This publication is part of the OECD’s programme of work on higher education policy. It was prepared by the OECD as part of the project “Making higher education in Portugal more inclusive” and funded by the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument. The project was implemented by the OECD, in co-operation with the Portuguese Directorate-General for Higher Education (DGES), the Portuguese Ministry for Education, Science and Innovation (MECI) and previously the Portuguese Ministry for Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES), and the Reform and Investment Task Force of the European Commission.
The project was managed by Maja Gustafsson (Analyst, Higher Education Policy Team) under the guidance of Simon Roy (Team Lead, Higher Education Policy Team). Research support was provided by João Reis (Analyst, Higher Education Policy Team). Editorial and publication support were provided by Christie Morley and Sophie Limoges. Overall guidance was provided by Paulo Santiago (Head of Policy Advice and Implementation Division, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills) and Andreas Schleicher (Director, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills). Members of the OECD’s Group of National Experts on Higher Education (GNE-HE) provided feedback on the analytical framework guiding the analysis in this report.
The authors are grateful for the substantive input from the Project Advisory Group: Goreti Faria from the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation (MECI), Artur Santoalha from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education (MCTES), Joaquim Mourato, Director General of the Directorate-General of Higher Education (DGES), Ana Mateus, from the Directorate-General of Higher Education (DGES), and Sébastien Combeaud, Senior Expert, Education and training, European Commission’s Reform and Investment Task Force (SG REFORM).
The authors are also grateful for the guidance provided by the members of the Extended Advisory Group: Ana Balcão Reis, Professor and Vice-Dean for Pre-experience Studies at the Nova School of Business and Economics, Ângela Dionísio from the National Agency for Qualification and Professional Education (ANQEP), Mónica Maia, Professor at the School of Education at the Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Carla Mota from the Directorate-General of Education (DGE), Tiago Neves, Associate Professor and Director of the Doctoral Programme in Education Sciences at the University of Porto, Ricardo Paes Mamede, Associate Professor and Deputy Director of the Department of Political Economy of ISCTE University Institute of Lisbon, Conceição da Silva Portela, Full Professor and Deputy Director of Católica Porto Business School, and Francisca Simões from the National Agency for Qualification and Professional Education (ANQEP).
The authors would also like to thank the stakeholders who shared their expertise of the Portuguese system with the OECD team as part of the project, as well as respondents to the survey, focus groups and interviews held organised within the scope of the project.
The report also benefited from presentations made by academics and sector stakeholders during two online international peer learning events. One event was held on preferential access and career guidance, with contributions from: Rustamdjan Hakimov, Associate Professor at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, Carolien Hueting, Senior Policy Advisor Educational Affairs at the Dutch Council of Secondary Schools, Maria Keplinger, Head of Department in the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, and Daniel McFarlane, Access Manager at the Irish Universities Association.
The other event was held on using data and predictive models to promote study success in higher education, with contributions from: Carmen Aina, Professor at the Piedmont University in Italy, Maria Krakovsky from the Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria, Rita Cadima, panel member of the national Programme for Promoting Success and Reducing Drop-out Rates and professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria in Portugal, Karl Ledermüller, professor at the Vienna University of Economics and Business in Austria, Ana Teresa Oliveira, professor at the Polytechnic University of Viana do Castelo in Portugal, Alessandro dal Palù, professor at the Parma University in Italy, Lina Rosálio, professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria in Portugal, and Kerstin Wagner, researcher at the Berliner Hochschule für Technik in Germany.
The detailed student tracking note, which is summarised in Chapter 6, was co-authored by Maja Gustafsson, Analyst, Higher Education Policy Team at the OECD, Simon Roy, Team Lead, Higher Education Policy Team at the OECD, Carmen Aina, professor at Piedmont University in Italy, and Alessandro dal Palù, professor at Parma University in Italy.
While the report draws on data and analysis from the OECD and Portugal as well as information provided by Portuguese stakeholders, any errors or misinterpretations remain the responsibility of the OECD project team.