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The Bologna process - Towards the European Higher Education Area

Basic information


In May 1998, the Ministers in charge of higher education of France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Germany signed the so-called Sorbonne Declaration on the "harmonisation of the architecture of the European Higher Education System" at the Sorbonne University in Paris. Other European countries later subscribed to the Declaration.

The Sorbonne Declaration focused on :


a progressive convergence of the overall framework of degrees and cycles in an open European area for higher education ;


a common degree level system for undergraduates (Bachelor's degree) and graduates (Master's and doctoral degree) ;


enhancing and facilitating student and teacher mobility (students should spend at least one semester abroad) ;


removing obstacles for mobility and improving recognition of degrees and academic qualifications




In June 1999, 29 European ministers in charge of higher education met in Bologna to lay the basis for establishing a European Higher Education Area by 2010 and promoting the European System of Higher Education world-wide.

In the Bologna Declaration, the ministers affirmed their intention to :


Adopt a system of easily readable and comparable degrees ;


Adopt a system with two main cycles (undergraduate/graduate) ;


Establish a system of credits (such as ECTS) ;


Promote mobility by overcoming obstacles ;


Promote European co-operation in quality assurance ;


Promote European dimensions in higher education.




In March 2004, the French-speaking Community of Belgium passed the so-called "Bologna Law" (Décret de la Communauté française du 31 mars 2004 définissant l'enseignement supérieur, favorisant son intégration à l'Espace européen de l'enseignement supérieur et refinançant les universités). It offers all the Higher Education Institutions the legal framework for implementing the Bologna reforms, i.e. :


Promoting a two-cycle system offering Bachelor and Master degrees ;


Promoting the Diploma Supplement ;


Promoting the use of ECTS Credits ;


Etc.



ECTS system

The European Community promotes interuniversity cooperation as a means of improving the quality of education for the benefit of students and Higher Education institutions, and student mobility is a predominant element of that interuniversity cooperation. The Erasmus programme clearly demonstrates that studying abroad can be a particularly valuable experience as it is not only the best way to learn about other countries, ideas, languages and cultures ; increasingly, it is also an important element in academic and professional career development.

The recognition of studies and diplomas is a prerequisite for the creation of an Open European area of education and training where students and teachers can move without obstacles. That is why the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) was developed in a pilot scheme established within the Erasmus programme as a means of improving academic recognition for study abroad. The external evaluation of ECTS has demonstrated the potential of the system and the European Commission has decided to include ECTS in its proposal for the Socrates programme. The ECTS system is now moving from its restricted pilot stage towards a much wider use as an element of the European dimension in Higher Education.

ECTS provides an instrument to create transparency, to build bridges between institutions and to widen the choices available to students. The system makes it easier for institutions to recognise the learning achievements of students through the use of commonly understood measurements - credits and grades - and it also provides a means to interpret national systems of Higher Education.

ECTS credits are numerical values allocated to course units to describe the student workload required to complete them. They reflect the quantity of work each course unit requires in relation to the total quantity of work necessary to complete a full year of academic study at the institution, i.e. lectures, practical work, seminars, tutorials, fieldwork, private study - in library or at home - and examinations or other assessment activities. ECTS is thus based on a full student workload and not limited to contact hours only. In ECTS, 60 credits represent the workload of an academic year of study (1 credit = 30 hours of work).


For more information about the Bologna process, please visit the following website :

http://www.bologna-bergen2005.no/