Higher Education in France during the Hollande Presidency

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) dramatically changed the face of higher education in France through the Bologna Reforms, and together with 47 other nations France continues to evolve as part of the EHEA.  For all 48 countries, the main goal is to increase faculty and student mobility and to facilitate student and worker employability across borders. From 2012 to 2017 uniform degrees for the Bachelor, Master’s, and Doctoral levels and common assessment measures for individual disciplines resulted in an increase of transfer credits from semesters abroad (including outside of Europe,) and new joint and dual degree programs created with other European countries, with former colonies abroad, and with other nations in North America, Latin America, and Asia.  Europass documents evaluating language skills, facilitating transcripts of student grades, and establishing model CVs, all enhanced student and worker mobility in France and Europe.  Campus France recruited internationally, and degree programs taught in France were sometimes delivered in English or other languages to increase opportunities for international research collaboration. Continuing education programs increased, both nationally and internationally. Governance structures changed, financing became more flexible, and internationally oriented public-private partnerships became commonplace. The Brexit decision has yet to deter the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research, individual institutions, and private and public partners from working together across national borders as efforts to adapt higher education systems to become more compatible and more competitive still continue.