15 juin 2014
15 juin 2014
Bologna Process - Related EU Activities
Related EU Activities
- Researchers in European Research Area
- European Commission Report on Bologna Process from Prague to Berlin
- European Commission Report on Bologna Process from Berlin to Bergen
- European Commission Report on Bologna Process from Bergen to London
- European Commission Report on Bologna Process from London to Leuven and Louvain-La-Neuve
- European Commission Report on Bologna Process from Leuven and Louvain-La-Neuve to Budapest and Vienna. More...
15 juin 2014
Bologna Process - Glossary
Note: this glossary was contained in the report of the Bologna working group on qualifications frameworks submitted to and accepted by the 2005 Bergen Ministerial meeting.
Frequently Asked Acronyms
- Credit
- Cycle
- Europe/European
- Framework for Qualifications of the
European Higher Education Area - Learning outcomes
- Levels
- National framework of qualifications
(higher education) - Profile
- Qualifications (higher education)
- Qualification descriptors
- Reference points
- Workload
Credit
A quantified means of expressing the volume of learning based on the achievement of learning outcomes and their associated workloads.
Cycle
The three sequential levels identified by the Bologna Process (first cycle, second cycle and third cycle) within which all European higher education qualifications are located.
Europe/European
Europe/European refers to those countries that are signatories to the Bologna Declaration, whilst ‘national’ is used to describe the contexts within each of those countries or education systems.
Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area
An overarching framework that makes transparent the relationship between European national higher education frameworks of qualifications and the qualifications they contain. It is an articulation mechanism between national frameworks.
Learning outcomes
Statements of what a learner is expected to know, understand and/or be able to do at the end of a period of learning.
Levels
Represent a series of sequential steps (a developmental continuum), expressed in terms of a range of generic outcomes, against which typical qualifications can be positioned.
National framework of qualifications (higher education)
The single description, at national level or level of an education system, which is internationally understood and through which all qualifications and other learning achievements in higher education may be described and related to each other in a coherent way and which defines the relationship between higher education qualifications.
Profile
Either the specific (subject) field(s) of learning of a qualification or the broader aggregation of clusters of qualifications or programmes from different fields that share a common emphasis or purpose (e.g. an applied vocational as opposed to more theoretical academic studies).
Qualifications (higher education)
Any degree, diploma or other certificate issued by a competent authority attesting that particular learning outcomes have been achieved, normally following the successful completion of a recognised higher education programme of study.
Qualification descriptors
Are generic statements of the outcomes of study. They provide clear points of reference that describe the main outcomes of a qualification often with reference to national levels.
Reference points
Non-prescriptive indicators that support the articulation of qualifications, learning outcomes and/or other related concepts.
Workload
A quantitative measure of the learning activities that may feasibly be required for the achievement of the learning outcomes (e.g. lectures, seminars, practical work, private study, information retrieval, research, examinations). More...
15 juin 2014
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.
The Sorbonne Declaration was signed in 1998, by the ministers of four countries, namely France, Germany, Uk and Italy. The aim of the Declaration was to create a common frame of reference within the intended European Higher Education Area, where mobility should be promoted both for students and graduates, as well as for the teaching staff. Also, it was meant to ensure the promotion of qualifications, with regard to the job market.
The aims of the Sorbonne Declaration were confirmed in 1999, through the Bologna Declaration, where 29-30 countries expressed their willingness to commit to enhance the competitiveness of the European Higher Education Area, emphasising the need to further the independence and autonomy of all Higher Education Institutions. All the provisions of the Bologna Declaration were set as measures of a voluntary harmonisation process, not as clauses of a binding contract.
As follow-up to the Bologna Declaration, there have taken place Ministerial Conferences every two years, the ministers expressing their will through the respective Communiqués.
With the Prague Communiqué, in 2001, the number of member countries was enlarged to 33, and there has also taken place an expansion of the objectives, in terms of lifelong learning, involving students as active partners and enhancing the attractiveness and competitiveness of the European Higher Education Area. Also, the participating ministers committed themselves to ensure the further development of quality assurance and development of national qualification frameworks. This objective was correlated with the lifelong learning one, as it is considered an important element of higher education that must be taken into consideration when building up new systems. Also, it is important to mention that the topic of social dimension was first introduced in the Prague Communiqué.
