University Continuing Education in Greece
National Report
by G. Tsamasphyros, D. Rigopoulos, A. Siapkaras, M. Kalouli
 
Current State of University Continuing Education
 
 
 Introduction Definition of CE in the country CE is rather new in Greece, and, therefore, few people have a clear idea about it. The knowledgeable minority distinguishes CE from post-graduate studies. Recent EU funded seminars made CE more widely known. Historical introduction UCE officially started in Greece in 1992, when the Senate of the National Technical University of Athens decided the creation of the Centre for Continuing Education at NTUA. Currently 14 Universities have formal Centres for Continuing Education.

It should be noted that in Greece, before the creation of official Centres for CE, Universities where offering post graduate seminars and other CE programmes for their graduates. Individual departments or professors had the responsibility for these courses, and there was no central coordination.

Non University Centres for CE are also active in the field. For example, CE is systematically offered to civil servants by the Institute for Continuous Training. In addition, private Centres of Vocational Training are organising seminars, a good number of which is partially funded by the EU.

Outline of the higher education system in the country Post-secondary education in Greece comprises of three mainstream educational activities: 18 AEI (Universities), 14 TEI (Polytechnics), 60 IEK (Adult Vocational Schools for high school graduates). All of the above are state-run. The third category, that of IEK, is the only one where there is no state monopoly, with an additional abundance of private IEKs. Overall, IEKs are a new concept, and are certainly of low prestige among truly tertiary education institutions (AEIs and TEIs). For the rest of this report we concentrate only on these latter two categories.

TEIs have 3 to 3.5 academic year programmes, while AEIs have 4 to 6. AEIs are encouraged to hold post-graduate programmes in most disciplines, while TEIs are totally disallowed to do so by Law. There are overall 6.5K university professors of various ranks for around 210K university students out of which a vast 43% (!) is in overstay status. There are 5.5K instructors for around 90K students in the various TEIs. 20K graduate each year from AEIs and 8K from TEIs. There are overall 210 university departments with 1100 registered labs.
 

The following table shows a detail picture in the university domain:

 
 
graduating yearly with
sciences
under-graduates
faculty
first degree
post-graduate degrees
humanities and law
29K
890
5483
179
medicine & other health sciences
9K
1900
1782
305
in the "sciences"
17K
1300
2759
188
agrarian sciences
5K
380
678
28
engineering sciences
18K
980
2473
76
economics & managerial sciences
14K
380
2514
32
social & political sciences
8K
230
741
10
fine arts
2K
70
122
0
cognitive & educational sciences
13K
330
4201
7
Number of students reported in the above table exclude those in overstay status and reflect 1993.
 
 

Number of universities (EUCEN definition) 18 Universities exist in Greece, 14 of which have formal Centres for CE Student numbers - full-time/CE Data are available for full time students, by department, in all 18 Universities. (see Table in Greek). Since CE is rather recent in Greece, there data for some of the CE seminars.

Organisational Arrangement of CE in Universities

Centralised/dispersed/mixed The CE Centres are created at University level and handle all CE programmes of the Departments. Centres at different Universities communicate and collaborate, especially for programmes of the EU. Who are the "actors": students, users, market mechanisms? In Greece, a good number of seminars is funded by the EU. These are coordinated by State authorities (Ministry of Labour and Regional Government), which make decisions on the themes of the seminars. The unemployed typically attend EU sponsored seminars, and receive a stipend for their attendance, while professionals typically pay tuition to attend the seminars which are of particular interest to them.

Undergraduate students do not participate in UCE under any capacity. They could be potential users only if UCE was allowed by university administrators to deliver non-credit courses to undergraduates. This can happen only when the Greek university system will fully adopt a certain credit system, which will subsequently make it very easy to truly distinguish between for-credit and non-credit offerings.

Graduate students do participate quite often, delivering specific lectures and supervising/assisting lab sessions under strict professor guidance. There is a strict rule with which every UCE activity has to abide: the person legally responsible and legally representing the University must be a professor of any rank, a member of the faculty who is closest to the knowledge field at question.
 

