joli mois de l'Europe en Aquitaine ».
Tourné vers les préoccupations des citoyens d'aujourd'hui, dans une Europe en marche, ce forum ouvert au grand public, se veut participatif et interactif, avec des débats, des échanges et des respirations musicales.
Le stand de l'Association Jean Monnet proposera des animations et des jeux « Europe », tous publics.
Participez également à la Conférence de l'Agence: "L'esprit citoyenneté, l'esprit mobilité" qui se déroule le mardi 14 mai au Conseil régional d'Aquitaine.

By Marielk. Recently, we posted lecture recordings from the NOMA summer school. The NOMA programme is a cooperation project between University Western Cape, University of Oslo, Eduardo Mondlane University and CHET. However, as a cooperation programme, NOMA has also facilitated the emergence of a new set of young scholars in Africa, a whole continent and context that has previously been underrepresented in research on higher education world wide. In this post, we would like to introduce some of these scholars and their backgrounds:
Gerald Ouma (PhD) has published in Higher Education Studies, the most prestigious journal in higher education studies, he has been appointed Associate Professor at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), and he coordinates the new School (Institute) of Post‐School Studies at UWC (the only such faculty in Africa that will address post‐secondary education). In 2012 he served on the Funding Review Committee, and contributed to the Minster of Higher Education’s Funding Review report that will be released soon...

• HERANA: Contributions to regional development by University of Buea by Samuel Fongwa
• HERANA: More democracy through strenghtening higher education by dr Thierry Luescher-Mamashela
• Hedda Podcast – Interview with HERANA project manager and researcher Tracy Bailey

Read more...

Young people have long been an important focus of policy at EU level and this is particularly true today. The current EU Youth Strategy (2010–2018) has the challenging objectives of:
* providing more and equal opportunities for young people in education and in the labour market;
* encouraging young people to be active citizens and to participate in society.
Addressing the youth employment crisis is at the top of Europe's political agenda, giving rise to the European Commission's Youth Employment Package and the Youth Guarantee from the European Parliament and Council of the EU, among other measures.
The strategy is committed to evidence-based policymaking and Eurofound's mission to provide knowledge to assist in developing social and work-related policies is highly relevant here. Eurofound's four-year work programme 2013–2016 includes as a priority 'Youth in Europe - improving prospects for all'.
Crisis and jobs
Young people have been hit especially hard by the crisis. EU unemployment reached a record level of 10.9% in the first quarter of 2013, but the level among under-25s was much higher at 23.5%. In Greece and Spain more than half of young people were without work and rates in Portugal (38.2%) and Italy (37.8%) were also extremely high. With youth unemployment at such critical levels, the key questions are 'Where are the jobs?' and 'How else can young people be helped?' Eurofound's recent work provides a broad range of inputs to developing youth policy:

• Foundation Findings - Youth and work analyses the labour market situation of young people and provides policy pointers towards improving it;
• the study Helping young workers during the crisis: Contributions by social partners and public authorities describes and compares initiatives across the EU;
• Foundation Focus - Youth in Europe: Best days of their lives? brings together summaries of Eurofound research on job creation for young people, employment quality and sustainable work.

NEETs and exclusion
Serious though it is, youth unemployment is only part of the problem. A particular challenge arises in relation to young people not in employment, education or training (NEET). Eurofound's work in this area involves:

• the report NEETs - Young people not in employment, education or training: Characteristics, costs and policy responses in Europe, which researches the economic and social cost of the NEET phenomenon;
• the study on the Effectiveness of policy measures to increase the employment participation of young people;
• the comparative study Recent policy developments related to those not in employment, education and training (NEETs), which reviews the policy response to NEETs across the EU27 and Norway.

Crisis apart, some young people face particular difficulties in accessing employment: for example, those who have a disability or other health problem. A policy of active inclusion is seen as the most appropriate for addressing these difficulties and the implementation of this policy at national level in 11 EU Member States is covered in the Eurofound report Active inclusion of young people with disabilities or health problems which also has information from 44 case studies of good practice. The youth dimension is relevant across many areas of Eurofound research, including quality of life, where Eurofound's third European Quality of Life Survey (EQLS) 2012 found important differences between age groups in relation to quality of life, social inclusion and the quality of society. These can be seen in detail by using the age-group filter of the EQLS Survey Mapping Tool. Similarly, the fifth European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) revealed that some aspects of the working conditions of young workers (under 25) differ considerably from those of older workers. These include employment contracts, skills and workplace risks; results can be explored using the EWCS Survey Mapping Tool. Read more...