The following Ministerial Conference took place in Berlin, in 2003, thus the Berlin Communiqué enlarging the number of countries to 40 members. The main provisions of this Communiqué dealt with an expansion of the objectives, in terms of promotion of linking European Higher Education Area to European Research Area, as well as the promotion of quality assurance. Another important aspect that the Berlin Communiqué stated referred to establishing the follow-up structures supporting the process in-between two Ministerial meetings. This arrangement established the Bologna Follow-up Group, the Board and the Bologna Secretariat.
With this Communiqué the Ministers also agreed that there should be created a national follow-up structure in each of the participating countries.
The Bergen Communiqué, of 2005, underlined the importance of partnerships, including stakeholders – students, HEIs, academic staff and employers, together with the further enhancing of research, especially with regard to the third cycle – doctoral programmes. Also, this Communiqué stressed the ministers’ will to provide a more accessible higher education, together with an increased attractiveness of the EHEA to other parts of the world.
With the London Communiqué, of 2007, the number of participating countries was enlarged to 46. This Communiqué focused on evaluating the progress achieved by that time, concerning mobility, degree structure, recognition, qualifications frameworks (both overarching and national), lifelong learning, quality assurance, social dimension, and also set the priorities for 2009, these being, mainly, mobility, social dimension, which was defined here for the first time, data collection, employability, EHEA in a global context and stock taking. For 2010 and beyond, it was stressed that there is the need for further collaboration, seeing it as an opportunity to reformulate the visions and values.
In the Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve Communiqué, of 2009, the main working areas for the next decade were set, with emphasis on: social dimension, lifelong learning, employability, student centred learning and the teaching mission of education, international openness, mobility, education, research & innovation, as well as data collection, funding of the HE and multidimensional transparency tools. These main working areas show a new orientation of the Bologna Process, towards a more in-depth approach of the reforms, thus ensuring the completion of the Bologna Process implementation. Another change, in terms of internal arrangements, referred to the Bologna Process Chairing procedure: from a previous situation where the Bologna Process had been chaired by the country holding the EU Presidency, to a situation according to which the Process is being chaired by two countries: both the country holding the EU Presidency and a non-EU country, named in alphabetical order, starting from July 1st, 2010.
The folowing Ministerial Conference took place only one year after the aforementioned, more precisely in March 2010. It took place in Budapest-Vienna and it was an Anniversary Conference, celebrating a decade of the Bologna Process. With this occasion, there took place the official launching of the European Higher Education Area, which meant that, in terms of a common European framework for HE, the objective set in the Bologna Declaration was accomplished.
However, the existence of the European Higher Education Area in itself did not mean an achievement of all the objectives agreed upon by the ministers involved in the Bologna Process. Therefore, we can now say that the Bologna Process and the European Higher Education Area have entered a new phase, namely the consolidation and operationalisation one, especially in light of the very different reactions to the Bologna Process implementation across Europe.
Also, starting with the Budapest-Vienna Ministerial Conference, the EHEA has been expanded to 47 countries, the most recently admitted being Kazakhstan.
The main messege of the Bucharest Ministerial Conference, which took place on 26 - 27 April 2012 and was attended by 47 European ministers responsible for higher education, states that Higher education reform can help to get Europe back on track and generate sustainable growth and jobs.
The Ministers agreed to focus on three main goals in the face of the economic crisis: to provide quality higher education to more students, to better equip students with employable skills, and to increase student mobility.
The 47 countries adopted a new European strategy to increase mobility with a specific target that at least 20 percent of those graduating in Europe in 2020 should have been on a study or training period abroad.
Besides the Ministerial Conferences, there are also Bologna Policy Fora organized, which were so far coupled with the EHEA Ministerial Conferences.
The first Bologna Policy Forum was organized in Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve in 2009 and it was attended by the 46 members of the Bologna Process, at the time, as well as a wide range of third countries and NGOs. The main issues agreed upon by the participants were the following: the key role that HE plays in the development of the society, based on lifelong learning and equitable access at all levels of society to learning opportunities, the importance of public investment in higher education, in spite of the economic crisis, transnational exchanges in higher education should be governed on the basis of academic values, advocating a balanced exchange of teachers, researchers and students between countries, in order to promote fair and fruitful “brain circulation”, as an alternative to brain drain.
