tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/higher-education-europe-9709/articlesHigher education Europe – The Conversation2015-03-12T06:24:08Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/377832015-03-12T06:24:08Z2015-03-12T06:24:08ZWhat are universities becoming? A plea from the future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/74069/original/image-20150306-13579-n4q3vq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Their successors could enter a very different world.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/a_sorense/2586961309/sizes/l">a_sorense</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The role of the university as a place of education and research, as an employer, and as an important part of the social landscape has changed dramatically in the past decade. </p>
<p>As PhD students from various European and North American academic backgrounds, we are keenly aware of these developments and have been involved within or against them – often both at the same time. One of the most pressing issues from our perspective is that of the workforce in universities, especially the collapse of working conditions for many academic and non-academic staff.</p>
<p>Professors, who once enjoyed excellent working conditions in Europe and North America, are now being subjected to stricter, stranger, and more noxious standards. They are pressured into constant external grant applications, and are threatened with severe sanctions if the administration considers the results of this search inadequate. The <a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/imperial-college-professor-stefan-grimm-was-given-grant-income-target/2017369.article">case of Stefan Grimm</a>, a professor at Imperial College London who was found dead in September 2014 shortly after a distressing email exchange about funding, is one tragic example. </p>
<p>Professors are increasingly being judged according to various forms of ranking, both state sponsored (such as the <a href="http://www.ref.ac.uk/">Research Excellence Framework</a> in the UK) and international ones such as the <a href="http://www.shanghairanking.com/">Shanghai ranking</a> and the Times Higher Education ranking of global reputation. These rankings, <a href="http://www.lrb.co.uk/v35/n20/stefan-collini/sold-out">as Cambridge historian Stefan Collini argues</a>, do not actually reflect the excellence of the research, or the quality of the university. And yet, they <a href="http://campus.lemonde.fr/campus/article/2015/01/29/les-classements-obsession-risquee-des-universites_4566532_4401467.html?xtmc=classements_universites&xtcr=1">matter tremendously</a> to university administrators, students, and state officials.</p>
<h2>Working conditions under strain</h2>
<p>Of course, professors are not the only academic workers at a university. There are throngs of other individuals involved in the production of knowledge. These include temporary teaching staff, “research assistants”, or graduate students who often combine their own thesis-related work with teaching and with non-thesis related “research assistance”. It has been argued that some of these schemes provide valuable experience for graduate students, allowing them to be more competitive in the <a href="http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/hundreds-of-phd-students-chasing-every-early-career-post/2016799.article">clogged-up academic labour market</a>.</p>
<p>But this experience can come with unpleasant strings attached, such as less than adequate <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-2338.2004.00299.x/abstract">working conditions</a>. Or teaching opportunities without pay, as <a href="http://www.eui.eu/News/2014/04-23EUIandFirenze.aspx">recently proposed</a> by our own institution, the European University Institute.</p>
<p>Temporary teaching staff are frequently employed in dire conditions, as <a href="http://www.temple.edu/tempress/titles/1956_reg.html">in the United States</a>, but also in the “social-democratic paradises” of Scandinavia. High competition, low pay, few to no benefits and very unstable contracts have become the rule, rather than the exception. <a href="http://www.universitetsavisa.no/forskning/article44987.ece">In Norway</a>, for example, as much as 20% of all university and college employees are hired on temporary contracts. </p>
<p>Such harsh conditions make it particularly difficult for members of historically disadvantaged groups, such as women, people from lower social classes, and those with a migrant background to succeed, as they are the ones most affected by the low pay and lack of benefits. The result is a less socially and intellectually diverse university.</p>
<h2>Labour issues boil over</h2>
<p>We should not forget that an often neglected but huge part of the university-employed labour force consists of non-academic staff. As an institution, the university does not simply produce knowledge – it also consumes a vast amount of services. These run from university administration to cleaning and catering. </p>
<p>The workers who perform these tasks are to a significant extent, the life-blood of the university. And yet their important contribution often remains unnoticed even when their working conditions, and therefore their livelihoods, are being attacked, as has happened in recent years. As with young academics, those who are overwhelmingly affected by these degrading labour conditions come from <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/book/10.1002/9781118349229">underprivileged backgrounds</a>. They are often women, migrants or both and do not usually have ready access to the media to fight back.</p>
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<span class="caption">Protests at McGill University, Montreal, in 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/shahk/6349505648/sizes/l">shahk</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>In late 2011, in Montreal, members of the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association <a href="http://www.mcgilldaily.com/2011/09/munaca-declares-strike/">went on strike</a> for almost four months. They did so in opposition to a new contract proposed by the administration. The university wanted wage cuts in real terms, and negative (or dangerous) changes to benefit schemes including pensions. </p>
<p>Across the Atlantic in 2013, students and staff at the University of Sussex, occupied a medical school lecture theatre, protesting against the university’s <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/01/why-we-are-occupying-sussex-university">continued privatisation</a> of services that threatened working conditions of staff including porters, caterers and security workers.</p>
