Mission & Vision

The mission of ECOLAS is to foster and disseminate the good practices necessary to sustain the teaching of the ideals and skills necessary for life-long learning and good citizenship inherent in the tradition of liberal arts and sciences education.ECOLAS builds a resource base concerning current initiatives in liberal education throughout Europe so that effective models can be made available. ECOLAS aims to become the leading source of expertise and experience in the realization of planning, implementation, and evaluation of programmes in the liberal arts and sciences which adhere to the values of liberal learning. Through the activity of its associates and partners, its website, publications and sponsored events, it aims to become a leader in facilitating the on-going dialogue among educators in undergraduate higher education so necessary to foster and sustain innovation. Ultimately it aspires as its most important contribution to provide the ways and means by which clear European criteria and standards of excellence for liberal learning initiatives within the EU can be established and evaluated.

 

Activities
The following activities are meant to assist in the implementation of the ECOLAS Mission:
• help establish liberal arts and sciences programs at European universities;
• provide advice, service, and partnership opportunities to European universities with liberal arts and sciences programs or with the intention of setting up one;
• stimulate initiatives in liberal education in Europe and keep close track of the various different models used;
• work with liberal arts programs across Europe to formulate specific quality assurance criteria;
• organize conferences and seminars to share information and to establish institutional relationships among partner universities and programs;
• establish a traveling adviser program;
• prepare criteria aimed at meeting the standards of the European Quality Assurance framework.By doing so, ECOLAS contributes to improving European higher education on many levels and to promote the liberal arts and sciences philosophy in particular. Moreover, ECOLAS aims to persuade EU politicians to bolster liberal arts programs as a cornerstone of bachelor education of the post-Bologna era.