The equity seminar is the launching conference of a two-year project titled ‘Equity in Higher Education from a Student Perspective’. The project aims to collect research about equity in higher education, as well as develop sustainable training materials that can be used by national unions of students. It will involve national unions of students in all stages and is aimed to inform you of our state of the art discussions on the topic.
The project has been started this year to develop a comprehensive strategy to improve equity in higher education, which is believed to be one of the main challenges for modern higher education. It was clear from the beginning that this strategy cannot be effective if it exists in isolation on the European level. On the European level, goals are being set, which is clear in the Bologna Process that recently embraced the equity-challenge by declaring in May 2007 that ‘We [Ministers for higher education] share the societal aspiration that the student body entering, participating in and completing higher education at all levels should reflect the diversity of our populations.’ National Ministers for higher education are currently drafting those national action plans to achieve this goal, a process in which student unions are involved.
Within the Lisbon Strategy of the European Union, ministers have not yet come that far. Goals for inclusiveness have only been set for secondary education, where the amount of school leavers is being reduced by 50% by 2010. In higher education, the Commission notes in its communication on ‘Efficiency and equity in European education and training systems’ that ‘the expansion of student numbers has not increased equity as it has mostly favoured individuals from higher socio-economic groups or those whose parents attended higher education.’ The Commission has however actively started to develop data on equity in higher education, following a mandate from the Bologna Process. Also, it is sponsoring this project in order to develop more momentum in the equity discussion. It is expected that this topic will get more priority in the Commission’s work after 2010, for which we should get ready.
Student unions always worked on equality issues, putting them at the centre of our vision on higher education and society. Since 2006, reacting on the discussions within the Bologna Process, ESU has a policy that carries a title with imperative form – ‘A social dimension to higher education’. The policy paper outlines five steps towards a more equitable higher education system and requires action from everyone in higher education, including student unions. While writing ESU’s contributions to this discussion, we still found several obstacles to making our policy a reality. One of the strongest arguments is that every country has different equity issues as student support systems, and education systems have all developed on the basis of national needs. This is one of the reasons that this discussion has to be transposed the national level.
Maybe an even stronger reason to discuss the issue on the national level is that this is where decisions are being taken and student unions should position themselves strongly in that debate. Discussing equity in higher education is a golden opportunity to put our messages about fees, student support systems and affirmative action in a broader perspective. Only by integrating our message, will we be able to convince politicians, universities and the wider community that equity in higher education needs investments in us.
Brussels, April 2008,
Koen Geven
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