The Second Bologna Policy Forum took place in Vienna, in March 2010, and it was attended by the 47 members and the eight consultative members, as well as third countries and other relevant NGOs. The main topics of discussion included in the Second Bologna Policy Forum Statement refer to the manner in which higher education systems and institutions respond to the growing demands and multiple expectations and the balance between cooperation and competition in international higher education. This Forum’s Statement also included some possible concrete feedback to be taken up by the participants, such as nominating contact persons for each participating country which will also function as liaison points for a better flow of information and joint activities, including the preparation of the next Bologna Policy Forum at ministerial level. Also the need for supporting global student dialogue was acknowledged.
As far as implementation is concerned, progress over the years has been uneven, as can be seen from the various stocktaking exercises. This shows that the reforms of the Bologna Process must still be furthered, in order to ensure more comparable, compatible and coherent systems of higher education in Europe.
If by 2010, the main aim of the Bologna Process was to put in place a European Higher Education Area, as stated in the Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve Communiqué, the main priorities for the next decade are:
• Social dimension
• Lifelong learning
• Employability
• Student-centred learning
• Education, research and innovation
• Mobility
• Data collection
• Multidimensional transparency tools
• Funding.
Therefore, the Bologna Follow-up Group set up the following working groups for the 2009-2012 period:
• Social dimension
• Qualifications frameworks
• International openness
• Mobility
• Recognition
• Reporting on the implementation of the Bologna Process
• Transparency mechanisms,
And the following networks:
• EHEA Information and Promotion Network;
• Network for Experts in Student Support in Europe – NESSIE;
• Network for National Qualifications Frameworks Correspondents.
Now, after the launching of the European Higher Education Area, the Bologna Process moves towards a new phase, a more in-depth one, focusing on a reduction of the implementation discrepancies in the countries forming the EHEA.
The next milestone of the European Higher Education Area have been marked at the EHEA Ministerial Conference, which took place in Bucharest, Romania, on 26-27 April 2012.
The Third Bologna Policy Forum, which was organised in conjunction to this Ministerial meeting contributed to further the debate on the progress of the European Higher Education Area on the global scale. It was attended by members and heads of delegations from 47 EHEA countries and 19 non-EHEA countries along with representatives of international organisations from the field of higher education.
The overarching theme of the third Bologna Policy Forum was "Beyond the Bologna Process: Creating and connecting national, regional and global higher education spaces”. The third edition of the Bologna Policy Forum focused on creating and connecting national, regional and global higher education spaces, while deepening the discussions on the following four topics reflecting on future approaches for dialogue in this context:
• Public responsibility for and of higher education within national and regional context;
• Global academic mobility: Incentives and barriers, balances and imbalances;
• Global and regional approaches to quality enhancement of higher education;
• The contribution of HE reforms to enhancing graduate employability;
• Global academic mobility: Incentives and barriers, balances and imbalances;
• Global and regional approaches to quality enhancement of higher education;
• The contribution of HE reforms to enhancing graduate employability;
The participants stated that the BPF concept should be further enriched and taken forward in order to maximise its potential for policy dialogue. In this sense, an evaluation of the Bologna Policy Forum was organised immediately after the event with all participant delegations.
Disclamer:
This text is part of the “Bologna beyond 2010 – Report on the development of the European Higher Education Area, Backgroung Paper for the Bologna Follow-up Group prepared by the Benelux Bologna Secretariat -, Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve Ministerial Conference, 28-29 April 2009”. More...
15 juin 2014
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, EUA, ESU, EURASHE, ENQA, Education International and BUSINESSEUROPE.
Every two or three 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
| Bologna, 18-19 June 1999 | Bologna Declaration | |
| Prague, 18-19 May 2001 | Prague Communiqué | Conference website |
| Berlin, 18-19 September 2003 | Berlin Communiqué | Conference website |
| Bergen, 19-20 May 2005 | Bergen Communiqué | Conference website |
| London, 17-18 May 2007 | London Communiqué | Conference website |
| Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve, 28-29 April 2009 | Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve Communiqué | Conference website |
| Budapest/Vienna, 10-12 March 2010 | Budapest-Vienna Declaration | Conference website |
| Bucharest, 26-27 April 2012 | Bucharest Communiqué | Conference website |
| Yerevan, 15-16 May 2015 |
In order to ensure the implementation of the steps upon which the Ministers have decided, the EHEA makes use of several support structures.
