THE BOLOGNA PROCESS: UPDATE AND EMPLOYABILITY

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THE BOLOGNA PROCESS UPDATE AND EMPLOYABILITY

• Professor Wendy Davies
• Pro-Provost Europe
• UCL

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Bologna Update

• Declarations
• Policy making and Implementation
• Outcomes so far
• Current Issues
• The Future

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• By 2010
• to establish the European area of Higher
  Education (EHEA) and to promote the European
  system of Higher Education worldwide

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Bologna, June 1999

• system of easily readable and comparable degrees,
  using Dip. Supp.
• system based on 2 main cycles, UG/PG
• establish a system of credits, e.g. ECTS
• promotion of mobility
• co-operation in Quality Assurance
• promotion of European dimensions

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Prague, May 2001

• incorporation of life-long learning
• involvement of students
• promotion of attractiveness of European Higher
  Education - by developing common framework of
  qualifications

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Berlin, September 2003

• addition of third cycle - doctoral level
• detailed stocktaking to take place in 2005

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Bergen, May 2005

• NO new action lines
• QF and QA standards adopted
• reports required in 2007 on
• implementation of QF and QA standards
• recognition of degrees (national plans)
• joint degrees
• flexible learning paths
• doctoral programmes
• mobility soc/econ situation of students
• strategy for external dimension
• arrangements beyond 2010

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Policy Making and Implementation

• ministerial meetings every 2 years
• Bologna Follow-Up Group - 6-monthly
• BFUG Board
• Working Groups and Bologna seminars
• lobby groups.
• BUT implementation at national level

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Outcomes include

• Massive changes in structure of HE in Europe
• Introduction of Bachelors and Masters degrees
• e.g. Germany 2,561 new Bachelors and Masters
  degrees by end 2003-4
• Much wider use of ECTS
• compulsory in Austria France Germany Italy
  Hungary Slovakia now the de facto standard
• Much wider use of Diploma Supplement (DS)
• Curricular development and convergence (Tuning
  Project)
• Acceptance of EHEA Qualifications Framework, and
  national QFs to be implemented
• European Association for Quality Assurance in
  Higher Education (ENQA), and increased QA

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EHEA Qualifications Framework

• Cycle descriptors ECTS credits
• - short within 1st cycle 120 ECTS
• - 1st cycle 180-240 ECTS
• - 2nd cycle 90-120 ECTS, minimum 60 at 2nd
  cycle level
• - 3rd cycle ECTS to discuss/abandon

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The Irish National Framework of Qualifications
levels, major award-types and awarding bodies
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ESG

• Quality Assurance pan-European
• standards and guidelines
• European standards for QA and QAAs
• review QAAs every 5 years
• subsidiarity
• European register of QAAs
• European consultative forum for stakeholders

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Global impact

• China, Africa, Latin America observers
• ECTS pilots in many places
• Latin-American Tuning
• Australian Diploma Supplement,
• Washington 2006 reps at Riga 2007
• REMEMBER worldwide employability
• exportable standards

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Current work and issues

• Working Groups (et al.) on
• stocktaking exercise
• the social dimension, plus data collection on
  mobility and on social and economic dimensions of
  students
• further development of the Qualifications
  Framework
• implementation of the Quality Assurance Register
• action plans to improve the quality of the
  process associated with the recognition of
  foreign qualifications
• the portability of grants and loans
• strategy for the external dimension
• basic principles for doctoral programmes.

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Current work and issuesdeveloping
recommendations

• Stocktaking finished
• Beyond 2010 continue as now
• Action plans for recognition description rather
  than planning (NB UK NARIC)

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Current work and issuesdeveloping
recommendations

• Social dimension equal opportunities
• QF national self-certification process
• EHEAQF EQF can coexist
• QA Register compliance with ESG
• Portability many barriers, but proceed

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N.B.

• ECs overarching
• European Qualifications Framework
• school, HE, vocational

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External dimension likelihood(Global Context)

• information on the European Higher Education Area
  EHEA
• promotion of European higher education (including
  European HE fairs beyond Europe, media campaigns,
  and development of a European HE brand)
• cooperation and partnership, with all regions of
  the world (especially cooperation with HEIs in
  developing countries, in order to build capacity)
• policy dialogue (including support for countries
  which introduce Bologna-like measures)
• recognition (cooperation with UNESCOECTS DS)

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Doctoral programmes (Nice)

• no single model for graduate schools
• access routes to PhD should be flexible
• aim for research and transferable skills
• assessment by committee, inc. external
• encourage international mobility
• professional doctorates need thesis
• postdocs need salaries, career opps

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The Future

• QA and Bologna
• House of Commons Inquiry, 2007
• EC Consultation on ECTS, 2007
• NB Burgess on credit articulation
• Next ministerial meeting London 2007
• After 2010????

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ECTS

• ECTS Guide (and EUA Handbook)
• 60 ECTS per academic year
• 1 ECTS 25-30 hours workload
• (Handbook 25-28 hours)
• EHEA QF
• 1st cycle 180-240 ECTS
• 2nd cycle 90-120 ECTS, min 60 at 2nd cycle
  level
• Countries have legislated, as Guide

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ECTS

• UK 60 ECTS per 30-week year
• UK 90 ECTS per calendar-year
• workload issues
• Burgess advice on articulation
• EC current consultation on ECTS
• But NB EUA Bologna Handbook

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BOLOGNA Austria Belgium Bulgaria Czech
Rep Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece
Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania
Liechtenstein Turkey BERLIN Albania Andorra Bosni
a Herzegovina Holy See Macedonia Russia Serbia
Montenegro BERGEN Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Moldo
va Ukraine
Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portuga
l Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerla
nd United Kingdom PRAGUE Croatia Cyprus
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The Bologna Process (1998-2010)

• DIPLOMA SUPPLEMENT IMPLEMENTATION BY LAW
  -EU/EEA/Associated Countries.
• Austria
• Belgium (Francophone) (Voluntary Introduction)
• Belgium (Flanders)
• Denmark
• France (Recommended use)
• Finland
• Germany
• Greece (Recommended use)
• Iceland (Most universities use it)
• Italy
• Liechtenstein
• Netherlands (Many HEIs use an older version)
• Norway
• Portugal (Delayed introduction)
• Spain (Delayed introduction)
• Sweden
• United Kingdom
• Bulgaria

• Adoption of the Diploma Supplement
• Very rapid adoption to be augmented by European
  Commission support

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What is the Diploma Supplement?

• provides a description of the nature, level,
  context, content and status of the studies
  pursued and successfully completed by the
  individual named on the original qualification to
  which this supplement is appended

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The Diploma Supplement

• The Diploma Supplement outline framework
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• i. Information identifying the holder of the
  qualification.
• ii. Information identifying the qualification.
• iii. Information on the level of the
  qualification.
• iv. Information on the content and results
  gained.
• v. Information on the function of the
  qualification.
• vi. Additional information.
• vii. Certification of the Supplement.
• viii. Information on the national higher
  education system.

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