Formation Continue du Supérieur

The HEA is working in close partnership with four other organisations to support universities and colleges facing the challenges of learning technologies.
Changing the Learning Landscape (CLL) aims to bring about change in approaches to technology in learning and teaching within institutions. The project has already involved consultancy packages for institutional teams and strategy programmes for learning and teaching leaders, which are intended to help embed such technologies into academic practice.
The HEA is leading the professional development programme strand of the project, offering 12 free workshops for academics and education developers. The events will be held in a variety of locations and focus on different aspects of learning technologies. Topics will be discipline related and include social media, mobile learning and open practice.
The workshops are designed to appeal to staff who have had little or no experience of these learning technologies. The events will run between March and May 2013. For more information please visit the CLL pages of the HEA website.
CLL is the first collaborative project between these partners - Jisc, the National Union of Students (NUS), the Association for Learning Technology (ALT), the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education and the HEA. It has been funded by HEFCE. The project has also drawn on other agencies including SEDA and HEDG.

The European Commission has just published an independent study on the impact of the EU's eTwinning scheme. The study found that teachers who had participated in eTwinning improved their skills, their relations with pupils and developed their professional networks. Pupils felt more empowered and motivated and were better at team working. The study found eTwinning to be an easy and cost-effective way for schools to engage in international cooperation.

Miríada X, plataforma de Cursos Online Masivos en Abierto (MOOC’s), ofrece formación gratuita a través de 58 MOOC’s ofrecidos por 18 universidades iberoamericanas. Los usuarios de Miríada X pueden matricularse gratuitamente en todos aquellos cursos que sean de su interés. Pueden cursar estos programas formativos sean o no alumnos de la universidad que los imparte.
Miríada X ofrece a los equipos docentes de las 1.232 universidades iberoamericanas socias de la red Universia una plataforma para publicar e impartir MOOC’s, a los que se puede acceder desde cualquier parte del mundo de manera gratuita.
La información sobre los 58 MOOC’s se puede consultar en este listado de cursos.

Overview
When universities and colleges recruit new students, they cannot simply take as many as they might like. This is because the Government needs to control the level of publicly-funded student loans and grants for fees and maintenance.
Based on guidance from Government we set each institution a limit – or ‘student number control’ – on the number of students they may recruit. This limit is only designed to control the number of students entering university or college. It is not designed to influence decisions about the suitability of candidates. Universities and colleges are autonomous organisations and these decisions are entirely up to them. They have always admitted students on the basis of academic excellence and potential, and they should continue to do so.
The ‘high-grades’ policy
Not all students are included in the student number control. The Government is keen to encourage popular and successful universities and colleges to expand, and to improve student choice. So it has decided to allow universities and colleges to recruit as many students with high grades at A-level and certain equivalent qualifications (broadly defined each year by government policy) as they wish, and are able to, outside of their student number control. We call this the ‘high-grades’ policy.
We are responsible for putting the high-grades policy into practice and for identifying the high-grade qualifications from which institutions may recruit applicants without limit. To do this, we have developed a list of entry qualifications and grades which are exempt from the student number control – this is known as the ‘exemptions list’.   
The ‘exemptions list’
This ‘exemptions list’ does not include all high-grade qualifications. It does not, for example, include combinations of different qualifications, or qualifications from all other EU states. This is because we need to be able to estimate the numbers of students in the ‘uncontrolled’ population as accurately as possible, so that the Government can manage its budget.
If we were to include all EU qualifications, and combinations of qualifications - or admissions using contextual factors - it would be much more difficult to estimate this accurately.
How does this affect applications?
A number of schools and other organisations have expressed concerns that the high-grades policy may disadvantage some applicants. Where a student holds a combination of qualifications with high grades (such as a BTEC or the Cambridge Pre-U in combination with A-levels) this means they will form part of an institution’s controlled entry number. Some are concerned that institutions are less likely to take these students because they do not want to risk exceeding their student number control limit.
We have taken a number of steps to ensure that this should not happen:
Sufficient numbers
We believe that we are providing all universities and colleges with sufficient numbers in their student number control to enable them to admit high-achieving students with qualifications which are not on the exemptions list, and students with combinations of qualifications. This should also provide universities and colleges with the flexibility to make ‘contextual offers’ to students that are under-represented in higher education, if they so wish. (These are offers that take into account the context, and social and economic circumstances in which the applicant is applying for higher education.)
Appeals
We will work closely with universities and colleges to ensure that their student number control is set at a sufficient level. Any university or college which says it needs more places to continue to offer fair access to all applicants can appeal against its student number control. We will listen carefully to their concerns if we feel that there is any risk that students are not being treated fairly.
Highly selective institutions
We are particularly concerned to ensure that highly selective institutions (those with over 80 per cent of their intake falling within the ABB+ population) also have a student number control limit sufficient to allow them to continue to provide fair access to high-achieving students that do not meet our definition of ABB+ or equivalent. So we have allocated additional student places to the most selective universities which otherwise would have been left with a very small student number limit. Universities may still experience excess demand for places, and as in past years, not all applicants will be successful.
More flexibility
For the 2013-14 academic year, universities and colleges will also have more flexibility around their student number control allocation. They will have limited scope to exceed their allocation by up to 3 per cent without incurring a reduction for over-recruitment.
We have also explained to universities and colleges that the list of exemptions has been developed for the practical and limited purpose of implementing the Government’s student number control policy. It does not:
- provide an assessment of students’ academic achievements
- attempt to judge the educational value or equivalence of other qualifications or of combinations of qualifications
- serve as a tool to help universities and colleges make judgements about which students are suitable to admit or to whom to offer financial support.
For students and schools/colleges
This page is for students who are planning to apply to a university or college in 2013-14, and for their parents, teachers and careers advisers. It explains what the ‘high-grades’ policy is, and its implications for higher education applications. Universities and colleges are autonomous organisations and judge all applications on their academic merit and potential. They should offer fair access to all applicants...
For HE institutions
This page sets out changes to the ‘high-grades’ policy for 2013-14. It reminds higher education institutions of the purpose of the exemptions list, and the importance of ensuring that their admissions and other staff understand this purpose – in particular, so that they can communicate clearly and accurately with prospective students and schools/colleges, and make appropriate decisions...

