Europe Lags Behind U.S. in Higher Ed

Many European countries are facing a significant dearth of quality secondary and higher education programs, a problem which could present a major obstacle to Europe’s future economic and social development, according to a report issued last week by a Portugal-based policy group.

The report follows a recent drop in ranking for European universities in world university lists that place Harvard first.

The paper, “The Economics of Knowledge: Why Education is Key for Europe’s Success,” cites funding shortages as a major weakness for European education systems—particularly those of Germany and France—and criticizes state testing systems for stifling social mobility. The article was published by the Lisbon Council, a group devoted to “making Europe fit for the future,” according to their slogan.

“The most effective modern economies will be those that produce the most information and knowledge—and make that information and knowledge easily accessible to the greatest number of individuals and enterprises,” the report states.

The report calls for countries to either follow Finland’s example of raising public funding to meet increased educational demand, or copy the U.S. model where universities rely heavily on private tuition.

“The [European Union] universities are in crisis,” said Krupp Foundation professor of European studies, Peter A. Hall. He said that while enrollment has risen in many European universities, the increase in the student body has not been matched with higher funding.

“French or German universities rely heavily on public funding as do all university systems in Europe, and that’s the problem—the general physical problem of the state is transferred onto the university,” Hall said. “But one cannot recreate the philanthropic tradition of the U.S. overnight.”

The report referred to a ranking of world universities compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University, which placed Harvard first and only two European universities, Cambridge and Oxford, among the top twenty. The ranking was cited as one sign that Europe was no longer home to many “leading universities.”