The Bologna process and LMD Implementation Faysal Mansouri - President of Sousse University

1. Université of Sousse
The Bologna process
and LMD Implementation:
There is still a lot to do
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2. Introduction
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The core declaration 2010, Bologna Process is the
process of Creation of an European Higher
Education Area (EHEA) expected to be more
Uniformly Structured and more Universally
Understandable is based on Cooperation
between structures in adopting countries:
- Ministries
- Higher education institutions
- Students
- Staff
- International organisations

3. The Economic Appraoch
Behind The Bologna Process
- The basic idea behind all educational EU-plans is
ECONOMIC through the enlargement of scale of the
european systems of higher education, by making
studying
- MORE INTERNATIONAL and
- REDUCING THE TIME it took to get a degree had
been fulfilled.
- ENHANCE ITS 'COMPETITIVENESS' by CUTTING
DOWN COSTS
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4. The Rational
Behind The Bologna Process
 - The "Bologna reforms” INTENDS TO BENEFIT
STUDENTS.
- TO MODERNIZE Europe's university education system,
- - TO INCREASE INTERCOMPATIBILITY between
institutions
- TO making it easier for students TO SWITCH and Study
BETWEEN UNIVERSITIES
- TO INCREASE COMPETITIVENESS IN HE BY COST
REDUCTION
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5. Specific Objectives
the Bologna Process
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The major elements of this process include the objectives:
- Allow Mobility
- Strengthen Employability
- Increase of the international competitiveness
- Enhance attractiveness and European Dimension of
the HE System
- Harmonization and acceptance of study degrees
- Implement of a credit point system (ECTS)
- Cooperation regarding Quality Assurance
- Allow Lifelong Learning
- Stress Students‘ participation in decisions on all level

6. 6
Free Student mobility and portability of
diplomas within the Bologna Process area are
the major objectives.
The Bologna Declaration emphasized :
“a commitment to overcome obstacles to the
effective exercise of free movement, with
particular attention to … access to study and
training opportunities and to related services”
THE BOLOGNA PROCESS AND LMD IMPLEMENTATION:
Student free Mobility and Portability

7. A DIPLOMA STRUCTURE: system of three consecutive
structure around the Bachelor-Licence-Masters-Doctorate
(LMD) degrees, with completion of the Licence 3-4 years after
secondary school completion. This convergence is expected
to ensure Portability of Diplomas within the framewoek
of the EHEA qualifications framework.
A CREDIT SYSTEM — the European Credit Transfer and
Accumulation System (ECTS). licence cycle (180 credits over
three years, master program cycle (120 credits over two
years), DOCTORAL CYCLE (THREE YEARS)
The DIPLOMA SUPPLEMENT is a document attached to the
diploma providing a standardized description of the nature,
level, context, content and status of the studies completed by
the diploma holder, In order to FACILITATE ACADEMIC AND
PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS.
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THE BOLOGNA PROCESS AND LMD IMPLEMENTATION:
The Diploma Structure, Credit System

8. Historical Development
The Bologna Declaration was signed by 27 European
countries in 1999 (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany,
Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,
Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,
Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden)
In 2001 joined (Switzerland, United Kingdom. Croatia,
Cyprus, Liechtenstein, Turkey)
In 2003, joined (Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Serbia, Macedonia Russia, Holy See)
In 2005 joined (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and
Ukraine, then Montenegro)
In 2007; Kazakhstan
In 2009, 47 countries were participating in the process
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9. Organization and The Follow Up Groups
A. European Level:
• Ministers and Experts meet every 2 years to assess progress
achieved and to agree upon new steps to be taken: 2001
Prague, 2003 Berlin, 2005 Bergen, 2007 London, 2009
Louvain, 2010 Vienna; 2012 Bucharest.
B. National Level:
• Bologna groups (Politicians, Academic Exchange Service, Rectors‘
Conference, students, employers‘ federation, trade union for
education and science, accreditation council) work on concepts
and report to the European Bologna group
C. Higher Education Institutions Level (HEI):
- Interpret the requirements,
- Find local solutions,
- Put into practice
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10. the Bologna Process is indeed the product of a
series of ministerial meetings at which policy
decisions are taken aimed at establishment of
the European Higher Education Area.
The following timeline in Figure 1 provides an
overview of these meetings and the major points
on their respective agendas.
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THE BOLOGNA PROCESS AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION:
THE ROLE OF POLITICIANS

