Over 40 UK institutions hold corporate membership of SCHES, the Standing Conference of Heads of European Studies. It aims to lobby for and promote the interests of European Studies as a subject area.

SCHES was established in the early 1990s, as a sister organisation to UACES (the University Association for Contemporary European Studies). The context for its establishment was a concern with the defence and promotion of the European Studies field in higher education, with a primary focus on the United Kingdom. Since the late 1980s, there has been a constant need in the UK context to respond to new initiatives and opportunities, and also to meet challenges arising from the growth, contraction and evolution of the field.

The aims of the organisation are both professional and in certain respects public, encompassing a concern for the health and the promotion of the academic area. SCHES has had a continuing involvement with key areas of academic development in the UK, particularly the Research Assessment Exercise, the process of teaching quality assessment and the national benchmarking exercise for Area Studies, and has links with other organisations operating in the same areas.

The current action plan for SCHES encompasses three key areas:

First, to review the 'state of the art' in European Studies and to assist with replenishing the knowledge base of the profession.

Second, to maintain links with key national initiatives in the areas of curriculum and quality assurance, and to form appropriate links with other bodies in so doing.

Third, to enable the members and others interested in the area to establish dialogue and exchange ideas about the present state and future development of the area.

The SCHES Constitution sets out the following as the key aims of the Standing Conference:

The promotion of research and teaching about the nature and development of Modern Europe, with special reference to the European Community (sic) and European integration and to East-West relations in Europe, and the representation of the academic area within and outside higher education.

Click here to see the Constitution. [The Constitution is a 92kB PDF file which can be opened with Adobe Acrobat]

A talk was given by Prof Michael Smith (Chair of the European Studies Panel) and Prof Paul Furlong (Panel Member) after the SCHES AGM on 23 January 2009. Click here for a report of the discussion held.

Click here for a copy of the response to the panel consultation for the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE). This was sent to RAE colleagues in May 2004.

Annual General Meeting: 23 January 2009

The SCHES AGM (2008) was held on Friday 23 January 2009 in the Council Room, Ground Floor, School of Public Policy, University College London, 29-30 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9QU.

 

It was followed by a talk on the Research Assessment Exercise 2008 by Prof Michael Smith (Chair of the European Studies Panel) and Prof Paul Furlong (Panel Member).Please see the above section on the RAE for more details..

 

An Annual Report is presented by the Chair each year at the UACES AGM. [The Annual Report is a 14kB PDF file which can be opened with Adobe Acrobat]

An interim report on SCHES was presented to the AGM of SCHES, held in Edinburgh, 2 September 2008.

Annual General Meeting 2007

The 2007 SCHES AGM, 2007, was held at University College London, 29-30 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9QU, on Friday 14 December 2007.

After the 2007 AGM, a talk on the Bologna Process was given by Howard Davies, UK Bologna Expert and Senior Adviser to the European University Association.

Annual General Meeting 2005

The 2005 Annual General Meeting was held on Friday 9 December 2005 at the LSE. It was followed by a briefing to SCHES Members on the Research Assessment Exercise 2008, led by Prof Michael Smith, University of Loughborough, Chair of the European Studies sub-panel.

The Minutes of the AGM in 2005 are available. [The Annual Report is a 30kB PDF file which can be opened with Adobe Acrobat]

An Annual Report is presented by the Chair each year at the UACES AGM. [The Annual Report is a 30kB PDF file which can be opened with Adobe Acrobat]

Annual General Meeting 2003

The 2003 SCHES AGM was held on Friday 5 December 2003 at the University of Westminster.

After the AGM, there was a talk on the Bologna Process. The speaker was Dr Howard Davies, Head of European Development at London Metropolitan University. Based in London and Brussels, his role is to lobby the European institutions and to advise Vice-Chancellor and senior management on developments and opportunities in European HE. He is also an advisor to the European University Association. He has followed the Bologna Process closely and will be attending the EUA Joint Masters conference in Cluj-Napoca Romania in October.

An Annual Report is presented by the Chair each year at the UACES AGM. To see the 2003 report, click here. [The Annual Report is a 30kB PDF file which can be opened with Adobe Acrobat]

Bologna Process

Click here for a summary of the latest presentation by Howard Davies in 2007. [45kb Word document]

SCHES is sponsoring a major conference for UK Higher Education, "Tuning into Europe" on implementing Bologna on 26 October 2006. Please see under "Conferences" below for information.

Howard Davies presented the SCHES AGM with a stimulating and informative overview of the main issues arising from the Bologna process. This included a clear explanation of both the differences between, and the partial convergence of, the transnational European developments and the specific initiatives by the EU. He ended his talk with some interesting speculations about future trends, as indicated in the attached summary. His presentation provoked a wide-ranging discussion and the whole session was extremely worthwhile.

