Higher Education in Italy

This country profile is part of a collective effort by the network members to map matching practices across Europe. If you find it useful and want to refer to it in your own work, please refer to it as “Merlino, Luca Paolo and Antonio Nicoló(2012), University admissions practices – Italy,MiP Country Profile 15.”

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Relevant country background

Students typically enter university at age 19 in Italy, one year later than in most EU countries. Following the Bologna harmonization process, universities are organized in a first cycle of 3 years (BA), followed by a 2-year secondary cycle of two years (MA).

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Higher Education in Germany

This country profile is part of a collective effort by the network members to map matching practices across Europe. If you find it useful and want to refer to it in your own work, please refer to it as “Kübler, Dorothea (2011), University admission practices – Germany, MiP Country Profile 2.”

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Relevant country background

Education in Germany is only partially regulated at the national level through federal law  (Hochschulrahmengesetz, HRG). Most issues of education are determined by the 16 German states (Bundesländer). Thus, each state has its own law that complements the federal rules (e.g. Berliner Hochschulgesetz (Berl HG) or Bayerisches Hochschulgesetz (BayHSchG)).

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Higher Education in Belgium

This country profile is part of a collective effort by the network members to map matching practices across Europe. If you find it useful and want to refer to it in your own work, please refer to it as “Cantillon, Estelle and Declercq, Koen  (2012), University admission practices – Belgium, MiP Country Profile 9.”

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Relevant country background

Education policies in Belgium are organized at the (language) community level. There are three language communities in Belgium: Dutch (Flemish Community), French and German. The Flemish Community and the French-speaking Community share responsibility for the delivery of education in the bilingual Brussels Capital Region. There is no German-language institution of higher education.

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Higher Education in Ireland

This country profile is part of a collective effort by the network members to map matching practices across Europe. If you find it useful and want to refer to it in your own work, please refer to it as “Chen, Li (2012), University admission practices – IrelandMiP Country Profile 8.”

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Relevant country background

Education in Irelandis divided into primary education (6-12 years old), secondary education (12- 17/18 years old), further and higher education (>17/18 years old). The National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) measures the knowledge and skills expected to be achieved at each level, making it easier to compare students’ qualification from different study tracks. The Department of Education and Skills (http://www.education.ie/) administers education policies at all levels, including aspects such as curriculum and syllabus, quality assurance and evaluation, as well as funding. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) acts as the advisory body to the Department of Education and Skills for policy planning and development related to higher education. In addition, it provides funding for the universities, institutes of technology, and a number of other institutions[1] (The university Act, 1997 [1], and The Institutes of Technology Act, 2006 [2]). The funding covers courses costs, research and capital/infrastructure investment. Most higher education providers are publicly funded, with the exception of a few private providers.[2]

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Higher Education in UK

This country profile is part of a collective effort by the network members to map matching practices across Europe. If you find it useful and want to refer to it in your own work, please refer to it as “Chen, Li (2012), University admission practices – UKMiP Country Profile 7.”

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Relevant country background

Education in the UK has recently undergone a great deal of structural reforms. Currently, it is jointly regulated by the Department for Education (DfE) and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). DfE was set up in May 2010 (taking over most of the responsibilities of the former Department for Children, Schools and Families) to organize education for children up to 19 years old. BIS regulates higher education.

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Higher Education in Hungary

This country profile is part of a collective effort by the network members to map matching practices across Europe. If you find it useful and want to refer to it in your own work, please refer to it as “Biró, Péter (2011), University admission practices – Hungary, MiP Country Profile 5.”

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Relevant country background

Higher education is regulated at the national level inHungary. Most universities and colleges are publicly funded, with a small number of universities which are privately owned or run by Churches. Higher education is free of charge in principle (there were some attempts to introduce fees for all, but they failed). There is, however, a quota for state-financed places and all students who cannot fit in this quota (or want to take more than one degree) have to pay some contribution. This contribution corresponds approximately to the minimum monthly wage (around 300 EUR) charged for each semester. For indication on the numbers, in the last main matching round in 2011, the total number of applicants was 140,953 and 125,733 of them applied for state-financed places. The total number of students admitted was 98,003 and 66,906 of them got a state-financed place (thus around 31,000 students are charged fees for their studies at programmes starting in September 2011).

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Higher Education in Ukraine

This country profile is part of a collective effort by the network members to map matching practices across Europe. If you find it useful and want to refer to it in your own work, please refer to it as “Kiselgof, Sofya (2011), Matching practices for universities – Ukraine, MiP Country Profile 4.”

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Relevant country background

The education system in Ukraine includes public and private universities, but the best universities are public. Public universities have two types of seats: state-financed and open-enrollment seats. The difference between the two lies in the tuition fees: there is no tuition fee for state-financed seats, whereas the tuition fee for open-enrollment seats is about 1,200-2,000 EUR.  

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