European Higher Education Area
Introduction
The Bologna Process is the name used to describe the European project to create a “European Higher Education Area” by 2010. In most countries, this will or has already affected the overall degree structure, the introduction or change of a transferable credit system with new grades and the possibility to carry national loans and grants system when studying elsewhere in Europe.
Ministers of education from 29 European countries gathered and signed the “Bologna declaration” in 1999. The declaration calls for the creation of a European Higher Education Area by 2010 through the means of “easy readable and comparable degrees”, “adoption of a two cycle system” and “establishment of a system of credits” amongst others.
Every second year, the ministers from the signatory countries meet and discuss the advances, decide on new means and adopt new countries. As of the latest meeting in London in Spring 2007, all of the EU member states were signatories as well as, Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Holy See, Iceland, Montenegro, Moldova, Norway, Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine.
NUS Guide
We are pleased to launch the NUS Guide to studying abroad and the European Higher Education Area, supported by the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills. This Guide aims to provide students’ unions with information to support students studying abroad, questions to ask institutions on possible structural challenges such as recognition of credit, and highlights the benefits of students studying abroad and how they can publicise these to students. We have also included some useful information targeted at students that you may wish to turn into information sheets. Additionally, the briefing includes information about the European Students Union (ESU) which NUS is a member of along with national unions of students from across Europe.
The NUS Student Experience Report shows that students receive many benefits from studying abroad including greater confidence, becoming more self-reliant as well as improved employment prospects. Ministers of Education from across Europe have been coming together since 1999 to create a European Higher Education Area which has student, graduate and university staff mobility at its core. The Ministers met recently in Belgium at a Summit as part of this “Bologna Process” and highlighted the benefits and importance of studying and working abroad and set the challenging aim of that 20% of those graduating in 2020 should have studied or trained abroad.
You can download the guide in PDF form: here.
NUS Information:
European Students’ Union Information:
Further Information:
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