Contexts,challenges,changes:theBolognaProcessandPingPong.

TimBirtwistle

Abstract

WherehastheEuropeanHigherEducationarrivedatinJanuary2013?Whereisit
going?Whatarethelinksbetweenitandothermajorsystemsofhigher
education,inparticulartheUnitedStates?Whatishappeningtohighereducation
intermsoflinkstoemployability,internationalcomparisons,costsetc.?

Introduction

ThedevelopmentoftheBolognaProcessandtheEHEAarewelldocumented1.
Notsurprisinglytherearemanyshadesofopinion(possibly50).However,trans
Atlanticpingpong2remainsasoneofthebestgamesintown,linkingthe
thought,analysis,development,exchangeofideasbetweentheEHEAandthe
UnitedStatesincontinuingtosearchforenhancementtoknowledgebased
economies.Thetwooverarchingshorthandnamesforthesediversemeta
systemsmasksthesimilaritiesandrealitiesthatexist(47states/50states,each
with4000+highereducationinstitutions,formsofaccreditation,typesof
institutionincludingpublic,privatenotforprofit,privateforprofit,religious,2
year/4yearetc)donotgivejusticetothewealthofprovision.

1
Seewww.ehea.infoandwww.eua.beforfirstly"theofficialview"andsecondlyanassessmentbythe
EuropeanUniversityAssociation.Also:BirtwistleT.Towards2010(andthenbeyond)thecontextof
theBolognaProcess,articleinAssessmentinEducation:Principles,Policy,PracticeVol16:1pages5563
March2009publishedbyRoutledge

2
TransAtlanticPingPongandtheBolognaProcess(withH.H.McKiernan)EAIE/EUABologna
Handbook,summer2011,RaabeFachverlag,Berlin

Lookingback,becauseofcoursehindsightissuchanaidtoclarityofthoughtand
analysis,wecouldallforeseetheeconomicmeltdownandtheconsequentimpact
thatthiswouldhaveonhighereducationacrosssomanypartsoftheworld.This
hashadanimpactonbudgets;impactonstakeholders;impactonstudents,
employmentprospects,choiceofmajorordegree,desireandneedtocomplete,
thirstforwhatmightbeseenasvalueformoneyandratesofsatisfaction.Both
thedemandandsupplysideofhighereducationhavefelttheimpact.Boththe
providerandthelearnerhavefelttheimpact.Thesedisturbanceshavebeen
heapeduponwhat,formany,werealreadysystemsinastateofflux.

Ifweanalysedatathatexiststoguideourpolicydecisions,havingestablishedthe
goalssought,thenwesurelystandabetterchanceofarrivingatgoodoutcomes
reachedthroughsoundprocesses.TheEHEAwithitsdeterminedfocusonchange
forapurposegivesanidealfocalpointforthis.Ifontopofthatwelookatthe
pingpongeffectthissuperimposesalevelofanalysisthatlinksdirectlytothe
USsystemsofhighereducation.

TheglobalcontextincludeschangesinAustralia,NewZealand,China,India,
Canada,Russia,Japan,SouthAfrica,manycountriesinLatinAmerica,across
Africa,thesouthernMediterraneanandsoon.Thesechangesincludetheobvious
constraintsonspendinginmanypartsoftheworld,demographics(Europewitha
decliningpopulationandthesouthernMediterraneanwithanincreasing
population),adoptionofqualificationframeworks(secondgenerationasin
Australia,Scotland,EnglandandWales,Ireland,SouthAfricaetc,firstgeneration
asinmuchoftheEHEAandwiththebetapilot3inpartsoftheUSAetc),useof
Tuningmethodologylinkedtoframeworks,creditsandlearning(EHEA,Russia,
muchofLatinAmerica,muchofAfrica,partsoftheUSA4,partsofCanada,
Australia,Japan,etc),qualitymechanismsandapproaches(EHEA,Australia,South
Africa,China,India,etc).Andsoitgoesonsimilarproblems,challenges,
contexts,metby,inmanycases,similarapproachestochange.