Users of UCE are usually of three kinds:

(a) clientele from the world of business and the professions

(b) businesses which ask for on-the-job-training (OJT)

(c) unemployed young scientists, engineers and other professionals

Training category (c) people is by far the most prominent among Universities, since the Greek Ministry of Labour calls for delivering seminars of this type on a yearly basis for over ten years now. In addition, categories (b) and (c) are subsidised heavily by the ESF (European Social Fund), and are thus a lure for all sorts of continuing education hosts (state universities included) which operate on a minimum of financial planning.

In order to further develop UCE aimed at user-group (a), Greek Universities have to develop close liaison with their alumni, a very uncommon practice in Greece. At the present though there is an all-out ongoing effort to establish in-site "Carrier Placement & Job-Market Observation Offices" under the auspices of the CSF II (2-nd Community Support Framework for Greece). This activity will promulgate to all kinds of positive spin-offs, one being to establish a permanent link between the graduate and his/hers alma mater.

The closer a University is in engineering and techno-economic disciplines, the more in tune it is with market mechanisms. It is difficult, however, to envision how this experience will be systematically introduced to benefit Greek Universities in other areas of continuing education. Joint University-Enterprise partnerships of LEONARDO-type are possibly the only real promise.

 
Programmes

Subject range The subject range depends on the scientific areas covered by each University. CE subjects may or may not exist in the undergraduate or graduate curricula. Their subjects, when not defined by the State authorities which coordinate the EU sponsored seminars, depend on the market demand for each topic. Format range (short, long - credit/non-credit, distance learning) Both short and long courses are offered, depending on the subject. Typically a Certificate is issued, which does not currently correspond to academic credit.

An Open University is now being created in Greece, and problems related to duration of studies, distance learning and accreditation will have to be resolved.

The existing Universities are interested in including distance learning programmes in their activities, and several related programmes are currently

Which sectors of UCE are growing and which ones are declining? Since CE is a very recent activity in Greece, there are not enough data to justify such judgement.
 

Quality

National/local arrangements No formal arrangements exist for quality evaluation on the national or local level. Quality assessment methods are difficult to establish, given that this form of education is recent and with particularities. Types of diplomas, certificates delivered Certificates are given to students who attend a seminar for more than 90% of the scheduled hours. The name, the duration and the dates of the course, as well as the name of the professor who was responsible for it are written on the certificate.

In some courses, there are alternate types of Certificates testifying attendance at the seminar and knowledge of the subject; the latter is issued only after successful examination.

Means of Assessment Assessment of students’ performance is based on the instructors’ judgement for active participation at the seminar and appropriate tests or written course work. Means of Quality control Evaluation forms are distributed to the students, to be completed the last day of each seminar. Students’ responses are systematically recorded, and feedback is given to the responsible and the teachers of each seminar.

 
Financial Arrangements

  Institutional support for CE Universities typically subsidise CE, by contributing facilities and equipment. Occasionally loans from the Universities are needed, to cover delays of payments by the EU. State/regional support for CE EU funding exists for some CE programmes, which covers 75% of the programme cost. State support is promised to private CE Centres, to cover the remaining 25%, by the Ministry of Labour which coordinates these programmes. This support is not given to Universities, which are expected to contribute from their own budget. Other The cost of some CE courses is covered by tuition, paid either by the participants, or by their employers.

 
Motivation of CE Staff

Who is providing UCE? How many are from outside the universities? The educational programmes are organised and coordinated by University faculty members. Teaching, however, is not restricted to faculty and other members of the University community. Frequently professionals and practitioners are invited to present their experience and skills.

The regulation for the Centre for CE at the NTUA requires that at least 50% of the hours are taught by members of the NTUA community (professors, graduate students, scientific associates). The rest may be taught by invited lecturers from the industry, the public sector, private firms, etc.

Financial incentives The upper limits for each hour of teaching are set by ministerial decree. For holders of Doctorate the hourly rate is 12000 drs plus 4000 for notes.

Depending on the preparation needed for each seminar, sometimes these figures are rather low. The regulation of the Centre for CE at the NTUA sets a similar upper limit for instructors with Doctorate.