The main follow-up structure is the Bologna Follow-up Group (BFUG). The BFUG oversees the Bologna Process between the ministerial meetings and meets at least once every six months, usually for one-and-a-half days. The BFUG has the possibility to set up working groups to deal with specific topics in more details and, also, receives input from Bologna Seminars. The BFUG is composed of the representatives of all members of the Bologna Process and the European Commission, with the Council of Europe, the EUA, EURASHE, ESU, UNESCO, Education International, ENQA and BUSINESSEUROPE, as consultative members. The BFUG is being co-chaired by the country holding the EU Presidency and a non-EU country, which rotate every six months. The vice-chair is the country organising the next Ministerial Conference.
The work between two meetings of the Bologna Follow-up Group is overseen by a Board.
The composition of the Board changed in 2010, together with the adoption of the document “Briefing note for decision by the Ministers” (BFUG (ES) 20_7c).
The current members of the Board are:
• the EHEA Chairs double Trioka (the outgoing, present and incoming Chairs of the EHEA);
• the EHEA Vice-Chairs;
• the European Commission;
• four consultative members (Council of Europe, EUA, ESU, EURASHE).
The proceedings of the Board meetings are recorded by the Bologna Secretariat, who is permanently invited to Board meetings.
The overall follow-up work is supported by a Secretariat, provided by the country hosting the next Ministerial Conference. The mandate of the Bologna Secretariat coincides with the period between two ministerial conferences, and it is aimed to ensure the continuity for all the Bologna Process reforms, considering that the Bologna Process is chaired by the country holding the EU Presidencies, which rotates every six months.
The overall follow-up work is supported by a Secretariat, provided by the country hosting the next Ministerial Conference. The mandate of the Bologna Secretariat coincides with the period between two ministerial conferences, and it is aimed to ensure the continuity for all the Bologna Process reforms, considering that the Bologna Process is chaired by the country holding the EU Presidencies, which rotates every six months.
The central task of the Bologna Secretariat is to support the work of the Follow-up Group at various levels: BFUG, Board, Working Groups, Networks, Ad-Hoc Working Groups and Seminars. The Secretariat prepares draft agendas, draft reports, notes and minutes and carries out the practical preparation for meetings as requested by the Co-Chairs.
Another task of the Secretariat that has become increasingly important is to provide up-to-date and reliable information about the Bologna Process (for both a European and a non-European audience) and to maintain an electronic archive. To fulfill those functions, the Secretariat makes use of the EHEA permanent website as a central tool.
It is noticeable that the main advantage of the Bologna Process and the present support structures is that they enable the key stakeholders to work together as partners, and having a relatively informal character, thus increasing the sense of engagement and ownership among all participants.
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 next Ministerial Conference.
As part of the 2012-2015 work plan, the Bologna Follow-up Group set up four working groups on the following topics:
- Reporting on the implementation of the Bologna Process
- 'Structural Reforms' (qualifications frameworks, recognition, quality assurance and transparency)
- Mobility and internationalisation
- Social dimension and lifelong learning
The 2012-2015 work plan includes Annexes (Terms of References) for each working group, ad-hoc working group and network (see below):
- Annex 1_ToR_Reporting on the Implementation of the Bologna Process WG
- Annex 2_ToR_Structural Reforms WG
- Annex 3_ToR_Network of National Correspondents
- Annex 5_ToR_Revision of the ECTS Users' Guide Ad-Hoc WG
- Annex 6_ToR_Third Cycle Ad-Hoc WG
- Annex 7_ToR_Social Dimension and Lifelong Learning WG
- Annex 8_ToR_Mobility and Internationalisation WG
The 2012-2015 work plan includes Annexes (Terms of References) for each working group, ad-hoc working group and network (see below):
- Annex 1_ToR_Reporting on the Implementation of the Bologna Process WG
- Annex 2_ToR_Structural Reforms WG
- Annex 3_ToR_Network of National Correspondents
- Annex 5_ToR_Revision of the ECTS Users' Guide Ad-Hoc WG
- Annex 6_ToR_Third Cycle Ad-Hoc WG
- Annex 7_ToR_Social Dimension and Lifelong Learning WG
- Annex 8_ToR_Mobility and Internationalisation WG
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. More...
