The Bologna Process – a stony way to a European Area of Higher Education

The Bologna Process – a stony way to a European Area of Higher Education

Dr.-Ing. Martin MolzahnWeisenheim am Berg / FRG

(EFCE Working Party on Education)

ESCAPE – 13, EURECHA SessionLappeenranta / Finland, June 2003

as of: 30.05.03 Lappeenranta, June 2003 2

The Bologna Process – a stony way …

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Bologna Declaration (1999): Main Objectives

Establishing the European area of higher education by achieving the following objectives within the first decade of the new millennium:

• Adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees,also through the implementation of the Diploma Supplement

• Adoption of a system essentially based on two main cycles, undergraduate and graduate.

– Access to the second shall require successful completion of first cycle studies, lasting a minimum of three years. The degree awarded after the first cycle shall also be relevant to the European labour market as an appropriate level of qualification. The second cycle should lead to the master and/or doctorate degrees as in many European countries.

• Establishment of a system of credits – such as in the ECTS – as a proper means of promoting the most widespread student mobility.

• Promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance with a view to developing comparable criteria and methodologies.

• Promotion of mobility by overcoming obstacles to the effective exercise of free movement



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Outline

• Bologna Declaration

• Bologna Process: – Background– Milestones

• Status of Implementation:– EFCE WPE Bologna survey– National reports for the Berlin Summit 2003

• Obstacles, Problems

• Conclusion, Prospect



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Bologna Process: Why?

• National systems of higher education in Europe have been proven to become more and more hindrances for the mobility of students and employees– Degrees are most often awarded and accredited on a national basis,

but have to be recognized by the international labour market

• The attraction of European higher education to students and professors of other parts of the world has decreased continuously:– Problems with the readability and the recognition of degrees

• European students are asking increasingly for transnational programmes



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Actual Structure of Higher Education in Europe

• UK, Ireland:– Two (consecutive) cycles (undergraduate, graduate), as

defined in Bologna Declaration

– This two cycle concept is also widespread over the world (USA, Asia)

• Most other countries in Europe:– Structured (parallel) types of programmes

• “long” (4,5 - 5 years) programmes, leading to a degree equivalent to the second cycle degree (SCD)

• “short” (2 - 4 years) programmes, leading to a degree equivalent (?) to the first cycle degree (FCD)

Bologna requires to develop new, consecutive programmes



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Bologna Process: Milestones

• 1998: Sorbonne Declaration– 4 countries (France, Italy, Germany, UK)

– Harmonisation of the architecture of the European Higher Education System

• 1999: Bologna Declaration– Establishing the European Area of Higher Education by 2010– 29 (30) European countries (Austria, Belgium (French Community), Belgium

(Flemish Community), Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, The Nether-ands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Swiss Confederation, United Kingdom)

• 2001: Prague (1st follow-up conference)– 3 more countries (Croatia, Cyprus, Turkey)

– 3 more elements (promotion of life long learning, involvement of students, enhancing attractiveness and competitiveness of the European Higher Education Area to other parts of the world)

• 2003: Berlin (2nd follow-up conference)



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EFCE WPE Bologna Survey

• Survey on the implementation of Bologna Declaration with respect to Chemical Engineering:– Countries participating: 19 (out of 33)– More than 280 institutions (universities, Grandes

Ecoles, “Fachhochschulen”, faculties, departments, …) in these countries are offering Chemical Engineering and related programmes

– Most of them have to develop new programmes– In 12 countries new first cycle and new second cycle

programmes in CE and related fields according to Bologna Declaration are already offered now



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2nd Bologna follow-up conference*)

• Berlin-Summit: 18./19. September 2003• Website (as of 25.05.2003):

– National status reports on the implementation process (9 countries)

– Actual (framework-) laws for higher education (5 countries)

A lot of work is under way all over Europe:– Information (universities, employers, associations, …)– Discussions and decision making– Development of new programmes– Establishing accreditation bodies– Accreditation of new programmes

____________________

*) http://www.bologna-berlin2003.de



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Problems, Obstacles

• Development of new programmes:– How to transfer existing programmes into the Bologna scheme?– How to maintain the advantages of existing concepts?

• Different solutions in individual countries:– How to nominate the new degrees?– How to organize new programmes in different disciplines?

• Employers lack information about the new concept:– How do they accept the new degrees? What do they can expect?– How to compare the new degrees with the old ones?

• Differences in the recognition of engineering professions– How to harmonize systems of registration of engineers

parallel to the Bologna process?



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How to organize new programmes ?

Example: Engineering Education in Germany (and others)

• Universities (more oriented to science and research)– Actual: Diploma (Dipl.-Ing.)