<h2>State-led privatisation</h2>
<p>The responsibility of national governments for “marketisation” and the drive for privatisation in higher education is sometimes underestimated, both within and outside academia. Reforms aimed at privatisation are very often the result of <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/non-fiction/2010/01/neoliberal-state-market-social">government intervention</a> in the management of universities, and have been imposed from the top down. This has been done by governments of both the centre-right and the centre-left. </p>
<p>Similarly, resistance to these trends comes from both a diverse alliance of the radical-left, who draw on theories of <a href="http://publicuniversity.org.uk/2012/04/26/the-challenge-of-financialization-%E2%80%A6/">financialisation</a> and neo-liberalism to explain our current economic situation, and from more conservative scholars who see themselves as the protectors of ancient academic tradition.</p>
<p>As young scholars, we are part of the university’s future. It seems evident to us that we should ask questions about <a href="http://www.penguin.co.uk/books/what-are-universities-for/9780141970370/">what universities are for</a>. But in so doing, we must not forget to ask another, bolder question: “what should universities be?” </p>
<p>There is no “going back” to any perceived golden age, but it is beyond doubt that there are aspects both of the academic tradition and of the post-war ideal of affordable or free higher education that are worth defending. As institutions charged with the important task of producing new knowledge, universities should not be desperately mimicking already outdated forms of corporate organisation, but rather be leading the way towards something better. </p>
<p><em>This article was written with the assistance of Tiago Matos, Kimon Markatos, Hannah Elsisi and Tommaso Giordani. It is part of a series on <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/universities-at-the-crossroads">Universities at the crossroads</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/37783/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John-Erik Hansson receives funding from the Swedish research council (Vetenskapsrådet). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nguyen Vu Thuc Linh receives funding for her PhD from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland and from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Poland.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ola Innset receives funding from the Norwegian Research Council. Is a member of the Rødt political party in Norway.</span></em></p>A warning from a group of PhD students about the path universities are on.John-Erik Hansson, PhD student, European University InstituteNguyen Vu Thuc Linh, PhD Student, European University InstituteOla Innset, Phd Student, European University InstituteLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/369222015-02-17T06:13:11Z2015-02-17T06:13:11ZWhy Finland and Norway still shun university tuition fees – even for international students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72007/original/image-20150213-13188-1vd5dku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">International students: you can still study for free in Helsinki. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hugovk/10390820706/sizes/l">hugovk</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>All the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – provide higher education free of charge for their own citizens and, until recently, international students have been able to study free too. But in 2006, Denmark introduced tuition fees for international students coming from outside the European Union and European Economic Area. In 2011, Sweden followed suit. Now only Finland, Norway, Iceland and Germany do not collect tuition fees from international students.</p>
<p>Despite some moves to introduce fees, all these countries remain real exceptions in a world where international students are often a lucrative source of income for universities. </p>
<p>In Finland, the issue reared its head again last year when <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=2014110615485070">the government</a> proposed that universities would be able to introduce fees for international students coming from outside the EU after 2016. After a lively public debate, in January the Finnish government <a href="http://thepienews.com/news/finland-gov-abandons-introduction-of-tuition-fees-for-non-eu/">decided not to go ahead with the proposals</a>. </p>
<p>Researcher Leasa Weimer’s <a>recent study</a> concluded that the main actors opposing tuition fees were the powerful Finnish student organisations. They feared that collecting tuition fees from international students would open the gate to tuition fee reform for national students as well. </p>
<p>Those students, politicians and academics resisting tuition fees also said that a tuition-free system supports international social justice by giving students from developing countries an opportunity to participate in higher education. </p>
<p>They also argued that the introduction of tuition fees would undermine Finnish internationalisation efforts as it would be likely to lead to a significant decrease in the number of international students – as happened in Denmark and Sweden after the introduction of tuition fees there. In Sweden the drop was 80% <a href="http://www.uk-ambetet.se/statisticsfollowup/annualstatisticsonhighereducationinsweden.4.7ff11ece146297d1aa652b.html#h-HighereducationinSweden2014statusreport">during the two years</a> following the introduction of fees. </p>
<h2>New source of revenue</h2>
<p>On the other side of the debate, the promoters of tuition fees – which include university managers, the ministry of education and business representatives – advocated a neo-liberal stance on education as a private good. They argued that competition for international students would enhance the quality of teaching and make Finnish universities more competitive in the international marketplace.</p>
<p>They also pointed out that it was unfair for Finnish taxpayers to pay for the education of international migrants’ coming to Finland where they also enjoy good social benefits. This argument has gained traction as a populist political view in Finland. Promoters also claimed that international students would be a new source of revenue for universities.</p>