Academic recognition Although organisers and instructors of CE seminars are expected to fulfil minimum academic requirements, there is no formal academic recognition for their work in CE. Administrative support Administrative support is typically provided by Centres of CE, but can also be handled by the organisers’ staff if they wish so. Other means Facilities and equipment are usually provided by the Centres for CE. In specialised cases, the organisers have to use their own equipment. Sometimes seminar needs give the opportunity for procurement of new equipment, which can also be used in other educational or research projects.

 
Status of CE
 

Visibility of CE on a local, regional, national and European level Since CE in Greece is rather recent, it is gradually gaining recognition. It is not widely known, but it has a good reputation among the interested professionals. It is also worth noting that there has been an increased involvement of Greek CE Centres in transnational projects such as, for instance, the LEONARDO Exchanges and Placements scheme etc. Accreditation of qualifications The Ministry of Labour has undertaken the responsibility for the normalisation of CE, and establishes the rules for Centres of CE to be officially recognised. This process has unfortunately been rather slow. Upon establishment of officially recognised Centres for CE, the certificates issued by them should also be accredited. Contacts with industry, employers, professions There are some contacts with industry, employers and professions, which need to become more systematic. In some cases, like at the Centre for CE of the NTUA, representatives from high level professional associations (Technical Chamber of Greece, Association of Greek Industries, etc) are members of the directing committee.

 
Other Providers of Continuing Education

Types of providers In the recent past, there was a variety of CE providers who operated without any guidelines and, often, without ensuring even a minimum standard of quality criteria. Today things are certainly better in this area, after all such settings had to comply with a first set of minimum standards that resulted to the accreditation of what are now known as KEK (Centres of Vocational Training). These operate under ever-stricter guidelines from the Greek Ministry of Labour.

It is self-evident that well-structured adult education organisations of the past did survive under these newer rules; while these rules helped newcomers in the area to plan their activity in a more focused way, both organisationally and clientele-wise. Today the most common non-University CE providers are:

EEDE (Hellenic Society for Business Administration) which delivers practical short-term seminars to business cadres

ELKEPA (Hellenic Centre to boost Productivity) which delivers a vast variety of short-term seminars to all kinds of University graduate professionals

IDE (Institute for Continuing Training) which trains solely civil servants sent by their superiors

IEKEM (Institute of Professional Training for Engineers) a chapter activity of the Hellenic Technical Chamber

intra-enterprise Centres, especially for large banks and the public utility sector.

Private Centres, many of which were created in view of the many CE programmes announced by the EU.
 

Types of diplomas, certificates delivered Typically certificates are given to the participants, based on their daily presence, upon completion of each seminar. Some private institutions issue diplomas, the recognition of which is frequently questionable, at least in public sector. Means of Assessment CE providers, who wish to undertake seminars funded by the EU, are assessed by the Ministry of Labour. The assessment is based on the completeness of their programmes, the qualifications of the training personnel, the means and methods of education, the facilities and equipment. Connection with the industry, is also evaluated in the case of seminars for unemployed which require practical training. Means of Quality control For the providers who have already undertaken seminars for unemployed, the percentage of their former students who have been hired, is a criterion for the assessment of their performance by the State. Links with Higher Education There are only sparse links between non-University based CE Centres and Universities. However, on a personal basis, several faculty members from Greek Universities, participate as advisors, members of the board, or instructors cooperating also with other providers of CE in addition to their own programmes.

 
National/Regional Policy(es) on CE

Role of national/regional governments (in forming continuing education policies)
 Greece has no regional governments in the western sense. It is a small country with local authorities. Therefore there is only one national policy regarding CE: Effects of the "autonomy" of the University(in shaping national/regional policies in the area of continuing education) The autonomy of the University is respected by the Greek State in various forms. ELE is the special "private" account which all State Universities enjoy in order to manage income from independent sources. This therefore applies both to seminars directed to the unemployed (income from the ESF) and to "free-market" seminars for which dues may be charged to the trainees.

The most severe hindrance these last 2 years has been the State’s refusal to allow KEKs run from within Universities (so-named local KEKs) to apply for nation-wide status. The refusal is based on the fact that Greek Universities are localised, they do not have multiple campuses dispersed in different territories. The counterpoint of the NTUA is that a technical University has utmost interest in all areas with declining industrial activity of obsolete nature, as well as in all areas developing research potential in the new technological fronts.

