Anchoring Joint Masters in the Institution

1
Anchoring Joint Masters in the Institution

• Lessons from the EUA Pilot Project
• Discussion Group B

2
Anchoring JM programmes within an institution
requires

• Conviction building
• Removing existing obstacles and addressing
  specific challenges
• Adopting institutional responsibility
• Developing means of institutional support

3
Conviction Building

• Many institutions support the concept of Joint
  Masters, but in the few cases where they have
  developed, programmes tend to occur on the
  periphery of normal institutional activity
• Support and integration at the level of finances,
  infrastructure, administration, and university
  governance is needed for the sustainability of
  programmes
• To gain greater institutional support, programmes
  must begin with institutional conviction building

4
Knowing Added Value - Anchoring

• Added value for the institution
• Combining (disperse) strengths of individual and
  institutions builds a greater potential for
  specialised programmes with high quality teachers
  and infrastructure
• Involvement in innovative and collaborative
  programmes may further an institutions
  standing/reputation
• Particularly enhances international reputation of
  an institutions (tool for marketing)
• May explicitly attract new students to an
  institution

5
Knowing Added Value - Anchoring

• Added value for the institution (II)
• Opens the doors of the institution confronts
  interaction with other universities quality
  development tool
• Enables smaller universities to offer highly
  attractive programmes

6
Knowing Added Value - Anchoring

• Added value for students and staff
• Tested and developed network ties establish solid
  international research contacts
• Developed research ties emphasise complementarity
  in programme teaching
• And foster interaction between teaching and
  research in specialised areas
• Students/Staff gain from different academic
  environments/traditions

7
Knowing Added Value - Anchoring

• Added value for students and staff (II)
• Students/Staff benefit from different social
  environments (language learning, culture)
• Enables students to develop international
  research/work experience (appreciated for their
  CV)

8
Knowing Added Value - Anchoring

• Added value for Europe
• Encourage rapid implementation of all Bologna
  reforms, adding a sense of urgency
• comparable degree structures
• degree recognition
• European dimension of QA
• Use of ECTS and Diploma Supplement
• Able to respond to European professional
  development needs (training in an international
  environment on transnational issues)

9
Knowing Added Value - Anchoring

• Added value for Europe
• Develops European citizenship and cultural
  understanding
• Exciting and innovative programmes may retain
  Europes best students, attract overseas
  students, and encourage cooperation with
  non-European institutions (in the name of
  international understanding)

10
Removing Obstacles

• To anchor means removing unresolved obstalces
• Recognition seen as a central challenge
• Legal recognition of joint degrees
• Professional recognition
• Recognition of modules (use of ECTS)

11
Removing Obstacles

• Finances
• student (access issues)
• Support for teaching and administrative costs
• Reconciling inter-network national funding
  differences
• Need for extra institutional funding for both
  3rd country (Erasmus Mundus) and for European
  students (notably CEE) through national or
  European sources

12
Addressing Challenges

• Language
• While exposure to language learning is a
  strength, it remains a challenge for involving
  staff

13
Institutional Support

• Means of institutional support could include
• Lobbying at national level to change legislation
• (in the short term) Dialogue between rectors of
  institutions involved to facilitate degree
  awarding
• (Financial and administrative) support for staff
  to be involved in curriculum development and
  teaching
• Inclusion/visibility of programmes in the course
  handbook and on the institutional website
• Assist in encouraging language training for
  students and staff
• Implementation and assistance with Diploma
  Supplement and other transparency tools

14
Remaining challenges

• Difficulty getting institutional support from
  rectors who are structure-driven when programmes
  are content-driven
• In progress towards a common definition of
  (joint) Master level
• Desire for a positive quality label