Brussels unveils blueprint for cross-border ‘European degree’

The European Commission has launched a “blueprint” for the creation of a European degree, a central goal of the European Education Area, informed by six Erasmus+ pilot projects in which more than 140 higher education institutions participated. 

According to the blueprint, a European degree could take one of two forms. Students who complete joint degree programmes that meet specific criteria could receive a “European degree label certificate” alongside their joint degree. Alternatively, multiple universities, or a legal entity created by the universities, could jointly award a newly established qualification known as a European degree.

Universities would participate on a voluntary basis, the commission stressed, “in full respect of the principles of subsidiarity, institutional autonomy and academic freedom”. The degree, which would be automatically recognised across the European Union, would be “based on a set of common criteria agreed at European level”.

Among these criteria, set out in an annex to a proposal for a council recommendation on quality assurance, are interdisciplinarity, “embedded student mobility” and relevance to the labour market. The degree must be offered by a partnership of at least two institutions from at least two countries, while it should be “jointly designed and jointly delivered” by all institutions involved.

A European degree should also promote “European values”, the annex states, by exposing students to at least two EU languages and promoting democracy, inclusivity and sustainability. To support the creation of the degree, the commission will establish a European degree policy lab.

The proposal for a council recommendation on quality assurance calls for the simplification and improvement of existing procedures, with the longer-term goal of establishing a European framework. A separate proposal concerning the attractivity of academic careers, meanwhile, advises member states to encourage transnational cooperation and prompts them to “promote, acknowledge and value diverse academic roles, including innovative and effective teaching”.

Margaritis Schinas, the commission’s vice-president for “promoting our European way of life,” said: “Our universities provide graduates with strategic skills for their future and serve as beacons of a European brand of academic excellence. A European degree is the next step and will empower our universities to work together, for the benefit of students, teachers, employers and Europe’s competitiveness.”

Iliana Ivanova, commissioner for innovation, research, culture, education and youth, said: “With the blueprint for a European degree, we respond to the needs of our students, of our universities and their staff, of the future employers of today’s students – and indeed, of Europe as a whole.

“Our vision is to make European higher education even more competitive and interconnected. And to secure Europe’s place in the global race for talent.”

The European University Association, the umbrella body representing almost 900 universities across the continent, welcomed the blueprint and council recommendation proposals.

“EUA wishes to underscore that the diversity of international activities, within or outside of those supported by the European Commission, should be recognised in order to achieve the goal of international experience for all graduates, with the potential European degree being only one of them,” the grouping said.

emily.dixon@timeshighereducation.com