By Liz Weston. You generally do better with a four-year degree, but sometimes a quicker diploma can launch you on the road to success.
Steven Polasck of Corpus Christi, Texas, liked math and science in high school. He considered attending a four-year college but ultimately decided to use his strengths to get a two-year degree in instrumentation from Texas State Technical College. He has not looked back. More...

De nombreux établissements d’enseignement supérieur désirent mettre en place le Supplément au diplôme au sein de leur structure mais ne savent pas toujours comment se l’approprier. Ce guide a pour objectif de fournir des informations de premier niveau et de répondre de façon pragmatique aux questions récurrentes des établissements. Il ne se soustrait pas aux guides et outils disponibles sur le site de l’Agence (pages Europass et pages des Experts de Bologne).
Qu'est-ce que le supplément au diplôme ? A quoi sert-il ?
En Europe des nouvelles formations se développent et les établissements d’enseignement, tout comme les systèmes éducatifs, évoluent en permanence. Dans un contexte où les citoyens sont de plus en plus mobiles, ils sont aussi en quête d’une pleine reconnaissance de leurs qualifications. Dès lors, les informations fournies par les seuls diplômes sont désormais insuffisantes et il est difficile d’évaluer le niveau et la fonction d’une qualification en l’absence d’informations précises et appropriées. Cette réflexion est à l’origine de la création du Supplément au diplôme.
Ce document composé de 8 rubriques, a été élaboré en 1997 par la Commission Européenne, le Conseil de l’Europe et l’UNESCO. Il est joint à un diplôme d’études supérieures. Véritable carte d’identité, il permet à l’étudiant européen de faire valoir son parcours et ses compétences auprès d’un employeur ou d’une université dans n’importe quel pays européen.
Pour aller plus loin...
// Site de l’Agence Europe Education Formation France
www.2e2f.fr
// Et plus particulièrement les pages Europass
www.2e2f.fr/page/supplement-au-diplome-europass
// Les pages des experts de Bologne
www.2e2f.fr/page/experts-de-Bologne
// Site de la Commission Nationale de la Certification Professionnelle
www.cncp.gouv.fr
// Le guide européen du Supplément au diplôme :
www.enic-naric.net/documents/LE_SUPPLEMENT_AU_DIPLOME.pdf
// Le site du CEDEFOP pour créer votre eportfolio
http://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/fr/home
// Le cadre européen des certifications :
http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong-learning-policy/eqf_fr.htm. Voir Guide pratique pour la mise en place du Supplément au diplôme.

Documentation

Vous êtes étudiant : valorisez votre diplôme d'enseignement supérieur
Le Supplément au diplôme Europass est délivré en annexe de votre diplôme original par votre établissement (université, grande école, école d'ingénieur, école de commerce, etc.). Il est également connu en France sous l'intitulé 'annexe descriptive au diplôme'. Il décrit les connaissances et les compétences que vous avez acquises (nature, niveau, contenu, etc.) pour obtenir votre diplôme d'enseignement supérieur.
Publication : Enquête 2012 sur la mise en place du supplément au diplôme Europass en France.
Quels sont les atouts du Supplément au diplôme Europass ?

What is it?
The Diploma Supplement (DS) is a document accompanying a higher education diploma, providing a standardised description of the nature, level, context, content and status of the studies completed by its holder. It is produced by the higher education institutions according to standards agreed by the European Commission, the Council of Europe and UNESCO. The Diploma Supplement is also part of the Europass framework transparency tools . The supplement is designed as an aid to help (but not guarantee) recognition – it is not a CV or a substitute for the original qualification. It has the following eight sections of information:

• a qualification that is more readable and easily comparable abroad;
• a precise description of their academic career and the competencies acquired during their studies;
• an objective description of their achievements and competencies;
• easier access to opportunities for work or further studies abroad.

For higher education institutions:

• more transparent qualifications (thanks to easier academic and professional recognition);
• continued national/institutional autonomy within a common framework accepted throughout Europe;
• informed judgements about qualifications that can be understood in other educational contexts;
• greater visibility of the institution abroad;
• enhanced employment prospects for their graduates, both at home and abroad;
• time savings – by answering many of the questions commonly asked of institutions about the content and portability of their qualifications.

Find out more
Model of the Diploma Supplement
Diploma Supplement . See more...

By John-Paul Holden. THE days of Scotland’s traditional honours degree system look to be numbered after the Capital’s leading university took a first step towards introducing an American system. 
Long a staple of student banter, rhyming slang expressions such as the “Geoff Hurst”, “Attila the Hun” and “Desmond Tutu” – used to refer to first, 2:1 and 2:2 honours degrees – could be consigned to the dustbin if Edinburgh University’s radical pilot of the Grade Point Average (GPA) system is successful. More...

Germans might fear inflation of the economic variety, but grade inflation has become rampant in the academic world. Pippa Wentzel reports.
When 80 percent of students graduate with one of the top two grades, questions start being asked. When you learn that this figure was 70 percent as recently as 2001, alarm bells start to ring.
A report published last month by the German Council of Science and Humanities into marking practices across the nation's universities has drawn attention to these disquieting trends. It may provide welcome reassurance to anxious German students swotting for examinations, but makes otherwise for uncomfortable reading.
Wolfgang Marquardt, head of the Council which produced the report, did not mince his words in describing the situation to The Local. "The grades which students currently receive say almost nothing meaningful about their real achievement," he said.
The statistics which leap out of the report make it easy to see where Marquardt is coming from. What does it mean to achieve a "very good" or "good" in Art and Art History, when you're joined by 96 percent of all candidates? Likewise for social science, where 89 percent emerge with top grades. Read more...