When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the European educational landscape was transformed. Former Eastern Bloc countries had used the Soviet system of State-controlled higher educational institutions, which relied on rigid curricular standards and centralized planning.
Following independence, these countries were forced to reshape their educational systems in order to remain competitive. Faced with advances in information technology and the growing impact of globalization, the European community as a whole also recognized that their individual educational systems needed to be harmonized. Thus, the Bologna Process was begun.
The Bologna Declaration of 1999
On June 19, 1999, Ministers of Higher Education from 29 European countries met in Bologna, Italy, to sign the Bologna Declaration. One principle expressed in the Declaration (1999) was to increase the “international competitiveness of the European system of higher education.” To achieve this goal, six objectives were set forth:
- To adopt a system whereby degrees from different European institutions were standardized and made comparable to one another.
- To recognize a two-cycle degree system (i.e., undergraduate and graduate), where completion of the first three-year cycle allowed students to progress to a master and/or doctorate degree.
- To establish a uniform system of credits, whereby students could transfer from one European institution to another without repeating courses.
- To encourage academic mobility, from one European institution to another, by promoting training and study opportunities for teachers as well as students.
- To create a system of educational quality assurance, with a “view to developing comparable criteria and methodologies.”
- To sponsor “necessary European dimensions in higher education,” including inter-institutional cooperation, curricular development, and integrated programs of research.
In addition, the signatories pledged to consolidate higher education in Europe by creating a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) no later than 2010. The Ministers of Higher Education also committed to meet again in two years to assess the progress that had been made in the interim.
The Bologna Declaration was the cornerstone of what came to be known as the Bologna Process.
The Lourtie Commission Assesses the Bologna Process
Following the signing of the Bologna Declaration, the Ministers of Higher Education commissioned a follow-up report, which was to be submitted before the next meeting in the Czech Republic. Professor Pedro Lourtie was asked to chair the commission. In 2001, he presented the commission report to the signatories.
Lourtie (2001) observed that the Bologna Process required impetus from other European countries to succeed. He said that other countries had expressed interest in signing the Declaration, and higher educational institutions had supported the idea of change. As a sign of progress since 1999, Lourtie stated that
- international seminars had been conducted on credit systems, bachelor-level degrees, and academic mobility;
- a move toward a two-cycle system had begun (although the time to attain a professional degree still remained too long);
- the concepts of academic mobility and a transparent qualification system had received “unanimous support” from educational institutions;
- the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) was gaining acceptance; and
- more countries were creating quality assurance systems.
Nevertheless, there were some significant lapses. Lourtie acknowledged that the Bologna Process had “been conducted on a rather informal basis.” Although not necessarily seen as a disadvantage, he suggested that the organization and structure of the follow-up process should be systematized.
Lourtie noted that there was no system in place to ensure that data collected in different signatory countries were comparable. He also recommended that a study should be conducted on the “values, concepts and terminology” of higher education, as students throughout the European community had expressed interest in social differences among signatory countries.
From Bologna to Prague
The Bologna Process did not end with the Bologna Declaration. By 2001, Liechtenstein, Cyprus, Croatia, and Turkey had given their support to the Declaration.
Still, much work remained. On May 19, 2001, Ministers of Higher Education from all 33 signatory countries met in Prague to review the Lourtie report and discuss what needed to be done to make the EHEA a reality by 2010. The meeting results would be issued as the Prague Communiqué.
References
Bologna Declaration. "Joint declaration of the European ministers of education." Bologna Process website. 1999.
Lourtie P. "Furthering the Bologna Process: Report to the Ministers of Education of the signatory countries." Bologna Process website. 2001.
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