A new report published on the 9th of March by the European University Association (EUA) analyses the implementation of the Bologna Process and its impact over the last decade on higher education across 46 countries in Europe in the context of broader reform processes affecting European higher education. The ‘Trends 2010’ report – based on questionnaire responses from 821 universities, 27 national university associations, and site visits to 16 countries – will be presented in Vienna this week tomark the official launch of the European Higher Education Area and the end of the first phase of the Bologna reform Process (that was started in 1999).

This major study (the sixth in the Trends series) analyses the implementation of the Bologna ‘tools’ in universities (e.g. new degree structures, credit transfer and accumulation systems, and the use of the diploma supplement) since the outset. Importantly, it also assesses progress towards the underlying aims of the Bologna Process, such as improving quality of teaching, graduate employability, and mobility of students and staff. Equally, it looks at some of the key challenges for policymakers as they look ahead to the next decade of higher education cooperation.

EUA President, Professor Jean-Marc Rapp, will present some of the key findings from the study at this week’s Bologna Ministerial meeting. “We are now at a crucial point in the history of European higher education cooperation. This study shows that after ten years the ‘Bologna architecture’ is now firmly in place to build a strong common higher education area,” he says. ‘”However, it is crucial now that these reforms receive the necessary support from all stakeholders in order to create a flexible European Higher Education Area which provides graduates with all of the necessary skills to succeed in the 21st century,” he adds.

These are just a selection of the key findings from the report:

• Implementation of three degree cycles (bachelor, master, doctorate): 95% of institutions have implemented the three cycle system (compared to 82% in last Trends report in 2007).
• European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS): 90% of universities use the credit transfer system for all bachelors and masters (an increase from 75% in 2007). 88% also use ECTS as a credit accumulation system for all courses.
• Use of the Diploma Supplement: Two thirds (66%) of institutions issue a diploma supplement to all graduating students (and a further 14% do so ‘on request’), a marked increase from 2007.
• Universities’ views about realisation of Bologna: 58% of universities were ‘very positive’ about the realisation of the European Higher Education Area, while 38% said there had been ‘mixed results’. Only 0.1% said it had been negative.
• Implementation of degree structures in professional disciplines has been more difficult: The implementation of bachelor/master structure in a wide variety of regulated professions such as medicine, law, engineering, dentistry has been challenging. Figures vary widely between the different professions.
• Quality of teaching (Curricular change and student-centred learning); Bologna has acted as a catalyst to improve quality of teaching and move towards student-centred learning: 77% of universities have reviewed curricula in all departments under the Bologna Process (compared to 55% in 2007). 53% of universities said that learning outcomes have been developed for ‘all courses’ and a further 32% for ‘some courses’.
• Employability of graduates: There are still problems linked to graduate employability particularly at the bachelor level in countries which have introduced the bachelor cycle for the first time (employers do not fully recognise this new qualification). The Master, in these countries tends to remains the basic entry standard to the labour market. In countries where the bachelor has been the basic qualification, the Master has added value to the CVs of graduates.
• Mobility: despite efforts to promote mobility, there is little robust data available on mobility flows and how this has progressed during Bologna.
• Lifelong learning continues to become strategically more important in universities. Nearly 40% of universities now have an overall strategy for lifelong learning and a further 34% are in the process of developing one. More than 80% of universities now offer professional development course for adults, for example.
• Bologna has stimulated moves to improve quality assurance (internal and external) in Europe: 28 countries, for example, have already reviewed their quality assurance systems against the European Standards and Guidelines for quality assurance established in 2005 as part of Bologna.

The report also outlines challenges for the next decade (2010-2020) which include:

• Improving communication about the reforms so that all stakeholders (students, academic, employers, and society) understand the purpose and benefits of Bologna.
• Completing implementation within universities and consolidating the qualitative changes such as those outlined above.
• The Bologna Process must focus on a vision of education rather than on measurements or the more technical aspects of the tools. This requires the continuous engagement of students and institutions in the decision-making process. 
• Lack of additional public funding at national level to implement reforms: this is particularly important in order to fully implement student-centred learning, which requires greater human and financial resources.
• The need for closer link between the EHEA and the European Research Area in order to ensure a coherent policy approach and achieve the goals of a Europe of knowledge.
• Policy makers and institutions need to do more to promote mobility and remove many of the obstacles that currently exist given the growing importance of internationalisation for universities.

The report is downloadable here as a PDF file

The recent EAHEP Round table ‘Regional higher education cooperation in the next decade: The Bologna Process and Europe-Asia dialogue’ (1-3 July Brussels) examined the Bologna process through a wider lense, comparing regional cooperation in European higher education to both initiatives and ambitions in Asia. It was concluded that Asian and European education institutions face many common problems and can certainly learn from each other but this does not mean that Asia should create a photocopy of Bologna – it must create its own solutions and ways forward informed by appropriate best practice. The Brussels Round table provided a large number of fruitful points for future constructive dialogues.

It became clear from the discussions that such a Round table was an excellent occasion to share practice, look at policy developments in both regions and make institutional connections. However one question that remains open is what can Europe and Asia actually do together with regards higher education? The ASEM education process, launched last year, will hopefully be a means to explore this further.

Please share your thoughts and experiences with joint European-Asian initiatives- practical examples of working with one another to develop common tools, practices and initatives for cooperation and development in higher education.

Many other world regions, such Africa, Asia and Latin America have recently looked to Europe’s Bologna Process for lessons and inspiration as they cope with increasing interdependency in the higher education landscape. But the Bologna process in Europe is still a process, and many European countries identify themselves differently to it. Take for example the case of the UK, a country with a historic one foot in-one foot out relationship to European integration. Many in the UK have questioned the relevance of the Bologna process to British higher education. Though the argument becomes stronger that the UK ‘should implement all Bologna Process reforms and brand them selves internationally as ‘Bologna-compatible’ and at the forefront of the development of the European Higher Education Area’ (see the Europe Unit’s latest report on UK Universities and Europe: Competition and Internationalisation’ http://www.europeunit.ac.uk/sites/europe_unit2/news_and_information/latest_news.cfm?view=print ), this is a fairly new argument after almost 10 years of Bologna.

Question: What are the anticipated challenges in taking a regional approach to higher education cooperation in Asia? Can you clarify your country/institutions relationship to the region in terms of higher education cooperation and exchange?