<p>In November, Norway’s <a href="http://www.universityworldnews.com/article.php?story=20141127172341464">government backed down</a> from a <a href="http://www.tnp.no/norway/panorama/4636-norway-to-introduce-tuition-fees-at-universities">proposal to introduce fees</a>. The main arguments against the reform were quite similar to those aired in Finland: student organisations, in particular, feared a “domino effect” by which tuition fees for international students would be the first step in introducing them for domestic students. </p>
<p>The rectors of Northern universities and university colleges – some of which are geographically remote – <a href="http://www.nrk.no/nordland/vil-innfore-studieavgift-1.11974696">argued</a> that they would lose many international students, especially Chinese and Russian students, if they started charging tuition fees. </p>
<p>According to Agnete Vabo at the Norwegian Institute for Studies in Higher Education and Research, the leaders of the most prestigious universities in Norway also argued that tuition fees would mean a great loss in terms of maintaining the diversity and quality of the international student population. In a globalised world this would be very problematic. </p>
<h2>Equality key in Nordic model</h2>
<p>We know that education is expensive everywhere – including in Nordic countries – and that someone has to pay for it. The crucial question is who. But to answer this, it is important to pay attention to the differences between the societal goals and social dynamics of higher education in Nordic countries and countries which charge university tuition fees, such as the UK, US or Australia. </p>
<p>The Nordic higher education systems are almost entirely publicly funded. According to <a href="http://www.oecd.org/edu/Education-at-a-Glance-2014.pdf">OECD Education at a Glance 2014</a> the proportion of public funding varies between just under 90% in Sweden and 96% in Norway and Finland, whereas in England only 30% of the costs of higher education are paid by the public purse. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71964/original/image-20150213-13198-u340wc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71964/original/image-20150213-13198-u340wc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/71964/original/image-20150213-13198-u340wc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71964/original/image-20150213-13198-u340wc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71964/original/image-20150213-13198-u340wc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=318&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71964/original/image-20150213-13198-u340wc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71964/original/image-20150213-13198-u340wc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/71964/original/image-20150213-13198-u340wc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="attribution"><a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p>All Nordic countries also have a strong tradition of equality, which in education translates into offering equal educational opportunities for all citizens. The Nordic countries have policies to encourage gender equality and to support students from lower socio-economic groups to enter universities. </p>
<p>As a result, there is greater equality of educational opportunity in Nordic countries. Finnish students whose parents went to university are only 1.4 times as likely to participate in tertiary education as their peers whose parents did not got to university, according to the OECD. In Sweden, a young person with university-educated parents is 2.3 times more likely to go to university themselves, while in the UK they are six times more likely.</p>
<p>Yet perhaps the most important difference between the Nordic countries and countries such as the UK is the ethos of education as a civil right and a public service rather than a commodity. Degrees are not seen as commodities to be exchanged in the marketplace. </p>
<p>As the cases of Sweden and Denmark show, the neo-liberal argument for education is not unknown in Nordic countries. But a strong counterargument is rooted in the values of Nordic welfare societies which see higher education primarily as an equality issue. </p>
<p>A high level of education is beneficial for the development of society including business and industry, making it a collective economic issue. With this argument, education is defined neither as a private investment nor a commodity, but a civil right. So, individual human beings should not have to pay for it.</p>
<hr>
<p>Next read: <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-germany-managed-to-abolish-university-tuition-fees-32529">How Germany managed to abolish university tuition fees</a></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36922/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jussi Välimaa has received funding from the European Science Foundation, The Finnish Academy, European Commission, Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture, Finnish Work environment Development Foundation and from other public funding agencies.</span></em></p>All the Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – provide higher education free of charge for their own citizens and, until recently, international students have been able to study…Jussi Välimaa, Professor, Finnish Institute for Educational Research, University of JyväskyläLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/267832014-05-22T12:57:03Z2014-05-22T12:57:03ZUK students trailing EU peers on take up of Erasmus exchanges<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49136/original/6zfdyqc5-1400669025.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We're not planning to miss out.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iscteiul/5407341560/sizes/l">ISCTE - Instituto Universitário de Lisboa </a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htm">Erasmus+</a> programme, which aims to boost the number of students and staff studying and working abroad across the European Union, started on January 1 2014. It will provide €14bn to 33 countries over the next seven years. </p>
<p>The money will be used to fund students and staff to undertake education and training opportunities overseas, with an estimated €940m set to go to the UK. </p>
<p>With almost 5m people across Europe expected to take part in Erasmus+ between 2014 and 2020 (double the number of those who currently participate in the programme) the move to the new programme presents a good opportunity to ask why Erasmus matters, and whether UK students advantage of it enough.</p>
