EPC - IWG Notes CEN-S 090409
The Working Group has not met since the last Committee meeting, as we have been awaiting developments. Five notable things have happened recently:
- The QAA have finally "Self certified" the UK as Bologna compatible for both the 1st and 2nd cycles i.e. including MEng. This was supposed to happen in November 2008 to comply with the Bologna deadline, however it happened in March 09 with a publication date of November 2008! We know the delay was largely caused by difficulties surrounding the issue of ECTS. In the event the only reference to ECTS is one line where it that it states that in practice the ratio is 2:1. It remains to be seen whether the Europeans will believe us!
- The new ECTS manual has been leaked. We do not exactly know what the status of this document as it has not yet been formally accepted by the EC, but it removes any reference to 75 or 90 ECTS in a calendar year. This may or may not be good news. The last table of the report gives the ECTS hours, and on the very last line the UK is the only one below 25 hours per ECTS; we are 20 hours. The Europe Unit is trying to get this removed, but I doubt they will be successful.
3 The Royal society of Chemistry has produced a report on its Bologna project entitled “Mastering Bologna”. They have many interesting things to say, which are all in accordance with our discussions. A summary of their recommendations are:
- We recommend that two academic years (120 European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System, ECTS) of Masters level education be made widely available in the UK. We make no recommendation on how the extra year is incorporated into the range of courses provided by individual HEIs, i.e. postgraduate one or two year courses, five year integrated Masters or all of these. However, we do recommend that that the current four academic year integrated Masters degrees remain for the foreseeable future.
- We strongly recommend that the nomenclature of UK Science degree programmes be rationalized as a matter of urgency.
- We recommend that HEIs strengthen their links with industry in the direct provision of student learning opportunities.
- We recommend that HEFCE and the Research Councils agree on financial responsibilities for Masters degrees and make sustainable new provision for Masters level education. This provision should be flexible, with policies that are enabling, rather than prescriptive.
- We recommend that new funding for scholarships for UK students undertaking Masters study is provided by HEFCE and the Research Councils.
4 SEFI is trying to put in place a post 2010 Bologna. It should be remembered that SEFI does not support a 4 year Masters degree.
The Chronicle of Higher Education (4/8, Labi) reported, "The American higher-education establishment is beginning to take notice of the Bologna Process, the decade-long effort to harmonize degree cycles and university systems across Europe," according to a recent report from the Institute for Higher Education Policy. The report coincides with the unveiling of a Lumina Foundation for Education "pilot project that will apply certain aspects of the Bologna Process to six disciplines in the higher-education systems of three states." Under the pilot program, "groups of faculty members and students from universities in each participating state will survey current students, recent graduates, and employers in an effort to define the knowledge and skills that a degree in a given discipline represents." In addition, "the information will...be used to track how student achievement translates into employability."
We await the output of the Bologna Summit in Leuven in April 2009.