ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ

The article ¡°Could EU¡¯s ¡®Bologna?2.0¡¯ vision leave UK behind?¡± (News, 23 November) describes plans to further integrate higher education across the European Union. If the ¡°Sorbonne Process¡± is to take higher education any further downhill than the Bologna Process, then the UK is better off outside it because good students will still be seeking somewhere to get high-quality tertiary education.

It is amusing that of all people, Emmanuel Macron, France¡¯s president, should squeak about higher education when French universities are disastrously underfunded. In France, we have to increase the numbers of students per group so as to cope with an ever-decreasing number of colleagues as academic positions get frozen. A number of univer-sities are, through no fault of their own, bordering on bankruptcy.

Standards have nosedived because selection and entry criteria for master¡¯s-level study are minimal, and once a student is enrolled we are expected to carry them through to a degree whether or not they actually have the ability. We have a large number of underachieving researchers wanting promotion who take on weak doctoral students in order to?build a file for professional advancement. Is this the Sorbonne future that you want to join?

EvalHum2
Via timeshighereducation.com

Letters should be sent to:?THE.Letters@tesglobal.com
Letters for publication in?Times Higher Education?should arrive by 9am Monday.
View terms and conditions.