There is an urgent need to address the social dimension of higher education more forcefully and coherently, particularly in view of the economic downturn across Europe. This is the conclusion of the new Eurydice report, which looks at national policies on access to higher education, funding and student support. The report, covering eu Member States, plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Turkey, suggests that countries are struggling to adapt their higher education systems to meet the challenges brought about by rapid societal change in recent years. In particular, they need to open up opportunities for more people to benefit from higher education, matching this objective with coherent measures, funding and monitoring to evaluate their impact. European leaders have agreed a headline target that 40% of 30-34 year olds should have a higher education qualification by 2020--an increase from just over 33% today. The study focuses on three key topics: policies to widen participation in higher education; funding trends; and the impact of student fee and support systems. It reveals that approaches to meet shared European objectives vary greatly between countries and have different impacts on the performance of higher education. For example, there seems to be an East-West divide regarding routes to higher education for non-traditional candidates such as adult learners and people entering university on the basis of skills gained in the workplace rather than school qualifications. The report highlights changes in higher education spending in response to the crisis. Over the past academic year (2010/11 compared to 2009/10) budgets were most increased in Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Austria, France, Finland and Malta, while the deepest cuts were made in Greece, Ireland, Iceland, (8-10% decrease), as well as in Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic and Slovakia (up to 3% decrease). A glossary is included. Individual chapters contain footnotes. (Contains 26 figures.).

The recent decade brought about new ways of thinking about universities. European-level educational policies became increasingly influential as the agenda of university reforms was viewed as part of greater Lisbon strategy reforms. National governments adopted the economic concept of the university consistently developed in subsequent official documents of the European Commission. The EU member states currently need to balance their educational policies between the requirements of policies promoted by the EU and the requirements of their national systems. Additionally, the national educational policies are under high pressure due to globalisation. European universities and European academics operate in the midst of these large-scale changes. Their interpretations of and their responses to what is termed «the modernisation agenda of European universities» are at the core of this volume.

This report examines the EU's contribution to the modernisation of European higher education, including the role of the separate Bologna Process. It calls on the Government to overcome the UK's lack of mobility culture, including by making language learning compulsory in primary and secondary schools. Coupled with financial, socioeconomic and cultural barriers, the Social Policies and Consumer Protection EU Sub-Committee warns that the UK's future participation in mobility programmes, such as the EU's Erasmus scheme, cannot be assured. The Committee also calls on the Government to ensure the continuation of the domestic Erasmus fee waiver scheme and support the proposed development of the EU Masters-level student loan guarantee facility. Both of these measures will help more students, and those who are disadvantaged in particular. Other recommendations made by the Committee include: encouraging the Government and universities to take full advantage of the opportunities provided through engagement with the EU and Bologna Process, including greater university-business collaboration and widening participation; allocating a bigger proportion of EU funds to research, innovation and education in order to assist the EU's long-term economic recovery; encouraging the Government to "remain vigilant" about retaining the UK's higher education sector's competitive position as a destination of choice for many students from other parts of Europe and beyond, particularly following the increase in tuition fees; and not making the Commission's proposal for the introduction of the new university ranking system, U-Multirank, a priority.

Bridging the gap between higher education research and policy making was always a challenge, but the recent calls for more evidence-based policies have opened a window of unprecedented opportunity for researchers to bring more contributions to shaping the future of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Encouraged by the success of the 2011 first edition, Romania and Armenia have organised a 2nd edition of the Future of Higher Education – Bologna Process Researchers’ Conference (FOHE-BPRC) in November 2014, with the support of the Italian Presidency of the European Union and as part of the official EHEA agenda. Reuniting over 170 researchers from more than 30 countries, the event was a forum to debate the trends and challenges faced by higher education today and look at the future of European cooperation in higher education. The research volumes offer unique insights regarding the state of affairs of European higher education and research, as well as forward-looking policy proposals. More than 50 articles focus on essential themes in higher education: Internationalization of higher education; Financing and governance; Excellence and the diversification of missions; Teaching, learning and student engagement; Equity and the social dimension of higher education; Education, research and innovation; Quality assurance, The impacts of the Bologna Process on the EHEA and beyond and Evidence-based policies in higher education. "The Bologna process was launched at a time of great optimism about the future of the European project – to which, of course, the reform of higher education across the continent has made a major contribution. Today, for the present, that optimism has faded as economic troubles have accumulated in the Euro-zone, political tensions have been increased on issues such as immigration and armed conflict has broken out in Ukraine. There is clearly a risk that, against this troubled background, the Bologna process itself may falter. There are already signs that it has been downgraded in some countries with evidence of political withdrawal. All the more reason for the voice of higher education researchers to be heard. Since the first conference they have established themselves as powerful stakeholders in the development of the EHEA, who are helping to maintain the momentum of the Bologna process. Their pivotal role has been strengthened by the second Bucharest conference." Peter Scott, Institute of Education, London (General Rapporteur of the FOHE-BPRC first edition)

"With this report, we put quality of teaching and learning centre stage and show examples that can be applied elsewhere. To us it seems research as one important mission of higher education has often overshadowed the other core mission of higher education: teaching and learning."--Page 7.