3
Seewww.luminafoundation.org,DegreeQualificationsProfile,accessedat26/09/2012
4
Seewww.tuningusa.org,accessed26/09/2012
Thesedoaffectallaspectsofhighereducationexchangeprogrammes,joint
programmes,globaloutreach,recruitment,academicfreedom,academicstaff
(faculty)recruitment,funding,relationshipswithstakeholdersetc.

Contexts

Therearemanydatasetswhichaddtothedebateabouthighereducation,mainly
nationalones(forexamplecensusresultsorspecificresearchprojectresults).To
giveamuchbroadercontexttherearespecificallyinternationaldatasetssuchas
thoselistedattheHarvardSelectedresourcesforinternationaleducation
statistics5whichhastheOECDdata(Educationataglance2012at
www.oecd.org)atthetopofthelist.TheOECDdataarefarreachingbut,inter
alia,confirmsthatthegraduatepremium(enhancedearningsduetohighlevel
qualifications)remainssignificantandthatthosewithhighereducationcomeout
ofarecessionfaster(iftheylosttheirjobtheygetanotherjob,iftheykepttheir
jobtheirearningsrise)thanthosewithout.Thisvariesfromcountrytocountry
butitmatchesTheCollegeAdvantage(Carnevale,August2012,Georgetown
University)claimedfortheUnitedStates.

Howdoshorttermlabourmarketbenefitsmatchuptothedeferredincomeand
careergainsofthegraduate?InthemuchlaudedGermansystemofpost
secondaryeducationwithlowerparticipationratesinhighereducationthanmany
countries,excellentcredentialsandtrainingatthetechnicianlevel,relatively
vibranteconomyandearningsfindsacrossoverpointataboutage40those
withhighereducationkickonintheircareerandaremuchsoughtafter(ascarce
resource)whilstthosewithout,plateau.Projections(fromOECDandothers)
indicateanincreasinglybimodallabourmarkethighendjobsforthosewith
higherqualificationsandlowendjobs(requiringpresenceserviceindustryetc)
withthemiddledisappearingfairlyrapidly.

Thecostofhighereducationinvariouscountriesisalsoexposed,aswellashow
differentfundingmodelscandisguisethetruecost(figure1).Whatmayappear
free(Group1)mayinrealitycost(thecountry)asmuchasdirect/indirect

5
Seewww.gse.harvard.eduaccessed26/09/2012,notethelatestOECDdatais2012.
personalcontributiontocosts(Group2).This,giventhedifficultiesthatmanyfind
themselvesinfinancially,affectshighereducationandtheperceptionsthat
potentialstudentsandfundproviders(privateorpublic)have:

Figure1:fromEducationataGlance2012andthepresentationbyAndreas
SchleicherattheIMHEConference,September2012.

Otherthingsarealsochanging,includingthemarketshareofcountriesformobile
students(Figure2),thuschangingthedynamicsofhighereducationandthe
braindrain/braincirculationdebate.Thetraditionallymainplayersinthis
activityareincreasinglyfacingcompetitionindifferentwaysfromdifferentparts
oftheglobe:

Figure2:perAndreasSchleichersupraFigure1.

Thereisalsotheapparentdichotomyregardingunemploymentandaskills
shortage(Figure3).Thismustbecoupledwithskillsfortomorrowasopposedto
jobstodayandalsothecategorisationofeducation,trainingandskills.
Perceptionsoftheroleofhighereducationmayhavechangedandmayhave
beenexacerbatedbythefinancialdifficultiesmanyface:
 47
47 Skills shortages and unemployment coexist
Unemployment rates (2011)
Share of employers reporting recruitment difficulties
Poland
Ireland
Norway
Spain
South Africa
United Kingdom
Sweden
Netherlands
France
Czech Republic
Hungary
China
Austria
Slovenia
Italy
Canada
Belgium
Germany
Greece
Mexico
New Zealand
Switzerland
Turkey
United States
Australia
Brazil
India
Japan

% 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 10 20 30 %

Figure3:Schleichersupra.

