CELEX: 51998PC0405
Language: en
Date: 1998-07-02
Title: Re-examined proposal for a Council recommendation concerning European cooperation in quality assurance in higher education

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                      Brussels, 02.07.1998
                                      COM(1998) 405 final
                                      97/0121(SYN)
                Re-examined proposal for a
            COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION
    concerning European cooperation in quality assurance
                    in higher education
(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 189 c (d)
                    of the EC Treaty)
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                               EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
1.    On 28 May 1998 the European Parliament proposed at its second reading an
      amendment to the Council's common position on the Council recommendation on
      European cooperation in quality assurance in higher education1. In accordance with
      Article 189 C(d) of the EC Treaty, the Commission must re-examine its proposal on
      the basis of which the Council established its common position, in the light of the
      amendment proposed by the Parliament.
2.    The amendment concerns the following change to Part I, section A, second indent,
      of the common position:
      "to encourage and help higher education institutions to use appropriate measures,
      particularly quality assurance, as a means of improving the quality of teaching and
      learning, as well as training in research, another important aspect of their task".
3.    At the first reading, the Parliament had adopted an amendment which referred to the
      introduction of evaluation systems in research in general. The Commission had
   - rejected this amendment because the legal basis of the recommendation (Articles
      126 and 127 of the Treaty) does not cover research.
4.    However, the amendment submitted at the second reading refers to training in
      research, an important aspect of the vocation of higher education institutions and
      often intimately bound up with general education. The inclusion of this reference is
      a useful clarification and the Commission accordingly accepts the amendment
      proposed by the Parliament.
    Adopted 26 February 1998; not yet published.
    Commission's original proposal: COM(97) 159 final; Commission's modified proposal: COM(97)
     707 final.
                                                   2-
 ---pagebreak---                                  RE-EXAMINED PROPOSAL
The amendment adopted by the Parliament and accepted by the Commission includes a
change to the text of Part I, section A of the Recommendation which thus reads as
follows (the change is underlined):
"A.    to support and, where necessary, establish transparent quality assurance systems
       with the following aims:
       - to safeguard the quality of higher education within the specific economic,
           social and cultural context of their countries while taking due account of the
           European dimension and of a rapidly changing world;
       - to encourage and help higher education institutions to use appropriate
           measures, particularly quality assurance, as a means of improving the quality
           of teaching and learning, as well as training in research, another important
           aspect of their task:
       - to stimulate mutual exchanges of information on quality and quality assurance
           evaluated at Community and world level and to encourage cooperation
           between higher education institutions in this area;".
 ---pagebreak---  ---pagebreak---                                                                   ISSN 0254-1475
                                                           COM(98) 405 final
                                              DOCUMENTS
EN                                                            16 04   10   06
                                    Catalogue number : CB-CO-98-416-EN-C
                                                             ISBN 92-78-37503-9
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
L-2985 Luxembourg
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