SEMINAR 2.02: The bologna process and principles and academic research from a bologna perspective.

Date: online: January-February 2021, face to face course: February 2023

Place: University of the Philippines and Ateneo de Manila University (UP/AdMU)

Leader: Eugenio Olmedo Peralta

SUMMARY:

The main goal of this Working Package is to present a comprehensive view of what the Bologna Process has meant for universities within the European Union. The implementation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was an attempt to harmonize criteria regarding graduate and postgraduate studies, research and teaching, on the basis of common key values, such as academic freedom, institutional autonomy and the participation of students and staff in higher education governance. A lot has been achieved in this long and complex process, and surely, there is still room for improvement in many problematic areas, mainly referred to the development of a system of comparable degrees and comparable criteria for curricular design and assessment. We hope our experience can be useful for our Philippino colleagues and the discussion of these topics in seminars and workshops will serve as a basis to foster greater collaboration among our institutions, with future agreements for the mobility of teaching and administrative staff, mobility of undergraduate and graduate students, creation of double graduate and postgraduate joint degrees and creation of lifelong learning courses.

CONTEXT:

The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) is the result of the political will of 48 countries which, step by step, have built an area on common values and using common tools, with the aim of promoting the mobility and employability of European citizens and the global development of the continent, recognizing the role of universities in the enhancement of the European cultural dimension. This has meant the implementation of reforms in higher education on the basis of common key values – such as academic freedom, institutional autonomy and the participation of students and staff in higher education governance. Through this process, known as the Bologna Process, countries, institutions and stakeholders have made continuous efforts to adapt their higher education systems, making them more compatible and strengthening their quality assurance mechanisms.

The Bologna declaration of 1999, signed by 29 European ministers of education, marked the beginning of the process of convergence towards the EHEA, which became a reality in 2010. The declaration of Bologna was complemented by later ones of University Presidents (Salamanca 2001), students (Goteborg 2001) and Ministers of Education (Berlin 2003, Bergen 2005 and London 2007) who have been giving shape and content to this process. The process was opened to countries other than the initial members in the European Cultural Convention of the Council of Europe, and governmental meetings have been held in Prague (2001), Berlin (2003), Bergen (2005), London (2007), Leuven (2009), Budapest-Vienna (2010), Bucharest (2012), Yerevan (2015) and Paris (2018).

One of the main goals of the AHEA has been the adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees, in order to promote European citizens employability, mobility and the international competitiveness of the European higher education system. This, in practice, has meant the establishment of a two-cycle teaching system (undergraduate degree and postgraduate studies) and the establishment of a homogeneous academic assessment system of subjects (credits) and marks throughout all of Europe, as a way to promote mobility among students and system transparency.

The Bologna Process has also meant the promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance with a view to developing comparable criteria and methodologies as far as curricular development and integrated programmes of study, training and research are concerned. Another important area of common work throughout the years has been the promotion of mobility, by overcoming obstacles to the effective exercise of free movement of students, teachers, researchers and administrative staff. This process has mostly been channelled by means of the Erasmus+ programme.

With this context in mind, the seminars proposed in the Work Package are devised as an introduction not only to the organizational and political issues that have been tackled in the construction of the AHEA, but will also describe in some detail the specific measures, policies and legislations established in the EU countries to carry out the educational harmonization process, with a view to highlighting those that could be considered adequate and pertinent for replication in the ASEAN context. The Bologna Process started as a European initiative, but its implications reach far beyond the continental boundaries. The past decade has shown that this process has influenced higher education policies in several countries towards regional harmonization focusing on credit transfer systems, quality assurance frameworks, and increased student and teacher mobility. For example, in Latin America, the Inter-American Organization for Higher Education initiated a programme to create a Latin American and Caribbean Higher Education Area. Similarly, in West Africa, 15 countries signed an agreement to promote intra-regional student mobility, and the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization’s Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development is taking initiatives to create a South-East Asian higher education space by developing a credit transfer system, a quality assurance framework, a diploma supplement, and research clusters. Accordingly, we hope the content of these seminars will be helpful and inspiring for the target institutions in the Philippines and their future design of educational policies, curricular development and study programmes. Along with this, the Work Package also aims to display some of the possibilities for cooperation between European Union member States and the Philippines as a third country, especially within the framework of the Erasmus+ Program.

The proposed seminars, organized in five thematic sections are the following:

Section I: Foundations of the Bologna Process: The construction of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)

Seminar 1: The need to harmonize university criteria within the European Union: the creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

Seminar 2: The Erasmus+ Program for undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Section II: Degree Studies

Seminar 3: Structure and functioning of Degree Studies

Seminar 4: Internationalization by means of Studies: Double/multiple Degrees, international Degrees, etc.

Section III: Postgraduate studies

Seminar 5: Structure and functioning of Master Programmes & Lifelong Learning Courses.

Seminar 6: Structure and functioning of Doctoral Programmes.

Section IV: Teaching and Researching in the AHEA Staff

Seminar 7: Structure and categories of Teaching and Research Staff: The academic career in Spain.

Seminar 8: The evaluation of quality and performance: the National Agency on Quality and Evaluation (ANECA).

