Taking the baloney out of Bologna

The Bologna Process is in many senses idolized as a means of Europeanizing Ukraine's system of higher education. However, it is not a miracle solution for all woes. Moreover, since the beginning of its implementation in many European countries, assessments of consequences have been disappointing.

One of the main failures is quality assurance, an important commitment made at the Bergen conference. Indeed, a total of 16 countries, including France, Italy, Austria and Ukraine, were assessed as being non-compliant with regard to internal and external quality assurance and having a properly functioning quality assurance agency. Only five are considered compliant with the European Standards and Guidelines (developed within the framework of the Bologna Process). Unsurprisingly, none of the countries involved have seen significant improvements in the decade since the beginning of the process, as assessed by external experts.

The effect on student participation is limited, with only 30% of students stating that the process has had a significant or better effect: 39% claimed it had a little effect, while 15% claimed it had either no effect at all and 9% said it actually led to a deterioration in participation. Moreover, student participation is low in regards to both internal and external evaluation, which is particularly important in the former case, as students are the main consumers of educational products.

Despite promises of widespread implementation of the three-cycle system and ECTS, many countries maintain parallel systems, especially in non-university HEIs. Consequently, a system intended to recoup European competitiveness in higher education has been largely limited to cosmetic changes and half-hearted reforms. This is clearly mirrored in the continued stagnation of a majority of European institutions, in particular when compared with the rising stars of Asia and Australia.

Student Mobility:

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