Bologna declaration area
edited by Dr Ben Knights
The Bologna process home page
Introduction
We are greatly indebted to Professor Graham Caie, of the University of Glasgow for contributing the sections that follow. These are in the process of being updated, so for a briefing on the current position please read Graeme Roberts' article Bologna: 10 Years On in the April 2010 issue of WordPlay magazine.
- What is the Bologna Declaration?
- Can you give a rough guide to the central issues?
- How does this effect UK HEIs? Isn’t it just for continental Europeans?
- Is there any attempt to make a uniform English curriculum throughout Europe?
- How will these developments map onto the existing ECTS (European Credit Transfer System)?
- Surely not another level of Quality Assessment, this time from Brussels?
- Are there any advantages for the UK?
- How can I keep myself informed about developments in this area?
1. What is the Bologna Declaration?
A summary of the process to 2005 can be found in the Bergen Declaration
The Declaration, signed by twenty-nine European countries in June 1999 (including the UK ) and based on the Sorbonne Declaration of 1998, calls for the harmonisation of HE qualification systems in Europe , mutual recognition of degree qualifications and increased staff and student mobility within Europe . The signatories pledged to reform the structures of their HE systems in such a way that overall convergence emerges from the process at the European level. It was followed up with the Prague Process, 2001, and again in Berlin in 2003. This is not an agreement or agreed policy, but a declaration of intent.
2. Can you give a rough guide to the central issues it addresses?
a) The recommended HE system is based on 2 cycles -- undergraduate and postgraduate, and, while there is mention of a 3-5-8-year model for BA/MA/PhD (i.e., 3 or 4 years for the BA, 1 or 2 for the MA and another 3 for the doctorate), there is a strong emphasis on levels not years. Similarly, the Declaration is mainly concerned with “qualifications, not degrees; it should not be seen primarily as an academic document, but rather as a policy paper on the role of education in the Knowledge Society.”
Some countries call it the ‘BAMA’ system. As the life-long learning agenda is also part of the Declaration, measuring degrees by years is considered unhelpful.
b) The establishment of a system of credits is recommended. This is already available through the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS), but there is a desire to strengthen the 'transferability and accumulation functions' of this system with a view to encouraging life-long learning. They would also encourage all credit systems at schools, colleges and universities to be harmonised to permit mobility throughout Europe at all stages and ages.
c) The adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degree certification; this work that is undertaken by NARIC, The National Academic Recognition Initiative Centre, and will lead to the Diploma Supplement.
d) The Diploma Supplement (which is not a diploma as we know it) is a personalised document in which all courses are described in a uniform and regularised method along with ECTS grades in order to make it understandable to all employers in the EU, rather like the new EU driving licence. This document would explain the level, nature and contents of all the courses taken in all countries by the candidate.
d) The Promotion of Mobility by students, teachers and researchers. This has of course been the aim of the ERASMUS, LINGUA and SOCRATES programmes, although research would be added and the volume of exchanges increased.
e) The Promotion of European cooperation in Quality Assurance, evaluation and accreditation. Another acronym, the ENQA (European Network of QA) is working to further this aim. It will mean the creation of a common framework of reference for QA and the dissemination of best practice throughout the EU. There is the suggestion of creating independent agencies to evaluate degrees and give "quality labels
f) The promotion the European dimension in HE, namely the increase of the European content in existing courses and the awarding of joint degrees between universities in different countries.
g) The promotion of life-long learning built on a knowledge-based society and economy.
To sum up: Its main underlying objectives are to foster compatibility within Europe and with other world regions; flexibility through credits and mobility; employability by more diverse curricular profiles; efficiency through reduced duration of degrees programmes and fewer drop-outs; mobility and competitiveness through easier external recognition.
