Institutional determinants of higher education students’ Erasmus mobility for studies within the programme countries

Abstract

THE AIMS OF THE PAPER

The intensifying of international mobility of students is one of the main goals of the European Union. The Leuven Communiqué sets a target for 2020 that at least 20% of those graduating in the European Higher Education Area should have had a study or training period abroad. Most European countries however are way below the target line, and many countries struggle to fully use their Erasmus quotas allocated from the central European budget. Our study sheds light on some possible factors that may prevent the EU members from significantly raising the outgoing student ratios.

METHODOLOGY

Our study first reviews the international literature, than describes the main statistics characterising the current situation of the European student mobility, which is followed by an analysis of the possible institutional factors that are related to the higher education system, and that may influence the mobility numbers.

MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS

Based on our results the cultural factors, such as the indulgent attitude, and uncertainty avoidance are the most important influencers of Erasmus-type mobility in Europe. Hungary should focus on better organising the Erasmus processes (related to pre-, during and after mobility activities), and better communicating the future labour market value of the mobility in order to achieve better outgoing numbers.

RECOMMENDATIONS

One of the main lessons learnt from the analysis is that the cultural differences within Europe should be taken into consideration during the planning of the programmes that try to promote Erasmus. Communication and promotion should have national specifics.