<p>Although the UK saw steady increases in the number of students who took part in the EU’s former Erasmus scheme, it is still behind key competitors. France, Germany, Italy, Poland and Spain all send out more students, and are closer to hitting the <a href="http://www.ehea.info/Uploads/%281%29/2012%20EHEA%20Mobility%20Strategy.pdf">European Higher Education Area’s target</a> of 20% student mobility by 2020.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49036/original/yqpt53v5-1400601541.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49036/original/yqpt53v5-1400601541.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49036/original/yqpt53v5-1400601541.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49036/original/yqpt53v5-1400601541.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49036/original/yqpt53v5-1400601541.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=325&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49036/original/yqpt53v5-1400601541.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49036/original/yqpt53v5-1400601541.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49036/original/yqpt53v5-1400601541.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Outgoing UK Erasmus Student Mobility 2007-2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">UK International Unit</span></span>
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<p>In 2011-2012, only 13,662 UK students participated in the Erasmus scheme in either study or work placements, compared to Spain with 39,545 students, Germany with 33,363 and France with 33,269. While the UK receives more than twice the number of students it sends abroad, France sends 4,305 more students (33,269) than it receives (28,964). </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49034/original/rrcny9zz-1400601378.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49034/original/rrcny9zz-1400601378.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/49034/original/rrcny9zz-1400601378.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49034/original/rrcny9zz-1400601378.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49034/original/rrcny9zz-1400601378.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=364&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49034/original/rrcny9zz-1400601378.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49034/original/rrcny9zz-1400601378.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/49034/original/rrcny9zz-1400601378.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Erasmus student mobility in selected countries (2011/12)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">British Council</span></span>
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<p>Higher education institutions are increasingly highlighting the role of overseas experience in the acquisition of skills for life and work. Testimonials from students who have participated in Erasmus describe the experience as life changing, offering them the chance to experience new cultures, understand different ways of working and to grow in independence and confidence. </p>
<p>Students tell us that time spent proving yourself overseas is a key way in which to boost job prospects in a competitive market. Employers also value the ability Erasmus students have to work with people from other cultures in addition to their formal qualifications. </p>
<p>In recognition of this, a 2011 report by the Council for Industry and Higher Education’s (now National Centre for Universities and Business), <a href="http://www.agcas.org.uk/agcas_resources/401-Global-Graduates-into-Global-Leaders">Global Graduates into Global Leaders</a>, urged graduates seeking work to develop “global employability skills” to help them succeed in what is now an increasingly competitive international marketplace. </p>
<p>We know that employers – whether local, national or multinational – want graduates who can bring something “over and above” core graduate skills. We shouldn’t forget that student mobility can also influence more than careers – with the <a href="http://www.britishcouncil.org/erasmus-benefits.htm">British Council website claiming</a> that 1 in 10 students met their partners during an Erasmus exchange.</p>
<p>One of the best aspects of the previous Erasmus scheme – the monthly grant it provided to students to help fund the cost of living overseas – is set to continue. Additionally, Erasmus+, will give students a grant to study or work in a partner country which is not part of the Erasmus programme for the first time, as well as a Masters loan scheme to help fund students who want to take up post-graduate study overseas. </p>
<p>UK students will also benefit from a fee cap that will offer a reduction of up to 85% in their tuition fees. Although from the next academic year, <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/277479/bis-14-587-higher-education-student-support-and-european-university-institute-amendment-regulations-2013-equality-impact-assessment.pdf">universities can now charge up to 15%</a> of the full fee for the year abroad, many may still waive this fee at their discretion. </p>
<h2>New national strategy</h2>
<p>It’s not just employers who recognise the value of student mobility, the government does too. In 2012, minister of state for universities David Willetts asked the UK Higher Education International Unit to develop and implement a new strategy to promote outward mobility. It was <a href="http://www.international.ac.uk/media/1520768/uk-he-international-unit-uk-strategy-for-outward-mobility-version-1-0.pdf">published in December 2013</a>. </p>
<p>Anne Marie Graham, who leads the strategy at the International Unit said: “It will help universities raise awareness of the opportunities that are out there and provide evidence of the benefits of mobility to students, academics, parents and other influencers.”</p>
<p>A part of this awareness-raising is dispelling the notion that studying abroad is just for linguists. The Erasmus+ scheme is open to all students and a key priority is to promote mobility amongst groups which have been under represented, including health sciences and health care. </p>
<p>These policies and the new co-ordination effort between government, universities and students, means UK students could benefit much more from Erasmus+ than they have in the past.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/26783/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andy Gibbs is a former UK Bologna Expert, employed by the British Council and part of the role was to promote mobility. He volunteers as co-chair of the Mobility Community of Practice which is run by the International Unit. </span></em></p>The Erasmus+ programme, which aims to boost the number of students and staff studying and working abroad across the European Union, started on January 1 2014. It will provide €14bn to 33 countries over…Andy Gibbs, Subject Group Leader, Centre of Wellbeing and Healthcare, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/258452014-05-08T05:09:08Z2014-05-08T05:09:08ZOne way to fix the gender gap in academia – only hire women<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/47893/original/c7ygczb3-1399384620.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You can't calculate for a confidence gap. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-92749069/stock-photo--teacher-is-standing-near-blackboard-in-classroom.html?src=oB833uew6A3CLe7Xk1No1w-1-65">AlenKadr/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you want more women in your organisation, advertise jobs that are designated for women only. That’s what Delft University of Technology did.</p>