11. Figure 1. Timeline of the Bologna Process
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THE BOLOGNA PROCESS AND LMD IMPLEMENTATION
The Timeline of the Bologna Process

12. The National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is a single
and clear description of the education system to clarify
and explain goals, relationship, similarities and
differences between higher education qualifications.
NQFs are internationally understood and clearly describe
all qualifications and other learning achievements in
higher education and relate them to each other.
The principle elements are: learning outcomes;
competences; levels; credits; workload; and profile.
The design of the NQF has proved to be a complex task
which was underestimated in many countries.
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THE BOLOGNA PROCESS AND LMD IMPLEMENTATION:
National Qualifications Framework (NQF)

13. Quality Assurance within the Bologna Process
- Promotion of European cooperation in quality
assurance
with a view to development comparable criteria and
methodologies (1999)
- Ministers gave the mandate to develop a system of
quality Assurance (QA), standards, procedures and
guidelines (2003)
- Standards and Guidelines for QA in the European HEA“
published (2005), based on autonomy and responsibility:
- agencies should be accredited every 5 years
- the accreditation should be organized on national level
- establishment of European register of QA agencies
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14. Quality Assurance and the Bologna Process:
European Standards and Guidelines for QA
Part 1: standards and guidelines for internal QA
- Policy and procedures
- Approval, monitoring and periodic review of
programmes
- Assessments of students
Part 2: standards and guidelines for external QA
- Development of external QA processes
- Follow-up procedures
Part 3: standards and guidelines for external QA agencies
- QA procedures
- Status of agencies
STANDARDS ARE MET, BUT NO REAL COOPERATION UP
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15. Problems and Limits
Related to Implementation of Bologna Process
- Implementation of the reform was overshadowed by many
mistakes and that THERE IS NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT
(BOLOGNA RELOADED).
- A reform of this magnitude could not be implemented
without START-UP PROBLEMS.
- Actors responsible for implementing Bologna had either
an INDIFFERENT or even NEGATIVE ATTITUDE to the
reform; or they had SECOND MOTIVES that were unrelated
to the creation of an EHEA.
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16. Problems and Limits:
Government Responsibilities
 - BOLOGNA Process was to used TO PUSH NATIONAL
POLICIES, those who are in charge are likely to reject
that policy
 - In many cases the content of the former 4 years course
was SQUEEZED into a 3 years Bachelor course.(The Case
of Tunisia)
 - Countries did not adopt the new system at the same
SPEED in the same TIME with the same EFFORTS and the
same MOTIVATIONS and CONVICTIONS
- The opponents were quite successful to assimilate the
new degree to the traditional one tier framework.
- In many cases the reform was implemented in a way that
contradicts the spirit of the Bologna declaration (Tunisia).
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17. Problems and Criticisms:
Student Complaints
The bologna reforms is supposed to increase
intercompatibility between institutions, to making it easier
for students to switch between universities or study in a
foreign country.
- too much material has been squeezed into the
three-year bachelor's degree and that
- there are not enough master's program places to go
around
- too focused on preparing students for the workplace,
instead of giving them a broad education.
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18. - Shortening the time it takes doctoral students to
complete their studies
- Preventing doctoral students them from dropping out
- Joint supervision, evaluations and the creation of a
critical mass of professors and researchers as well as
ethical codes for research.
- Education of doctoral candidates is regarded as
too long,
too academic
too narrow
not particularly relevant to non-academic labor
markets.
- The status of doctoral candidate – and hence the social
and material situation of doctoral candidates themselves
differs from institution to institution.
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PROBLEMS AND LIMITS
Doctoral STUDENTS COMPLAINTS

