The Hybridization of Vocational Training and Higher Education in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

The book analyses the emergence of hybrid institutional forms in vocational training and higher education in three European countries in the context of Europeanization processes

New EU Instruments for Education: Vertical, Horizontal and Internal Tensions in the European Qualifications Framework

Traditionally constrained by the Treaty to subsidiary action, a number of innovative approaches for joint European coordination in the area of education have emerged in recent years. This article analyses a particular new European Union (EU) instrument for education – the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) – by examining the vertical, horizontal, and internal tensions within the instrument. Analysis of the vertical dimension identifies widening EU capacity for joint coordination through an informal widening of the subsidiarity principle and opportunities for diffusing EU preferences. Analysis of the horizontal coordination processes suggest that there is still some fragmentation in terms of coordinating the EQF across relevant sectors, even if emerging coordination can be identified in some areas. The internal tensions are related to the nature of the instrument that covers all levels and types of education. It is argued that these internal tensions remain, but the EQF has facilitated the development of a new arena for discussing policy coordination (EQFAG) that can, in the long run, reduce these tensions. While the impact of the EQF has been uneven and its implementation proceeded with various speed at this point, it nevertheless is a successful case of a particular Commission policy preference that has been gaining widespread acceptance across Europe in an area where coordination previously had been met with resistance

Global rankings in the Nordic region: challenging the identity of research-intensive universities?

Global university rankings currently attract considerable attention, and it is often assumed that such rankings may cause universities to prioritize activities and outcomes that will have a positive effect in their ranking position. A possible consequence of this could be the spread of a particular model of an ‘‘ideal’’ university. This article tests this assumption through an analysis of a sample of research-intensive universities in the Nordic region. Through document analysis and interviews with institutional leaders and staff from central administration, the study explores whether high-ranked Nordic universities take strategic measures as a response to global rankings, and whether the traditional identities of the universities are changing, as they are influenced and affected by the rankings. The study shows that rankings have a relatively modest impact on decision-making and strategic actions in the Nordic universities studied, and that there are few signs of rankings challenging the existing identities of the universities in this region

Evaluering av faglig understruktur ved Høgskolen i Bergen

Høgskolen i Bergen ga høsten 2015 NIFU i oppdrag å gjennomføre en evaluering av den faglige understrukturen ved høgskolen. HiB ønsket å knytte til seg ekstern kompetanse som kunne bidra til å vurdere om nåværende faglige understruktur var tilpasset interne, pågående prosesser, høgskolens strategiske mål og de krav og endringer som var varslet i regjeringens «Strukturmelding». Det har vært foretatt en gjennomgang av nåværende understruktur samt en vurdering av hvorvidt den fungerer hensiktsmessig sett opp mot interne og eksterne målsettinger og krav. Resultatene fra denne gjennomgangen, samt NIFUs vurdering av dagens modell foreligger i denne rapporten. I tillegg, basert på gjennomgangen og vurderingen forslår NIFU tre mulige modeller for fremtidig organisering av den faglige understrukturen ved HiB: 1) Instituttmodellen, 2) Avdelingsmodellen og 3) Graduate school modellen

Evaluering av faglig understruktur ved Høgskolen i Bergen

Høgskolen i Bergen ga høsten 2015 NIFU i oppdrag å gjennomføre en evaluering av den faglige understrukturen ved høgskolen. HiB ønsket å knytte til seg ekstern kompetanse som kunne bidra til å vurdere om nåværende faglige understruktur var tilpasset interne, pågående prosesser, høgskolens strategiske mål og de krav og endringer som var varslet i regjeringens «Strukturmelding». Det har vært foretatt en gjennomgang av nåværende understruktur samt en vurdering av hvorvidt den fungerer hensiktsmessig sett opp mot interne og eksterne målsettinger og krav. Resultatene fra denne gjennomgangen, samt NIFUs vurdering av dagens modell foreligger i denne rapporten. I tillegg, basert på gjennomgangen og vurderingen forslår NIFU tre mulige modeller for fremtidig organisering av den faglige understrukturen ved HiB: 1) Instituttmodellen, 2) Avdelingsmodellen og 3) Graduate school modellen

‘EU-on-demand’: developing national qualifications frameworks in a multi-level context

The development of comprehensive national qualifications frameworks (NQFs) across Europe has been sparked by the introduction of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in 2008. Taking an institutional perspective, this article examines the development of NQFs in three countries, in light of developments that have taken place at the European level. The three cases (Estonia, Ireland, Norway) show how these processes are highly dependent on the links to the European level, the sequence of the process, how the European initiative is coupled to national issues, actor involvement locally and the time available. The article shows the potentially problematic nature of introducing European solutions on a national level as agenda-setting processes can become omitted and ad hoc linkages to national policy domains can be weakly developed

Expert group institutionalization and task expansion in European education policy-making

The role of expertise has been considered as an important feature in EU governance processes, not least in the context of soft governance and policy coordination. This article focuses on how an advisory group can, over a short period of time, acquire a high degree of stability and legitimacy in a sector where joint action falls under the subsidiarity principle, and joint policy coordination on a European level has traditionally been difficult. With the introduction of the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) in 2008, an expert group (European Qualifications Framework Advisory Group, EQFAG) was created to support the national processes. From being established as a temporary expert group it became an informal advisory group in the area of lifelong learning, bridging the European and national levels in terms of debates for future action