3. How does this effect UK HEIs? Isn’t it just for continental Europeans?
Other EU countries are taking the Declaration very seriously for years now and many have changed their entire HE system to conform. In the UK there is almost no discussion and, if Bologna is ever discussed, the general attitude is that we already have a 3/4+1/2+3-year system and that the Declaration is aimed at other countries to conform with the UK . It is true that in many continental universities, first degrees can take well over five years to complete and so it is to many governments’ economic advantage to decrease this time. Some countries suggested calling the first part of their initial degree the B.A, however the Bologna documentation makes specific mention of the need to avoid half-hearted changes to the degree structure. It strongly argues against "window-dressing reforms", that is revamping the existing two or three years of a 5-year degree programme, as the BA must be accepted as a rounded and complete degree in itself with precise outcomes and skills which can be used in the workplace. The document mentions 'real possibilities on the labour market' and 'a European dimension'.
In the Netherlands there is a new three-year BA programme with "more effective transversal skills" which will lead to both a BA degree and lay the foundations for those continuing to a Master's degree. Similarly France is implementing the Declaration and the National Council for Higher Education and Research (CNESER) has agreed to adopt this system. The postgraduate degree will be called the 'mastaire', to avoid confusion with the 'maîtrise'. Nomenclature is a problem, for example in Scotland where the initial degree in most universities is the MA, and where countries, such as Denmark and Germany , have two doctorates.
One possible disadvantage for the UK is that there would be greater competition from other European countries for overseas students.
4. Is there any attempt to make a uniform English curriculum throughout Europe ?
No. There is an appreciation of the benefits of diversity in curricula, otherwise mobility would largely be unnecessary. Continental universities’ English departments, for example, will continue to stress language proficiency and the need to appreciate the culture and society of the anglophone world. Many continental English departments integrate teacher training into the degree, as the majority of graduates will be teachers. The one element in all curricula that should be present is the European dimension, that is, the awareness of a European context in all studies.
5. How will these developments map onto the existing ECTS (European Credit Transfer System)?
(For an update on the ECTS see the ECTS Users' Guide published by the European Communities in February 2009. )
60 – 120 ECTS Certificate and Diploma, respectively.
180 ECTS Bachelor degrees of various types (general degree)
or 240 ECTS Advanced Bachelor degrees (honours degree)
60 ECTS postgraduate certificate/diploma
60 – 120 ECTS Master degrees of various types
(not credit-rated) Doctorate/Ph.D.
The implication is that one full year of study gives 60 ECTS and that some diplomas and postgraduate degrees take two years, hence 60-120. The Bachelor system is based on a three or four year programme, hence 180 or 240, with the first 3 years as general and the final year as what we might call honours. This system exists in some Scottish universities, but not in England with its 3-year honours degree. The foundation degree in the UK would probably conform to this system.
6. Surely not another level of Quality Assessment, this time from Brussels ?
This leads to the emphasis in the Document on QA and accreditation frameworks. The aim is 'an enhanced European dimension in QA, evaluation and accreditation and compatible QA systems'. Again the UK is well ahead in the assessment process, and most countries use the UK template for their national QA. Yet at a time when the 'softer approach' has come to the UK , the Bologna Declaration seems to favour a more rigorous system. It advocates 'independent evaluation leading to European quality labels in broad subject areas' and suggests that this assessment should be undertaken by agencies independent from national and European authorities. The creation of an independent Bureau funded by the EU is suggested. This, I believe, would lead to the creation of an extremely expensive and cumbersome administration which would probably expand to justify itself in the course of time. The use of external assessors has its benefits, but, apart from the expense, does mean that the assessors have much to learn about a country in the very brief time before assessment work begins.
7. Are there any advantages for the UK ?
A greater appreciation of other countries and cultures is extremely important. If the result makes employability easier throughout the continent many of our graduates will benefit. At the moment many have been denied jobs by not having their three-year BA acknowledged as complete degree in countries where the first degree takes five or more years. Such a system should aid the international competitiveness and the attractiveness of European higher education in the world. I believe that such harmonisation will increase radically in the coming years and that we in the UK should keep ourselves informed. There is a warning that “ Higher education institutions are nonetheless likely to feel growing pressure from the convergence process. Such pressure will however only result from their ignoring increasingly common features or staying outside of the mainstream of change.”
8. How can I keep myself informed about developments in this area?
We have some essential starting points in our additional reference area
