Before the Bologna process had started, a huge variety of national higher education degrees existed across Europe. With increasing mobility of students, more and more problems for recognition did arise.
In June 1999, 29 European countries agreed with the Bologna Declaration on the main goals of the Bologna process. One of the central aims was to establish a common structure of easily readable and comparable degrees in European higher education. For this purpose, all countries conveyed their national systems to a two cycle structure consisting of a first (undergraduate) and a second (graduate) cycle.
The first cycle leads to a qualification (in many countries labelled „Bachelor”) which is obtained after successful completion of a study programme with 180 – 240 ECTS credits. Programmes of the first cycle last typically three years. The second cycle leads to a qualification (in many countries labelled „Master”) which is obtained after successful completion of a study programme with 60 – 120 ECTS credits. These ranges for undergraduate and graduate programmes have been defined with the development of the Framework of Qualifications for the European Higher Education Area. Like the degree structure it should cater for comparable and transferable qualifications and facilitate mobility and recognition irrespective where and how learning outcomes have been achieved. European and national qualifications frameworks are based on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulations System (ECTS) in terms of quality (learning outcomes) and quantity (workload). More...

One in ten students at the master’s or equivalent level is an international student in OECD countries, rising to one in four at the doctoral level. Almost 60% of international doctoral students in OECD countries are enrolled in science, engineering or agriculture. The United States hosts 38% of international students enrolled in a programme at the doctoral level in OECD countries. Luxembourg and Switzerland host the largest proportion of international students, who make up more than half of their total doctoral students. International master’s and doctoral students tend to choose to study in countries investing substantial resources in research and development in tertiary educational institutions. Of all international students enrolled at the master’s or doctoral level across OECD countries, the majority (53%) are from Asia, and 23% are from China alone. More...

A number of countries offer short cycle programmes which are practice-oriented and provide students with professional knowledge, skills and competences to facilitate entering the labour market. The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning includes short cycle programmes at level 5. In some countries these programmes may lead to an undergraduate programme, in others they may be part of it. In yet some other countries this type of programme does not belong to higher education at all. However, they are not counted as a fourth cycle of higher education. More...

Programmes of higher education in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) are offered at three levels - undergraduate, graduate and doctoral studies - which are usually referred to as the three cycle system. More...

The EQUIP project has published a Comparative analysis of the ESG 2015 and ESG 2005. This paper provides an overview of the changes in the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) as they were adopted by the Ministers responsible for higher education in 2015 in Yerevan compared to the ESG first published in 2005, including an outline of the changes in the context, scope, purposes and principles; a description of changes in the wording of the standards; and an analysis of the content of the related guidelines. More...

The Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) 2015 were adopted by the Ministers responsible for higher education in the European Higher Education Area in May 2015. More...

The purpose of the Ad-Hoc Working Group was to prepare a revised version of the ECTS Users' Guide by mid-2014, by reflecting on policy development and implementation in the area of ECTS and learning outcomes since the previous revision of the ECTS Users' Guide in 2009. More...

The EHEA Framework (The framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area - May 2005) was adopted by Ministers of the Bologna Process in May 2005. It covers higher education qualifications and is valid for all 46 members of the European Higher Education Area, whether these are members of the European Union or not. It provides the framework within which the national qualifications frameworks in these 46 countries will be developed as far as their higher education qualifications are concerned, and it represents the “face” of European higher education qualifications towards the rest of the world.

The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF-LLL) was formally adopted by the European Union in April 2008. It covers all levels of education and is valid for EU countries, EU accession countries and countries of the European Economic Area.

The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning - 2008
Explaining the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning - 2008

One difficulty is that the EQF, which was developed after the EHEA Framework, does not sue the same wording for the higher education qualifications in the framework. More...

The overarching framework of qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (The framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area - May 2005) sets the parameters within which the countries of the EHEA will develop their national qualifications frameworks. This means that national frameworks will have much in common, but not that they will be identical. Qualifications frameworks are intended to be an instrument that help learners as well as those who develop higher education programmes and the competent national authorities. They should help learners move within a given education system as well as between systems. Qualifications frameworks are therefore important in promoting mobility within education systems as well as internationally. More...

The European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF-LLL) has been developed by the European Commission. It was signed on 23 April 2008 by the Presidents of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Union and is therefore formally adopted. More...