BOLOGNA PROCESS - EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA

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BOLOGNA PROCESS - EUROPEAN HIGHER EDUCATION AREA

Bologna Process History

In many respects, the Bologna Process has been revolutionary for cooperation in European higher education. Four education ministers participating in the celebration of the 800th anniversary of the University of Paris (Sorbonne Joint Declaration, 1998) shared the view that the segmentation of the European higher education sector in Europe was outdated and harmful. The decision to engage in a voluntary process to create the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was formalized one year later in Bologna, by 30 countries (The Bologna Declaration, 1999). It is now apparent that this was a unique undertaking as the process today includes no fewer than 47 participating countries, out of the 49 countries that have ratified the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe (1954).

At its inception, the Bologna Process was meant to stregthen the competitiveness and attractiveness of the European higher education and to foster student mobility and employability through the introduction of a system based on undergraduate and postgraduate studies with easily readable programmes and degrees. Quality assurance has played an important role from the outset, too.

However, the various ministerial meetings since 1999 have broadened this agenda and have given greater precision to the tools that have been developed. The undergraduate/postgraduate degree structure has been modified into a three-cycle system, which now includes the concept of qualifications frameworks, with an emphasis on learning outcomes. The concept of social dimension of higher education has been introduced and recognition of qualifications is now clearly perceived as central to the European higher education policies. In brief, the evolution of the main objectives of the Bologna Process can be seen hereby.

More at Resourse: European Higher Education Area

How does the Bologna Process work?

The Bologna Process, launched with the Bologna Declaration, of 1999, is one of the main voluntary processes at European level, as it is nowadays implemented in 47 states, which define the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

Members of the Bologna Process are the 47 countries, together with the European Commission, and the consultative members, namely the Council of Europe, UNESCO-CEPES, EUA, ESU, EURASHE, ENQA, Education International and BUSINESSEUROPE.

Every two years there are Ministerial Conferences organised in order to assess the progress made within the EHEA and to decide on the new steps to be taken (more information can be found in the table below).

Ministerial Conferences...

More at Resourse: European Higher Education Area

Bologna work plan 2009-2012

In the Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve Communiqué, the Ministers responsible for higher education in the countries participating in the Bologna Process identified the following higher education priorities for the coming decade
* social dimension: equitable access and completion,
* lifelong learning;
* employability;
* student-centred learning and the teaching mission of higher education;
* education, research and innovation;
* international openness;
* mobility;
* data collection;
* multidimensional transparency tools;
* funding.
To implement the Bologna reforms and to make progress in all priority areas, strong efforts will be required especially at national and institutional level. To support these efforts with joint action at European level, the Ministers entrusted the Bologna Follow-up Group to prepare a work plan for the period leading up to the Ministerial Conference in 2012, including the Ministerial Anniversary Conference on 11-12 March 2010 in Budapest and Vienna.
As part of the 2009-2012 work plan, the Bologna Follow-up Group set up seven working groups on the following topics:
* Social Dimension
* Qualifications Frameworks
* International Openness
* Mobility
* Recognition
* Reporting on the implementation of the Bologna Process
* Transparency mechanisms
To further disseminate the Bologna reforms, countries and organisations participating in the Bologna Process also organise various seminars and conferences that are announced via the calendar of events.