2025
Student mental health: “major national cause” in 2025
Implementation period: Throughout 2024-2025 and beyond
Status: In force
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research
Motives/objectives: To promote the psychological well-being of students through listening and support services.
Main measures adopted:
- Setting up the Cnaé, a platform for listening, support, information and reporting;
- Support for associations specializing in mental health: “Dites Je suis là”, Nightline;
- Ongoing collaboration with 3114, partnership with 102 (the first center dedicated to student mental health);
- Psychological consultations free of charge or reimbursed at 100% through Santé Psy Étudiant and BAPU (Bureaux d'aide psychologique universitaires);
- Peer-to-peer support with health relay students (ERS) and mental health first-aiders;
- Mental health research: PROPSY (the research program that will transform psychiatry), IMPROVA (a research project to improve the mental health of young people), Mentalo study (a close-up on the mental health of young people).
Financing and material resources:
Financing:
- Nightline: 120,000 euros granted in 2024 by the Ministry, etc.
Material resources:
- La Cnaé: 2,300 calls received in 2024, of which 36% related to psychological suffering, followed by 30 reports ;
- Nightline: 300 young volunteers, 320 awareness-raising actions, 7200 calls handled in 2024, 200 students trained in suicide prevention with the Sentinelle program;
- Santé Psy Etudiant: 1,400 partner psychologists, 95,000 students supported since 2021.
Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms: Unspecified
References :
https://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/fr/la-sante-mentale-en-tete-de-nos-priorites-98359
2024
Launch of the mission on AI in higher education teaching practices
Implementation period: From December 2024
Status: In force
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research
Reasons/objectives: To define common best practices and terms of use for AI (artificial intelligence), to which higher education teachers will be able to refer, in order to put AI at the service of knowledge transmission
Main measures adopted:
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Assess the impact of AI on teaching;
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Propose a suitable integration framework;
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Identify training needs;
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Define methods for assessing and recognizing skills;
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Establish an ethical and regulatory framework to guarantee sovereign AI;
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Promote research into the uses of AI in higher education, in France and internationally.
Funding and material resources:
Funding: unspecified.
Material resources:
-
A mission has been entrusted to two leading figures in the field.
Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms: Unspecified.
References:
Accessible rights for students with disabilities
Implementation period: From July 2024
Status: In force
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research
Grounds/objectives: To make the law as accessible as possible.
Main measures adopted:
FALC (Easy to Read and Understand) translation of the circular on the rights of students with disabilities or disabling health conditions as part of their training path in higher education.
Funding and material resources:
Funding: unspecified.
Material resources: unspecified.
Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms: Unspecified.
References:
https://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/fr/bo/2024/Hebdo28/ESRS2418046C
Special attention paid to student support
Running period: All through the academic year 2024-2025
Status : In force
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research
Reasons/objectives: improve the day-to-day lives of students
Main measures adopted:
- Facilitating access to housing, with, for example, 1,600 rooms in the Olympic Villages becoming student accommodation as part of the legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games;
- Affordable meals: the €1 price for meals in university canteens will continue to be charged to students on grants and those in precarious situations;
- The ‘student health services’ have been strengthened: the number of health specialists has been increased, the service is easier to use and can be adapted to different needs, etc. The ‘Student Psychological Health’ service has been renewed, enabling students to benefit from free psychological support;
- Students with special needs (high-level athletes, artists, students with disabilities, students in employment, students enrolled on special degree courses, students with families, etc.) can benefit from a wide range of adaptations and arrangements to make their studies easier. Students with disabilities and student carers will now have easier access to grants based on social criteria;
- The Pass'Sport has been renewed for the start of the 2024 academic year to encourage students to take up sport.
Funding and material resources:
Funding:
- more than €2.5 billion a year in financial aid for students;
- between September 2023 and June 2024, more than 23.8 million €1 meals were served to students on grants or identified as being at risk of precarious situations;
- 8,2 M€ to strengthen student health services.
Material resources:
- 1 600 rooms in the Olympic Villages become student accommodation after the Paris 2024 Games.
Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms:
- Not specified
References:
https://www.enseignementsup-recherche.gouv.fr/fr/guide-de-la-rentree-etudiante-2024-96989
Plans and training for the ecological transition of higher education and research
Running period: Starting with the academic year 2023-2024
Status : In force
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research
Reasons/objectives: Play a major role to accelerate France's low-carbon transition and climate resilience, to preserve biodiversity and the functionality of ecosystems in all areas: education, research, innovation and campus life.
