Bologna Process and mobility
– good, bad, or insignificant?
Amsterdam, 22 March 2007
Maria Kelo
Senior Officer, ACA
This presentation
• Bologna aim: enhanced mobility
• Bologna impact on intra-European
mobility
• Mobility between the US and Europe
• Beyond Bologna: impacts coming
from elsewhere
Bologna objective –
enhanced mobility
• Harmonisation of degree structure more
easily readable and comparable
• Introduction of a number of “tools” to
facilitate mobility and to remove existing
obstacles
• Facilitate employability across boarders
Create a borderless European higher
education area
Bologna and intra-
European mobility
• Too short time to assess the impact
of the degree structure on mobility
• Picture further blurred by other
factors influencing mobility flows
• Data collection is not adapted to
measure mobility
Problems with data
• Measuring tool „passport‟ captures
foreign, not (necessarily) mobile students
• Available data do not differentiate
between bachelors and masters level
(ISCED 5A or ISCED 6 only)
• Official international data do not capture
short term mobility
Usefulness for measuring Bologna
impact on mobility?
Bologna and intra-
European mobility (2)
• General fear: decreased horizontal
mobility (or shorter periods of stay
abroad) – especially DE
• No evidence available either way (too
early, deficient data)
• Steps to be taken to ensure short-
term mobility does not die out
Bologna and intra-
European mobility (3)
• Little known about impact on
vertical mobility
• Expected to increase such mobility
(tools in place to facilitate this,
without great negative side-effects)
Bologna may change the type of
mobility that takes place
Bologna and intra-
European mobility (4)
• hard to evaluate the weight of the
degree structure in eventually changing
mobility patterns
• Other tools come to count, but also
independent reforms (e.g. ELTDPs)
• Motivations vary between levels and range
from „fun and sun‟ to employment
prospects and research environment
Europe –US mobility
• Has the process had and is it
expected to have a positive or
negative impact?
• Or will it change the kind of mobility
taking place (degree vs. credit
mobility)?
Europe –US mobility
(2)
• Main issue: recognition of 3-year
bachelors
• BUT: admissions decentralised, and
often „case-by-case‟ (holistic
approach)
• Degrees have never been entirely
comparable what would really
change?
Europe –US mobility
(3)
• Council of Graduate Schools survey
2006
– 18% of institutions do not accept
Bologna 3-year bachelor for PG study
(down from 29% in 2005)
– 80% do not see it as an obstacle in
itself
Europe –US mobility
(4)
• Open Doors: data do not show
changing trends in shares of PG vs.
UG students
• UNESCO DATA: no distinction
between the two levels
• No reliable and comparable data on
short term mobility from Europe to
the US
US - Europe mobility
• Low numbers (about 27 000 in
2002/03 in 32 European countries) of
degree mobile students
• Rather than Bologna, other reforms
such as ELTD can perhaps increase
such mobility
• Different motivations for study in
Europe
US - Europe mobility
(2)
• Including short term mobility: about 200 000 in
2005/2006 (OD)
• 60% to Europe, 45% to top 4 destinations (UK,
IT, ES, FR)
• Largest growth area exchanges of less than a
semester (56% of the total)
• Only 6% of the total degree mobile
Relatively insignificant in terms of numbers and
length of stay
Unlikely that such movement will depend on the
new Bologna degree structure
US - Europe mobility and
Bologna -
the ‘bottom line’
• Recognition issues are nothing new:
Bologna might not solve all problems, but
could make things even easier
• No evidence of big changes any direction;
hard to attribute to Bologna
• Other drives likely to have a far greater
impact (+ or -)
• Perhaps unnecessary and unjustified worry
Beyond Bologna
• Lisbon process-related reforms may
increase Europe‟s attractiveness
• increasing offer of programmes taught
in English may encourage movement
towards Europe
• Increasing interest in more „exotic‟
destinations?
• Growing HE sector in China, India…
Beyond Bologna
• No proof to date regarding impact of
Bologna on mobility, within Europe, or
between Europe and the US
• Hard to say if mainly good or mainly bad,
though perceptions seem to indicate the
former
• Mobility flows are likely to depend more on
other factors than Bologna reforms
Thank you!
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