BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

The importance and size of short-cycle higher education (SCHE) in Europe and the United States has dramatically increased over the past three decades. Short-cycle higher education (SCHE), also known as Tertiary Short Cycle Education (EURASHE, 2003) and Intermediate Qualification Higher Education (Minister’s Conference, Bologna Process, Bergen 2005), refers to a wide variety of programs, which the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED, 1997) places at level ISCED 5B and defines as programs that are “typically of shorter duration compared to IESCED 5A programmes and are practical/technical/­occupationally specific in nature, although they may also cover some theoretical foundations” and whose duration is “at least 2 years full-time equivalent, but generally not more than 3 years,” or 180 ECTS credits maximum (p. 32). In the European Qualifications Framework, adopted at the London Conference of Ministers Responsible for Higher Education in 2007 and officially published by the European Commission in January 2008, SCHE programs were placed at level 5.

Two main factors have stimulated the extension of SCHE. One is the need to expand tertiary education in response to pressure from student aspirations and from the perception that in a flexible, knowledge-based economy, more people from varied social and economic backgrounds will need high-level skills such as communication, problem-solving and advanced vocational skills (OECD, 2004). The other factor reflects the pressure of market forces towards the development of programs that are more geographically accessible, financially more affordable, shorter, and more applied and vocationally oriented thus more responsive to employer needs. Although SCHE institutions (including Higher Education Institutions offering SCHE programs ‘within of linked to the bachelor’s degree’) and programs in the countries of Europe and the United States vary widely in purpose and function, one common feature applies to most of them. With one of their major functions being to train human capital for professional occupation, their links to the labor market are very strong. As a result, SCHE institutions have to be locally responsive and can serve as key agents of change in their regions and beyond. Their role in the social and economic development of the region and/or the state and country is thus crucial.

The critical role of SCHE programs in preparing people for dynamic labor markets and knowledge-based economies has attracted growing attention throughout Europe. In 2003, a comparative study of Tertiary Short Cycle Education in Europe (EURASHE) estimated that 2.5 million students were involved in a variety of SCHE programs across Europe. The large number of students educated in SCHE programs as well as the crucial role such programs play in preparing highly-skilled manpower for dynamic knowledge-driven economies has drawn increased attention in the Bologna Process. The 2005 Bergen Communiqué of the Conference of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education endorsed the “broader framework for qualifications for lifelong learning encompassing general education as well as vocational education and training” (European Qualifications Framework, 2008, p. 2). Short-cycle higher education programs have found a place in the European Qualifications Framework as programs offered within the first (bachelor’s) level of higher education (although their implementation is not mandatory for member states). Moreover, the European Association of Institutions of Higher Education (EURASHE) has organized a series of seminars on the topic in Amsterdam (2005), Blois (2006) and Stuttgart in 2007 (with a follow-up seminar to be organized in Prague in October of 2008). At the same time, several countries of the European Union have also undertaken measures to develop or revive their SCHE. Examples come from England, Wales and Northern Ireland where, alongside their ISCED 5B Higher National Diploma Degree, a Foundation Degree was introduced in 2001. France is yet another example where two kinds of SCHE degrees have existed for a long time: the Brevet de Technicien Supérier (BTS) /Diplôme Universitaire de Technologie (DUT) (équivalent DEUG) and the Diplôme d’Etat Spécialisé. Next, in the Netherlands, a new Associate Degree was introduced in 2006 while developments with SCHE programs are currently underway in the Flemish Community of Flanders. And countries such as Bulgaria and Romania have taken alternative steps towards reviving their formerly strong SCHE sectors.

In the United States, students educated in two-year public and private institutions comprised close to 40 percent, or 6,488,055 students, of total student enrolments in 2005 (The Chronicle of Higher Education, 2007, p. 10). The number of conferred associate degrees, a SCHE degree, has increased significantly since the 1970s with the majority of them granted by public colleges. It is also in the last thirty years or so that the role of America’s community, junior and technical colleges has dramatically increased. As William Winter stated, “Increasingly recognized by political and business leaders for their unique capabilities, these institutions... have had thrust upon them a myriad of missions looking to the solution of the nation’s social, economic and education problems” (Katsinas and Lacey, 1989, p. 6). Across the country, the vital role of two-year institutions in responding to the needs of their communities and beyond, in bridging the gap between secondary and higher education and in creating maturing partnerships with four-year colleges and universities and local and national industries has been undisputed.

 

References

EURASHE: Kirsch, Beernaert and Norgaard. (2003). Tertiary Short Cycle Education in Europe,  A Comparative Study. EURASHE. Last retrieved on March 25, 2008 from www.bologna-bergen2005.no/EN/Part_org/EURASHE/0305_EURASHE_Short_Cycle.pdf

European Qualifications Framework, last retrieved on March 25, 2008 from http://ec.europa.eu/education/policies/educ/eqf/rec08_en.pdf

Katsinas, S. & Lacey, V. (1989). Community Colleges and Economic Development: Models of  Institutional Effectiveness. American Association of Community and Junior Colleges, Washington, D.C.

OECD. (2004). Education Policy Analysis. OECD.

The Chronicle of Higher Education. (August 31, 2007). Chronicle Almanac 2007-2008. The Chronicle of Higher Education, volume LIV, Number 1.