QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORKS AND

STRUCTURAL REFORMS IN THE EHEA

Sjur Bergan, Council of EuropeRegional Ministerial Meeting

Yerevan, October 17 - 18, 2013

STRUCTURAL REFORMS IN THE EHEA

Structural reform the hallmark of the European Higher Education Area but:• Lack of coordination between areas of reform• Uneven implementation in EHEA member states

Structural reforms WG one of four main groups in the 2012 – 15 EHEA work program

Co-chaired by Council of Europe, Belgium (Flemish Community), Holy See, Poland.

Some 40 EHEA countries and consultative members participate

Will produce a draft report in fall 2014

BACKGROUND FACTORS

Consider structural reforms in relation to the major purpose of higher education:

Preparing for employment Preparing for life as active citizens in democratic societies Personal development The development and maintenance of a broad, advanced knowledge base. Be guided by the following policy considerations:

Students, employers and society at large want more objective, reliable and high quality information about higher education;

Increasing societal expectation that higher education enhance employability of graduates and provide students with skills relevant on the labor market.

Need to build and sometimes even restore trust and confidence in higher education;

A new social contract between higher education and society needs to be defined and established.

AREAS OF STRUCTURAL REFORM

Quality assurance Recognition of qualifications Qualifications frameworks Transparency instruments

QUALIFICATIONS IN THE EHEA

Two (later three) tier degree structure (1999, 2003)

Role of the first degree in the labor market (1999) Recognition (1998 and later) Mobility Employability Qualifications Frameworks mentioned for the first

time:• Bologna conference in March 2003 in København• Berlin Communiqué 2003

QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORKS DESCRIBE

How qualifications fit together within and between systems All qualifications in a given (higher) education system How these qualifications articulate How learners can move between qualifications within a

system Learning outcomes All of the above in ways that make them understandable to

informed foreigners

QF: an instrument to describe and make sense of diversity

FRAMEWORKS AND FRAMEWORK

National framework closest to the

operational reality owned by national

system ultimately determines

what qualifications learners will earn

describe the qualifications within a given education system and how they interlink

Overarching framework

facilitates movement between systems

face of “Bologna qualifications” to the rest of the world

provides the broad structure within which national qualifications frameworks will be developed (“outer limits” for diversity)

OVERACHING FRAMEWORKS

Bologna (QF-EHEA) Adopted 2005 47 countries Higher education only 3 levels with possibility for

intermediate qualifications in national frameworks

Overseen by BFUG and WG QFs, coordinated by the Council of Europe

National correspondents

EQF Lifelong learning Adopted 2008 34 countries All levels of education in a

lifelong learning perspective

8 levels Overseen by EQF Advisory

Board and the European Commission

National Coordination Points

SELF CERTIFICATION

The “calling card” for your system Procedure and document by which you

convince others that your QF is compatible with the QF-EHEA

Respond to the “check list” of criteria and procedures outlined by Bologna WG

Include national stakeholders and foreign experts

Being open about problematic issues strengthens credibility

SOME CHALLENGES

Develop learning outcomes Communicate to broader public and

stakeholders Ensure coherence between the different

parts of the education system Complete national qualifications

frameworks Make them work in practice The job is not done with self-certification!!!

QUALIFICATIONS FRAMEWORKS IN EUROPE

WEB SITES

Bologna QF web site http://www.ehea.info/article-details.a

spx?ArticleId=65

EQF site http://ec.europa.eu/education/lifelong

-learning-policy/doc44_en.htm Council of Europe HE site http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/highereduca

tion/Default_en.asp