Advancing the European Degree Label: Outcomes of the Venice Workshop

Last December, the FOREU4ALL community convened in Venice for the workshop “Putting the European Degree Label into Action: Bridging Policy and Practice”, jointly organised by the topical groups on European Degree & Joint Programmes and Quality Assurance. The event, hosted by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and EUTOPIA, brought together representatives of European University alliances, quality assurance agencies, policymakers, students, and higher education stakeholders to translate the European Degree Label from policy ambition into operational reality. The outcomes of the workshop are now published, offering consolidated insights and recommendations for all.

The exchanges in Venice confirmed strong engagement across the sector to make the European Degree Label a credible, feasible, and value-driven instrument supporting deeper cooperation within the European Higher Education Area. At the same time, participants highlighted persistent challenges, including legal fragmentation, uneven application of the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes, and ambiguities between programme- and institutional-level responsibilities.

Key Implementation Priorities

Several priority themes emerged from the workshop:

• Anchoring implementation in consortium agreements
  Programme-specific consortium agreements were identified as the central operational tool to evidence joint governance, quality assurance arrangements, mobility pathways, student involvement, and access to services.
• Embedding the European Degree Label within existing quality assurance frameworks
  Participants stressed the importance of aligning verification mechanisms with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) and the European Approach, avoiding parallel or duplicative procedures.
• Clarifying definitions and responsibilities
  Clear definitions of concepts such as joint degree, jointness, and programme-level versus institutional-level requirements are deemed essential. Explicit allocation of responsibilities within consortia can reduce uncertainty and enhance transparency.
• Strengthening early legal and Quality Assurance mapping
  Systematic mapping of national legal, recognition, and quality assurance frameworks at the outset was considered crucial for predictable and sustainable implementation.
• Ensuring meaningful student involvement
  Student participation should be embedded across governance, programme design, services, and quality assurance processes, with evidence that goes beyond symbolic representation.
• Promoting inclusivity as a design principle
  Inclusivity must be integrated into admissions, mobility formats, and student support services, using flexible and proportionate approaches adapted to diverse needs.
• Applying proportionate verification mechanisms
  Light, targeted verification tools, such as self-assessment checklists and reuse of existing documentation, should prioritise real student experience.

• Strengthening Dialogue and Capacity-Building

Participants called for reinforced cross-alliance exchange and structured capacity-building to support implementation and mutual learning.

Policy-Level Recommendations

In addition to institutional-level actions, the workshop generated recommendations addressed to policymakers, quality assurance authorities, and European-level bodies:

• Clarify the roles of Quality Assurance agencies and self-accrediting institutions, particularly regarding cross-border trust and recognition.
• Ensure sustainable funding and adequate capacity for agencies and institutions managing assessments related to the Label.
• Strengthen the link between quality assurance outcomes and recognition decisions, supporting predictable and, where possible, automatic recognition across systems.

Read the full document here.

Looking Ahead

The workshop in Venice reinforced a growing community of practice around the European Degree Label and contributed to a more concrete, operational understanding of how the Label can be implemented across diverse national contexts.

Building on these insights, FOREU4ALL will continue to support institutions, alliances, and stakeholders in the wider higher education sector through thematic exchanges, shared resources, and collaborative learning spaces. The next workshop, “Aligning Project Management and Impact: A Practical and Strategic Dialogue for European University Alliances”, will be hosted by Arqus at the University of Granada, Spain, in April 16-17.

Photo credit: Juliette Nguyen Van Rot (EUTOPIA)