 
European Dimension in UCE

European strategies/vision for UCE Currently we cannot claim that a clear European strategy exists for CE in Greece. There have been efforts to strengthen the European participation at CE programmes in Greece, but there are no noticeable results yet. In this direction targeted the programme «Improving Productivity and Pleasure in Continuing Education», coordinated by the NTUA, with the participation of ten Greek Universities and EUCEN. Purpose of the programme was to exploit the potential of Greece for programmes in CE, given its attractiveness and the relatively low cost of living. European Cooperation in UCE EUCEN is the link for exchange of ideas and common activities in European UCE. In addition, few CE seminars are taught by invited lecturers from different European and non-European countries. Use of Distance Education Distance education is now evolving in Greece. In the past there were some radio and TV transmitted courses, which rarely belonged to post-University education. Currently, with the advances in computer-based training, Universities have been interested in promoting this type of education. Recognition of non-national qualifications Recognition of non-national qualifications exists for formal University studies (undergraduate and post-graduate). These are officially recognised by DIKATSA (the Greek Trans-University Centre for the Recognition of Titles of Studies Abroad). No such procedure exists for CE qualifications. European Diplomas

Implementing the European Commission White Paper

 Greece now starting organising a system of collection of credit from CE courses, which could eventually lead to initial or post-graduate University degrees.

Existing Problems/Obstacles and Good Practices in UCE

Organisational Arrangement of CE in Universities

The self-funded seminars are generally more effective than the sponsored seminars. This is because both instructors and students are more motivated, as they already know where they will apply the skills and knowledge that they will acquire. Such seminars, however, may be not easily accessible on behalf of the unemployed, particularly those of a high cost.

Workplace learning Workplace learning in CE is sparse and it is arranged on an ad hoc basis, especially when the client is a company or organisation rather than individuals. Links with professions Effort is needed towards a more systematic cooperation with professional associations through the establishment of permanent joint committees, common planning of courses, common research activities with a view to anticipate market demand. Which sectors of UCE are growing and which ones are declining? UCE has a rather short history in Greece so as to allow for trends to be developed. The provision of CE seminars is based partly on market research results regarding the developments in the Engineers professions and partly on demand from clients.

 
Programmes

Recently, the practical training part of some seminars for unemployed was planned at the NTUA with the objective to connect the trainees with their potential employers. Agreements were made with interested firms to integrate one or more trainees in their office personnel for a month. The allocation of trainees in firms will be jointly decided by the organisers of the seminars and the responsible persons in the firms, after a formal selection procedure which includes CV examination and interview.

 
Quality

National/local arrangements Following the recent stricter rules and criteria set concerning the establishment and functionning of CE Centress in Greece it is expected that quality of courses, aptitude of instructors and overall designing and provision of seminars will reach higher standards of quality. Types of diplomas, certificates delivered There is a need to examine the issue of transnational validity and recognition of diplomas.

Feedback on the quality of the programmes is given in evaluation questionnaires that students are required to complete and submit upon completion of each programme. These questionnaires are formed by each Centre, and therefore the quality control may vary from Centre to Centre.

 
Financial Arrangements

There is funding of 4 billion drs from the EU to the Universities, to start reorientation cycles with 500 hour seminars.

 
Status of CE

Being a new practice in Greece UCE is slowly gaining recognition. Priority should become the provision of seminars at regional level. The NTUA has set up regional centres in various areas of Greece. The development of Greek Telecommunications infrastructure which is currently under way will allow CE to be offered also from a distance. Such endevours are planned and implemented as pilot projects and are heavily based on cooperative arrangements with large corporations of the public sector (Public Corporation of Electricity) and professional associations (Technical Chamber of Greece, Athens Chamber of Commerce etc.).

 
European Dimension in UCE

European cooperation has undergone an acute rise in recent years, encouraged by EU programmes. EUCEN is felt to be an institution which has the potential for developing a strong European dimension in UCE. European studies still need to be developed and the use of distance learning, currently apparent only in pilot form, needs to be expanded at regional and European level. This will be a step forward towards expanding cooperation between Universities at national and European level, working for mutual recognition of diplomas, facilitating the mobility of students and professionals in view of the creation of the Single European Market.