<p>Delft had a problem. It had too few women faculty members and its efforts to recruit more were floundering. It was below average in the Netherlands – already one of Europe’s worst countries for gender equality in academia. Only <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/document_library/pdf_06/she-figures-2012_en.pdf">13% of full professors at Dutch universities are women</a>. And it’s not only universities that under-utilise the country’s human resources: the Netherlands has by far <a href="http://www.oecd.org/els/soc/LMF1.6%20Gender%20differences%20in%20employment%20outcomes%20-%20updated%20290713.pdf">the lowest rate in Europe</a> of full-time employment for women.</p>
<p>The leadership at Delft wanted to work for long-term changes in recruiting patterns, in part by making sure young women would see <a href="http://curt-rice.com/2012/01/13/why-not-just-any-old-role-model-will-do-what-early-career-men-and-women-need/">role models</a> in technical fields in academia. But attempts at mild intervention – such as a requirement to hire a woman whenever there was a qualified female applicant – didn’t get the job done.</p>
<p>To increase the number of women on their faculty, Delft decided <a href="http://www.nature.com/naturejobs/science/articles/10.1038/nj0363">in 2011</a> to hire <a href="http://www.tudelft.nl/en/about-tu-delft/working-at-tu-delft/tu-delft-as-employer/delft-technology-fellowship/">the ten best women researchers they could find</a>. Applicants could be at any stage of their careers and in any field of research covered by the university. These new employees received favourable conditions to push their research projects forward.</p>
<p>Crucially, the program was open <a href="http://www.delta.tudelft.nl/artikel/ten-leading-ladies/26298">only to women</a>. Needless to say, there were legal challenges on the grounds of gender discrimination. But, as the rector of the university, Karel Luyben, described <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgByLzRWZTg&feature=youtu.be">in a recent speech</a>, he was able to convince the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights that it was essential to have more women faculty members and that more gentle measures had not succeeded. </p>
<p>The university <a href="https://intranet.tudelft.nl/en/direct-links/news/latest-news/article/detail/tu-delft-mag-wetenschappelijke-functies-voorbehouden-aan-vrouwen/">won the case</a> in December 2012. Ultimately, the university was able to move ahead with its plans and is currently conducting hirings for a <a href="http://www.tudelft.nl/en/current/latest-news/article/detail/tweede-ronde-delft-technology-fellowship-gestart/">second cohort</a> for the fellowship.</p>
<h2>Too few women professors</h2>
<p>The experience in Delft can inspire us to more aggressively pursue the benefits of making our institutions diverse. Fewer women than men make it to the top. Within academia in Europe, about <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/research/science-society/index.cfm?fuseaction=public.topic&id=1282&lang=1">20% of full professors are women</a>, while they constitute almost 40% of the next level down.</p>
<p>A recent spate of <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/04/the-confidence-gap/359815/">media coverage</a> has focused on one possible explanation <a href="http://www.policymic.com/articles/87879/it-s-not-the-confidence-gap-here-s-what-s-really-holding-women-back?utm_source=policymicFB&utm_medium=main&utm_campaign=social">among many</a> – namely that women are too cautious, too reserved, or too self-demeaning to advance at the same rate as men. In short, there is a confidence gap.</p>
<p>For example, men and women engage in self-promotion differently. Among research professors, <a href="http://curt-rice.com/2013/10/19/the-great-citation-hoax-proof-that-women-are-worse-researchers-than-men/">women cite their own work less often</a> than men do. When career advancement at universities depends in part on how many times your research gets cited, this slows women down. </p>
<p>A recent investigation also suggests that men are more assertive than women about something even more basic, namely the requirement to be listed as <a href="http://curt-rice.com/2014/03/06/why-are-women-so-uncooperative/">an author on research articles</a>.</p>
<h2>Countering the confidence gap</h2>
<p>This confidence gap is not benign. While we all have obstacles to negotiate as we move along our career paths, some advancement is based on behaviour that men and women have learned differently, such as self-promotion. In this sense, we have constructed workplaces with structural barriers holding women back, and we should therefore not be surprised when the sexes progress at different rates.</p>
<p>So what should we do? One response is to train women to navigate the system as it is. Teach women to <a href="http://shenegotiates.com">negotiate</a>, to talk about themselves, and to “lean in”. This is important to improve the situation for women currently in academia.</p>
<p>Another strategy is to work for systemic change. To do this, we must identify the structures that differentiate women from men and counter or remove them. For example, perhaps the way we recruit touches on cultural differences between men and women in such a way that the process itself inevitably gives a gender-imbalanced result.</p>
<p>There are many anecdotes about men applying for jobs when they only meet a few of the requirements. There’s actually an <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/curt-rice/how-mckinseys-story-became-sheryl-sandbergs-statistic---and-why-it-didnt-deserve-to_b_5198744.html">urban legend</a> promoted by Sheryl Sandberg and countless others, saying that women apply for jobs only if they think they meet 100% of the criteria listed, whereas men apply if they feel they meet 60% of the requirements.</p>
<p>Even if that particular claim is not reliable, there is <a href="https://www.i-l-m.com/%7E/media/ILM%20Website/Downloads/Insight/Reports_from_ILM_website/ILM_Ambition_and_Gender_report_0211%20pdf.ashx">research</a> suggesting that men are more likely than women to apply for a job when they only partially meet its requirements.</p>
