French Strikes and American Students

Strikes at French universities during the spring have had an impact on students at Brown, Princeton, Georgetown and other American universities — and more is to come.

France 24 reports that teachers from preschool through university are planning massive April 28 marches throughout the country, and that may be followed by a May 1 general strike throughout the country reminiscent of the Jan. 29 and March 19 strikes that each crippled France for a day.

The university strikes are in opposition to the French government’s involvement with the Bologna Process that is leading to the standardization of higher education throughout Europe.

The general strikes by workers throughout the country are in response to the handling of the recession by President Nicolas Sarkozy’s government. The strike impact is being felt in the transportation and tourism industries, many of which cater to American students during the spring short-term travel course season.

On Strike in France

The words “French” and “strikes” go together about as well as “French” and “toast” — and Brown University students are getting a first-hand education this term in labor relations in their host country.

Widespread strikes at French universities have led to the cancellation of some or all of courses in which the Brown students have enrolled, according to the Brown Daily Herald. Of 24 students spending the term in Paris, 17 have had courses partially or completely cancelled.

French faculty have led strikes at many institutions during the past nine weeks to show their opposition to the Bologna Process in the standardization of higher education across Europe.

The strikes have ended at universities in Lyon, and Brown officials hope the strikes in Paris will end soon. Kendall Brostuen, Brown’s director of the Office of International Programs, said that Brown students can still expect to receive full academic credit for their overseas work.

Europeans and Joint Degree Programs

While American institutions hold to a traditional vision of study abroad — in which U.S. students either take part in an institution-sponsored travel experience or attend a university outside the United States and transfer credit back to their home school — European institutions are exploring joint degree programs with American schools.

American colleges and universities also are building joint programs with European schools, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, but European students are much likely than their American peers to pursue such programs. (Subscription required.)

The great advantage of the joint program, according to advocates, is that they more effectively integrate students into the life and culture of home institutions than do short-term or semester-long programs.

The Chronicle reports that European schools are more advanced in this process than their American counterparts because of a decade-long Bologna Process. As part of the process, more than 40 nations are harmonizing degree cycles in advance of the creation of a European Higher Education Area by 2010.

The growth of English-language programs and growing focuses on internationalization have also spurred joint programs.

“In Europe, the idea of having more transferable skills and creating more mobility through these joint programs has been going on for much longer than in the United States,” Daniel Obst, director of membership and higher-education services of the Institute of International Education, told the Chronicle.

Joint programs may hold more currency in Europe than in America partly because U.S. students bear almost all of the cost of study abroad, whereas larger institutional and governmental support is available for Europeans.

Matthias Kuder of Berlin’s Free University says American universities need to promote joint degree programs by establishing “political vision that inspires students to study abroad” and creating frameworks for greater acceptance of such degrees.

Kuder notes that American students, if joint programs were properly promoted, might find that studying in Europe in some instances might actually be cheaper than stateside study.