EURASHE is engaged in the development of policies on key issues for professional higher education. The association has 6 Working Groups with the purpose to research on existing documents and analyse current situation of PHE from the given aspect, develop and formulate policy positions on their area of expertise, and then develop an activity plan to further promote the policy: two of them (WG5 on Quality Assurance and Transparency Tools and WG6 on Lifelong Learning and Employability) were already active, while 4 of them have been set up in 2011. Each of them composed by a board member, who is responsible for liaising with the Board and Council on its chosen priorities, and 5-10 experts seconded by EURASHE member institutions.
EURASHE has 6 strategic priorities as follows:
1) Professional Higher Education and Profession-oriented Research
The objective is that Professional HEIs deliver graduates specifically tailored to the requirements of the labour market. Our continued advocacy on behalf of the sector strengthens their contribution to the new skills for new jobs strategy by ensuring relevant curricula adapted to labour market needs and thus preparing the graduates for new careers in the private and public sectors of tomorrow.
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EURASHE promotes and supports quality and innovative programmes linking teaching, applied research and cooperation with stakeholders. In this way, we strengthen the links between education, research and business and help our members to become innovation-friendly institutions.
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3) National Qualification Frameworks and Student-centred learning
EURASHE believes that National Qualifications Frameworks lie at the heart of efforts to transform higher education in Europe. They offer a means to increase significantly the opportunities for access, transfer and progression within and between different European educational jurisdictions while promoting employability and lifelong learning by offering multiple entry and access points.
Within frameworks, the establishment of learning outcomes as a central component places learners, rather than systems or institutions, at the heart of higher education. Learning outcomes, when fully implemented ensure appropriate attention to design, delivery and assessment and are at the heart of approaches to student-centred learning (SCL).
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4) Mobility and International Openness
We stimulate cross border cooperation amongst our members to adapt the content of the programmes through internship practice oriented exchanges, to meet the needs of exchange students looking to update their skills through study or training abroad. We continue to promote the EHEA outside of Europe, both for outgoing and incoming mobility purposes and for the enhanced international academic cooperation.
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5) Transparency Tools and Quality Assurance
Improving the quality, efficiency and relevance of education and training is a key priority for EURASHE. Thus, we are participating in a number of initiatives including WGs under the Bologna Process, the creation of a European multidimensional ranking tool for institutions, as well as the planned revision of the ESG, EQAR. EURASHE also increases members’ capacity as to the Institutional implementation of QA practices.
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6) Employability and Lifelong Learning
We focus our efforts on the harmonisation of the status of short-cycle higher education qualifications within National Frameworks, and support institutions in adapting their courses further to accommodate lifelong and adult learning. Professional HEIs in general contribute to increasing the number of graduates, attracting a broader cross-section of society into HE, especially via SCHE provisions. Thus, we contribute to the priorities of making lifelong learning a reality, whilst the short-cycle qualifications, often developed at the request of and in collaboration with the labour market, increase partnerships between E&T providers and businesses.
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They are based upon EURASHE’s “10 Commitments for EHEA in 2020 – Vision and Strategies“. It contains EURASHE’ s 10 Commitments for the European Higher Education Area in 2020 stating our Vision for the main priority areas identified in the Bologna Process, and the Strategies to realise them in the next decade.
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a. Formulating and/or elaborating a common policy position amongst professional higher education institutions with regards to the policy area (outcome: policy papers)
b. Building capacity amongst members to work with these topics, through research, sharing of best practice and training (otucome: a number of seminars per year, research papers and collection of best practise, training workshops)
c. Representing the views of professional HEIs towards policy makers in education (outcome: contributions to E&T 2020 policy formulation activities, Bologna Process WGs, other initiatives from CoE, UNESCO, EUCIS, OECD etc.)