<p>And this is the funny thing about the Delft experience. The university leadership identified a need – more women in faculty. They developed a plan – only hire women. And it worked: they succeeded at hiring ten excellent new colleagues. But along the way, 30 men applied, too.</p>
<p>In addition to presenting a real-world example of quotas, the Delft fellowship offers an amusing example of gender-based differences in self-promotion – sometimes men lean in so far they fall on their faces.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Curt Rice does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you want more women in your organisation, advertise jobs that are designated for women only. That’s what Delft University of Technology did. Delft had a problem. It had too few women faculty members…Curt Rice, Head of Norway's Committee on Gender Balance in Research, University of TromsøLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/254512014-04-11T12:53:14Z2014-04-11T12:53:14ZDrop in overseas students adds to universities’ cash woes<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45995/original/6h9hkbt4-1397040232.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Class one – how much you owe us.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/birkbeckmediaservices/9949861963/sizes/l">Birkbeck Media Services Centre</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Sweeping changes to the way student visas are allocated have been <a href="http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/lords-select/science-and-technology-committee/news/international-stem-student-report/?_ga=1.189698786.839241031.1394450951">recommended</a> by the House of Lords science and technology select committee. It is the sixth time the government has been given such steers on the issue by a parliamentary committee.</p>
<p>The latest report has recommended the reinstatement of the previous post-study work student visa regime, a streamlining of the applications process, removing students from net migration targets, more attention to international perceptions and more policy stability.</p>
<p>These recommendations come at a time when evidence is emerging that the Home Office policy on student visas may be having a significant effect on international student numbers. New figures showing that there has been a decline in the number of international students coming to the UK for the first time in 29 years have been <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/International-student-numbers-in-England-fall-for-first-time-in-three-decades/articleshow/33151532.cms">picked up around the world</a>. </p>
<p>The trends indicated in <a href="http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/year/2014/201408a/#d.en.86921">Global Demand for English Higher Education</a>, published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) in April 2014, have attracted attention closer to home too. In the current tight funding environment for universities, the impact of this drop in international students on university finances will worry funding councils throughout the UK.</p>
<p>The decline certainly coincides with the advent of the coalition government, and it isn’t difficult to see what appear to be some clear correlations, even if it is difficult to prove cause. It would be perverse not to associate the 24% decline in undergraduate applications from the European Union that happened in 2012 – after seven years of steady growth averaging around 5% per year – with the introduction of much higher <a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/student-fees">student fees</a>. </p>
<p>But EU students do have access to similar tuition fee loan arrangements as UK students. It’s not impossible to project that as they begin to understand they are not paying an up-front fee so much as incurring a defined, income-contingent future tax liability, the numbers might begin to mount again – if the system continues to <a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-more-than-a-pledge-to-reduce-student-fees-25186">exist in its present form</a>.</p>
<p>The bigger focus, certainly for universities, is likely to be on the trend in international student enrolment from outside the EU. Here the picture is surprisingly mixed, given the much less favourable visa regime that international applicants now have to brave. </p>
<p>Undergraduate enrolments have continued to rise, albeit more slowly than in the past. Double-digit growth figures between 2008 and 2011 have fallen back to 1% and 2% in 2011-13, coinciding with the new regime. </p>
<p>More worrying is postgraduate enrolment for students from outside the EU. Here we have seen a decline of 1% per year from 2011 to 2013, again on the back of very strong growth over the previous few years: as much as 20% in 2008-9 and 8% as recently as 2010-11.</p>
<p>Postgraduate numbers are substantially higher than for undergraduate: just over 70,000 postgraduates from outside the EU, versus just over 50,000 undergraduates, so these drops are significant. The problem is that we have seen declines in home post-graduate enrolment too, probably linked to lack of funding. This is creating a <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-postgraduate-study-still-just-for-the-elite-23265">real problem for the UK</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45992/original/xnqjvnnq-1397038884.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45992/original/xnqjvnnq-1397038884.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45992/original/xnqjvnnq-1397038884.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45992/original/xnqjvnnq-1397038884.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45992/original/xnqjvnnq-1397038884.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=376&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45992/original/xnqjvnnq-1397038884.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45992/original/xnqjvnnq-1397038884.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45992/original/xnqjvnnq-1397038884.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=473&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Changes in flows of postgraduate students from outside the EU in 2012-13.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">HEFCE. Analysis of the HESA standard registration population at English HEIs, and the equivalent population at English FECs, 2005-06 to 2012-13</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The UK’s knowledge economy requires not just a substantial proportion of the population to be university educated, but also much greater numbers of those to have a higher degree. Some postgraduate programmes – notably in engineering and computing – would be unviable without international students. The strategic implications of this are problematic, because these are the very areas in which <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f3448602-aa1e-11e3-8bd6-00144feab7de.html#axzz2yYyirGNa">employers say there is a particular skills shortage</a>. </p>
