Higher education
18 Nov 2010
On this page
- Short description of the higher education system
- Types of degrees
- Quality assurance and accreditation
- Recent reforms
Short description of the higher education system
Higher education is the responsibility of the Ministère de la Jeunesse, l’Education Nationale et de la Recherche (the Ministry of Youth, National Education and Research). Subsequent to reforms in 1968, the sector was officially divided into universities and Grandes Ecoles.
In legal terms, the universities are autonomous interdisciplinary institutions for academic education and research. Grandes Ecoles is a collective name for mostly private, selective institutions, separate from the university system, that offer professional and/or specialist higher education focused in the fields of technology (engineering programmes), general administration, business and agriculture.
Whilst universities are currently fully governed by national legislation, the Grandes Ecoles have a different status: they may or may not be national institutions, and have programmes that culminate in either national or institution-based certificates. In general, medical and legal study programmes are taught at universities and engineering programmes at Grandes Ecoles.
In France, the private sector occupies a strong position in higher education. Many of the Grandes Ecoles are private institutions, but there are also some that are governed directly by the Ministry of Education, as well as recognized and non-recognized private institutions that fall either directly under other ministries or have one or more programmes that do.
Types of degrees
France has nearly 90 state-run and private universities. Two types of university certificates are awarded: national diplomas and institution-based certificates. The former fall under the supervision of the Ministry of Education; the latter (such as a Diplôme d'Université) are the responsibility of the institution itself. Grandes Ecoles award both national and institution-based certificates.
France has various forms of higher professional education, including short courses, for which institutions are allowed to award professional degrees.
Quality assurance and accreditation
The quality assurance system in France provides for regular national evaluation of higher education institutions, education programmes and certification, on the basis of which the state makes decisions regarding accreditation (habilitation). Accreditation inspections cover all institutional activities, including administration, management, education programmes and teaching methods, social activities and research. Accreditation is valid for a certain period, which is never longer than six years.
The national accreditation organization L’Agence d’évaluation de la recherche et de l’enseignement supérieur (AERES) was founded in 2007 for the purpose of accrediting all higher education and research institutions in France. The first rounds of accreditation are expected to be complete in late 2010.
The Commission des Titres (CTI) is responsible for schools of engineering, with inspections taking place every six years. A separate commission, the Commission d’évaluation des formations et des diplômes de gestion, has been created for business study programmes.
Innovations in the French quality assurance system have gone hand in hand with reforms in higher education, as a part of which state-run and other institutions have been granted more autonomy. Higher education programmes are no longer fixed in advance, for example, but are drawn up by the institutions themselves, on the condition that they fit within the LMD structure. Accreditation is then carried out through AERES.
Recent reforms
Following the Bologna Process, new higher education legislation came into force in 2002 (the Décret n°2002-482 du 8 avril 2002), under which higher education was divided according to the three-stage LMD structure, which stands for Licence, Master, Doctorat. The system was introduced gradually (2002–2006) and applies to all national institutes of higher education. As of 2006, all universities run their programmes according to this system.
