Androulla Vassiliou, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, said: "My goal in setting up the group was to encourage new thinking and ideas. Its recommendations are timely, practical and do not necessarily require large amounts of additional expenditure. Quality teaching in our higher education and training systems is crucial for ensuring that students are equipped with the right blend of skills for their future personal and professional development. The Commission will do all it can to support the implementation of these recommendations."

Mary McAleese, chair of the group, added: "Quality teaching and learning depends on dedicated individuals and dedicated institutions, supported by policies that put teaching and learning at the centre. Higher education teaching staff have to be given the training and support they need to do an excellent job. Our report shows how this can be done."

The group, which was set up by Commission Vassiliou last September, has consulted widely with stakeholders as part of its work. It found that many higher education institutes place insufficient emphasis on teaching in comparison with research, even though both are core missions of higher education. "This needs rebalancing. The role of teaching in defining academic merit needs a stronger emphasis and recognition, especially in career terms," said the Commissioner. "I very much welcome the proposal that all teachers in higher education should be taught how to teach."

Next steps

The high level group will now begin work on the second part of its mission, focused on how to maximise the impact of new methods of delivering quality higher education, such as massive open online courses ('MOOCs'), which enable people to access higher education from their homes. Partners in 11 countries recently launched the first pan-European MOOCs with the support of the European Commission (IP/13/349). The high-level group's next report is due to be published in June 2014.

Background

The work of the high level group is part of the Commission's strategy to support the modernisation of higher education in the Member States. A lot of progress has already been made in this area. The Bologna Process, for instance, has made it easier for students to study aboard and have their qualifications recognised throughout Europe. A new multidimensional university ranking system, initiated by the Commission and due to publish its first findings early next year, will facilitate comparisons between universities so that students are able to make a more informed choice about where to study.

The European Agenda for the modernisation of higher education, endorsed by Education Ministers on 28-29 November 2011, identifies areas where EU countries need to do more to achieve their shared objectives and sets out how the European Union can support their modernisation policies. Priorities include improving the quality and relevance of higher education, so curricula meet the needs of students, employers and the careers of the future, as well as increasing the number of graduates. It promotes stronger cooperation between universities, businesses and research. The Agenda is a part of the Commission's wider Europe 2020 strategy to promote growth and jobs, in which education plays a key role.

Erasmus for All, the new programme for education, training, youth and sport, due for launch in January, will support policy reform in Member States, with a focus on strengthening the evidence base for policy making and exchange of good practices. The programme is expected to have a budget of around €14.5 billion for 2014-2020 - 40% more than the current programmes – and will provide grants for 4 million people to gain international experience and skills through study, training or volunteering abroad.

Annex 1:

High Level Group on the Modernisation of Higher Education

Recommendations for improving quality in teaching and learning

In its report, the High Level Group has mapped out pathways for improving quality in teaching and learning. Bearing in mind the different starting points of higher education institutions and countries, we have tried to offer a wide array of instruments, tools, and practical examples to show how different – and often quite straightforward – approaches can work. To come back to our starting point: teaching matters. Teaching matters as much as research matters. We must put the quality of teaching and learning centre-stage.

To this the recommendations are:

Recommendation 1

Public authorities responsible for higher education should ensure the existence of a sustainable, well-funded framework to support higher education institutions' efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

Recommendation 2

Every institution should develop and implement a strategy for the support and on-going improvement of the quality of teaching and learning, devoting the necessary level of human and financial resources to the task, and integrating this priority in its overall mission, giving teaching due parity with research.

Recommendation 3

Higher education institutions should encourage, welcome, and take account of student feed-back which could detect problems in the teaching and learning environment early on and lead to faster, more effective improvements.

Recommendation 4

All staff teaching in higher education institutions in 2020 should have received certified pedagogical training. Continuous professional education as teachers should become a requirement for teachers in the higher education sector.

Recommendation 5

Academic staff entrance, progression and promotion decisions should take account of an assessment of teaching competence alongside other factors.

Recommendation 6

Heads of institutions and institutional leaders should recognise and reward (e.g. through fellowships or awards) higher education teachers who make a significant contribution to improving the quality of teaching and learning, whether through their practice, or through their research into teaching and learning.

Recommendation 7

Curricula should be developed and monitored through dialogue and partnerships among teaching staff, students, graduates and labour market actors, drawing on new methods of teaching and learning, so that students acquire relevant skills that enhance their employability.

Recommendation 8

Student performance in learning activities should be assessed against clear and agreed learning outcomes, developed in partnership by all faculty members involved in their delivery.

Recommendation 9

Higher education institutions and national policy-makers in partnership with students should establish counselling, guidance, mentoring and tracking systems to support students into higher education, and on their way to graduation and beyond.

Recommendation 10

Higher education institutions should introduce and promote cross-, trans- and inter-disciplinary approaches to teaching, learning and assessment, helping students develop their breadth of understanding and entrepreneurial and innovative mindsets.

Recommendation 11

Higher education institutions – facilitated by public administrations and the EU – should support their teachers so they develop the skills for online and other forms of teaching and learning opened up by the digital era,, and should exploit the opportunities presented by technology to improve the quality of teaching and learning.

Recommendation 12

Higher education institutions should develop and implement holistic internationalisation strategies as an integral part of their overall mission and functions. Increased mobility of students and staff, international dimension of curricula, international experience of faculty, with a sufficient command of English and a second foreign language and intercultural competences, transnational delivery of courses and degrees, and international alliances should become indispensable components of higher education in Europe and beyond.

Recommendation 13

The European Union should support the implementation of these recommendations, in particular through promoting:

• innovative teaching and learning methodologies and pedagogical approaches;

• guidance, counselling and coaching methods;

• improved programme design, taking account of the latest research on human learning;

• the professionalization and development of teachers, trainers and staff;

• mobility and exchanges of academic staff for long term teaching assignments; and

• systematic and regular data collection on issues affecting the quality of teaching and learning.

Recommendation 14

The European Union should support the establishment of a European Academy for Teaching and Learning led by stakeholders, and inspired by the good practices reflected in this report.

Recommendation 15

Researchers supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions and who are intending a career in academia should be given the opportunity to gain professional teaching qualifications and be supported in teaching activities alongside their research.

Recommendation 16

Member States, in partnership with the regions, are encouraged to prioritise, in their Partnership Agreements under the Structural Funds, initiatives to support the development of pedagogical skills, the design and implementation programmes relevant to social and labour market needs, and the strengthening of partnerships between higher education, business and the research sector.

For more information

The agenda for modernisation of higher education

The report is available:

http://ec.europa.eu/education/higher-education/doc/modernisation_en.pdf

MEMO/13/581

European Commission: Education and training

Androulla Vassiliou's website

Follow Androulla Vassiliou on Twitter @VassiliouEU