SELF CERTIFICATION IN SELF CERTIFICATION IN THE EHEA: THE WAY THE EHEA: THE WAY

FORWARDFORWARDGerard Madill, Council of EuropeGerard Madill, Council of Europe

Bologna conference on self Bologna conference on self certificationcertification

Tbilisi, November 27 – 28, 2008Tbilisi, November 27 – 28, 2008

MINISTERS IN BERGEN 2005 MINISTERS IN BERGEN 2005 AND LONDON 2007AND LONDON 2007

• We have an overarching framework (adopted in Bergen 2005)

• We will develop national frameworks compatible with the EHEA framework by 2010

• This is a steep challenge and we need some coordination even if QFs are ultimately a national responsibility

QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORKQUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORK

• Description of all qualifications in a given (higher) education system

• Description of how these qualifications articulate

• Description of how learners can move between qualifications within a system

• Description understandable to informed foreigners

• Description of learning outcomes

FRAMEWORKS AND FRAMEWORKS AND FRAMEWORKFRAMEWORK

National framework• closest to the operational

reality • owned by national system• ultimately determines

what qualifications learners will earn

• describe the qualifications within a given education system and how they interlink

EHEA framework• facilitates movement

between systems • face of “Bologna

qualifications” to the rest of the world

• provides the broad structure within which national qualifications frameworks will be developed

BASIC ELEMENTSBASIC ELEMENTS

• Two levels: EHEA-QF and national frameworks

• EHEA-QF provides “outer limits” but allows for diversity within those

• NQFs the responsibility of competent national authorities

• International participation

• Need for coherence EHEA-QF – EQF-LLL

WHY SELF CERTIFICATION?WHY SELF CERTIFICATION?

• Verify the compatibility of one’s own NQF• Demonstrate to others that one’s NQF is

compatible – Self certification report as “visiting card”

• Increase transparency and trust• Improve quality• Help recognition and mobility• Help employability• Help fulfil the main purposes (NB plural!) of

higher education

RECONCILING NATIONAL RECONCILING NATIONAL COMPETENCE AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETENCE AND INTERNATIONAL

TRANSPARENCYTRANSPARENCY• Competent national authority has the final

word• Needs to be credible with international

partners• Draw on the experience of others

– Avoid making the same mistakes

• International experts in self certification– Ask the difficult questions others would ask

anyway

CHALLENGES: TRANSPARENCY CHALLENGES: TRANSPARENCY AND NATIONAL COMPETENCEAND NATIONAL COMPETENCE

• How can the most difficult issues be brought out in sharing experience?– Transparency vs. protecting one’s own

system

• How will we deal with disagreement between national representatives and international experts?

• How do we deal with self certification reports that may not be credible?

CHALLENGES: DIFFERENT CHALLENGES: DIFFERENT NATIONAL SETTINGSNATIONAL SETTINGS

• Different legal traditions• Different emphasis on formal procedures and

content• Different understanding of learning outcomes• Interaction higher education and other areas of

education (e.g. VET)• Structures for implementation• Different possibilities to cover the costs of self

certification

CHALLENGES: ENSURING CHALLENGES: ENSURING COMMON UNDERSTANDINGCOMMON UNDERSTANDING

• We will have at least 48 NQFs– “One framework, 48 systems”?

• Diversity of traditions and approaches

• Responsibility is ultimately national: no “European harmonization”

• Common understanding across linguistic diversity

CHALLENGES: INTERNATIONALCHALLENGES: INTERNATIONAL

• Limited pool of experts• Language(s) of self certification: national or

English?• How to organize the exchange of experience?• How to follow up countries that seem to lack

progress without impinging on sovereignty?• How to make implementation of EHEA-QF and

EQF-LLL coherent?

EUROPEAN “QF LEARNING PATHS” EUROPEAN “QF LEARNING PATHS” – OR “LEARNING CURVE”?– OR “LEARNING CURVE”?

• Need coordination at EHEA level– Coordination group– Network of national QF coordinators?– Web page

• Need coordination EHEA-QF – EQF-LLL• Diploma Supplement• Need more cooperation among neighbors,

but with due regard to overall European understanding of issues

TOWARD A CONCLUSIONTOWARD A CONCLUSION

• Important to complete NQFs soon, but even more important to do it well

• Self certification a sine qua non• Qualifications frameworks one of the main

issues in the European Higher Education Area

• Will remain on the agenda• Need for transparency on difficult issues –

nobody has all the answers

THANK YOU VERY MUCHTHANK YOU VERY MUCH

• დიდი მადლობა

• /didi madloba/