First Austrian Strategy on the
Social Dimension
national and institutional measures
HERE Seminar: Universities and social engagement
13-14. June 2017, Nicosia
Martin Unger ([email protected])
Institute for Advanced Studies | Josefstädter Straße 39 | A-1080 Wien | Tel: +43 1 59991-0 | www.ihs.ac.at
Textfolie
Some background information
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Personal background
 HE researcher at IHS, a non-university research
institute in Vienna, Austria
 Research fields
 Social situation of students in Austria and Europe
(via EUROSTUDENT, pl4sd)
 Tracking of students, dropouts and graduates
 Funding of universities
 Delegate to several Bologna WGs on the social
dimension
 Consultant for Austrian national strategy
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Social dimension in Bologna
 Mentioned in communiqués since 2001,
London 2007: definition, data collection
 Working groups on social dimension since 2005
 Rough indicators in the implementation reports
 BUT, no explicit action line, thus no need for
action by the member states
 Yerewan 2015: Ministers adopt strategy for the
social dimension
 Countries should develop national strategies
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London Communiqué 2007
“We 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.
We reaffirm the importance of students being able
to complete their studies without obstacles related
to their social and economic background, while
stressing the efforts […] to widen participation at
all levels on the basis of equal opportunity.”
Source
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Austrian Higher Education System
 4 types of institutions, with different laws,
funding mechanism and steering instruments,
but nearly 80% of students at public univ.
 At public universities
 Mostly open and free access (multiple enrollments)
 21% international students
 Relatively high share of mature (2nd chance) students
 No part time programs, 66% working students
Some programs very overcrowded
Very long study durations, high dropout rates
Univ. feel not responsible for success of their
students, retention was not an issue
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Textfolie
Austrian
Strategy on
the Social Dimension
published Feb 2017
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Process
 Led by the Ministry, 1 year
 Series of workshops, in total  800 participants
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Information of stakeholder
Conference on heterogeneity (fresh data)
Diversity management
Transition into and within HE (incl. student support)
Data (with Statistics Austria)
Information and counselling
Disability, inclusion
Measures
Strategy
 Draft, review among all participants, final
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Content
(details see pdf)
 Identification of underrepresented groups and
groups with special requirements
 Inventory of measures already in place (survey)
 Objectives and measures:
 3 dimensions, 3 action lines per dimension:
 More inclusive access
 Avoid drop-out and improve academic success
 Create basic parameters and optimise the
regulation of higher education policy
 9 quantitative goals
 Implementation, responsibilities, timeline
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Underrepresented groups,
groups with special requirements
 Underrepresented groups include:
 Parents without higher education or from lower socio-economic
backgrounds (currently around 40% of students)
 Women or men in particular degree programs
(e.g. women in technical studies, men in veterinary medicine studies)
 Students from particular regions/federal states
 Students with migrant backgrounds (with an Austrian entrance qualification)
 Students with a disability and/or chronic illness
 Groups with specific requirements:

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Students with young children or other care responsibilities
Students with a disability and/or chronic illness
Students with delayed entry to higher education (“mature students”)
Students in employment
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Some hot discussed topics
 Focus on target groups or not?
 Data mostly available on “group level”
 Stigmatisation/“Outing” of students vs. you can only
assist people if you know who needs assistance
 Recent research focuses on intersectionality
 All students will profit from measures if the social
dimension is taken seriously
 Data needed vs. access to data vs. privacy
 Some HEI want more detailed data about students
 Some HEI want Statistics Austria to “guard” the data
 Some HEI do not want to know more about their
students, because it might lead to discrimination
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Some hot discussed topics II
 Working students
 Students from lower socio-economic background tend to
work more often and more hours (social dimension)
 Students need to work for funding and want to work for
practical experience
 Universities offer only fulltime programs, thus they do not
want students to work more than a minimum
 The times when students work are so different that there is
no optimal solution for HEI when to offer courses for
working students (evening, weekend)
 Universities would need more funding to offer special
programs for working students (double teaching load)
 Strong pressure from government/society to facilitate
studying for working students (also LLL)
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Some hot discussed topics III
 Counselling of prospective students
 Is it enough if HEI provide information/counselling when
demanded or should they actively distribute it?
 What is the obligation of prospective students –
to inform themselves or to wait for information?
 Many HEI do/plan outreach activities in schools. But
schools increasingly feel overrun by information providers.
 Information provided – especially online – is often written
in a “technical” academic language not understood by
students from lower educational background
 Do we need a national online information platform?
Vs. only HEI can provide detailed and up-to-date
information on their programs.
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Examples of Measures: General
 Social dimension mainstreaming
 Policy: law, funding system, performance agreements, data collection
 HEI: institutional strategy, development plan, mission
 Training of social skills (esp. academic writing)
helpful for all students, but high profit for certain
groups (non-stigmatising approach)
 Mentoring, peer learning, buddy systems: very
effective, but often requires “outing” of students
 Sensitization of teachers: urgently needed
 Existing facilities for gender equity expand into
diversity management (also by law)
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Examples of Measures: Regional
 “Chill the basis” – province of The Tyrol
 Co-operation of nearly all HEI in the region with
 Regional chamber of workers (local counselling)
 Provincial government
 Objectives
 Targeting kids, teenagers and parents
 Widening access
 Reducing drop-out
 Measures
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Raise curiosity for HE
Offering joint degrees in dislocated communities
Targeted counselling and mentoring at early ages
„Talent scout“ – mentoring of pupils and students
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Examples of Measures: Institutional
University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria (FH OÖ)
 5.700 students, 4 locations
 Research driven approach:
HEAD Wheel
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Demographic Diversity
Cognitive Diversity
Disciplinary Diversity
Functional Diversity
Institutional Diversity
 Concept and measures
derived from it (English):
https://www.fh-ooe.at/en/gender-diversity/
 Explanatory video (English):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV3BR-X5e-E
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Lesson learned
 The process of developing the strategy, namely
the workshops, was a “measure” for it self:
 Competitive institutions started exchange of ideas
 Peer learning among HEI stimulated
 Exchange of experiences, new ideas,
what works, what does not work, hints, ….
 The process empowered people engaged at HEI
in the field of social dimension (“backing”)
Organising platforms for exchange of experiences
is a measure the Ministry has taken over
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Some resources
 Bologna-Process:
Yerewan strategy on social dimension
“Widening Participation for Equity and Growth - A Strategy for the
Development of the Social Dimension and Lifelong Learning in the
European Higher Education Area to 2020”
 English summary of Austrian strategy
 EUROSTUDENT reports and data
 PL4SD – peer learning for the social dimension:
material and database of measures in Europe
(up to 2016)
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Interesting Conference
http://www.ean-edu.org/annual-conference-2017.html
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Dank
!
ThankVielen
you very
much!
HER – Higher Education Research
http://www.ihs.ac.at/her
@Martin__Unger
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