 
National CE Organisations

Accreditation of national CE organisations, according to new rules is still pending and is delaying over almost a one-year period. As a result financial arrangements regarding seminars already conducted in the past are also pending. This causes a series of problems in the management and administration of CE Centres.

 
National/Regional Policy(es) on CE

Recent restructuring of the public administration system introducing decentralisation and reinforcing the regional authorities, remains only in papers and is restricted to formal implementation (e.g. appointment of Regional Committees of Education etc.). Therefore systematic investigation of specific needs in each region is lacking and planning of CE provision at the same level can only be insufficient. Moreover, being a new institution in Greece, UCE planning, designing and provision should be seen as an activity in pilot form. The Ministry of Education, only recently for the first time launched a call for proposals on UCE, encouraging innovative ideas and cooperation with the economy, under CSF funding.

"Success Stories"

UCE in Greece is mainly owed to University initiative and University funding out of own resources. In some cases of jointly funded seminars by the institutions and the government, (usually under EU funding schemes), Universities had to borough money to meet their obligations owing to extreme delays of reimbursement on behalf of the government.

 

New Needs in UCE and Measures to be taken to satisfy the needs identified
  Organisational Arrangement of CE in Universities   What are the constraints and opportunities The three educational functions «Undergraduate, Post-graduate and Continuing Education» are not yet universally accepted. Therefore there is sometimes an opposition to CE programmes, which are seen as absorbing effort and resources which otherwise would go to undergraduate or post-graduate programmes.

On the other hand, CE listens to the market, and the content of its seminars have to match the current market demands. Therefore, CE can lead the way for innovative programmes which will subsequently be included in the University curriculum.

What is the demand and the social justification for UCE? The provision of UCE should be based on an appraisal of the present and future needs of the economy and of the extent to which these are being met by existing provision. It should also meet students’ needs and the expressed or anticipated needs of society, in general. UCE being recently established in Greece, more out of University initiative rather than as a national institution, and more as an outcome of EU policies and funding rather than one of national policy, it remains still unknown to the general public and needs to justify its existence through the creation of stronger links with both sides of the industry (employers and trade-unions), as well as professional associations. The participation of social partners’ representatives in the Committee for C.E. at the NTUA, although a partial example, is indicative of such recognition of the usefulness and necessity of C.E. Are existing innovative and transferable tools identifiable? C.E. is one of the fields at which distance learning can be fully applied. Since UCE has only very recently become a practice in Greece, it rather tends to profit from transfer of knowhow from other European countries and to adopt methods and tools already tested. However, some Universities, as is the case of the NTUA, specialised in the technological field, have developed high quality infrastructure and equipment, in terms of networks, multimedia production and other high tech achievments which are also used in the context of C.E. Workplace learning Workplace learning is mostly encouraged through European programmes (although these aim mainly at the vocational training of non-graduate level trainees). In general, there is a certain degree of reluctance on behalf of employers to take in apprentices unless this is accompanied by economic incentive. Links with professions There are only occasional links with professions through the professional associations and alumni clubs. Which sectors of UCE are growing and which ones are declining? UCE being a new practice in Greece there is not enough ground to support argumentation on growing/declining sectors within C.E. However, there is strong evidence of rising demand in the field of information technologies, multimedia and relevant specialisations which cut across the professions.

 
Programmes

What are the constraints and opportunities EU or state funding of programmes boosts participation on behalf of individuals as well as on behalf of companies. The question of viability of such courses in the future, is one wich gives rise to doubts and debate. What is the demand and the social justification for UCE? A certain argument which applies to technical Universities alone is to be found in section 1.9.2. In general, Greek society is far behind in adopting the view of lifelong professional training. However, professionals in large enterprises and free-lance engineers and consultants do often contemplate the benefits of certain forms of training, only if they had the chance to continue associating with the University from which they graduated a number of years ago.

The rest of the Greek society does not seem to care. This holds true for various forms of economic and social interactions, such as "open-house" to high school students or to prospective employers. There seems to exist a lack of interest. The social periphery around a University is much more interested about holding a disjoint series of invited lectures by renown artists and philosophers rather than experiencing the benefits of UCE.