<p>The broader economic implications of the decline in international student enrolment are serious too. A Universities UK report entitled <a href="http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Pages/ImpactOfUniversities.aspx#.U0UHMldZ1WU">The Impact of Universities on the UK Economy</a>, also published in April 2014, has estimated the impact of all non-UK student personal off-campus expenditure at £4.91 billion in 2011-12. The knock-on output generated throughout the UK economy comes to some £7.37 billion, while knock-on employment generated amounts to 62,383 jobs. </p>
<p>If we look at the total economic impact generated by non-EU students on and off campus, the total output comes to £13.9 billion, while the contribution to GDP is £7.3 billion. These are staggering sums of which the Treasury should (and does) take note.</p>
<h2>Losing ground</h2>
<p>But there are wider implications even than this. Anybody who has travelled abroad on behalf of their university knows that UK higher education is held in great affection and esteem throughout the world. </p>
<p>People of influence, up to and including heads of state, have studied in the UK, sometimes many years ago, and continue to be supportive to this day. The role of universities in creating <a href="http://exeduk.com/britain-risks-losing-out-to-global-competitors-on-soft-power-race/">“soft power”</a>– networks of UK-friendly opinion-formers and influencers – is critical, and once eroded, can be difficult to recreate. This is all happening against a background where the competition is not idle.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.news.com.au/national/work-rules-relaxed-for-foreign-students/story-fncynjr2-1226598601904">Australia</a>, the <a href="http://www.gwhatchet.com/2012/01/30/obama-loosens-visa-requirements/">US</a> and above all <a href="http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/work-postgrad.asp">Canada</a> have recently made their own visa regimes for international students much more attractive. Students from round the world who choose Canada as a study destination know that they will be able to work in the country once they have graduated for up to 3 years, and might have the option of staying even longer. </p>
<p>Their <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/britain/21600129-foreign-students-are-going-english-universities-how-ruin-global-brand">equivalents in the UK</a> have only four months to find a job that will pay more than £20,300 and then can only stay for two years.</p>
<p>While it’s true that there is no cap on international student visas, and there is much support within government for the universities’ desire to recruit more of them, the latest figures from HEFCE lend weight to the suspicion that the changes in the visa regime that have taken place in the UK since 2010 are <a href="https://theconversation.com/university-lecturers-must-remain-educators-not-border-guards-23948">now taking their toll</a>. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25451/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colin Riordan is chair of the UK Higher Education International Unit.</span></em></p>Sweeping changes to the way student visas are allocated have been recommended by the House of Lords science and technology select committee. It is the sixth time the government has been given such steers…Colin Riordan, Vice Chancellor and President, Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/251022014-04-02T14:38:37Z2014-04-02T14:38:37ZHard Evidence: can dropping out of university be positive?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45338/original/ydy6xmq4-1396385698.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Was it worth it?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Brunel University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>University dropout seems a dreadful thing to happen. From the perspective of a student you might feel you’ve failed and have to pay off debt for a life time. The university gets penalised if student non-completion is high. And society feels betrayed by having wasted tax payers money.</p>
<p>New <a href="http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3180&Itemid=161">figures from the Higher Education Statistics Agency</a> (HESA), revealed that in 2011-12 5.7 % of UK domiciled full-time first degree students dropped out in the first year of their tertiary education. These results are based on unusually powerful data based on populations of student cohorts in the UK. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45337/original/5w6b6sp7-1396383139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45337/original/5w6b6sp7-1396383139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45337/original/5w6b6sp7-1396383139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45337/original/5w6b6sp7-1396383139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45337/original/5w6b6sp7-1396383139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=353&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45337/original/5w6b6sp7-1396383139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45337/original/5w6b6sp7-1396383139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45337/original/5w6b6sp7-1396383139.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Percentage of UK domiciled young full-time first degree entrants not continuing in HE after their first academic year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Higher Education Statistics Agency</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a discussion paper published by the <a href="http://ftp.iza.org/dp8015.pdf">Institute for the Study of Labor</a> I analysed tertiary dropout using data from a very large survey called the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competency (PIAAC), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).</p>
<p>My analysis shows that 16% of adults aged 20 to 65 report having dropped out of tertiary education in the UK (represented only by England and Northern Ireland). This figure is higher than HESA’s for several reasons, including that it covers non-completion experience over respondents’ life time.</p>
