1. TOWARDS THE CREATION OF A EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY DATA COLLECTION Education and Training Statistics Working Group Luxembourg, 17 November 2010
Peter WHITTEN
DG Research, European Commission
Unit C4: Universities and Researchers

2. Context Concept of diversity of universities high on political agenda
Development of Bologna Process, EHEA, ERA
Modernisation Agenda for Universities and national reforms
Data on higher education available at national level (UOE) but lack of comparable data on universities at institutional level
Well-recognised need for more information on universities
to map the diversity of universities' profiles and their missions
to allow for stocktaking, benchmarking
to provide a dynamic tool to monitor trends, assess the impact of policy measures on universities and help define new evidence-based policies
Information should serve institutions themselves as well as policymakers at national and EU level

3. Political support for such a transparency tool
Bologna Process: Meeting of European Ministers Responsible for Higher Education, Communiqué April 2009
“Improved and enhanced data collection will help monitor progress made in the attainment of the objectives set out in the social dimension, employability and mobility agendas, as well as in other policy areas, and will serve as a basis for both stocktaking and benchmarking.”
“We note that there are several current initiatives designed to develop mechanisms for providing more detailed information about higher education institutions across the EHEA to make their diversity more transparent. These transparency tools … should be based on comparable data and adequate indicators to describe the diverse profiles of higher education institutions and their programmes.”

4. Testing the feasibility of a regular data collection
Public procurement in Contract awarded to consortium headed by University of Pisa. Known as EUMIDA study.
Work began July Final report due November 2010.
DG Research responsible for study, supported by Eurostat and DG Education and Culture who together formed an Advisory Group.
Strong cooperation with national statistical correspondants throughout project (FESUR Task Force).
Feasibility study but goal is to set up a regular data collection at institutional level.

5. Dissemination of results from the feasibility study
Aim is to begin a regular data collection in 2012 involving NSAs and Eurostat. Publication of data at institutional level
In the meantime, DG Research will publish the EUMIDA final report and methodological handbook on its website
Open question – what to do with the data collected during the study?
Clearly some outstanding obstacles to full transparency, particularly for Data Collection 2.
Consortium recommends publication of Data Collection 1 only. Data deemed to be of sufficient quality

6. Proposal to disseminate Data Collection 1
DG Research thus proposes to publish Data Collection 1
in interests of transparency
aim to stimulate debate
maintain momentum in the project
Dataset to be published on DG Research website
with clear description of the project, data collection process and the respective roles of EUMIDA national experts and NSAs
with all metadata and caveats

7. Proposal to disseminate Data Collection 1 (contd.)
Consultation beforehand with NSAs
country-specific datasets (excel database) to be provided to NSAs end November
response requested end January 2011
variable geometry approach (possible to opt-out of any column or row in the dataset, with justification)
In light of replies, DG Research will decide whether to make the dataset public in spring 2011