BOLOGNA PROCESS BOLOGNA DECLARATION Towards the european higher education area Dr Michalis Glampedakis Professor Technological Institution (University)

BOLOGNA PROCESSBOLOGNA PROCESSBOLOGNA DECLARATIONBOLOGNA DECLARATION

Towards the european higher education area Towards the european higher education area

Dr Michalis Glampedakis Professor Technological Institution (University) of Athens GreeceDr Michalis Glampedakis Professor Technological Institution (University) of Athens Greece

More details in the site: http://www.ehea.info

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BOLOGNA PROCESSBOLOGNA PROCESS

MMay be is useful to present the realities of ay be is useful to present the realities of higher education in Europe before the Bologna higher education in Europe before the Bologna declarationdeclaration


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Because,Because,

a pre-Bologna Declaration survey prepared a pre-Bologna Declaration survey prepared under the auspices of the under the auspices of the European Commis-sion revealed that there revealed that there were even more degree structures in Europe were even more degree structures in Europe than there were countries.than there were countries.


Why Bologna ProcessWhy Bologna Process

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Before Bologna, the time it took to earn a first Before Bologna, the time it took to earn a first degree could vary significantly from three degree could vary significantly from three years in the United Kingdom to seven years in years in the United Kingdom to seven years in Italy and Germany.Italy and Germany.

Students earning qualifications in one country Students earning qualifications in one country often had difficulty obtaining employment in a often had difficulty obtaining employment in a neighboring country where their academic neighboring country where their academic credentials were not recognized. credentials were not recognized.


Why Bologna ProcessWhy Bologna ProcessBecauseBecause,

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Because Europe is a region historically divided Because Europe is a region historically divided by language, religious denominations and by language, religious denominations and nationalism, each country's system of higher nationalism, each country's system of higher education developed independently of each education developed independently of each other over the centuries, resulting in a variety other over the centuries, resulting in a variety of mutually incomprehensible and non-of mutually incomprehensible and non-transferable degrees.transferable degrees.



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In some cases there were as many as 100 In some cases there were as many as 100 different qualifications found within a single different qualifications found within a single country.country.

As a result, credential evaluators have had to As a result, credential evaluators have had to contend with a confusing hodgepodge of contend with a confusing hodgepodge of European degrees and qualifications, which European degrees and qualifications, which they somehow had to explain to employers.they somehow had to explain to employers.



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Educational reforms were rarely -if ever- Educational reforms were rarely -if ever- introduced through transnational agree-ments, introduced through transnational agree-ments, but were formulated and impleme-nted by the but were formulated and impleme-nted by the ministries of education within individual ministries of education within individual counties.counties.

BecauseBecause,Why Bologna ProcessWhy Bologna Process


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The German unification, the scramble to join The German unification, the scramble to join the European Union, and the introduction of a the European Union, and the introduction of a single European currency (the euro) are all single European currency (the euro) are all developments that have promoted greater developments that have promoted greater political and economic convergence among the political and economic convergence among the countries of the Europe.countries of the Europe.



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The Sorbonne declaration 1998The Sorbonne declaration 1998

The Education Ministers of Germany, France, The Education Ministers of Germany, France, Italy and the United Kingdom announced their Italy and the United Kingdom announced their intention to remove barriers and to establish a intention to remove barriers and to establish a framework for improved European framework for improved European cooperation in the field of Higher Education.cooperation in the field of Higher Education.



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Background informationBackground information

The Process officially started in 1999, with the The Process officially started in 1999, with the signing of the signing of the

Bologna Declaration Twenty-nine (29) countries signed the Twenty-nine (29) countries signed the

declaration on 19 June 1999 in Bologna declaration on 19 June 1999 in Bologna

(hence the name of the whole Process)(hence the name of the whole Process)

Now, 47 countries participate to the processNow, 47 countries participate to the process


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BOLOGNA PROCESSBOLOGNA PROCESSSince the Bologna Declaration in 1999, a biannual Since the Bologna Declaration in 1999, a biannual

meeting has taken place as follows:meeting has taken place as follows:

Bologna 1999 Prague 2001 Berlin 2003

Bergen 2005 London 2007 Louvain 2009

Budapest/Vienna 2010 Bucharest 2012 Yerevan 2015


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BOLOGNA PROCESSBOLOGNA PROCESS“…..

Building on our rich and diverse European cultural heritage, we are developing a EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA based on: institutional autonomy, academic freedom, equal opportunities and, democratic principles, that will facilitate mobility, increase employability and strengthen Europe’s attractiveness and competitiveness.…….”

