Quality assurance in higher education establishments in Europe

Source http://www.ue2008.fr/PFUE/lang/en/accueil/PFUE-09_2008/PFUE-09.09.2008/Conference_L_assurance_qualite_dans_les_etablissements_d_enseignement_superieur_en_Europe



This conference, to be held on 9 -10 September in Strasbourg, should be a step towards extending the procedures which guarantee the quality of educational courses and qualifications throughout Europe and beyond by means of the "Bologna process", which aims to promote the European system of training and higher education.

Valérie Pécresse, the French Minister for Higher Education and Research, will open the conference organised in the framework of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union on Tuesday 9 September 2008 at 9.30 in Strasbourg.

Marius Rubiralta, the Spanish Secretary of State for Universities; Athanasios Kyriazis, the Greek Secretary of State for Higher Education; Adrien Zeller, the President of the Alsace region; and Odile Quintin, the Director General for Education and Culture at the European Commission, will also address the conference.

Quality assurance is one of the French Presidency’s priorities with regard to higher education policy, along with mobility and opening up universities to lifelong learning. It aims to guarantee the quality of education for students, teachers and researchers who are working or studying outside their home country in order to facilitate exchanges at European level.

The conference will address the question of how to assess the quality of higher education in the context of increasing autonomy for higher education establishments in Europe. It will focus on two issues:

• the nature of the link between an establishment’s policy and the quality of the education it provides

• the assessment of training and research within educational establishments

This conference should lead to a set of recommendations that will be presented at the Education Council meeting on 20 – 21 November 2008.

Following her opening address, Valérie Pécresse, the French Minister for Higher Education and Research, will hold a press conference at 10.00.