19. Problems and Criticism:
HE Institutions Universities Responsibilities
 UNIVERSITIES ARE PARTLY TO BLAME for
OVERCROWDED LECTURE HALLS and UNHAPPY
STUDENTS.
- - Universities DISINTEREST in carrying out new reforms,
having to deal with larger numbers of students
- - Universities do not have ENOUGH MONEY AND HUMAN
RESSOURCES to offer more places in master's courses.
- CENTRALIZED MANAGEMENT by ministries (national
platforms and university plateforms Tunisia)
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20. Problems and Criticism:
Experts Criticisms
- REPLACING THE OLD DEGREE system with a
bachelor's/master's degree system, where students could
graduate with a bachelor's degree and enter labor market
after JUST THREE YEARS, or GO ON TO STUDY FOR A
MASTER'S DEGREE.
-- So CONTENTS OF FORMER PROGRAMS have been
SQUEEZED into three year Bachelor’s degree with
- SAME CONTENT,
- LESS TIME
- THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH MASTER'S PROGRAM PLACES
TO GO AROUND
- - PLANNED STANDARDIZATION OF COURSES HAS NOT
HAPPENED, MAKING IT HARD TO SWITCH between
universities.
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21. Problems and Criticism:
Experts Criticisms
- TOO FOCUSED ON JOB MARKET, with curriculum not
focused on INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS
in the absence of BROAD EDUCATION
-HURRYING YOUNG PEOPLE through their studies and
GETTING THEM quickly INTO A JOB IS not necessarily a
good thing,
-Universities HAVE TO EDUCATE PEOPLE as well as
TRAINING THEM FOR A JOB
- Companies wanted to hire WELL-ROUNDED INDIVIDUALS,
not just graduates. But students REQUIRED MORE TIME in
order to develop their personalities.
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22. Problems and Criticism:
Experts Criticisms
- MUTUAL APPROVAL OF QUALIFICATIONS does not work
properly
- HANDLING OF DIVERSITY have not been addressed yet
- ESTABLISHMENT OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES for all
students have not been addressed yet
- LIFELONG LEARNING have not been addressed yet
- FINANCING SHORTFALL in whole HE System capacity
problems
- QUALITY ASSURANCE STANDARDS ARE MET, BUT NO
REAL COOPERATION UP TO NOW, as a consequence QA-
SYSTEMS ARE NOT COMPARABLE
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23. Problems and Criticism:
Experts Criticisms
- The goal of making it easier for students to study
abroad has not been reached.
-
-The new European Credit Transfer and Accumulation
System (ECTS) has not made courses intercompatible
and getting credits recognized can still be difficult.
- Universities need more Finance to cope with the
current flood of students.
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24. Problems and Criticism:
Experts Criticisms
Many of the GOALS OF THE REFORMS HAVE ONLY
PARTIALLY been MET:
- NUMBER OF STUDENTS SWITCHING UNIVERSITIES IS
FAR TOO LOW, while THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE
DROPPING OUT IS TOO HIGH.
- STRUCTURES ARE FAR TOO INFLEXIBLE TO COPE
WITH STUDENTS SPENDING SEMESTERS ABROAD,
(combining studies with having children and working
part-time).
-The Bologna Process PRODUCES GRADUATES MORE
QUICKLY, but unfortunately it PRODUCES FEWER
PEOPLE WHO FIT THE PROFILE THAT INDUSTRY
ACTUALLY WANTS.
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25. General Conclusions
- Is is true that IMPLEMENTATION of higher education
policies requires EFFECTIVE COORDINATION,
PRESSURES, INCENTIVES to contribute to
convergence?.
- How to REINFORCE THE ROLE OF STUDENTS, who are
THE LEAST INVOLVED in the implementation OF
BOLOGNA process?
- Do all OR MOST OF students ENTER the labor market
after completing the first cycle?
- Do employers see the first cycle as GRANTING
EMPLOYABILITY?
- Did Bologna Process increase INDEED student and
GRADUATE MOBILITY?
- Is the European higher education area efficient in
attracting students from outside Europe?
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26. Conclusions
 - It is becoming increasingly impossible to spend a
semester at a foreign university without losing time,
despite the fact that the Bologna reform is actually
supposed to make stays abroad easier.
 - How to make the move to master cycle more accessible
since three years is not enough?
- There are not enough master's program places to go
around. This is a true problem, and a source of dislike by the
students
 - There is a taste of incompleteness. The student is
foreseen not be ready for the workplace ?
 - How to make the Bologna System less Complicated to
handle, less difficult to handle administratively, records,
curriculum, grades, etc
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27. T H A N K Y O U
F O R Y O U R A T T E N T I O N
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