EDLab has its say in the EC’s Public Consultation on the Joint European Degree

The EDLab consortium has recently contributed to the Call for Evidence on the Joint European Degree launched by the European Commission last January. 

The public consultation, which closed on 6^th February, aimed at gathering relevant evidence on the way forward towards a joint European degree from all interested parties, from higher education institutions, to employers, civil society and Member States. Results of this consultation will be included in the Staff Working Document that will accompany the Higher Education package.

EDLab’s contribution is the result of a comprehensive analysis of over 450 existing joint programmes which led to the detailed mapping of the current situation, the screening of existing programmes against the proposed criteria for the award of the Label, and finally in the revision of the criteria based on interviews/focus groups held. The preliminary results of this analysis have been thoroughly discussed and finally validated during the II EDLab workshop in Barcelona last January. 

EDLab strongly believes that the European Degree Label should be seen as a marker of excellence in European jointness. It should be distinctive, easily recognisable, with reputational value, and act as an incentive for transformation and enhancement of programmes, institutions, alliances and regional and national systems. Its overall goal should be systemic change. As such, the criteria for the award of the Label should be restrictive and the award made only to those programmes which actually guarantee excellence in European jointness, while respecting the necessary and positive diversity in individual programmes. The Label is seen by EDLab as a necessary intermediate step towards the implementation of a full European degree, which should be a mid- to long-term goal, with two further scenarios: (1) the implementation of a “European degree” in national legislation guaranteeing full recognition on a par with other national diplomas, potentially followed in the much longer term by (2) the implementation of a “European degree” at European level, necessitating a modification of the Treaty.

EDLab’s full contribution to the Public Consultation can be accessed here.