Main measures adopted:
Several plans and strategies have been adopted:
- ‘National Low Carbon Strategy’ to produce the knowledge and develop the social and technological innovations needed for a fair and equitable transition;
- ‘National Climate Change Adaptation Plan’ to pass on and refine knowledge and skills relating to environmental and sustainability issues to students, staff from the Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR), and the general public;
- ‘National Biodiversity Strategy 2030’ to protect biodiversity, restore it and live with it by promoting its benefits.
The implementation of these three strategic frameworks is based on three major missions:
- The production of knowledge that must be widely shared in order to enlighten society, promote public debate and support public policy;
- The transmission of knowledge and the construction of a new range of training courses for students, teacher-researchers and all the MERS' staff in order to ensure the dissemination of new knowledge and the renewal of skills;
- The firm commitment of national research bodies and higher education institutions to contribute to the decarbonisation of activities, but also to the reduction of their environmental impact, particularly on biodiversity.
Funding and material resources:
Funding: not specified.
Material resources:
- At institutional level, one of the key measures is the provision, from the start of the 2023-2024 academic year, of 'common core' training modules on the challenges of the ecological transition for all undergraduate students. These modules last at least 30 hours, aside from working hours, and may lead to certification in accordance with the procedures laid down by the institution.
- It is also planned to evaluate the sustainable development policy applied to research activities, real estate, transfer and training activities, which must take sustainable development issues into account.
Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms:
- Not specified
References: Plan_climat_MESR_4.pdf (dgesip.fr)
Policies for people with disabilities in higher education and research
Running period: The 2024 Finance Bill provides additional funding for educational support and grants for students with disabilities.
Status : In force
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research
Reasons/objectives: The Ministry pursues a policy of inclusion for people with disabilities, in terms of reception and support, but also in terms of professional integration, whether they are students or staff in the higher education and research sector.
Main measures adopted:
Initiatives for students with disabilities:
- Educational support and facilities : Students with disabilities can benefit from compensatory, human and technical assistance. These arrangements also apply to examinations and competitive examinations.
- Scholarships : Since the start of the 2023 academic year, students with disabilities, and students caring for a parent with a disability, have benefited from a supplement of 4 load points to facilitate their access to grants based on social criteria.
- Disability doctoral contracts: The ministry's PhD disability campaign offers funding for contracts to students with a thesis project who are recognised as being eligible for compulsory employment.
Actions to promote the professional integration of disabled staff and students.:
- Agreement signed between "France Universités" and the "Fonds pour l'insertion des personnes handicapées dans la fonction publique" (FIPHFP), under the aegis of the Ministry of Public Administration and the Ministry of Higher Education and Research.
Funding and material resources:
Funding:
- 23 M€ allocated to schools to provide educational support for students with specific needs related to their disorder or disability (+50% increase compared to 2023);
- 10 M€ funding to support students with disabilities in the 2024 Finance Bill;
- 1,5 M€ an initial call for projects to identify exemplary universities in terms of student accessibility.
Material resources:
- The etudiant.gouv.fr website, co-published by the Ministry and CNOUS, provides a detailed description of accessibility measures in the higher education establishments listed, as well as a map of accessible or adaptable accommodation in university halls of residence.
2023
Support for students
Deadline: Announced on 29 March 2023
Status: Implementation at the start of the 2023-2024 academic year
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research
Reasons/objectives: The reform of the system of grants based on social criteria aims to "Help more, help better" students from modest households, from the start of the 2023-24 academic year.
Main measures adopted:
- Help more students by increasing the number of grant holders: 35,000 middle-class students will become grant holders and will receive at least a €1,450 grant (paid over 10 months), along with the associated benefits (exemption from tuition fees and the student and campus life contribution (CVEC), €1 meals, priority for CROUS accommodation).
- Provide better support, by increasing the value of all grants (+€37/month for all grant holders and +€67/month for overseas grant holders).
- Put an end to threshold effects as of 2023-2024. Changes to the system will aim to eliminate them on a permanent basis. The amount of a student's grant will continue to depend on their parents' income. However, no student will see their grant reduced by more than the increase in their parents' income.
