Accessibility Tools
With this text, the European University Association (EUA) presents a set of guiding considerations to support universities in using global rankings responsibly.
University rankings have become a fact of (university) life. Since their emergence several decades ago, they have come to feature prominently, and often controversially, in discussions about demonstrating university performance and measuring quality and excellence in higher education.
While rankings may have had some positive impact (for some institutions), they continue to face sustained criticism for their choice and use of indicators, data collection methods, promotion of a single model of excellence, and lack of transparency on what they can – and cannot – tell their users about institutional quality and excellence. With this publication, EUA aims to raise further awareness and encourage reflection of some of the potential pitfalls of rankings and provide its members with guidance towards their responsible use.
EUA remains committed to the principles and objectives of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) and will continue to support the coalition’s goals through its activities. ...
The European University Association (EUA) calls on European and national policy makers to make a substantial leap forward in supporting transnational university cooperation including the alliances und ...
EUA's Autonomy Scorecard country profiles delve into in-depth system analyses, offering insights into recent developments and presenting the sector's perspective. ...
The wide-ranging ambitions of the European Green Deal provide a policy framework to integrate the scientific, educational, and institutional dimensions of universities’ contribution to the green tra ...
The 2023 edition of the European University Association’s Autonomy Scorecard, the most comprehensive yet, provides a full comparative analysis of the state of play of university autonomy in 35 highe ...
This report presents the key findings and recommendations of the NEWLEAD project’s efforts to build the capacity of university leaders across Europe in steering change and addressing new prior ...
This NEWLEAD guide offers recommendations and reflections for university leaders, university sector representatives and policy makers interested in setting up a leadership development programme (LDP). ...
The Scorecard 2023 provides a full comparative analysis of the state of play of university autonomy in 35 higher education systems in Europe. ...
Developing a comprehensive approach to innovation for the benefit of universities is at the core of the European University Association’s vision for the future of European higher education and resea ...
This report presents the final outcomes of the EU-funded “Leadership and Organisation for Teaching and Learning at European universities” (LOTUS) project. ...
Today, more than ever before, universities are expected to fulfil multiple and increasingly challenging roles. Invariably, university leaders are walking a tightrope, caught between long-term strategy ...
The European University Association welcomes the adoption by the Council of the European Union of the Conclusions on research assessment and implementation of Open Science. ...
The report analyses major and recent national policies and initiatives aiming to support the enhancement of learning and teaching in 30 countries of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). ...
The EUA Open Science Agenda 2025 defines the Association’s priorities in this field and describes the current context, challenges and developments envisaged for the coming years. In addition, it out ...
This report analyses the place of Open Science in the academic assessment approaches of universities across Europe. ...
Given the rapid and intense change taking place in our societies and, invariably, at our universities, institutional leadership has become a game-changer in the capacity to adapt. This is even more so ...
This report and the accompanying online repository bring together and analyse case studies in responsible academic career assessment. Gathered by EUA, together with the San Francisco Declaration on Re ...
There is a legitimate need for data on the performance of higher education institutions. It is important for the institutions themselves, as well as their stakeholders, including society. The use of i ...
This report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the current state of research assessment at European universities, and shows why and how institutions are reviewing their evaluation pra ...
The authors of “Plan S” have published revised implementation guidelines. The initiative aims to boost Open Access in scholarly publishing by 2021. EUA welcomes the guidelines, in particular the a ...
EUA and Science Europe have issued a joint statement on the need for research funders and research performing organisations as well as universities to combine their efforts to develop and implement mo ...
This briefing is the first step towards EUA’s commitment to raise awareness and support universities by providing an overview of the key concepts, issues and actors involved in research assessment. ...
Attention to career paths in teaching and staff development, in order to enhance learning and teaching, has gained importance in the European policy arena in recent years. This paper is the result of ...
In recent years, the enhancement of learning and teaching has become a priority, not only for higher education institutions, but also for national governments, the European Union and the Bologna Proce ...
Trends 2018 examines how learning and teaching at European higher education institutions evolves in the context of changing demands, technological and societal development, and European- and national- ...
EUA has published a Roadmap on Research Assessment in the Transition to Open Science. The main objective is to raise awareness and support the EUA membership with the development of research asse ...
Over the past three years, EUA has been working on a number of initiatives related to higher education learning and teaching. Activities include knowledge building and studies, institutional  ...
This report provides a summary of the input, discussions and findings from the first USTREAM peer learning seminar on policy frameworks for efficiency and effectiveness in the higher education co ...
Based on the work of the EUA Learning & Teaching Initiative and the outcomes of the 1st European Learning & Teaching Forum, this paper underlines the importance of learning and teaching (L& ...
In parallel with the efforts to persuade researchers to practice Open Science, and the need to develop new research assessment methodologies that fairly assess the scientific quality of the ...
The publication and dissemination of scientific outcomes is part of the backbone of scientific activities. In general, the conditions for publishing and publication usage in recent years hav ...
The Scorecard 2017 provides a full comparative analysis of the state of play of university autonomy in 29 higher education systems in Europe. The report complements the presentation of the main outc ...
