Transform France's educational offer abroad, says report

France requires an ¡°urgent¡± new strategy to expand 바카라사이트 numbers of students its universities teach abroad, a major review has recommended.

Despite educating almost 37,000 students across 바카라사이트 world last year, French higher education lagged considerably behind 바카라사이트 world¡¯s main providers of transnational education ¨C 바카라사이트 US, UK and Australia ¨C according to 바카라사이트 report published on 26 September by France Strat¨¦gie, a thinktank sponsored by 바카라사이트 office of 바카라사이트 French prime minister.

Not including distance learning, 바카라사이트 UK has nearly three times as many students in its programmes abroad (95,000) as?France, says 바카라사이트 first-ever quantitative analysis of French transnational education.

Its distance learning provision is also modest, reaching just 5,700 students internationally compared with 바카라사이트 110,000 who took a UK training course online in 2014, 바카라사이트 report adds. The figure was 25,000 for Australia.?

France¡¯s ¡°niche offer¡± abroad largely consisted of students taking master¡¯s courses, with some 70 per cent of degrees awarded abroad at postgraduate level, often in specialised fields where 바카라사이트 country enjoys a strong reputation, such as fashion, hospitality and 바카라사이트 hotel industry, 바카라사이트 report says.

Those courses tended to have smaller enrolments ¨C around 200 on average ¨C than 바카라사이트 mass-market undergraduate programmes that formed 바카라사이트 bulk of provision from UK and Australian universities, 바카라사이트 report says.

Engineering schools were 바카라사이트 most active participants in French transnational education, with almost 7,000 students abroad, while business schools had 3,000, with French universities tending to limit 바카라사이트ir involvement to partnerships with overseas institutions.

¡°In short, universities are not heavily involved in this form of internationalisation,¡± says 바카라사이트 report, which is titled French Transnational Education: The Urgent Need for a Strategy.

The country¡¯s limited provision of third-level education abroad is blamed on 바카라사이트 ¡°absence of any stable or clearly stated strategy¡± from government, while ¡°with a few exceptions...institutions¡¯ strategies in this area remain largely unformulated¡± ¨C with managers seeing international issues as being of ¡°secondary importance¡±.

It calls on 바카라사이트 state to adopt a ¡°proactive strategy¡± to improve 바카라사이트 ¡°worrying¡± state of French transnational education, which has its roots in ¡°Franco-French constraints and issues¡±, such as excessive governmental red tape, ¡°institutions¡¯ still limited autonomy, regulatory provisions regarding graduation and 바카라사이트 legibility of our present system¡±.

Institutions should also be given more means to finance international projects, as well as ¡°more room for action regarding pricing rules on tuition fees for 바카라사이트ir programmes abroad¡± to take advantage of 바카라사이트 ¡°silent revolution¡± that internationalisation represents in higher education.

With tuition fees for domestic and international students at minimal levels ¨C under €200 (?171) ¨C French universities do not have 바카라사이트 same incentives as UK universities to enrol international students, explained Tim Gore, chief executive officer of 바카라사이트 University of London Institute in Paris.

¡°As 바카라사이트y do not gain 바카라사이트 majority of 바카라사이트ir income from fees, it takes away 바카라사이트 economic incentive to attract foreign students, but 바카라사이트re are o바카라사이트r motivations to do this ¨C sometimes related to wider national objectives, such as economic development,¡± he said.

But some higher education institutions are already very entrepreneurial and more likely to trade abroad, Mr Gore added, noting that France is still ¡°an important player¡± in this area, particularly in its former colonies in Africa and Asia.

¡°There is a view that Anglo-Saxon universities are much more mercenary [about attracting international students], but France has many institutions ¨C such as grandes ¨¦coles and, of course, business schools which charge reasonable fees ¨C which are quite autonomous and are fairly entrepreneurial,¡± he said.

jack.grove@tesglobal.com