In 2023, as part of its project, the ESC Academy Pro consortium conducted a broad review of the state of the art on the knowledge of actors and stakeholders of the European student card initiative.
The aim of this research is to provide a comprehensive overview of various topics related to the implementation of the European Student Card across Europe, through the analysis of the latest surveys and trends among members of the ESU and ISIC networks, representatives of higher education establishments and students. The analysis then focused mainly on the three target countries of the consortium: France, the Czech Republic and Estonia.
As a continuation of these activities, the output of the project is a collection of good practices and tools, as well as a guide to conduct further analysis of the needs of all stakeholders.
To carry out its project, from May to September 2023, the consortium launched a combination of qualitative and quantitative surveys with more than 31 countries, 3,043 students, 500 higher education establishments, and all members of the ISIC and ESU communities.
ESU and ISIC members are generally well informed about the existence of the ESC standard, although very few are, at this stage, engaged in the national implementation. They are looking for concrete cases and implementation examples on which to rely to help educational establishments and students in the implementation of this ESC standard. Successful examples, such as that of France, constitute a good guideline and can be of great value in promoting ESC at the national level. The idea of expanding ESC services and consolidating ISIC and ESC cards is promising but needs to be approached thoughtfully, to consider the specific needs and capabilities of higher education institutions and students.
Higher education establishments are not all at the same level of knowledge regarding the existence of the ESCI. Even less so when it comes to deploying it within their campus and among their students. The diversity of national and international students as well as the different services available on and off campus do not facilitate a good understanding of the ESCI among this population. Technological constraints and barriers are the primary reasons why the ESCI is not implemented in certain establishments. The Erasmus+ app and Erasmus without Paper are not widely used and have varying degrees of recognition and therefore implementation, with both tools having challenges that need to be addressed.
Students, for their part, do not consider themselves to be mobile students or likely to be so because a very small proportion of them have considered mobility or become involved in an academic mobility program. Consequently, not many have heard of the ESC or the Erasmus+ app.
In summary, the study highlights the importance of ESCI as a tool to improve the student experience and promote mobility within the European education Area. It highlights the role of ISIC/ESU members and higher education institutions in raising awareness and implementing of this Initiave. The need for support, infrastructure development and collaboration between all stakeholders to ensure the successful adoption of ESCI was also noted. Overall, ESCI has the potential to streamline processes, but also to improve access to services and contribute to the internationalization of education in Europe and around the world by attempting to remove financial, informative and administrative barriers.
ESCI is perceived by students as a good idea, but they lack knowledge on the subject and above all lack understanding of its practical values. Unfortunately, this is also the case for HEIs and our community.
Therefore, our research work is accompanied by some recommendations such as, highlighting the concrete benefits of the ESCI program both for HEIs and for students, strengthening the commitment and offers of ISIC/ESU members, offering technical support and advice to higher education institutions that do not have the necessary infrastructure for implementation of ESCI.
The full ESC Academy Pro Survey report is available here.
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