With the series “Leaders’ Perspectives”, EUA gives the floor to the executive heads of its member universities on the essential issues connected to governance and funding. Th ...
The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) were adopted by the Ministers responsible for higher education in 2005 following a proposal prepared by t ...
The first results of U-Multirank (UMR), a multi-dimensional ranking of higher education institutions produced with seed funding from the European Commission, were unveiled on 13 May 2014. UMR has ...
All universities are significantly dependent upon public funding as a major source of support for their research programmes. The difference between private and public universities is in the ...
The modernisation process of universities has historically highlighted the necessity of providing support structures to facilitate contacts and relationships between research groups and the outsi ...
...
The publication “Rankings in Institutional Strategies and Processes (RISP): Impact or Illusion?” is the outcome of a 2.5 year EUA-led project, which has carried out the first pan-European ...
The first EUA report on “Global university rankings and their impact” was published in June 2011. Its purpose was to inform universities about the methodologies and potential impact of the ...
Le présent rapport a été établi à la demande de l’EUA en raison du nombre croissant de classements internationaux et nationaux dans l’enseignement s ...
EUA commissioned this report in response to the growth in international and national rankings, as a result of increasing questions from member institutions requesting information and advice on th ...
Institutional diversity is becoming more central to higher education policy as higher education institutions are moving to the centre stage of political and public attention, with ...
Sound governance, competent and accountable management, transparent and coherent institutional quality processes are rising to the top of the work agenda of European university leaders today. The ...
EUA commissioned this study entitled The Rise of Knowledge Regions: Emerging Opportunities and Challenges for Universities with the aim of understanding the current role of universities and futur ...
Research Strategy Development in European Universities grew out of EUA’s study Trends IV: European Universities Implementing Bologna (2005) which, in the course of analysing how universities ar ...
Following the Management Seminar organised in Istanbul in 2000 for its members, EUA invited the two seminar facilitators to turn their presentations into articles. In addition to t ...
Starting in April 2025, the European University Association will bring together up to 20 senior university leaders for a pilot Leadership Development Programme that fosters exceptional leadership skil ...
On 27 October 2023, the inaugural meeting of a new working group dedicated to reforming Academic Career Assessment (ACA) took place online. ...
The NEWLEAD project consortium published a new workbook focused on Leading change in diversity and cross-cutting challenges. ...
The Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV) is conducting a survey for the EU-funded GraspOS project. The results of the survey will be published by the end of August 2023 in a landscape report, ...
The Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) is opening a call for Working Groups and for National Chapters. ...
On 16 March, the first meeting of the newly recomposed European University Association Expert Group on Open Science (EGOS) took place in Brussels. ...
On 13 December, the DocEnhance project organised its final event entitled “Transferable skills in doctoral education”. One of its main outcomes was the launch of the DocEnhance Platform, which hos ...
EUA member Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) is starting the process of rectorial election by announcing an international open competition for the position of the rector on 9 January. Applications ...
The Magna Charta Observatory has launched a new initiative to invite and promote academic research on “The Responsive and Responsible University”. ...
The European University Association (EUA) is pleased to become a supporting organisation for the More Than Our Rank initiative, promoted by the International Network of Research Management Societies ( ...
On 1 December 2022, the Constitutive Assembly of the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) took place, marking the beginning of a new chapter in which a broad coalition of organisations ...
The European University Association is pleased to announce that the Association will sign the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment and join the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA ...
An extensive co-creation exercise throughout the first half of 2022 that gathered the interests and perspectives of 350+ organisations from over 40 countries led to the publication of an Agreement on ...
Launched in January 2022 as a co-creation exercise, the process of drafting an agreement for reforming research assessment has reached an important milestone. On 8 July, the final version of the agree ...
Last week, the EUA Council for Doctoral Education has released a new publication entitled “Building the Foundations of Research - a Vision for the Future of Doctoral Education in Europe” that iden ...
The EuroScience Open Forum 2022 (ESOF2022) will take place from 13 to 16 July 2022 in Leiden, the Netherlands. Several EUA colleagues will organise and contribute to various sessions during the confer ...
EUA, together with Science Europe, Dr. Karen Stroobants (in her individual capacity as researcher with expertise in research on research) and the European Commission, is leading the drafting of an agr ...
International Women’s Day provides an opportunity to reflect on the gender disparities in university leadership. This article, presenting the latest data and trends in female leadership in EUA membe ...
International Women’s Day, celebrated on 8 March, is an opportunity that EUA has been seizing every year to further raise awareness on gender disparities in universities. In 2021, again, the Associa ...
In University World News, Thomas Estermann and Maria Blanco outline why EUA is launching a pioneering Leadership Development Programme to equip university leaders with the tools they need to thrive. ...
How can we foster the capacity of university leaders to effectively steer change and address new transformational priorities? Josep M. Garrell and Thomas Estermann reflect on the results of the NEWLEA ...
For Elizabeth Gadd, it is time for the higher education sector to think carefully about the effects of global university rankings. To explain why, she responds to three simple questions. ...
Digital transitions pervade every aspect of our lives, but some university teachers still appear reluctant to develop their digital competences. For Barbara Bruschi and Manuela Repetto, it is urgent t ...
Beyond getting the technology in place, digitally enhanced learning and teaching (DELT) in higher education requires considerable resources and engagement, strategy and leadership. In this article for ...
The growing participation of women in higher education is not yet reflected in university leadership. Here, Kerstin Mey examines barriers to reaching a critical mass of female leaders in higher educat ...
Leaders must respond to the unprecedented challenges facing the higher education system. In these times of uncertainty, hope is the fundamental leadership driver that will help our institutions to rem ...
National, system-level initiatives can support and enhance learning and teaching, as highlighted in the study National Developments in Learning and Teaching in Europe. While higher education instituti ...
As universities face increased pressures and rapid change, leadership development opportunities are in short supply. EUA’s Thomas Estermann and Luisa Bunescu offer their expertise from the NEWLEAD p ...
The concept of leadership in teaching is not easy to pin down. Drawing from the LOTUS project, EUA expert Thérèse Zhang explores two definitions and highlights the roles that leaders in teaching cou ...
This piece by Oliver Vettori of the Vienna University of Economics and Business analyses the tightrope walk of university leadership. It points out the importance of getting experts to agree on a way ...
As the mid-term evaluation of the first European University Alliances comes up, stakeholders must keep a balanced approach and look at the future of the initiative in a holistic way. As EUA expert Ann ...
As the European University Initiative nears its mid-term review, it is time to think seriously about how the alliances are governed. Complex setups must retain their fitness for purpose and benefit th ...
In Europe, there is little provision of leadership development schemes in higher education. Given the pace and intensity of transformations in our societies and invariably in our universities, institu ...
Creating European research and education areas requires a transparent and inclusive dialogue, says EUA senior policy coordinator Thomas Jørgensen.The European Commission’s release of communications ...
As universities across Europe move to online learning and teaching amid the coronavirus crisis, questions might arise about what steps may be needed to ensure quality. EUA expert Tia Loukkola explains ...
Research assessment practices are becoming more accurate, transparent and responsible. This is partly due to the sharp increase in external evaluations of universities that lead to internal evaluation ...
Finding a compromise on the EU’s next budget is no doubt a highly complex task. But after the lean years since the 2008 crash, there must be a commitment to increasing investment in research, innova ...
The Open University of Catalonia is a signatory to the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). The university’s DORA Working Group explains how by becoming a signatory, the universi ...
Numerous cases of positive change in higher education systems can be attributed to EUA’s Institutional Evaluation Programme (IEP). As IEP celebrates its 25th anniversary, Andrée Sursock looks back ...
Universities are changing. Strategy expert Claudia Nuss reflects on what it takes to successfully lead the transformation process. ...
The continuous development of teaching competences needs commitment at all levels. It is a systematic process that requires a framework for teaching performance, a professionalisation body, preferably ...
Thomas Estermann from the European University Association examines the university efficiency debate, explaining that behind the push to save money there is actually much more, including a silver linin ...
In the run up to the European University Association’s first pan-European Learning and Teaching Forum in Paris 28-29 September, we speak to Professor Jean Chambaz, a European University Association ...
As EUA launches the call for participation for its pilot Leadership Development Programme, President Josep M. Garrell presents the initiative and encourages leaders from EUA member universities to app ...
Today, higher education institutions are tasked with multiple and challenging roles. They accommodate evolving student expectations, address changing labour market needs and sustainability pressures, ...
EUA is currently piloting a Leadership Development Programme for senior leaders in European higher education institutions. ...
Today, higher education institutions are tasked with multiple and challenging roles. ...
The LOTUS project aims to contribute to capacity building and strategic change management for learning and teaching at higher education institutions across Europe. ...
The EUA Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Groups gather a selected group of EUA member universities each year to discuss and explore practices and lessons learnt in organising and implementing lea ...
The EFFECT project aimed to facilitate the exchange of experience and effective methods in terms of university teachers’ development at the European level. ...
USTREAM sought to examine the measures that are in place in universities across Europe to enhance efficiency at operational level, and also analyse policies at system level that support universities i ...
From 2012 – 2015, EUA worked on a project entitled ‘Rankings in Institutional Strategies and Processes’ (RISP), in partnership with the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT), the&n ...
Leading a university has never been more demanding. University leaders must juggle multiple roles, balancing the needs and expectations of a diverse array of stakeholders. They are accountable for a w ...
The European Research Area (ERA) reflects the European Commission and EU member states’ ambition to create a single, borderless market for research, innovation and technology across the EU. It was f ...
EUA works to ensure that the views of the university sector are taken into account in European and national-level policy discussions on internal and external quality assurance. It also supports its me ...
Open Science is a shared responsibility, and a successful transition will require a concerted effort from key stakeholders. EUA takes a comprehensive view of the transition to Open Science and works t ...
The call for participation in the European University Association’s pilot Leadership Development Programme is now closed. Applicants will be informed about the results by December 2024 at the latest ...