Someofthedataavailablemaybechallengedbecauseofmethodology,butthe
trendsareveryplain.

Acrosstheworldsimilarchallengesand,largely,similarapproachestochange.

Challenges(EHEA)

InApril2012theEHEAMinisterialConferencetookplaceinBucharest(thenext
suchmeetingwillbeinArmeniain2015)andtookstockoftheachievementsof
theBolognaProcess6whilstalsoagreeingonfutureprioritiesoftheEHEA
lookingbackandlookingforward.Theprefacetothestatementacknowledgesthe
economicandfinancialcrisisandthathighereducationisanimportantpartof

6
SeeEHEABucharestCommuniquatwww.ehea.infoaccessed25/09/2012
thesolutionrequiringStrongandaccountablehighereducationsystems[to]
providethefoundationsforthrivingknowledgesocieties.Thechangesthathave
takenplacesincetheinceptionoftheBolognaProcessin1999have,bymost
yardsticks,beenremarkable.WhataretheheadlinesfromtheCommuniqu?The
themesmayseemfamiliarasoutlined:

However,asthereportontheimplementationoftheBolognaProcess
shows,wemustmakefurthereffortstoconsolidateandbuildonprogress.
Wewillstriveformorecoherencebetweenourpolicies,especiallyin
completingthetransitiontothethreecyclesystem,theuseofECTScredits,
theissuingofDiplomaSupplements,theenhancementofqualityassurance
andtheimplementationofqualificationsframeworks,includingthe
definitionandevaluationoflearningoutcomes.

Wehavearestatementofthethreecyclesystem.Thefirstcyclewithitsminimum
ofthreeyearsanditslinktothesecondcycleappearsinavarietyofguisesand
meetsavarietyofreactionsfromemployers(educatedlargelywithalong
durationdegreeandhavingtoadjusttothenewfirstcycle)andadmissionstutors
(forexample,intheUSAtoMastersprogrammes).AswasstatedinthePress
Briefing7:

Thereisnosinglemodelofeitherfirstorsecondcycleprogrammesinthe
EHEA:inthefirstcycle,mostcountrieshaveacombinationof180ECTSand
240ECTSand/oranotherduration.Inthesecondcycle,themostcommon
modelis120ECTS.The180+120ECTScredits(3+2)modelisthereforethe
mostwidespread,butanumberofothercombinationscanbefound.

Thismaycausesomeuncertaintyorevenconfusionbutitallowsforflexibility
withinaframeworkthatdoesspellouttheleveldescriptors(studentlearning
outcomes)requiredtoachieveaparticularqualification(orcredential).Linkedto
thisarethecredits(onceagaindefinedthroughlearningoutcomesandstudent
workload).

7
Seewww.ehea.info,accessed26/09/2012
Themodelsforthecycles(first=baccalaureateandincludesshortcycle,being
equivalenttoanassociatedegree;second=masters;third=doctorate)indicatea
clearclimbingframeformobilityacrossandupthroughthequalificationsas
shownbytheframeworkforqualificationsintheEHEA(Bergen2005)which:

..showswhatalearnerknows,understandsandisabletodoonthe
basisofagivenqualificationthatis,itshowstheexpectedlearning
outcomesforagivenqualification.Italsoshowshowthevarious
qualificationsintheeducationorhighereducationsysteminteract,thatis
howlearnerscanmovebetweenqualifications.Qualificationsframeworks
thereforefocusonoutcomesmorethanonprocedures,andseveral
learningpathsincludingthoseoflifelonglearningmayleadtoagiven
qualification.

[emphasisfromtheoriginal]

Toachieveawelleducatedpopulationacrossthe47countriesstructures,
processesandoutcomesmustbedefined.Theroleofhighereducationtohelp
providesolutionstotheneedforeconomicgrowthisclearbutsotooisitplacein
thebroadersocietalneeds.Theneedforqualityhighereducationforallisclearly
speltoutintheBucharestCommuniqutheneedforwideningaccess,student
centredlearningandrobustqualityassurancemechanisms.Recognitionofthe
socialdimensionincluding:

entering,participatinginandcompletinghighereducationatalllevels
shouldreflectthediversityofourpopulations"andtheBolognatextsalso
emphasisethe"importanceofstudentsbeingabletocompletetheir
studieswithoutobstaclesrelatedtotheirsocialandeconomicbackground"
(LondonCommuniqu2007,p.5).