Latest from Foundation Forum 2013 - Social and employment policies for a fair and competitive Europe,14–15 February 2013, Dublin Castle, Dublin, Ireland
Commissioner László Andor on social investment as a way out of the crisis
Social dimension of the EMU
If the crisis has taught us anything, it is the extent to which Member States' economies are dependent on each other. Increasingly, employment and social policies, and the attendant challenges faced by Member States are a matter of common concern, especially in the Euro zone. All these aspects represent a strong argument for a social dimension of the EMU to be developed without further delay.
In December, the European Council mandated the President of the Commission and of the European Council to develop proposals and a roadmap for ex-­ante coordination of major economic reforms, as well as for solidarity mechanisms to enhance these efforts. At the same time, the European Council has mandated both Presidents to present measures to develop the social dimension of the EMU, including social dialogue. In my view, the social dimension of a genuine EMU must be adequately reflected in the EMU's rules and governance mechanisms, to ensure that economic efficiency and social  equity are pursued simultaneously.
The proper functioning of the EMU requires that Member States work together to restore socio-­economic convergence, address employment and social imbalances that risk affecting the EMU as a whole, and set up solidarity mechanisms to support Member States in addressing those imbalances. The monetary union must be able to collectively address the key employment and social problems facing it. This requires that fiscal objectives are reconciled with employment and social ones. In practice, this also means that fiscal coordination should be supported by fiscal transfers, if these are needed to enable Member States to undertake structural reforms that will help restore growth and jobs.
While the economic crisis has been a stress-­test to the EMU, the way we reform the EMU is now a test for the entire EU integration.
Staffan Nilsson, EESC President highlights need for better functioning labour markets and more robust welfare systems
In regards to youth unemployment, the Committee currently works on the “Youth Employment Package” and welcomed the “Youth Guarantee” and the “Quality Framework on Traineeships”. These initiatives that help young people move from education to the labour market must be supported. The EESC agrees with the Commission’s priorities for tackling youth unemployment and we have just adopted our annual opinion on the Employment Guidelines. In this opinion we highlight a few additional important measures.
We need more social investment
The EESC congratulates the Commission for the launch of the "social investment package". The EESC shares the view that it is essentially impossible to "save one's way out of a crisis", and that countries can only "grow their way out of it". This means making sustainable investments in skills, infrastructure and products and promoting investment in social services. A long-term social investment and a short-term fiscal consolidation should be mutually supportive to help Europe tackle the crisis. These were my thoughts about these two complementing challenges which must be faced by the EU institutions and all EU Member States. I thank you for your attention and look forward to the continuation of the good cooperation between Eurofound and the EESC in the future!
Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Eamon Gilmore: Socially just response to crisis needed
The European Foundation’s mission
That is why the Foundation’s mission and its capacity to provide a toolkit for the European Institutions, the Member States and civil society is crucial. It ensures that the key actors in European social policy are equipped to make more informed decisions about managing the processes of change. That mission could not be more relevant than now.
This is a time when the European approach to the social market economy, which seeks to combine free markets with social solidarity and sensible regulation, is facing its biggest challenge yet. Reinforcing economic governance is essential to ensure trust in the effectiveness of European and national policies, to fulfil vital public functions, to protect citizens from the effects of unsound economic and fiscal policies, and to ensure a high level of growth and social welfare.
The Foundation’s strength is its capacity to provide timely, quality and relevant information to the EU Institutions, and especially the European Commission as well as to national governments and the social partners at EU and national level.
Eurofound’s activities cover a broad remit, touching on employment developments, quality of life issues, working conditions trends and analysis. These are the areas which impact most directly on the lives of Europe’s citizens today. Never before has the comparative work of Eurofound’s surveys, the European Quality of Life Survey, the European Working Conditions survey and the European Company Survey had more relevance as the European Union grapples with the challenges it faces in the economic and social fields.
The Foundation regularly produces publications or resources that inform decision-making between institutions at EU and national level. The ground-breaking study of the current situation of young people in Europe, focusing specifically on those who are not in employment, education or training is a recent example. Last week the Informal Council of Employment and Social Policy Ministers meeting here in Dublin Castle was given a presentation based on Eurofound’s assessment of the economic and social consequences of their disengagement from the labour market and education.
I would like to express my Government’s appreciation to Commissioner Lazslo Andor who has supported using Eurofound's conference centre facilities in Loughlinstown, County Dublin, for a series of events taking place during the course of the Presidency. Eurofound will also contribute to several EU Presidency conferences in areas related to the social policy debate. I hope that this kind of collaboration building upon the core areas of the Foundations’ expertise in the development of social and work-related policies can provide a model for subsequent Presidencies.
ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder, calls for jobs, social inclusion and growth to be at the top of the European agenda
The ILO’s Global Employment Trends 2013 shows that over 200 million people around the world will be unemployed this year, with this level expected to continue rising. In addition, almost 40 million have given up all hope of getting a job and dropped out of the labour market. Young people are particularly hard hit. In the Eurozone as a whole, youth unemployment tops 22 per cent, reaching more than 50 per cent in countries like Greece and Spain.
In Ireland, people are paying a high price for cleaning up the devastating consequences of irresponsible practices in the financial sector. Finding a fair and equitable solution to the sovereign debt issue which lifts the burden from the shoulders of workers, businesses and taxpayers is a priority if Ireland and other countries affected by sovereign debt are to get back to growth and job creation.
The EU must bring real substance to the social dimension, including social dialogue, as announced in the roadmap for completing the European economic and monetary union. It should help member states implement youth guarantee schemes, improve industrial diversification and innovation, boost effectiveness of labour market services, increase job creation and strengthen social investment.
The Irish EU Council Presidency has made it clear it is moving in that direction, announcing that jobs and growth will be high on its agenda. That is good news. At the same time, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, László Andor, has called for a monetary union with a human face, and is set to announce a social investment package later this month. Social dialogue is a major asset for the European Union. Unfortunately the collective bargaining systems that are the foundation for social dialogue have been weakened in several EU countries, which will make it all the more difficult for wages to stay in line with productivity.
The fact that Ireland holds the Presidency of the Council of the EU at this critical time presents an important opportunity to reassert the values of the social dialogue that played a key role in the recovery and growth of the Irish economy in the 1980s and 1990s.
The Forum brings together leading decision-makers, opinion-formers and academic experts, in a neutral setting to promote the exchange of new ideas and experiences on important issues. A programme is available. See Foundation Forum 2009, 2006, 2004 and 2002 for information on previous Forum events.