15 juin 2014
Bologna Process - Members
Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belgium - Flemish Community Belgium - French Community Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia European Commission Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Holy See Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russian Federation Serbia Slovak Republic Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom
Consultative members
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European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education |
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How to apply for becoming a member to the Bologna Process/ EHEA. More...
15 juin 2014
BFUG (Bologna Follow-Up Group) Chairs and Vice-Chair
With the Leuven/Louvain-la-Neuve Communiqué the Ministers decided that in the future, the Bologna Process would be co-chaired by the country holding the EU presidency and a non-EU country. To put this decision into practice, the Bologna Follow-up Group at its meeting in Stockholm on 28-29 September 2009 agreed:
• to treat the EU Presidency and the non-EU country as two chairs (rather than as chair and co-chair) to signal very clearly that the Bologna Process will be chaired on equal footing by the EU Presidency and a non-EU country.
• to leave it to each chairing team to define the exact division of tasks between the two chairs and the vice chair(s)
• to start the new chairing arrangement on 1 July 2010.
• to apply the alphabetical order when designating the chair from a non-EU country.
• to adjust the composition of the BFUG Board by replacing the three elected members with the outgoing, present and incoming non-EU chairs.
This will result in the following chairing arrangement up to the next Ministerial Meeting in 2012, at the occasion of which the arrangement should be evaluated and further established for the period until the following Ministerial Meeting in 2015. More...
| Semester | EU-Presidency | Chair from non-EU country |
Vice-chair |
| 1 July – 31 December 2010 | Belgium | Albania | Romania |
| 1 January - 30 June 2011 | Hungary | Andorra | |
| 1 July – 31 December 2011 | Poland | Armenia | |
| 1 January - 30 June 2012 | Denmark | Azerbaijan | |
| 1 July – 31 December 2012 | Cyprus | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Armenia |
| 1 January - 30 June 2013 | Ireland | Croatia | |
| 1 July – 31 December 2013 | Lithuania | Georgia | |
| 1 January - 30 June 2014 | Greece | Kazakhstan | |
| 1 July – 31 December 2014 | Italy | Holy See | |
| 1 January - 30 June 2015 | Latvia | Iceland | |
| 1 July – 31 December 2015 | Luxemburg | Liechtenstein | Host of 2018 Ministerial Conference (not known yet) |
| 1 January - 30 June 2016 | Netherlands | Moldova | |
| 1 July – 31 December 2016 | Slovakia | Montenegro | |
| 1 January - 30 June 2017 | Malta | Norway | |
| 1 July – 31 December 2017 | United Kingdom | Russian Federation | |
| 1 January - 30 June 2018 | Estonia | Serbia | |
| 1 July – 31 December 2018 | Bulgaria | Switzerland | Host of 2020 Ministerial Conference (not known yet) |
| 1 January - 30 June 2019 | Austria | “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” | |
| 1 July – 31 December 2019 | Romania | Turkey | |
| 1 January - 30 June 2020 | Finland | Ukraine |
15 juin 2014
Bologna Process - Working Groups and Networks - 'Structural Reforms' WG
Contact Person
Sjur BERGAN – Council of Europe
Noël Vercruysse – Belgium/Flemish Community
Friedrich Bechina – Holy See
Bartłomiej Banaszak – Poland
Composition
Armenia, Austria, Belgium/French Community Federation Wallonia-Brussels, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, BUSINESSEUROPE, European Commission, Education International, ENQA, EQAR, ESU, EUA, EURASHE.
Representatives of sub structures under the Structural Reforms WG should be involved in its work as required.
Purpose
2012-2015 ToR_Structural Reforms WG
The Working Group on Structural Reforms is mandated to develop proposals for policy and practice aiming to improve instruments for structural reform (QF, QA, recognition of qualifications, transparency instruments) and the coherence between the main elements of structural reform within the European Higher Education Area as well as to oversee and advice the BFUG on the implementation of structural reforms.
