The Bologna Process is a non-binding inter-governmental initiative to develop a European Higher Education Area (EHEA), by 2010, which would enable higher education qualifications to be comparable, whilst maintaining national autonomy and flexibility. This inquiry has been undertaken to make a contribution to the London Ministerial Summit on 17-18 May 2007. There are five main conclusions: 1) there is overwhelming support for the UK to play a leading role; 2) there is a desire to maintain the distinction between the voluntary, bottom-up process, which is focussed on academic cooperation, and the European Community; 3) there are anxieties about a rigid commitment to a three cycle (bachelors, masters, doctoral) course structure, especially in relation to self-standing integrated Masters courses; 4) there are doubts that the full that the full significance of the coming into existence of the EHEA has been fully recognised; 5) the government has not been sufficiently pro-active in disseminating information and identifying and possibly resolving potential difficulties.

The book analyses the Bologna Process as an effort to harmonise Europe’s higher education in the context of global competition. It includes original documents from intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, up to the Bergen ministerial meeting of the Bologna Process in May 2005.

What are the principal drivers of recent higher education reforms? This study investigates whether the soft governance mechanism of transnational communication has evoked cross-national policy harmonization. Results suggest that the Bologna Process has triggered substantial policy harmonization beyond general policy convergence.

This book sets the extraordinary phenomenon of The Bologna Process in its historical and political context. Four contrasting country case studies - Germany, Russia, England, Wales - illustrate some of the varying responses adopted when faced with a similar framework.

The Bologna Process opened a new chapter in the history of the European higher education. The idea of a common European Higher Education Area was developed in Western Europe and accelerated increasingly there in the second half of the 20th century, as a phenomenon of globalization. For the post-communist states in Eastern Europe the complete change of the political system made it possible to join the European Union and the Bologna Process. These changes had an impact not only on the educational policies but also on the educational system and the educational culture as well. This book shows the changes in the higher education of ten countries in Central and Eastern Europe. The country studies are supplemented with an international and a historical comparative analysis, to point out the special features of the implementation of the Bologna aims in the region.

The purpose of the Bologna Process is to promote the international mobility of students, graduates and professionals within a European higher education area by 2010, by making it easier for qualifications to be recognised throughout Europe and therefore for them to gain employment. The Bologna Declaration, signed by higher education ministers from 29 European countries in 1999, seeks to achieve this through the creation of a common framework for degrees based on the use of credits. This publication contains the proceedings of a seminar held, in Lisbon in April 2002, to discuss key issues involved in the development of policies which will help realise the European higher education area.

This book critically reflects on the international function of the Bologna Process by exploring motivations and interests behind its ‘global strategy’ as well as how the reforms have been perceived and applied beyond Europe. Since its initiation in 1999, the Bologna Process has evolved into an important example of regional higher education policy coordination. Now with 48 signatory states both within and outside the European Union, the Bologna reforms have pushed forward an ambitious agenda for a European Higher Education Area (EHEA), and the EU specifically as it aims to consolidate its knowledge-economy. Alongside its regional focus, the Bologna Process has also promoted an international reach through its ‘global strategy’. Through this externalisation, the Bologna Process has become a point of reference for higher education internationalisation worldwide Featuring examples of Bologna’s ‘reach’ from Oceania to North America and in between, the book offers a timely contribution to the understanding of the reform’s global influence. As a whole the contributions offer important insights to the understanding and conceptualisation of the EU’s global influence, comparative regionalism and global higher education development more broadly. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Higher Education.

The objective of the Bologna Process is to establish a European Higher Education Area by 2010, in order to improve the recognition of qualifications and to facilitate greater mobility of students, graduates and holders of qualifications within Europe. This publication is based on presentations given at a seminar, held in Riga, Latvia in December 2004, and it reviews developments in recognition policies up to May 2005. Issues discussed include: the impact of emerging qualifications frameworks on recognition, recognition and quality assurance, learning outcomes, credit transfer, recognition and the labour market, transborder education and recognition issues outside the European Higher Education Area.

This revised second edition analyzes the Bologna Process as an effort to harmonize Europe's higher education in the context of global competition. It includes original documents from inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, up to the Bergen ministerial meeting of the Bologna Process in May 2005. The political decision to create a European higher education area aims to enhance mobility between, and cooperation of, European universities. The Bologna Process started with the 1999 Bologna Declaration. Now, there are regular ministerial meetings involving nearly all European countries, both EU and non-EU members. The book does not restrict itself to Europe only. It discusses developments in Asia and the Pacific and higher education policies by global organizations, such as UNESCO, the World Bank (for the North-South divide), and the WTO, where some higher education services are covered by the General Agreement on Trade in Services.

This book outlines the development of the Bologna Process, reviewing how it came into existence and the milestones reached over the past decade. It provides a critical examination of the state of implementation of its main policy action lines - such as comparable degree structures and quality assurance systems - and assesses its impact in fostering greater student mobility, widening participation in higher education, and developing lifelong learning. The impact of the Bologna Process as a driver of reform is set against challenges in implementing agreed goals. And the authors point to the diversity of results across the 47 signatory countries, highlighting problems with the use of instruments at the institutional level. The book also discusses how the Bologna Process has become a focus of attention for higher education policy-making around the world, presenting examples of the policy initiatives it has inspired. Finally, it considers the lessons to be learned from this European experience, and the challenges to be met in the future.