Senate report backs ending university access for all

A Senate report into higher education in France calls for the end of the right for all students who receive a baccalauréat to study for a university degree, as well as increasing the annual cost of tuition fees fivefold. 

The report, released by the chamber’s commission d'enquête sur l'excellence académique (commission for academic excellence) said obtaining a ‘bac’ should only be a prerequisite for university studies, and not automatically grant access to a higher education course. 

The commission looks to promote France’s position as a beacon of academic excellence and quality research in all fields, a field in which the nation is currently failing, the report concludes. 

In the most recent Shanghai rankings – assessing the top 1,000 universities globally – France fell to tenth place.

In neighbouring Germany – another historical beacon for world-class research and education – 5.2% of students who enroll in university go on to obtain a PhD. This compares to 2% in France. 

Make admissions process more selective

“Our universities will not achieve excellence unless they aim for it,” said senator Laurence Garnier, member of the right-wing Les Républicains (she has recently been appointed as spokesperson for the party’s 2027 presidential candidate Bruno Retailleau).

Ms Garnier is the report’s rapporteur and released its findings to the public.

Alongside other right-wing members of the committee, she believes universities are being held back by opening first-year university courses to all high-school students who obtained a ‘bac’. 

This ‘open-access’ system, while allowing students to more easily access higher education, pulls France down in the rankings by increasing the number of students who do not pass courses. 

“17% of students enrolled in undergraduate programmes come from vocational or technical ‘bac’ tracks, yet their university success rate hovers at just 5%,” said Ms Garnier. 

“The system has gone off track; every student needs to be put on the right path to maximise their chances of success in higher education.”

Of the 2019 intake, 47% were yet to obtain an undergraduate degree in the five years following their first admission.

Despite undergraduate courses typically lasting three years, only a third of students manage to obtain their degree within this period. 

Allowing everyone to apply, and go, to university fosters academic failure and stops younger people from moving instead to the job market, the report claims.

Universities should be able to set their own admissions criteria, Ms Garnier believes, which can include additional criteria or certain scores in the ‘bac’.

Students who do not reach these thresholds can apply for a ‘preparatory year’ of studies to catch up before enrolling in the degree proper. 

She also wants to prevent regional academic heads from being able to enroll students at a university if they did not attain a spot using the French university admissions ‘Parcoursup’ website.

Increase fees, limit international students

The report also calls for a fivefold increase in tuition fees to limit applications to students who are serious about studies and provide a funding boost for universities to improve their courses and research.

Current costs are €178 for an undergraduate degree and €254 for a master’s degree per year, “an almost symbolic contribution that bears no relation to the actual cost of the programmes and is insufficient, on its own, to fund any significant improvement in teaching conditions,” said Ms Garnier.

The report suggests raising these to €900 and €1,300 per-year respectively. 

Failing students cost the state around €534 million per year, said the Cour des comptes (Court of Auditors). These public universities, funded by the state, are unable to ask for more funding as France faces a mounting debt crisis, and increasing tuition fees is one way to boost revenues.

Another point of contention is admission of foreign students. The report says that these students represent a high proportion of those who fail courses. 

“The aim [of the current system] is to boost numbers by admitting as many students as possible, rather than striving for excellence.”

Students from North Africa and the Middle East make up 27% of international students, but only have a 28% success rate in classes. 

In comparison, students from Asia and Oceania make up 13% of international  students, but have a 47% success rate, well above the international average of 38%. 

International students have already seen a cut in available benefits this year. 

Committee members attack report

The report has been met with criticism, including some members of the committee that published it. 

Chair of the committee, Communist senator Pierre Ouzoulias and his four left-wing compatriots distanced themselves from the report, spearheaded by the remaining 18 members of the group. 

“There is a political consensus regarding France’s marked decline in both research and higher education, a decline well documented in this report. However, I do not share the conclusions and recommendations the rapporteur sought to draw from it,” Mr Ouzoulias said to political outlet Public Sénat.

He tackled each of the points individually, including the main premise of the report. 

Obtaining a ‘bac’, while allowing students to apply for university, is not a guarantee that they will get a place.

“In fact, this selection process already exists, if only because there are more applicants than available positions in most programmes,” he said. 

“The baccalaureate often plays only a minor role, since the exam results arrive too late; consequently, it is the continuous assessment results [in the final years of secondary education] that universities examine.” 

Mr Ouzoulias also criticised the report’s comments on foreign students, particularly from North Africa. 

“It is incorrect to say that African students are the weakest. During hearings, several university presidents explained to us that Moroccan students, for instance, had a much higher level of proficiency in mathematics than French students.”

"If France decides to invest less in welcoming international students [from North Africa] others will step in.” 

“The risk with this type of measure is that it contributes to the global decline of a certain French school of thought, particularly regarding the values of humanism and secularism,” Mr Ouzoulias said. 

He agrees that universities face a funding challenge, but does not agree with the report’s increased fees. 

“Conferences on university funding project a cumulative deficit of €2 billion for French institutions by 2030. From a budgetary standpoint, raising tuition fees is not going to provide a long-term solution to chronic underinvestment.” 

Universities face competition

Universities in France are only one of three possible higher educational paths for students. 

They sit between ‘grandes écoles’ – exclusive public universities for the most academically-gifted that are extremely selective –  alongside private institutions and schools (such as business schools) on one side, and research laboratories on the other. 

Between 2018 and 2024, the share of higher education students for universities fell from 60% to 54%. 

“Universities are thus losing ground to programmes that have done a better job of highlighting the promise of close supervision and employment prospects,” the report said.