TEMPUS (Modernizing Higher Education)

TEMPUS is one of European Community programmes designed to help the process of social and economic
reform and/or development in the Partner Countries. The programme focuses on the development of the
higher education systems in these countries through co-operation with institutions from the Member States
of the European Community.
This scheme was first adopted on 7 May 1990 by the Council of Ministers of the European Union. A second
phase, TEMPUS II, for the period 1994 - 1998 was adopted on 29 April 1993 and a further extension granted
on 21 November 1996 to allow activities under TEMPUS II to continue until 2000. TEMPUS III was adopted on 2
April 1999 for a period of six years from 1 July 2000. It concerns the eligible countries of the new independent
states of the former Soviet Union and the non-associate countries of Central and Eastern Europe. The CARDS
Regulation of 5 December 2000 amends the TEMPUS III decision to include the participation of Croatia and
the Federal Republics of Yugoslavia and sets out the framework for community assistance to the Western
Balkans. On the basis of its proven strengths to date, the geographic scope of the TEMPUS Programme was
formally enlarged by the Council to include the MEDA region on 27 June 2002. In addition, the duration of the
Programme, at that time, itself was extended until 31 December 2006 to make it in line with other Community
programmes in the field of education and training
On 23 February 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by the Directorate General of EAC,
AIDCO and ELARG provides an outline of the fourth phase of the TEMPUS Programme, which will cover the
period 2007 - 2013. The new programme will introduce some important novelties and will strengthen the role
of EC Delegations in policy discussions with the ministries responsible for higher education. In addition the
new programme will provide for closer linkages between the National TEMPUS Offices in the Partner Countries
and the EC Delegations. In TEMPUS IV, regional and sub-regional co-operation activities involving more than
one Partner Country should be strengthened. Based on this aim, the regional priorities for TEMPUS IV can be
structured around the following three blocks 3 :

Curricula Reform

• Introduction of the three cycle system.
• Modernization of curricula.
• European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) and recognition of degrees.

Governance Reform

• University management and student services.
• Introduction of quality assurance.
• Institutional and financial autonomy and accountability.
• Equal and transparent access to higher education.
• Development of international relations.

2 - For more information please visit: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu/tempus
3 - The above proposal for regional priorities is taken from Annex 2, Priorities TEMPUS IV, Brussels 3 July 2007.