The classification identifies a class of about 300 research universities, including all top-ranked European universities, alongside a smaller class of science and technology-oriented HEIs, such as TU Munich and ETH Zurich, with a strong research focus and high technology production. Further, a large class of generalist HEIs includes younger and less-research oriented universities, alongside large universities of applied sciences, which enrol nearly 40% of the bachelor and master students. Finally, the HEI system also includes a group of highly specialized HEIs in social sciences and humanities, such as art, music and theology schools, and a large number of educational-only HEIs, comprising also most private institutions.
The new classification allows for a better understanding of the European higher education structure and identifies more homogenous groups of institutions, for example, as targets of European policies. The ongoing extension of ETER will allow its successive refinement and analysis of changes over time.
Lepori, B. (2021). The heterogeneity of European Higher Education Institutions. A configurational approach. Studies in Higher Education, forthcoming (link).
|
|