2 - 3 May 2013, Leuven, Belgium  Venue: The Leuven Institute for Ireland in Europe, Leuven, Belgium. The Social Investment Package, adopted by the European Commission on 20 February 2013, will be presented to Member States officials, elected representatives, civil society, social partners, the private sector and others.
Objectives
Special focus will be on the three key thematic elements of the Social Investment Package:
    * Investment: The Social Investment Package and its relevance to EU social policies in the future
    * Innovation: Why we need to foster Social Innovation and how we can put it into practice in the social economy and involving NGOs
    * Involvement: What vision of a social Europe do young Europeans want to see?
The event is organised in the framework of the Irish EU Presidency and will bring together 'actors' in social investment with a view to putting forward proposals for future joint actions in support of the implementation of the Social Investment Package. Read more...

Policymakers face an unprecedented challenge in reversing Europe's sharp rise in unemployment and in devising policies that will build a dynamic and resilient labour market. Under the European Employment Strategy, employment is central to the European Semester process to promote closer policy coordination between Member State governments. The European Commission's Employment Package of April 2012 proposes measures to support job creation, restore the dynamics of labour markets and reinforce coordination and multilateral surveillance in employment policy. The package also supports the objectives of Europe's growth strategy Europe 2020. Eurofound provides facts, figures and analysis to inform the development of policy on employment and jobs in Europe. Read more...

The economic crisis means that many more Europeans are at risk of unemployment, poverty and social exclusion, which threaten serious negative impacts for individuals and societies. In this situation, access to public services becomes more important than ever to citizens' quality of life.
The European Commission's Social Investment Package of February 2013 calls on EU governments to place more emphasis on social investment, to target spending efficiently on social protection and on areas such as healthcare, education and childcare. One of the reasons for doing so is the risk of missing the Europe 2020 target of lifting at least 20 million people out of poverty and social exclusion by 2020.
For policymakers to develop policies to promote social cohesion and address worrying divergence in quality of life measures across the EU they need detailed knowledge on the living standards and social situation of citizens. Studying living conditions and quality of life is one of the main remits of Eurofound. Read more...

Products by language
Basque - Breton - Catalan - Cornish - Corsican - Friulian - Gaelic - Galician - Ladin - Low German - Manx - Occitan - Sardinian - Sorbian - Welsh - Yiddish - Advice and networking.
Examples of participating organisations (by language)
Albanian - Alsatian - Aragonese - Asturian - Basque - Breton - Catalan - Corsican - Frisian - Friulian - Gaelic - Galician - Ladin - Occitan - Romani - Sami - Sorbian - Welsh - Yiddish.
Products by language
Basque
    * Best Practice - Best Language Teaching Method - www.languages.dk/methods
    * Herritartzen: Basque Radio Course - www.radiokultura.com/cours-de-basque
Breton
    * CRAMLAP - www.cramlap.org
Catalan
    * Best Practice - Best Language Teaching Method - www.languages.dk/methods
    * LINMITER - www.unilat.org/DTIL/Terminologie/Reseaux/Linmiter/fr
Cornish
    * CRAMLAP - www.cramlap.org
Corsican
* LINMITER - www.unilat.org/DTIL/Terminologie/Reseaux/Linmiter/fr
Friulian
    * LINMITER - www.unilat.org/DTIL/Terminologie/Reseaux/Linmiter/fr
    * ARLeF - www.arlef.it
Gaelic
    * Best Practice - Best Language Teaching Method - www.languages.dk/methods
    * CRAMLAP - www.cramlap.org
Galician
* LINMITER - www.unilat.org/DTIL/Terminologie/Reseaux/Linmiter/fr
Ladin
    * Ladin Standard - www.spell-termles.ladinia.net
    * LINMITER - www.unilat.org/DTIL/Terminologie/Reseaux/Linmiter/fr
Low German
    * Ostfriesischelandschaft - www.ostfriesischelandschaft.de
    * SIGURD - www.statvoks.no/sigurd/
Manx
    * CRAMLAP - www.cramlap.org
Occitan
    * LINMITER - www.unilat.org/DTIL/Terminologie/Reseaux/Linmiter/fr
Sardinian
    * LINMITER - www.unilat.org/DTIL/Terminologie/Reseaux/Linmiter/fr
Sorbian
    * Dictionnaire d'apprentissage interactif allemand/bas-sorabe – gcjm.dyndns.org/adnw/adnw.htm
Welsh
    * CRAMLAP - www.cramlap.org
    * Network of European Language Planning Boards - www.languageplanning.com
Yiddish
    * Dictionnaire Français-Yiddish - www.yiddishweb.com/medem/ Publications.html
Advice and networking
    * Network of European Language Planning Boards - www.languageplanning.com
    * ADUM - www.adum.info/adum
Examples of participating organisations (by language)
Albanian
    * Bashkia e Höres së Arbëreshëvet / Comune di Piana degli Albanese - www.pianalbanesi.it
Alsatian
    * ABCM
    * Eltern 68 - eltern68.free.fr
Aragonese
    * Ligallo de Fablans de l'Aragonés - www.fablans.org
Asturian
    * Academia de la Llingua Asturiana - www.academiadelallingua.com
Basque
    * Euskal Kultur Erakundea / Institut Culturel Basque - www.eke.org/eke
    * Eusko Ikaskuntza - www.eusko-ikaskuntza.org
    * Eusko Jaurlaritza / Gobierno Vasco - www.euskadi.net/r33-2219/es
    * GAIA - www.gaia.es
    * Hizkuntza Politikarako Sailburuordetza Eusko Jaurlaritzaren - www.kultura.ejgv.euskadi.net/r46-704/es
    * IKAS / Centre pédagogique Basque - www.ikas.org
    * Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea / Universidad del Pais Vasco - www.ehu.es
Breton
    * Radio Bro Gerne - www.antourtan.fr/radio/kerne/bzh/
    * Skol-Uhel Ar Vro / Institut Culturel de Bretagne - hicb.culture-bretagne.org/bzh
    * Dihun - www.dihun.com/
Catalan