Click here for a summary of his presentation in 2003. [58kb Word document]

Annual General Meeting 2002

The 2002 SCHES AGM was held at King's College London on Friday 13 December 2002. There was a discussion of the draft copy of the Survey The State of European Studies at this meeting.

An Annual Report is presented by the Chair each year at the UACES AGM. To see the 2002 report, click here. [The Annual Report is a 77kB PDF file which can be opened with Adobe Acrobat]

SCHES holds or sponsors occasional conferences. SCHES was pleased to sponsor a conference in 2006.

26 October 2006
Tuning into Europe: UK Higher Education implementing Bologna
Venue: London
Contact: Nathan Fretwell (n.fretwell[a]londonmet.ac.uk) Click here for a copy of the conference report [53kB].

In March 2002 SCHES organised a conference called 'European Studies in the 21st Century: The State of the Art'.

Membership of the organisation is on an institutional basis, rather than an individual one, given the key aims of the Standing Conference. At present, the organisation has more than 40 members, encompassing a high proportion of the departments and other bodies offering European Studies programmes in the UK.

The current SCHES Annual Subscription is £55 per UK department or other unit in the UK. Further details of membership are available from the SCHES Administrator, Sue Davis, or from the Officers of the organisation.

Mrs Sue Davis
SCHES
c/o UACES
School of Public Policy
University College London
29/30 Tavistock Square London
WC1H 9QU

Email: sedavis[a]uaces.org
Tel: 020 7679 4975
Fax: 020 7679 4973

Click here to download membership form [102kB PDF file] for New members.

SCHES has its own email distribution list for SCHES members. Details on how to join this list are made available to all new members.

Click here for a brief introduction and guide to the origins, structure and content of European Studies programmes in the UK. This document was originally produced for the QAA Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies group and is also to be found on the Learning and Teaching Support Network website.

2009

 

SCHES is currently surveying SCHES members and other UK universities assess the state of European Studies in the UK. For further details, please contact Dr Alison Harcourt, a.harcourt[a]exeter.ac.uk.

 

2003

 

"The State of European Studies in the UK"
SCHES, 2003, ISBN 085-389-8367

The Report, “The State of European Studies" was published by SCHES in 2003. It was undertaken by Prof Michael Smith (Glasgow Caledonian University, formerly Queen’s University Belfast) who is the Chair of SCHES.

To SCHES’ knowledge, this is the first analysis by any subject area of the trends in its recruitment, content and delivery over the past ten years. As such it provides solid evidence of the pressures faced by universities in sustaining areas, exemplified by European Studies, in which the UK is acknowledged as a pioneer and international leader. In particular the Report raises considerable concerns about a decline in the capacity to continue to provide academically challenging programmes which will meet the national need for culturally adaptive and intellectually open graduates.

SCHES Members are sent one free copy.

To order a copy of the 2003 report

Copies of this report can be purchased for £10 (which includes postage and packing). A discounted price of £5 is available for UACES members.

Please send payment, by cheque in pounds sterling, to:

SCHES
c/o UACES Secretariat
School of Public Policy
University College London
29/30 Tavistock Square
London WC1H 9QU

Please include with your order:
1/ Your name
2/ Delivery address
3/ Contact email address

Cheques should be made payable to SCHES (not UACES and not University College London). Unfortunately, SCHES is unable to process credit card payments.

SCHES is administered by an Executive Committee consisting of a Chair, Treasurer, Secretary and five other members.

Chair
Dr Susan Milner
European Research Institute
University of Bath
s.e.milner[a]bath.ac.uk

Secretary
Prof Cillian Ryan
European Research Institute

University of Birmingham
c.ryan[a]bham.ac.uk

Treasurer
Dr Alison Harcourt
Department of Politics
University of Exeter
a.harcourt[a]exeter.ac.uk

Committee
Prof Martin Bull
Dept of Politics & Contemporary History (ESRI)
University of Salford
m.j.bull[a]salford.ac.uk

Prof Damian Chalmers
European Institute
London School of Economics & Political Science
d.chalmers[a]lse.ac.uk

 

Dr Roberto Espindola
Centre for European Studies
University of Bradford
r.espindola[a]bradford.ac.uk

Dr Roberta Guerrina
Dept of Political, International & Policy Studies
University of Surrey
r.guerrina[a]surrey.ac.uk

Dr Carol Tully
Dept of Modern Languages
Bangor University
c.tully[a]bangor.ac.uk

(Ex-officio 12/07)
Prof Paul Furlong
School of European Studies
Cardiff University
furlongp[a]cardiff.ac.uk

(Ex-officio 11/07)
Prof Michael Smith
School of Law & Social Sciences
Glasgow Caledonian University
m.smith[a]gcal.ac.uk

Administrator
Mrs Sue Davis
SCHES
c/o UACES Secretariat
sedavis[a]uaces.org