The European Higher Education Sector Observatory (EHESO) has released a significantly revised version of the European Higher Education Sector Scoreboard (EHESS).The update introduces new features designed to improve data accessibility, user experience, and analytical capabilities for stakeholders across the European higher education sector.

The Scoreboard serves as an interactive data visualisation platform that monitors the policy agenda of the European Education Area by presenting relevant indicators on countries and higher education systems. It functions as a one-stop shop to track, monitor, and gain insights into European higher education systems, supporting policymakers, higher education institutions, students, and researchers in their evidence-based decision-making.

Key revisions in the updated Scoreboard

The revised Scoreboard introduces several significant improvements to enhance user experience and expand analytical possibilities:

New scatter plot view. Users can now explore correlations among countries across the full range of Scoreboard indicators through a new scatter plot view. This addition complements the existing thematic view and country pages, enabling more sophisticated cross-indicator analysis and comparison.

Enhanced data download functionality. The revised platform allows users to download the underlying Scoreboard data and metadata directly from the interface. This improvement supports offline analysis and enables researchers and policymakers to conduct their own in-depth investigations using the comprehensive EHESO scoreboard dataset

Advanced time series filtering. A new filtering function enables users to display a specified number of top- and bottom-performing countries for any selected indicator. This feature facilitates targeted analysis and benchmarking across European higher education systems.

Redesigned map visual. The Scoreboard map has been redesigned to improve the visibility of smaller European countries, including Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, and Malta. This ensures that all participating countries are properly represented in geographical visualisations.

Improved country pages. Country-specific pages now feature separate selection for the EU-27 average data, along with enhanced cross-dimension filtering and selection capabilities. These improvements allow for more nuanced country-level analysis and EU-wide comparisons.

Updated visual design. The overall look and feel of the Scoreboard has been refreshed to improve clarity, consistency, and user experience across all platform features.

Complete indicator visibility. All available Scoreboard indicators are now visible at all times, regardless of user selections, with clearer indications where data is missing. This transparency helps users understand the full scope of available information.

Direct source links. Each indicator now includes a direct link to its primary data source, enabling users to verify information and explore underlying datasets for greater transparency.

Supporting European higher education policy

The Scoreboard is organised according to four major objectives of the European Strategy for Universities: transnational cooperation in Europe in higher education, research and innovation; future-proof skills and cooperation with industrial ecosystems; EU values such as institutional autonomy and academic freedom, fostering gender balance, diversity and inclusiveness; and international cooperation in higher education, research and innovation. It also includes higher education sector context indicators.

The tool currently includes 83 indicators at country level, drawing from diverse data sources including EUROSTAT educational statistics, the European Tertiary Education Register (ETER), EUROSTUDENT, EUROGRADUATE, Erasmus+ mobility data, publication data from OpenAlex, and other international sources.

The geographical coverage encompasses EU-27 Member States, EEA-EFTA countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland), the United Kingdom, and candidate and potential candidate countries.

Access the revised Scoreboard

The revised European Higher Education Sector Scoreboard is available on the National Policies Platform. Presentation slides from the 7 May training session are available to support users in navigating the tool, understanding its key indicators, and making the most of its features. Information about future training sessions, planned after the summer, will be announced in the Events section of the platform.