• Associació Diomira - www.diomira.net/cast/index.htm
• Confederació de Comerç de Catalunya - www.confecomercat.es
• Fundació Congrés de Cultura Catalana - www.fundccc.cat
• Fundació Jaume Bofill - www.fbofill.cat
• Generalitat de Catalunya - www.gencat.net
• Institut d'Estudis Catalans - www.iecat.net/inici.htm
• La Bressola - www.bressola.cat
• Òmnium Cultural Catalunya Nord - www.omniumcultural.org
• Universitat Oberta de Catalunya - www.uoc.edu
• Ajuntament de Reus - www.reus.net

Corsican
    * CRDP Corse - www.crdp-corse.fr
Frisian
    * Fryske Akademy - www.fa.knaw.nl
    * Nordfriisk Instituut - www.nordfriiskinstituut.de
Friulian
    * Societât Filologjiche Furlane / Società Filologica Friulana - www.filologicafriulana.it
Gaelic
    * Sabhal Mòr Ostaig - www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/index_gd.html
    * Bord na Gàidhlig - www.bord-na-gaidhlig.org.uk
Galician

• CFR Ferrol - www.edu.xunta.es/centros/cfrferrol
• Concello de Melide - www.concellodemelide.org
• Confederación de Empresarios de Galicia - www.ceg.es
• Confederación Intersindical Galega - www.galizacig.com
• Nova Escola Galega - www.nova-escola-galega.org
• Xunta de Galicia - www.edu.xunta.es/web
• Asociación sócio-pedagóxica Galega - www.as-pg.com

Ladin
    * Union Generela di Ladins dla Dolomites - www.lauscdiladins.com
    * Istitut Culturel Ladin "Micurá de Rü" - www.altea.it/ladins
Occitan
    * Occitania - www.occitania.it/default.htm
    * In-Oc / L'Institut Occitan - www.in-oc.org
Romani
    * Union Romani - www.unionromani.org
Sami
    * Nordic Sami Institute - www.samiskhs.no/index.php?c=216&kat=International
Sorbian
    * Sorbisches Institut - www.serbski-institut.de
Welsh

• Canolfan Uwchefrydiau Cymreig a Cheltaidd Prifysgol Cymru - www.aber.ac.uk
• Eisteddfod genedlaethol Cymru - www.eisteddfod.org.uk
• Prifysgol Cymru Abertawe - www.swan.ac.uk/dace
• Prifysgol Cymru Bangor - www.bangor.ac.uk/ corporate/informationabout/ cymraeg/research.php
• Comisiynydd y Gymraeg/Welsh Language Commissioner - www.comisiynyddygymraeg.org/cymraeg/Pages/Hafan.aspx
• Network of European Language Planning Boards - www.languageplanning.com

Yiddish
    * Bibliothèque Medem - www.yiddishweb.com/medem.