TOWARDS EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY LIFELONG LEARNING MODEL IN MOLDOVA - COMPASS

The COMPASS project addresses the process of developing an inclusive and responsive University Lifelong Learning (ULLL) in Moldova as the one that requires immediate national and institutional response and joint action. Enabling national HE bodies and HEIs to strategically manage integrated LLL in the provision of education and research are regarded to be the project’s overall objective and the main underpinning of Moldova’ accountable and complementary role in EHEA and ERA. The project's key target groups are the representatives of the Ministries responsible for higher education; Bologna promoters at national level; heads and senior managers of universities. The secondary target groups are directors of ULLL, Bologna co-ordinators in HEIs, ULLL operational staff. The long-term beneficiaries are learners seeking new access routes into and new pathways through universities for lifelong learning. The project's main outcomes: 1. Creating and implementing national legislative that has been lacking to date in Moldova: National Lifelong Learning Strategy; Regulation for validation of prior learning, including formal and informal (VPL); Regulation on application of the existing ECTS tools and procedures to LLL; Regulation for the continuing education of academic staff (in line with the National strategies). 2. Developing and implementing effective university strategies on integrated LLL along with coherent institutional measures capable of lifelong guidance, counselling and VPL, improving institutional capacities for increasing widening participation in LLL. The impact of this project on the national HE bodies and Bologna follow-up group (BFUG) in Moldova will be enable them to review more effectively the progress on topics they have identified; to develop future strategies and to formulate targets for ULLL in the next phase of the HE reforms. At institutional level, universities will be more effective in judging and improving their own performance in the use of the Bologna tools (flexibility, ECTS, VPL). They will be able to obtain an institutional score, indicating areas of strength and areas where further work needs to be done. In addition, they will learn from case studies of best EU practices and details of institutions that have successfully innovated in this field and be better able to create new pilot actions on national, regional and European levels.