The Eurydice Network has just published Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Access, Retention and Employability (featured below and attached for download). The report provides an overview of what European governments and higher education institutions are doing to widen access to higher education, increase the number of students that complete higher education (retention), and give guidance to students on entering the labour market (employability). The report covers 36 European countries and education systems and brings together information from: Eurydice national units, national quality assurance agencies and site visits to higher education institutions.

Findings include:

• Many countries collect information about their student populations but are not using it to inform widening participation objectives or wider higher education policies.
• Very few countries have set targets for improving access to higher education for disadvantaged groups.
• Around half of the education systems studied offer access or bridging programmes for higher education entrants not coming directly from secondary education.
• Initiatives to widen access to higher education are most prevalent in northern and western Europe.
• A significant number of countries do not systematically measure completion and/or drop-out rates.

Find out more about higher education in Europe

Eurydice’s online encyclopedia on European education systems – Eurypedia – offers a comprehensive description of the higher education system in each country.

Other recent Eurydice reports on higher education:

• Towards a Mobility Scoreboard: Conditions for Learning Abroad in Europe (2014)
• National Student Fee and Support Systems (2013/14)
• The Organisation of the Academic Year in Europe (2013/14)
• The European Higher Education Area in 2012: Bologna Process Implementation Report (2012)
• Modernisation of Higher Education in Europe: Funding and the Social Dimension (2011)