<p>The data reveals that the UK actually fares incredibly well in international comparison across 14 European countries: it has the lowest reported dropout (see graph below). In addition, in most of the countries men are much more likely to drop out than women, while in the UK, gender differences do not exist.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45303/original/hn667kpx-1396356601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45303/original/hn667kpx-1396356601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45303/original/hn667kpx-1396356601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45303/original/hn667kpx-1396356601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45303/original/hn667kpx-1396356601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45303/original/hn667kpx-1396356601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45303/original/hn667kpx-1396356601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45303/original/hn667kpx-1396356601.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Working age adults who dropped out of tertiary education as % of adults ever enrolled.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">OECD: Note: the UK is covered by England and Northern Ireland only, Belgium refers to the Flemish speaking part only. Adults reporting tertiary dropout but holding a tertiary degree are included in the figure. </span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The tertiary dropout decision is often not a permanent one. In the UK, about 38% of non-completers manage to achieve a tertiary qualification at another point in their life. The UK score is average, compared to Denmark at the top (more than 50% of graduates) and Italy at the bottom (less than every tenth dropout graduate). </p>
<p>In the UK, therefore, the tertiary dropout figure is positive in terms of being low in international comparison, gender neutral and in many cases not permanent. </p>
<p>But what happens to tertiary dropouts? This is a question which has only received small attention among academics, which might be because those of us teaching at universities understandably consider ourselves to be thriving because of our good students. </p>
<p>We should be more positive. My analysis reveals that in quite a number of societies dropouts who never attained a tertiary degree outperform their counterparts with the same upper secondary education qualifications, indicating that they have gained some additional knowledge helping them to improve their career pathways. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45390/original/rr4scdwf-1396425782.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45390/original/rr4scdwf-1396425782.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/45390/original/rr4scdwf-1396425782.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45390/original/rr4scdwf-1396425782.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45390/original/rr4scdwf-1396425782.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45390/original/rr4scdwf-1396425782.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45390/original/rr4scdwf-1396425782.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/45390/original/rr4scdwf-1396425782.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Per cent employed working in managerial positions by tertiary dropout status, tertiary and upper secondary education and per cent point differences. Note: Bold figures for percentage point differences are significant at the 1 per cent level.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">OECD</span></span>
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<p>Analytically, it is quite difficult to prove that students gain from tertiary education even if they do not graduate. This is because those students who enroll into university are different to those who decide to pursue another path. For example, in almost all countries including the UK, among the people with upper secondary education qualifications, those deciding not to go to university are significantly less likely to have parents who have been to university than those who enrol. </p>
<p>Similarly, literacy ability differs significantly between those who never enrolled in university and dropouts with equal qualification. This is true for 13 out of the 14 EU countries examined. Since social background and ability affects career chances, we need to take this into account to estimate the “effect” of dropout properly.</p>
<p>The actual result for the UK is quite unusual in international comparison. By focusing on working-age adults with upper secondary school qualifications, we do not find any differences between university dropouts and non-dropouts in terms of their employment chances and likelihood to be working in a managerial position. </p>
<p>The UK is on a par here with Norway, the only other country in which both of these measures of career progression are not significantly different. In all the other 12 EU countries dropouts are considerably better off in their careers than people with upper secondary education only. </p>
<p>Once we compare only those equally qualified with similar ability, demographic background and parental education (and so take into account differences between groups), dropouts still do significantly better in terms of career development in the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Italy and Poland compared to other adults with the same education qualifications. </p>
<p>In these countries, the findings indicate that it can be more of an advantage to have taken part in tertiary education and dropped out, than not to have taken it up at all.</p>
<p>Given that this is not the case for the UK, what is the positive message for the country in terms of dropouts’ career chances? There is no obvious one. However, having now taught at a UK university for a long time, you might forgive me for standing above the data to say that as university teachers we do our best so that students gain for their future from every single course we offer them, whether they finally graduate or not.</p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/topics/hard-evidence">Hard Evidence</a> is a series of articles in which academics use research evidence to tackle the trickiest public policy questions.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/25102/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sylke Schnepf does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>University dropout seems a dreadful thing to happen. From the perspective of a student you might feel you’ve failed and have to pay off debt for a life time. The university gets penalised if student non-completion…Sylke Schnepf, Lecturer in social statistics, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.