What Are the Reforms All about?

The overarching aim of the Bologna Process is to create a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) that promotes mobility; attracts students and staff from Europe as well as from other parts of the world; and is internationally competitive. It aims to do this by facilitating greater comparability and compatibility between the diverse higher education systems and institutions across Europe and by enhancing their quality. Starting from a non-binding agreement at European level (the 1999 Bologna Declaration), the Bologna Process has initiated reforms in higher education across Europe. Today, 49 European countries participate in the Bologna Process. They are all party to the European Cultural Convention and committed to the goals of the European Higher Education Area. Russia joined the Bologna Declaration in 2003.

An important characteristic of the Bologna Process – and a key to its success – is the close cooperation between governments, higher education institutions, and quality assurance agencies.

What Are the Reforms All about?

The Bologna Process is probably best known for its objective to structure higher education along three cycles (Bachelor-Master-PhD), converging formerly very diverse higher education structures in Europe and bringing them in line with international standards. In 2005, Ministers adopted an overarching Framework for Qualifications in the European Higher Education Area comprising three cycles and they agreed to develop national qualifications frameworks that are compatible with this overarching framework.

Access to the second cycle (Master) usually requires successful completion of the first cycle studies (Bachelor), lasting a minimum of three years. The degree awarded after the first cycle should also be relevant to the European labour market as an appropriate level of qualification. Countries are currently defining learning outcomes for qualifications in each of the three cycles, using the Framework for Qualifications in the European Higher Education Area as a common reference point. Work to define learning outcomes is also a significant component in the broader move towards student-centered learning and teaching.

Doctoral education – generally corresponding to a workload of 3–4 years full time – was introduced to the Bologna Process as the third cycle by Ministers in 2003, when they agreed that:

• The core component of doctoral training should be the advancement of knowledge through original research;
• Doctoral programmes should promote interdisciplinary training and the development of transferable skills to meet the needs of the wider labour market.

Joint Degrees

The Bologna Process has paved the way for a growing number of joint degree programmes. The following key features are usually associated with qualifications described as joint degrees:

• the programmes leading to them are developed jointly by several institutions;
• students spend significant periods of time at partner institutions;
• periods of study and exams passed at the partner institution(s) are recognised by all the institutions involved;
• students who have completed the full programme should obtain a degree which is awarded jointly by the participating institutions, and is fully recognised in all the countries.

Mobility

Facilitating mobility is one of the main objectives of the creation of the European Higher Education Area. Intra-European and international student and staff mobility has become an essential part of European higher education culture. More than 5600 higher education institutions in Europe offer a great variety of degree programmes for domestic and international students.

Recognition of Qualifications

The purpose of recognition is to make it possible for learners to use their qualifications in another education system or country without losing the full value of those qualifications. Each country of the EHEA has a national information centre where students, employers and others can obtain information about recognition. Tools that facilitate the recognition of qualifications are the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and the Diploma Supplement. The ECTS balances a programme’s average workload with the learning outcomes and competences to be achieved. The Diploma Supplement describes the qualification in an easily understandable way, relating it to the overarching qualifications framework.

Quality Assurance

In higher education, the term quality assurance refers to all the policies, ongoing review processes and actions designed to ensure that institutions, programmes and qualifications meet specified standards of education, scholarship and infrastructure. The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area adopted by Ministers in 2005 and commonly referred to as the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) provide guidance on quality assurance to agencies and institutions. The European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) set up in 2008 is designed to list those agencies which operate in accordance with the European Standards and Guidelines and the appropriate national legal provisions.