Ministers responsible for Higher Education in the countries participating in the Bologna Process, London Communique, May 2007

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The map 2012The map 2012


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Albania Germany NorwayAndorra Greece PolandArmenia Holy See PortugalAustria Hungary RomaniaAzerbaijan Iceland Russian FederationBelgium Ireland SerbiaBosnia-Herzegovina Italy Slovak RepublicBulgaria Kazakhstan SloveniaCroatia Latvia SpainCyprus Liechtenstein SwedenCzech Republic Lithuania SwitzerlandDenmark Luxembourg The FYRoMEstonia Malta TurkeyFinland Moldova UkraineFrance Montenegro United KingdomGeorgia Netherlands


The StatesThe States

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The European dimension of higher edu-The European dimension of higher edu-cation: expand at all levels on modules, cation: expand at all levels on modules, teaching and study areas where the co-teaching and study areas where the co-ntent, guidance or organisation has a ntent, guidance or organisation has a European dimension.European dimension.


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The involvement of higher education The involvement of higher education institutions and students. The Ministers institutions and students. The Ministers underline the importance of the invol-underline the importance of the invol-vement of universities, of other higher vement of universities, of other higher education establishments and in particular education establishments and in particular of students in order to create a constru-of students in order to create a constru-ctive European Higher Education Areactive European Higher Education Area..


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The Bologna process uses the next main tools:The Bologna process uses the next main tools:Student-centered learningStudent-centered learningA system of academic degrees which are easy A system of academic degrees which are easy to read and compare (ECTS). It includes the to read and compare (ECTS). It includes the introduction of a diploma supplement in order to introduction of a diploma supplement in order to improve transparency (DS).improve transparency (DS).Quality Assurance on the educational activitiesQuality Assurance on the educational activities

…. be continued


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Social dimensionSocial dimension LifeLong Learning (LLL)LifeLong Learning (LLL) Effective Outcomes and EmployabilityEffective Outcomes and Employability Mobility and InternationalisationMobility and Internationalisation

…. be continued

…. continued


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Steering and encouraging the use of learning outcomes in curriculum development has grown substantially.

However, the use of learning outcomes in student assessment is much less widespread.

….

Student-centered learningStudent-centered learning


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…..In the countries that struggle with a shift to student-centred learning, the most critical problems are a lack of recognition of the value of student evaluation of teaching, independent learning and the use of learning outcomes

Student-centered learningStudent-centered learning


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In about 70% of EHEA countries, higher education institutions make the final decision on recognition of foreign qualifications, while recognition of credits gained abroad is fully in the hands of higher education institutions.

RecognitionRecognition


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Since recognition is carried out by higher education institutions without the advice of ENIC/NARIC centres in one third of countries, it is important to improve the knowledge and capacity of higher education institutions to undertake this role.



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Nearly three quarters of qualifications from at least some of the EHEA countries are treated equally as national qualifications. This demonstrates that there is already some potential for working towards automatic recognition at system level in most EHEA countries.



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While information on internal quality assurance is limited, the findings indicate that the trend for higher education institutions to develop their own strategies for quality enhancement is spreading and increasing

Quality AssuranceQuality Assurance


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Equally the public accountability and transparency requirements in quality assurance systems are evolving, with a significant increase in the number of countries reporting that all institutions publish the outcomes of quality assurance evaluations, even when negative



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External quality assurance systems are now practically ubiquitous in the EHEA – a reality that is far different to when the Bologna process was launched



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The main issue is no longer whether or not a quality assurance system has been established, but rather whether the system is producing effective results and working in compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG)



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Within the EHEA, countries have committed to the goal the student body should reflect the diversity of the populations and that the background of students should not have an impact on their participation in and attainment of higher education

Social DimensionSocial Dimension


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While some progress can be noted, the analysis clearly shows that the goal of providing equal opportunities to quality higher education is far from being reached



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With regard to gender, some imbalances have reduced over time but nevertheless continue to exist in most countries and across the EHEA as a whole.



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Women are over-represented in the total student population and in new entrants in nearly all countries.

At the level of doctoral education, the picture is mixed: in four countries the shares of men and women entering doctoral education are more or less equal; in 12 countries men are under-represented, while in 14 countries women are underrepresented.



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The greatest gender imbalances exist, however, between different fields of study. In some fields, such as teacher training or social services, men are strongly under-represented. In other fields, such as computing or engineering, women are strongly under-represented



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Policies aimed at achieving gender balance in higher education are therefore likely to be most effective if they take study-field-specific imbalances into account.



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Policies aimed at achieving gender balance in higher education are therefore likely to be most effective if they take study-field-specific imbalances into account.



