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Attracting Students
Once the challenge of establishing distinct bachelor’s and master’s degrees within a common nomenclature has been overcome, institutions will need to start marketing their courses to a mobile student population. Historically, the long first degree meant that once students were enrolled at an institution, they stayed for at least five years until they earned a single, advanced degree. Now schools will need to encourage their students to stay on and also find other students to replace bachelor’s degree holders who elect to leave.
Indeed, the Bologna Accord is poised to introduce an unprecedented era of competition to Europe’s educational system as schools compete for the best graduate students from beyond their national borders. In the Netherlands and Switzerland, for example, some master’s programs are already being delivered in English to appeal to an international student body, and institutions are implementing strategies to attract applicants from other countries. These developments highlight the growing trend toward offering programs in widely spoken languages as a mechanism to broaden the pool of potential applicants.
Student mobility is also leading to increased competition. Schools in the Netherlands and Switzerland that have sought to understand what motivates students have found that there is a close link between an institution’s prestige and its students’ tendency to stay on to earn a master’s degree. In addition, institutions with strong reputations can expect to attract students at the master’s level who “trade up” from the less prestigious institutions where they earned their bachelor’s credentials. The new freedom of choice for students will mean that lesser institutions will have to compete for a dwindling pool of student talent.
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