• 4,5 – 5 years (not included 3 month of practical work before start)• Students have to pass a rigorous examination after two years (mainly

basics (mathematics, science, engineering fundamentals)); no relevance to the labour market

– New: Bachelor (of Science or Engineering)• 3 years of studies, relevant to the labour market (! ?)• Requires shifting of certain parts of the basics from the first semesters

into the master’s programmes, and of parts of the engineering specialities from the higher into the first semesters

– New: Master (of Science or Engineering)• 2 more years of studies should finally be equivalent to Diploma

– Question: • How relevant to the labour market is a scientifically oriented BSc with

only three years of studies?



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How to organize new programmes?

Example: Engineering Education in Germany (cont’d)

• Fachhochschulen (Universities of Applied Science) (more oriented to applications)– Actual: Diploma (Dipl.-Ing.(FH))

• 4 years of studies (including one semester of practical work and one semester for Diploma thesis)

– New: Bachelor (of Science or Engineering)• 3 years of studies, relevant to the labour market (! ?)• Requires elimination of the practical semester and shortening of time

for lectures and final thesis level less than Diploma (FH)

– New: Master (of Science or Engineering)• 2 more years of studies level higher than Diploma (FH)

– Question:• How will the labour market accept these changes ?



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How to organize new programmes?Example France• Actual:

– Engineering Schools (Grandes Ecoles)• Bac + 5 Ingénieur Diplomé (if accredited by CTI) SCD• Two years of studies in Preparatory Classes (outside the Engineering Schools

(i.e. in certain grammar schools), mainly mathematics and sciences). Afterwards students are selected in a nationwide competition before they can go to an Engineering School for three further years of dedicated studies.

– Universities, Instituts Universitaires de Technologie (I.U.T.): • Bac + 2 Diplome Universitaire de Technologie (DUT) Technicians• Bac + 3 Licence (professional) FCD• Bac + 4 Maitrise FCD

• Question:– How to transform the Preparatory Class Concept into the Bologna

Bac + 3 + 2 scheme with a degree relevant to the labour market after three years?



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Different solutions in individual countries• Netherlands:

– Bachelor’s degree (academic): 180 (“ects”) credits– Bachelor’s degree (professional): 240 (“ects”) credits– Master’s degree (engineering): 120 more (“ects”) credits

• Germany: – Bachelor’s degree: 3 – 4 years– Master’s degree: 1 – 2 more years

• Italy:– Laurea: 3 years– Laurea specialistica: 2 more years

• UK:– BEng: 3 years (FCD)– MEng: 1 more year (SCD)– MEng: 4 years (including 1 practical year): first level degree



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Organizing an Accreditation Process

• European Cooperation in Quality Assurance requires comparable concepts

• Many countries have to switch from quality control and approval of programmes by the government to a divided concept:– Quality control by a professional accreditation body in a defined

procedure including a review by peers, and– Approval by the government

• Example Germany: – An Accreditation Council has been established by KMK and HRK– Six accreditation agencies have been founded; three of them

specialised for individual disciplines (e.g. one for engineering, informatics, sciences, and mathematics ASIIN)

– Actual: 1600 new programmes introduced, 260 of them accredited Cooperation and exchange of experience between accreditation

agencies of different countries is required and has started



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Employers lack information about the new concept

• Employers very often don‘t know enough about the new degrees

• They don’t know what they can expect:– Is a Bachelor a (qualified) engineer ?

– Or is he a technician ?

• They don’t know how to pay a Bachelor



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New degrees often are unknown

Translation:

The first Bachelors are arriving on the labour market

What do you have? A Bachelor? – Why not, it’s essential that you don‘t infect us here

Infectious



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Recognition / Registration of Engineers

• State regulated engineering professions need official recognition of engineers:– Some countries (France, Italy, Switzerland, UK) have Registers of

Engineers in order to assure official recognition• Criteria and procedures for registration are different• France, Italy, and UK have already agreed to harmonize criteria and

procedures

– Other countries (i.e. Germany) yet don’t have Registers of Engineers. The title “Ingenieur” is protected by law, which includes the official recognition; it can only be used with the degree “Diplom-Ingenieur”. This is not yet the case with the new degrees “Bachelor” and “Master”.

• Transnational recognition of engineers is difficult today and only possible on an individual case by case basis

Europe wide mobility also requires a common concept of recognition and registration



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Conclusion, Prospect

• The Bologna Process towards a European Area of Higher Education– is a necessary and important element of European

unification– has been started in the individual countries with different

speed and intensity – requires a lot of efforts especially by the universities– requires a lot of good will by all involved to achieve common

solutions– is until now a stony way

Within the next two years it is important to adjust, and to harmonize the individual concepts in order to provide stable conditions for the people acting and developing new programmes

Documents

The Bologna Process – a stony way to a European Area of Higher Education