- Limit catering and accommodation costs by :
- Maintaining a very social price structure for meals for students on grants and those in precarious situations,
- Freezing meal prices for the start of the 2023-24 academic year (very social price of €1 and social price of €3.30 for other students),
- Freezing rents in CROUS residences.
Funding: over €500 million
Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms: Not specified.
References: Première étape de la réforme des bourses sur critères sociaux : aider plus, aider mieux, dès la rentrée 2023
Contracts for objectives, resources and performance
Deadlines: Announced 30 August 2023
Status: In force
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research (MESR)
Reasons/objectives: The Contracts of Objectives, Resources and Performance (COMP) introduce performance monitoring of institutions on the pursuit of strategic objectives shared by the ministry and the institution.
Main measures adopted:
These contracts provide support for priority public policies. In addition, an objective specific to the particular strategy of each institution is also included in these contracts.
The priority public policy objectives concern:
- The mobilisation of higher education and research in favour of training that prepares students for the professions of the future, those in short supply or those undergoing change;
- The well-being and success of students: health, diversity, inclusion, support for success, etc;
- The development of research and innovation at the highest European and international level;
- The mobilisation of higher education and research in favour of the ecological transition and sustainable development in all its dimensions;
- Optimising the management and steering of the institution.
As part of the first wave 2023-2027, 17 contracts (involving 36 institutions, universities and schools) will be signed shortly for a total of more than €100 million over 3 years. Following on from the first wave, the MESR is announcing the list of institutions that will take part in waves 2 and 3 of the Contracts of Objectives, Resources and Performance, in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Funding: €100 million for each of the three waves
Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms: under development.
References: Le MESR dévoile les deux nouvelles vagues de Contrats d’objectifs, de moyens et de performance
monmaster.gouv.fr
Deadlines: Implementation from February 2023
Status: being set up
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research
Reasons/objectives: This platform aims to simplify the application process for students applying for Masters courses throughout France.
Main measures adopted:
To facilitate the application process for students, the new:
- Lists all the Master's courses on offer in France, as well as the number of places available per course;
- Serves as a one-stop shop for all applications;
- Introduce a single national calendar, which in particular ensures the allocation of Master's degree places before the summer holidays.
When the application phase opens, applications may be made, on the basis of a common file, for 15 masters courses in traditional training and 15 masters courses in sandwich training. Applications will not be prioritised by the applicants, so that they do not self-censor. Institutions remain responsible for the admission of applicants. The process of examining applications by the programmes will be based, as it is today, on an assessment of the applicants' project, their motivation, their background and their transcripts. Depending on the specificities of the courses, functionalities will allow institutions to create forms allowing them to ask additional questions to applicants.
There are no algorithms or decision support tools for the courses: the platform only serves to facilitate the matching of applicants with the offer of a Master's degree.
Funding: Not specified.
Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms: Not specified.
References: MESRI: MESRI unveils the identity of the new national platform "monmaster.gouv.fr
National plan to combat racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination on grounds of origin 2023-2026
Deadline: Announced 3 February 2023
Status: In force
Responsible authorities: Ministry of Higher Education and Research and the Interministerial Delegation for the Fight against Racism, Anti-Semitism and Anti-LGBT Hatred (DILCRAH)
Reasons/objectives: Following on from the 2018 plan against racism and anti-Semitism, this new plan contains 80 actions and pursues 5 main ambitions, namely:
- Measuring the reality of racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination ;
- Daring to name the reality of hate;
- Better education and training;
- Sanctioning the perpetrators ;
- Accompanying victims.
Main measures adopted :
From a higher education perspective, the main measures are as follows
- The guarantee for each pupil to benefit from a historical or memorial visit related to racism, anti-Semitism or anti-Gypsyism during their schooling.
- The training of all civil servants in the State civil service in these issues.
- The implementation of a real policy of reinforced testing on discrimination in hiring and access to housing.
- Facilitating the filing of complaints by victims, in particular by developing direct filing at the headquarters of certain associations and the partial anonymisation of complaints.
- Increased penalties for racist or anti-Semitic expression committed by public officials in the exercise of their duties.
Funding: Not specified.
Evaluation and monitoring mechanisms: Not specified.
References: MESRI: National plan to combat racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination on grounds of origin 2023-2026
2022
There was no major measure in this domain this year.