Editor's note
International Internet Magazine. Baltic States news & analytics
Friday, 15.03.2024, 06:35
Bologna process: 20 successful years
The Declaration underlined fundamental values of higher
education: academic freedom, institutional autonomy and contribution to growth and
welfare with the intention to create a European Higher Education Area with a
common degree structure in Europe, strengthening quality assurance and making
recognition of qualifications and periods of study easier.
The Bologna process has been focusing on education openness,
structural changes and cooperation which has been a follow-up from
universities’ own declaration of European higher education values in 1988, the
so-called Magna Charta
Universitatum.
The latter was signed by around 400 European university
rectors; since then about 500 more universities around the world joined the
process.
The Magna Charta
Universitatum Observatory is considering an update of the original charter
to reflect changes in the education sector and its relation to society’s needs
and skills modernisation.
Reference: Stølen S. and
Gornitzka Å. The
Bologna Process needs to go back to basics. –University World News. 6
July 2019, in:
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20190705111026608
The Bologna process has undoubtedly contributed to shaping the higher education
landscape in Europe and the member states; however, after 20 years of policy
coordination in Europe, the Bologna process needs re-thinking and
re-assessment.
Some alarming trends appeared recently, which challenge the
basic values of higher education. The marketisation and commercialization
of universities has become a dangerous trend: however, it is fundamental for
the education process that students are neither customers nor clients in modern
universities.
The universities shall enroll and involve students in the national
learning communities, which shall be a measure of success in national education
policies.
Existing system of a “single financing” in major
universities shall be changed as well in order to be more reflective and
responsive to contemporary needs with a diversification of universities’
sources of revenue.
The way forward for Baltic States, other European
universities and the European Higher Education Area has to be in line with approaches
initially proposed in the Bologna Process; although with the attention to
modern changes in digital society too.
More on the European education
policy in my article:
http://www.baltic-course.com/eng/modern_eu/?doc=150298