President Obama’s State of the Union address, delivered on February 12, 2013, generated unexpected attention to higher education accreditation. A document that accompanied the address, The President’s Plan For A Strong Middle Class & A Strong America, contained a section on “Holding colleges accountable for cost, value and quality” that stated:
“The President will call on Congress to consider value, affordability, and student outcomes in making determinations about which colleges and universities receive access to federal student aid, either by incorporating measures of value and affordability into the existing accreditation system; or by establishing a new, alternative system of accreditation that would provide pathways for higher education models and colleges to receive federal student aid based on performance and results.”
The suggestion that the federal government may consider a “new, alternative system of accreditation” was covered in publications including The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed and USA Today, all of which quoted the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). It also generated stories critical of the current system of accreditation in publications such as the American Enterprise Institute’s AEI Ideas.
The articles noted the unexpected nature of this discussion of accreditation accompanying the State of the Union address, which CHEA President Judith Eaton termed “startling.” “We understand the importance of the issues of affordability,” Eaton told USA Today. “But all the talk has been about, 'We want to make the existing system [of accreditation] work differently,' not (that) 'We need a different system.'”
Eaton and others quoted in the various articles said that they were unsure what next steps would be for the Administration. However, Inside Higher Ed quoted Amy Laitinen, Deputy Director for Higher Education at the New America Foundation, saying that “I think it’s a pretty big signal of where they [the Administration] want to go.”
CHEA will follow this issue closely and will keep member institutions and recognized accrediting organizations informed on any developments.