JavaScript needs to be enabled in your browser to use the site search feature. Click here for information about how to enable JavaScript.
The Bologna Process involves 46 European countries undertaking a series of reforms intended to create an integrated European higher education area by 2010. Signatories to the agreement have worked towards greater consistency in areas such as degree structures, credit transfer and quality assurance systems.
Ministers responsible for higher education in the Bologna countries meet every second year to measure progress and set priorities for action. After Bologna (1999), they met in Prague (2001), Berlin (2003), Bergen (2005), London (2007), Leuven/Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium, (April 2009), Vienna and Budapest (April 2010). Last year marked the 10th anniversary of the Process. The next ministerial meeting is scheduled to occur on 26–27 April 2012 in Bucharest, Romania.
Australia’s active engagement with the Bologna Process was recognised with an invitation to the first Bologna Policy Forum that took place on 29 April 2009 at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium) in conjunction with the 2009 Bologna Ministerial Conference.
The Forum was the first of its kind to be organised between ministers of the 46 Bologna countries and colleagues from different parts of the world, reflecting the growing interest in the Bologna Process from countries outside Europe. It also reflected the increasing interest of European countries in developing closer links with other higher education systems.
The countries represented at the 2009 forum were Australia, Brazil, Canada, People’s Republic of China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Tunisia, the US, as well as the International Association of Universities.
Australia’s statement to the Forum offered comments on Australia’s interest in the Bologna Process and the opportunity to engage in the Process in future dialogues.
Participants noted that the Policy Forum helped foster mutual understanding and learning in the field of higher education and laid the ground for sustainable cooperation in the future in the statement from the Bologna Policy Forum.
An Australian delegation attended the second Bologna Policy Forum held in Vienna during March 2010. The dialogue covered systematic and institutional changes in higher education in the developing global knowledge society. A debate occurred which focussed on how higher education systems and institutions respond to growing demands and multiple expectations. Further topics were discussed regarding mobility of staff and students, including the challenges and opportunities of "brain circulation" and the balance between cooperation and competition in international higher education.
See the full Budapest-Vienna Declaration on the European Higher Education Area.
The Ministerial Advisory Group on Bologna was established in 2007 as a part of Australia's response to the Bologna Process of higher reform in Europe. The Bologna Ministerial Advisory Group (BMAG) has the objective of assisting both the government and the sector in staying abreast of Bologna developments and anticipating issues for Australia. Members of the Group share an interest in Bologna Process developments. Bologna is of interest to Australia for multiple reasons, including that it represents a significant internationalisation process and is designed to improve mobility for students and graduates.
The second meeting of BMAG was held on 19 March 2009 at Macquarie University. The terms of reference for BMAG were to monitor and foster debate on developments with regard to the Bologna Process and related activities in Europe; to provide advice to the Minister for Education, Employment and Workplace Relations on the Bologna Process; and to anticipate and provide leadership on Bologna and related activities for the Australia’s higher education sector.
Items discussed were:
The third meeting of BMAG was held on 1 February 2010 at the Hyatt Hotel in Canberra. The main objective of the meeting was to provide advice for the minister on the aims and objectives for Australia’s participation at the Bologna Policy Forum in Vienna.
Members of the 2010 BMAG were:
Vice ChancellorMacquarie University
ChancellorUniversity of Canberra
Convenor, Council of Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies in AustraliaDean of Postgraduate StudiesJames Cook University
Chief Executive OfficerProfessions Australia
Manager, Policy and ResearchAustralian Council of Private Education and Training
President National Union of Students
PresidentCouncil of Australian Postgraduate Associations
Group ManagerHigher Education Group, DEEWR
Branch ManagerInternational Group, DEEWR
Return to top
The Diploma Supplement is a European initiative that aims to describe a higher education qualification in an easily understandable way and relate it to the higher education system within which it was issued.
There is widespread and increasing use of the Diploma Supplement across Europe, much of which is driven by students and other stakeholders who recognise its value in describing qualifications in a way that is clear to potential employers and other higher education institutions.
Under the Lisbon Recognition Convention (ratified by Australia in 2002), Australia has an international obligation to promote the widespread use of a Diploma Supplement by Australian tertiary institutions. In Australia the Diploma Supplement is known as the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS).
In September 2009 the Hon Julia Gillard MP, Minister for Education, made an announcement, committing funding of $3.7 million for the implementation of the Australian Higher Education Graduation Statement (AHEGS) in Australia in the form of $100 000 grants to publicly funded Australian universities. There have been two funding rounds for the implementation of the AHEGS. Twenty-seven universities received grants as a part of the 2008 funding round, and the remaining ten universities will also be implementing the AHEGS over the next few years.
The implementation of the AHEGS in Australia will mean Australian awards are more likely to be well understood internationally, increasing Australian graduates' international mobility for further study or employment purposes and sharpening further Australia's competitiveness in the international education export market.
Adoption of the AHEGS in Australia will also support the achievement of the common goal agreed to by ministers attending the Asia-Pacific Education Ministers’ Meeting in April 2006, of increasing greater student and academic mobility and transferability of qualifications.
The first AHEGS will be presented to graduates at selected universities from 2009 onwards and is expected to be provided to graduates at all universities by the end of 2011.
For further information on the AHEGS initiative, please refer to the AHEGS webpage.
Below are a number of useful resources for understanding the Bologna Process and its global, regional and national implications.
The Official Bologna Process website provides information and news about developments in the Bologna Process and about the work program. News and events’ updates are added to the website on an ongoing basis.
The UK HE Europe Unit provides an overview of the Bologna Process, outlining functions, historical development, actions lines and present developments of the Bologna Process. It also includes a number of useful links to other websites and research resources.
The Euractiv website provides basic information on the Bologna Process, as well as information on related issues, such as eLearning and lifelong learning.
The European Commission website on Education and Training provides a European Union perspective on the Bologna Process, as well as general information on the Process.
The National Union of Students in Europe (ESU) website releases documents on the effect of the Bologna reforms on students at the European level.
The Academic Co-operation Association (ACA) website focuses on European cooperation in education and training by monitoring developments through publications, news and events.
The European Universities Association (EUA) website provides an overview of its work in helping establish a European Higher Education Area (EHEA) through the Bologna Process, as well as a Bologna Basics and a Bologna Handbook publications.
Declarations
Communiqués
Conventions