Workplace learning An increasing number of employers are willing to take-in apprentices, although overall they are rather reluctant to do so. There is no systematic way of cooperation and sometimes cooperation is based on a personal acquaintance factor. However, with the advancement of new technologies, workplace (or laboratory) simulation is now possible and some of the mainstream courses offered by Universities (particularly those of technical orientation) have incorported such teaching and learning methods in their programmes. Links with professions There have been instances of proposals designed in common by both University and Professional Association, submitted for funding under the CSF scheme, for the implementation of C.E. programmes addressed to University graduates. Such has been the case of cooperation between NTUA and the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE - the professional association of Engineers) However, such practices are still limited in number, although the need for them is continuously growing. Which sectors of UCE are growing and which ones are declining? At present it is hard to distinguish trends. However, in the long run, through systematic recording and study of UCE seminars in combination with market research results, it will be possible to have a clearer picture of growing and declining sectors.

 
Quality

Quality and evaluation standards for UCE should become universal and closer links with the economy at national and European level should help towards this direction. All by respecting national particularities, criteria for setting up quality standards should be guided by international developments at the economic and technological fields.

 
Financial Arrangements

There is a need for official recognition of UCE and introduction of CE activities in mainstream academic activities, so as to ensure sound funding and therefore development potential.

 
Motivation of CE Staff

 

Who is providing UCE? How many are from outside the universities? Usually, staff comes from within the University providing the courses. However, it is very common that visiting lecturers from the industry or the public sector also participate in teaching. It is also possible to have instructors from other types of educational institutions according to their specialisation. Financial incentives Self-funded courses derive their viability from fees paid by students (or by their employers). The cost for attending such CE courses is sometimes very high. Instructors’ fees vary on the basis of title (doctorate or not), specialisation and position within the University Academic recognition There is no academic recognition for CE courses. The certificate obtained is of no use for transferring credits between Universities, or, for adding to credits leading to mainstream degrees. Although the Open University is foreseen to offer such possibility to participant students. Administrative support Administrative support is entrusted to the CE Centres’ staff which ensure everyday running, administrative and financial management of the courses at the cost of the Centre’s budget.

 
Status of CE

It has already been mentioned that UCE in Greece is a fairly new practice. Its attractiveness has a limited range which does not go further than the broader social circle of the University and its impact on the economy is still far from becoming obvious or even measurable. Some kind of measurable results, however, would have created the conditions for greater acknowledgement of the role of CE in society.

 
European Dimension in UCE

At European level UCE has a longer period of practice than in Greece, particularly in countries of the "North". Greece has a lot to gain from an exchange of experiences, transfer of know-how and the development of common projects with other European Universities. Furthering of links between Greek and other European Universities will result to overall broadening of the scope of CE provided, in terms of developing innovative content and methods, in terms of student and staff mobility between Universities, in terms of its usefulness to economy and society and in terms of acquiring wider recognition.

 
National CE Organisations

In 1995 the Council for Education (ESYP) was established which will guarantee the widest possible consensus in all procedures for all levels of education and especially their design and organisation. Furthermore, the Institute for Continuing Education (IDEKE), which aims at developing continuing education using new technology and modern communication media for distance learning, was also established. In addition, the Open University which has been founded only recently, will also move in the same direction.

 
National/Regional Policy(es) on CE

An issue of great importance to the Ministry of Education is decentralisation of the education system. A special committee has been established to examine this matter in a systematic way.