Seminar 9: Mobility for teaching and research within the Erasmus+ Programs.

Seminar 10: Research Plans: ERC, National Framework, Regional Plan and University Plan.

Section V: UMA Andalucía-Tech: Bridges to Asia

Seminar 11: Strategic Projects with Asian Universities: Andalucía Tech & Korea. Degree in Asian Studies (Korea & Vietnam). A brand new bridge to the Philippines?

SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS: Contents, objectives and sessions work plan

Section I: Foundations of the Bologna Process: The construction of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)

Seminar 1: The need to harmonize university criteria within the European Union: the creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

Main contents to be analysed:

The origin of the Bologna Process (The Bologna Declaration, initial and present-day member states)
The creation of the EHEA: The European Cultural Convention Treaty, universal values, rights and diversity in Europe.
Introduction to the key planning elements of the EHEA: Qualification frameworks, the three-cycle system, European Credits Transfer System and student, teacher and administrative staff mobility.
Student population in Europe: ISCED levels and their size of students among the 48 countries in the EHEA.

Seminar 2: The Erasmus+ Program for undergraduate and postgraduate studies.

Main contents to be analysed:

a. The Erasmus Programme (origins).

b. The Erasmus + Programme (KA103, KA107, KA203, Capacity Building, Staff Training Weeks, etc.).

c. Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Programmes.

Section II: Degree Studies

Seminar 3: Structure and functioning of Degree Studies.

Main contents to be analysed:

The Bologna three-cycle system (Bachelor, Master and Doctoral Program) and intermediate (short-cycle) qualifications.
The framework of qualifications for the European Higher Education Area: the implementation of a common/comparable degree structure.
National qualifications frameworks and a key to certification of compatibility with the AHEA framework and the alignment to Bologna cycles.
Provision of flexible study programmes by higher education institutions (part-time and other alternative forms of higher education institutions).
Learning in digital environments: steering and support to higher education institutions in using digital technologies.
Teaching in new learning environments: online courses in higher education.

Seminar 4: Internationalization by means of Studies: Double/multiple Degrees, International Degrees, etc.

Main contents to be analysed:

National strategies for internationalisation of higher education: engagement at institutional level.
Joint programmes and joint degrees.
The Diploma supplement: standardised description of the nature, level, content and status of the studies completed by the student.
Internationalization of studies beyond the EHEA.

Section III: Postgraduate studies

Seminar 5: Structure and functioning of Master Programmes & Lifelong Learning Courses

Main contents to be analysed:

Structure of master programmes [number of semesters, number of credits, courses (compulsory & optional) and other activities (compulsory & optional), possible tracks].
Functioning of Master programmes [master coordinator(s), academic commission, Quality Assurance Committee].
Internationalization by means of studies (double masters, joint masters, the AUIP exchange programme).
Purpose of Lifelong Learning Courses (specialization and recycling of graduates & professionals).
Structure of Lifelong Learning Courses.
Functioning of Lifelong Learning Courses (course director, teachers, financially self-sufficient, cooperation agreements with institutions/companies).

Seminar 6: Structure and functioning of Doctoral Programmes

Main contents to be analysed:

The Salzburg Principles.
Structure of Doctoral Programmes.
Functioning of Doctoral Programmes (Coordinator, Academic Commission, Evaluating boards, DAD).
International cotutelle of doctoral thesis.
Doctoral thesis with “International Mention”.

Section IV: Teaching and Research Staff

Seminar 7: Structure and categories of Teaching and Research Staff: The academic career in the EU and in Spain.

Main contents to be analysed:

Requirements to become a fully qualified teacher in Europe.
The career structure for teachers.
Teachers’ roles and responsibilities.
Teacher competence frameworks issued by top-level authorities.
Levels in the teacher career structure and their impact on salaries.

Seminar 8: The evaluation of quality and performance.

Main contents to be analysed:

Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area.
European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and its cooperation and consultation with the other members of the “E4 Group” (ENQA, EUA, EURASHE and ESU).
National and Regional Agencies on Quality and Evaluation in Europe: European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR).
Quality Assurance in Spain: National Agency (ANECA) and Regional Agencies (AAC-DEVA, Unibasq, etc.)

Seminar 9: Mobility for teaching and research within the Erasmus+ Programs.

Main contents to be analysed:

Staff mobility for teaching and research.
Administrative and services staff mobility.

Section V: Research in the European Higher education Area

Seminar 10: Research Plans: ERC, National Framework, Regional Plan and University Plan.

Main contents to be analysed:

The promotion of research initiatives at an international level: The European Research Council.
National research initiatives with an International impact.

Section VI: UMA Andalucía-Tech: Bridges to Asia

Seminar 11: Strategic Projects with Asian Universities: Andalucía Tech & Korea. Degree in Asian Studies (Korea & Vietnam). A brand new bridge to the Philippines?

Andalucía Tech & Korea.
Degree in Asian Studies (Korea & Vietnam).
A brand new bridge to the Philippines: enhancing cooperation for learning and research.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES

The expected outcomes are necessarily related to the contents and objectives presented.

Expected outcomes – Seminar 1: The need to harmonize university criteria within the European Union: the creation of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA).