Students’ opinion on the Bologna Process: What works, what does not and possible future steps.
The European Students Union (ESU) publishes the Bologna with Student Eyes report every two to three years since 2003. It is co-funded by the European Commission and aims at offering official institutions, Higher Education Institutions (HEI) and public bodies a reality check of the students’ perspective on education policies and specifically on the implementation of the Bologna Process. The chapters of the report refer to the analysis of qualitative and quantitative data collected between November 2019 and February 2020 by different National Unions of Students (NUS) across Europe. The result is a cohesive vision of the students’ opinion in the following areas: Student participation in higher education governance, social dimension, quality assurance, recognition, internationalisation and mobility, structural reforms, financing of higher education, student-centred learning and the future of the Bologna Process. The Swiss NUS that submitted data for all of the chapters for the report is the Swiss Student Union (VSS-UNES-USU). In total, 40 NUS from member countries of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) responded, thus helping achieve a broad overview of the current realities concerning the Bologna Process. Apart from mapping the current general situation of European students, the report also contains ESU policy recommendations.
Generally, the study shows that students feel as though HEI are gradually silencing or even ignoring their voices. ESU focuses on the need for student participation to be empowered on all levels and for students to be involved in decision making as equal partners, both institutionally and nationally. In this area, Switzerland serves as a good example: Appropriate participation rights of all members of HEI, including students, are a prerequisite for the accreditation of a HEI, as written in article 30 of the Federal Act on Funding and Coordination of the Swiss Higher Education Sector. Concerning the social dimension, there have been positive developments on governmental and HEI levels throughout Europe. For example, the European Principles and Guidelines to Strengthen the Social Dimension of Higher Education (PAG) provide concrete input on how to better the overall situation. However, ESU states that policymakers should include social aspects and issues when creating policies, from early childhood education to lifelong learning. Moving on, there has been a decrease in students being considered equal stakeholders in Quality Assurance (QA) processes since 2018. In fact, less than half of the respondents state to have voting rights in these operations. The ESU pushes for member countries to consider students as full members in internal and institutional QA processes. As an example, Swiss and Swedish students currently have the ranking of observers in QA agencies.
One of the biggest ambitions of the Bologna Process is the automatic recognition of degrees throughout the EHEA. However, there are consistent discrepancies between countries, which touch the daily lives of European students. As the study shows, only half of the NUS state that the recognition procedures are fair and transparent. The ESU proposes that diploma supplements be issued free of charge to asses recognition procedures more easily. Refugees, asylum seekers and non-EU students in particular face difficulties in this field. The non-recognition of degrees renders access to quality tertiary education very difficult to the first two categories. VSS-UNES-USU states that this issue needs to be tackled better in Switzerland, as it is one of the only countries in Europe that has not implemented a Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) system. Related closely to recognition are structural reforms. A main issue students face is the non-harmonisation of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) system, which represents one of the basic elements of the Bologna Process. ECTS should facilitate recognition and mobility and not constitute a source of trouble between HEIs in Europe. Students also find that discrimination is still very present in mobility and internationalisation. In fact, financial difficulties remain the number one reason why students decide not to go on an exchange programme. Increased funding should be policymakers’ number one priority. In addition, eliminating certain discriminatory practices towards incoming students could be a step in the right direction, for instance lowering housing costs or eliminating additional healthcare taxes. Also considering finances, ESU states that one of the main goals for the future of the Bologna Process should be aiming towards tuition-free and accessible higher education.
What should the future of the Bologna Process look like according to the European Students Union? Entering this third decade of harmonisation, EHEA member countries should strive to build mutual and transnational support and trust between HEIs. Only by trying to fulfil the main commitments will students start to feel more represented and believe in the effectiveness and necessity of the Bologna Process. In addition, member countries should focus more on the actual implementation of student-centred learning (SCL), which implies student involvement in governance structures, a supportive and inspiring learning environment, flexibility of curriculum, individuality and interactivity. One way to achieve this is to provide HEIs with the necessary resources to achieve effective and inclusive digitalisation of education. Only with such measures will the Bologna Process manage to stay up-to-date in our digital era.
The recently published Bologna Process Implementation Report provides an additional overview on the achievements and shortcomings of the Bologna Process over the past two decades. For further information on the latest developments around the EHEA, have a look at our SwissCore article.