Social Dimension
Social dimension in higher education
Higher education is considered as an essential element for the empowerment of the individuals and societies. Promoting the social dimension of higher education has been a cornerstone of the European Higher Education Area since its early beginnings, with ministers agreeing to advance the objective that the composition of the student body entering, participating in and completing higher education at all levels should correspond to the heterogeneous social profile of society at large (2007 London Communiqué).
In the Bologna Process, the social dimension of higher education encompasses the creation of an inclusive environment in higher education that fosters equity, diversity, and is responsive to the needs of local communities. The EHEA aims to widen overall access and increase participation and completion of underrepresented groups in higher education, according to the diversity of the national populations. In its turn, widening access to quality higher education is viewed as a precondition for societal progress and economic development.
At the 2020 Rome Ministerial Conference, one of the three overarching political priorities agreed was the establishment of an inclusive EHEA by 2030, as 'every learner will have equitable access to higher education and will be fully supported in completing their studies and training'. The ministers adopted the Principles and Guidelines to Strengthen the Social Dimension of Higher Education in the EHEA , committing to implement them at national level and to support higher education institutions in integrating them into their institutional culture and core missions: learning and teaching, research and innovation, knowledge circulation and outreach, institutional governance and management.
The Principles and Guidelines represent the most concrete and comprehensive commitments taken by public authorities on the social dimension of higher education at European level. The principles include: a strategic approach to the social dimension; ensuring the flexibility of higher education systems and lifelong learning; monitoring and data collection; counselling and guidance; funding; developing an inclusive institutional culture; inclusive mobility; community engagement and policy dialogue.
In 2024, at the Tirana Ministerial Conference, the ministers endorsed Indicators and Descriptors for the Principles and Guidelines, supporting their further implementation and monitoring. Furthermore, the ministers committed to tackle the socio-economic challenges, such as the rising cost of living and difficulty to access student housing, and the mental health of students, by ensuring accessible student support services, inclusive learning environments (including digital ones), gender equality, as well as measures to support students in covering indirect costs of study.
Previous commitments
In the London Communiqué in 2007, ministers stressed "the importance of students being able to complete their studies without obstacles related to their social and economic background". To further this goal, ministers at their meeting in Bucharest in 2012 agreed "to adopt national measures for widening overall access to quality higher education" and to work to raise completion rates, ensure timely progression in higher education and step up their efforts towards underrepresented groups, including through recognition of prior non-formal and informal learning.
At the Yerevan Ministerial Conference in 2015 the ministers endorsed the Widening Participation for Equity and Growth - A Strategy for the Development of the Social Dimension and Lifelong Learning in the European Higher Education Area to 2020 to support the EHEA countries in the development of a coherent set of policy measures and effective national plans or strategies to ensure greater access to quality higher education for non-traditional learners and students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Various working structures have been established to further the work of the EHEA in the field of higher education. Their final reports can be accessed below:
