Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Major new Bologna Process Report Published

This announcement from the European University Association...

A new report published today 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 to mark 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.

Download the report here.

Download the press release here to read some of the key findings.