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Another central concern of the social dimension is whether immigrants and children of immigrants have the same opportunities to participate in and attain higher education as native students.



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Such information is, however, much more difficult to gather, so, data on foreign-born students are used as a proxy. This data shows very clearly that in nearly all countries, an immigration background is negatively associated with higher education attainment.



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Foreign-born young adults are more likely to quit education and training at an early stage and less likely to participate in tertiary education than their native-born counterparts. Similarly, the educational background of parents continues to have a strong impact on tertiary education attainment.



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In all EHEA countries for which data is available, children of medium educated parents have much lower chances to attain tertiary education than children of highly educated parents.



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Almost all higher education systems reflect the objective of widening participation in their higher education policy, and more than 70 % of the systems claim to do so through a set of concrete measures.



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Unfortunately, is not possible to present all the available data on the Social Dimension of the EHEA, during this limited time presentation.

Much more and detailed data are available in the European Union’s sites.



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Lifelong learning is a recognised mission in all Higher Institutions in most of the EHEA countries.

LifeLong LearningLifeLong Learning


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Higher Education Institutions have a well-established flexible course provision in many countries, offering various types of distance and e-learning, in addition to part-time studies. Even though not all countries have an official part-time status for higher education students, students may have de facto part-time status while theoretically studying full time.



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The concept of lifelong learning is not well defined in operational terms in EHEA coun-tries, and where definitions exist, they are in many cases rather general and may vary across countries.

Is important to take into account the limitati-ons of lifelong learning as a concept through which the demands of 'new learners' are exa-mined.



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Adults, or mature students, are often conside-red as learners whose needs often demand specific solutions when designing study paths. When analysing the challenges of new lear-ners, more emphasis could be placed on how education systems deal with the needs of adult learners, while at the same time taking into account the lifelong learning framework.



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Although Higher Education attainment levels are generally on the rise in the EHEA, many students still drop out of higher education without completing their studies.

Though data availability and comparability still pose challenges, available completion rates range from 48 % to 88 %.

Effective Outcomes and EmployabilityEffective Outcomes and Employability


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Data show that higher education graduates have been hit hard by the economic crisis in terms of their employment prospects,Over qualification rates have increased in the period between 2010 and 2013. Unemployment ratios have grown proportionally more for them than for their peers with lower levels of education. Income advantages have slightly decreased.



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Data show that higher education graduates have been hit hard by the economic crisis in terms of their employment prospects,Over qualification rates have increased in the period between 2010 and 2013. Unemployment ratios have grown proportionally more for them than for their peers with lower levels of education. Income advantages have slightly decreased.



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All these developments highlight the need for higher education policy-makers to (re-)focus attention on the employability of graduates.



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All these developments highlight the need for higher education policy-makers to (re-)focus attention on the employability of graduates.

Some countries apply more centralised policy tools (such as compulsory work placement) to stimulate employability, while higher education institutions have great autonomy in others.



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EHEA countries present very different situations with regard to internationalisation and mobility, especially when looking at their individual mobility flows and the level of engagement in internationalisation activities.

Mobility and InternationalisationMobility and Internationalisation


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Most countries encourage the internationalisa-tion of higher education through their steering documents. However, more than half of them lack a national internationalisation strategy or guidance to the various stakeholders involved in the internationalisation process.



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Higher education institutions in many coun-tries also lack comprehensive internationalisa-tion strategies, although they are increasingly engaged in internationalisation activities such as joint programmes/degrees and cross-border cooperation in research.

Many countries have not adopted national quantitative targets for different forms of mobility.



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It is not possible, at the moment, to report accurately on whether the EHEA collective target of 20% mobility by 2020 can be reached or not, as comprehensive and harmonised data collection is not yet fully in place – particularly for credit mobility



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Funding is perceived by ministries, students and staff, alike as the biggest obstacle to increased mobility.

The portability of financial student support is clearly one important measure to address this concern, but only a minority of countries currently ensure full portability for their students.



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Degrees are recognised Quality assurance system keeps high level

education Too many students stay in other countries and

be in touch with other civilisations, religions and cultures

Anybody, any time, during his/her life can get a degree for his/her own satisfaction or job improvement

Conclusively EHEA is a fact!Conclusively EHEA is a fact!


Thank you for your attentionThank you for your attention

for any further information do not for any further information do not hesitate to contact mehesitate to contact me

Dr Michalis Glampedakis, Professor, Athens TEIBologna ExpertSite: http://users.teiath.gr/mglambEmail: [email protected]

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BOLOGNA PROCESS BOLOGNA DECLARATION Towards the european higher education area Dr Michalis Glampedakis Professor Technological Institution (University)