Regional dimension of UCE Under the continuous increase in the demand for university education the state has responded by the creation of new universities or the expansion of existing ones. Most of the new universities have been established in peripheral zones of the country. It is hoped that universities established in the regions will become a focal point of development for those areas and will also assume an important role in the provision of C.E. In view of the possibility offered by new technologies for increasing use of information technologies applications, the provision of C.E. programmes will be possible to be offered even at remote areas in Greece. Such efforts have been undertaken by the NTUA, through the creation of regional centres of C.E. In addition, the existing (newly created) University Network which links all universities in Greece could offer the grounds for a successful C.E. provision with the collaboration of various departments of univesities both from the centre and the periphery of the country. Role of national/regional governments The creation of the National Education Council (ESYP), it was intended, as mentioned above, to guarantee the widest consensus on procedures and practices concerning education so as to replace existing paternalisme by the decentralised administration of the system. ESYP consists of a President (proposed by the Minister and endorsed by a parliamentary committee) and representatives from: other Ministries; various professional groups; all university rectors and TEI Presidents; the Pedagogical Institute; the political parties; the Orthodox Church; the National Federation of Local Government; teaching and research staff in higher education; the Confederation of Parents; the National students Union; the Federations of Primary and Secondary School Teachers; and the Confederations of Greek Industries. Effects of the "autonomy" of the University Resources and funding mechanisms are the key issues which define the "autonomy" of the Universities. However, Greek Universities are not given the freedom nor the incentive to engender their own sources of income. There is excessively tight financial control. They are controlled on budget by line items. Universities do not have the freedom to reallocate resources among various budget items and monies have to be returned unspent. There is mistrust between government and the institutions which exaggerate their needs because they expect the government to cut them arbitrarily. Planning is impossible because institutions have no idea what funding they will receive next year. Recruitment of teaching staff is formally the responsibility of the ministry, so the institution cannot ensure that staffing relates to the numbers of students, the improvement of quality and research. Total dependence of institutions on public funding and absence of allocation criteria results to inefficient budget allocation on top of heavy government control over both economic and administrative activities of institutions.

 
"Success Stories"

Are existing innovative and transferable tools identifiable? NTUA’s experience of regional networking of UCE Centre. Use of information technologies and internet, teleconferencing and multimedia applications have been put to the service of C.E. among other fields. Ideas for cooperation Through the Universities’ Network cooperation is possible and has been effective in various collective schemes of CE provision. Cooperation with industries both of the private and public sector has been successfully developed, although in an ad hoc and non-systematic way, in the framework of previous CE courses, as well as in the context of recent proposals submitted for funding under various Community Support Framework (CSF) operational programmes (e.g. concerning education, R&D, the SMEs etc.) or in the context of other Community and National initiatives (ADAPT, EMPLOYMENT) or programmes (LEONARDO, SOCRATES). Stimulating growth and quality UCE provision should be based on previous labour market research for the identification of market needs, economic trends and prospects and technological developments, which in turn will define qualification requirements and CE content and orientation. Only then could CE become a stimulant of the economy by boosting competitiveness of the working force through training on new and needed competencies.
  CONCLUSIONS /proposals
  University autonomy

The planning capacity of Greek universities is weak, because their main sponsor is the Greek government which enforces a dicision making framework that does not encourage good institutional planning. Universities should be expected to create an institutional plan that goes forward to reasonable time horizons, that judges the type of courses that should be provided in order to meet students’ needs and the needs of the economy and society, that estimates the kind of staff, physical plant and equipment that is needed, and negotiates on that basis with the government. The controls on expenditure should rely on agreements reached on objectives and on ensuring that spending is related to them. The present requirements of Ministry approvals both on fund spending and on staff recruitment should be abandoned because they are based on no rational considerations.
 

Quality

Assessment of students’ performance is based on the instructor’s judgement and quality control is ensured by means of evaluation forms filled in by students. Both methods are based on personal judgment and they lack objective market criteria, knowledge of international practices and consideration for transnational comparability and official recognition criteria of qualifications. This becomes ever more important in view of the European Single Market and the expected mobility of people between countries. Moreover, a system of overall evaluation, worked out with care could help Greek Universities tackle many of the problems which face them. It would reinforce accountability (internal) to the institution or (external) to client groups and thus take on a judgmental form. In this form it is likely to lead to proposals for improvements. It could also be used as the basis for allocation of resources. Both types of evaluation, that related to accountability and that related to self-improvement are lacking and needed.
 

Links with the economy

The isolated and ad hoc instances of cooperation in the field of C.E. between Universities and industry, do not help C.E. provision to fully meet and anticipate the social and economic aspects of demand. There is a need for developing cooperative schemes between the economy and education in a more systematic and permanent way. Such endeavours have been initiated through the creation of career’s and liaison offices. However, there is a risk - which should be anticipated - that these institutional arrangements remain a formal accomplishment rather than an active stimulant for the optimum use UCE.