Theneedtoincreaseparticipationtocompeteeconomicallyandtoattractbright
mindsfromacrosstheglobedovetailswiththesocialdimensionaspirations.A
revolvingdoorforfirstgeneration(or21stcentury)studentsmustbeavoided;
theremustbeequityofaccess,recruitment,participationandcompletion.
Achievingtheseaimswillincreasetheeconomicandcivicparticipationand
contributionofthepopulation.
Lifelonglearning(LLL)isalsoacrucialcomponenttoachievingtheseaims.
Wideningparticipationmustincludeunderrepresentedgroups(thusreflecting
thediversityofthepopulations)andthesemustbecategorisedinthebroadest
possibleways,thusincludingreturninglearners,matureentrantlearnersaswell
asthemoretraditionaldesignationsoftheunderrepresented(oftendefinedby
race,ethnicity,religion,sexualorientationetc).However,LLLwillonlysucceedif
thereisawelldefinedqualificationsframework(lookingattheEuropean
QualificationsFrameworkasaLLLframeworkasopposedtoanarrowerhigher
educationframework),acreditsystemthatembracesoutputs,workloadand
differentformsoflearning(difficultifseattimeisamajorcomponent).

AlloftheseelementsareencompassedbytheEHEAandBolognaProcessand
recognisedintheBucharestCommuniqu.

Changes

AstheCommuniqustatesthisisatimeofconsolidationandbuildingon
progress.Theessentialbuildingblockshavebeenidentifiedandareinplace.
Naturally,differentstatesaremakingprogressatdifferentspeedstheirstarting
pointsweredifferentasweretheirtraditions.

TomakeacomplementarypointtotheOECDdatathePressReleasecontains
dataonunemploymentaccordingtolevelofeducation(apointalsomadeinthe
OECDandGeorgetowndata):

High educational Medium Low

attainment educational attainment educational attainment
Source:Eurostat,LabourForceSurvey(LFS).

Thelowertheeducationalattainmenttheworsetheunemploymentrate.

AlloftheelementsidentifiedarethosereferredtointheCommuniquasthe
focusforactionoverthenext3yearswideningparticipation,studentcentred
learning,quality,lifelonglearning,employability,thecentralpositionoflearning
outcomesincredits,frameworksanddocumentingprogressthroughtheuseof
theDiplomaSupplement.

Thepingpongeffect

Thedebatesaboutstudentlearning,learningoutcomes,credits,access,
completion,employability,academicfreedom,leaguetables,mission
differentiation,research,tenure,useofhourlypaid(adjunct)staff,lifelong
learning,etc,allresonateacrosstheglobe.TheUnitedStatesisnoexceptionto
this.ThediversityofthesystemsacrosstheUSAarewellknown,butsotooisthe
diversityacrosstheglobeand,onceagain,whencomparingtheEHEAandthe
USAthemetricsareremarkablysimilar.

TheEHEA,inthebesttraditionsofhighereducation,hasstudied,analysed,
borrowedandamendedhighereducationcomponents.Thishasincludedmanyof
thesefamiliardebatingpointaspectsofhighereducation.

Thechallengesareglobal.Thesolutionsmaydifferindetailbutdoappeartohave
manysimilarities.

TimBirtwistleisProfessorEmeritusoftheLawandPolicyofHigherEducation,Leeds
MetropolitanUniversity,VisitingFellowattheOxfordCentreforHigherEducationPolicy
Studies(OxCheps),U.K.BolognaExpert,FellowoftheRoyalSocietyofArts(FRSA),Past
PresidentoftheEuropeanAssociationforInternationalEducation(EAIE)andactsasa
consultanttoLuminaFoundationforEducation.