The Working Group should consider structural reforms in relation to the major purposes of higher education:
- Preparing for employment;
- Preparing for life as active citizens in democratic societies;
- Personal development;
- The development and maintenance of a broad, advanced knowledge base;
as well as the three missions:
- teaching and learning;
- research;
- service to society.
It should furtherbe guided by the following policy considerations
- Students, employers and society at large want more objective, reliable and high quality information about higher education;
- There is an increasing societal expectation of Higher Education Institutions that they enhance the employability of graduates and provide students with skills relevant to the labour market;
- There is a need to adapt the Bologna goals and instruments for structural reforms to the ever changing context of higher education and of our societies and to the evolving needs within the EHEA;
- There is a need to build trust and confidence in higher education;
- The relationship between the structural reforms developed within the EHEA and their impact on other regions needs to be considered;
- There is a need for a more supportive environment for academic staff and students;
- Higher Education needs to contribute to Lifelong Learning.
Specific Tasks
- Consider and make recommendations on specific issues of policy and practice related to quality assurance, qualifications frameworks, recognition of qualifications and transparency instruments and their mutual interaction;
- Consider how the development and implementation of learning outcomes impact on and may strengthen the coherence between the policy areas covered by the WG;
- In consultation with the ENIC and NARIC Networks and the Network of national QF correspondents, develop policy proposals aiming to improve the interaction between qualifications frameworks and the recognition of qualifications;
- The EQF Advisory Group and the BFUG working group on Structural Reforms, in co-operation with ENQA and EQAVET, should review and make proposals to strengthen the common principles of quality assurance to be applied across HE and VET.
- Develop policy proposals aiming to improve transparency instruments for describing individual qualifications as well as higher education systems, in particular as concerns the Diploma Supplement and the ECTS. In this, the Working Group should establish cooperation with the institutions and bodies charged with the oversight and implementation of the relevant transparency instruments;
- As appropriate, provide input to the WGs responsible for mobility and internationalization; the social dimension and lifelong learning on the role of structural reforms as well as to the Working Group on implementation in furthering the goals of these groups;
- Consider and make recommendations on the interaction between the structural reforms and transversal issues, i.a. employability and the global dimension;
- Consider and make recommendations concerning third cycle qualifications, the review the ECTS Users’ Guide, the Recognition of Prior Learning and the implementation of qualifications frameworks on the basis of proposals by the relevant sub structures.
- Consider and make proposals concerning joint degrees and programmes on the basis of suggestion by a small ad-hoc group reporting to the working groups on Structural Reforms and Mobility and Internationalization.
- Comment, as appropriate, on draft amendments to the European Standards and Guidelines prepared by the Steering Committee (E4 plus EQAR, EI, BUSINESSEUROPE).
- Help identify and set priorities for peer learning activities concerning structural reforms;
- Organize, or stimulate the organization of, Bologna conferences, mini-seminars, peer learning activities and events on issues related to structural reforms;
- Consider developments in relation to EQAR-registered quality assurance agencies operating in countries other than their countries of origin and make policy proposals or recommendations, as appropriate;
- As appropriate, commission research to support its work;
- Maintain contact with and, as needed, oversee the work of any sub groups established to address specific aspects of structural reforms;
- Advice the BFUG on any issues referred to it by the BFUG;
- Submit proposals to the 2015 Ministerial conference, through the BFUG, aiming to improve the coherence of the structural reforms within the EHEA.
2012-2015 ToR_Structural Reforms WG
Documents
- Malta Referencing Report Revised
- 2009-2012 Qualifications Frameworks WG Report
- Latvia Referencing Report (ENG)
- Latvia Referencing Report (LV)
- Lithuanian and European Qualifications Framework Referencing Report (ENG)
- Lithuanian and European Qualifications Framework Referencing Report (LT)
- Estonian Referencing Report (ENG)
- The referencing document of The Dutch National Qualification Framework to the European Qualification Framework
- Referencing of the Malta Qualifications Framework (MQF) to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area (QF/EHEA)
- Italian Qualification Framework English. More...
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