/ Ευρωπαϊκής Ένωσης

Quality assurance and participation of students
in focus for the education ministers in Prague

Date: 19/05/2001
Policy area: Education and youth affairs
News item: Press release

Education Ministers from 30 European countries have today approved a communiquι on higher education in Europe. The communiquι lays down a number of goals and measures to help achieve the aims of the Bologna process. One essential aim of the Bologna process is to promote student mobility between the European education systems.
The meeting took place in Prague and was co-chaired by the Swedish Minister for Education and Science, Mr. Thomas Φstros, and the Czech Minister for Education, Sports and Youth, Mr. Eduard Zeman.

In their communiquι the Education Ministers welcome the continuation of the Bologna process which aims at establishing a European Higher Education Area by 2010 and includes as many as 30 European countries. The Bologna process contributes to the development of democracy in the whole of Europe.

A life-long learning perspective in the Bologna process
The Education Ministers stress that in a knowledge-based society and economy, strategies for life-long learning are necessary both to increase competitiveness and to improve social cohesion, equal opportunities and the quality of life. The ministers also agree that continuous efforts must be made to enable students, teachers, researchers and administrative staff to benefit from the European Higher Education Area. The ministers assert that building such an area is a condition for enhancing the attractiveness and competitiveness of higher education institutions in Europe.

The role of the students in the Bologna process strengthened
The ministers stress that students are full members of the higher education community and should therefore participate in the shaping of the European Higher Education Area i.a. by influencing the organisation and content of education at universities and other higher education institutions. The ministers also reaffirm the necessity, recalled by the students, of taking account of the social dimension in the Bologna process. They confirm their commitment from the Bologna meeting to pursue the removal of all obstacles to the free movement of students, teachers, researchers and administrative staff.

A European cooperation in quality assurance
The ministers also emphasize the importance of adopting of common cornerstones of qualifications, supported by a credit system such as the ECTS or ECTS-compatible. Together with mutually recognized quality assurance systems, such arrangements will enhance the compatibility as well as the attractiveness of European higher education and, not least, facilitate students? access to the European labour market. The ministers state that further progress in this area is necessary.

Increasing compatibility and free movement demands closer cooperation and mutual trust in and acceptance of national quality assurance systems. The ministers call upon universities, other higher education institutions, national agencies and the European Network of Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) to collaborate in establishing a common framework of qualifications. They also underline the importance of coherent quality assurance and accreditation mechanisms and increased information efforts .

A European Joint Degree
In addition, the ministers stress the necessity of increasing the development of modules, courses and curricula at all levels with a European dimension. This concerns particularly modules, courses and degree curricula offered in partnership by institutions from different European countries and leading to a recognized joint degree. This European Joint Degree also aims at facilitating the free movement of students and making the European higher education more competitive.

Future seminars within the Bologna process
In order to take the process further, the ministers agree to arrange seminars to explore the following areas: cooperation concerning accreditation and quality assurance, recognition issues and the use of credits in the Bologna process, the development of joint degrees, the social dimension, with specific attention to obstacles to mobility, and the enlargement of the Bologna process, lifelong learning and student involvement.

New member countries of the Bologna process
The education ministers welcome new members to join the Bologna process after applications from Ministers representing countries for which the European Community programmes Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci or Tempus-Cards are open. The ministers accepted applications from Croatia, Cyprus and Turkey.

The next minister meeting within the Bologna process
The next education minister meeting in the Bologna process will take place in Berlin, Germany in 2003.