EU Cooperation in Higher Education

Education and Culture NC-52-03-304-EN-C EN > Europe by degrees EU cooperation in higher education

Publications Office Publications.eu.int European Commission Directorate-General for Education and Culture Table of contents European Commission Europe by degrees EU cooperation in higher education Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2003 — 16 p. — 17,6 x 25 cm ISBN 92-894-6119-5

Foreword 1

Context 3

Background 4

Challenges 6

Mobility 7

Recognition 11 ploteus.net

Cooperation on curricular reform 12 Ploteus, the portal of the European Commission on learning opportunities will help you find out about education and training available throughout Europe: International cooperation 14 www.ploteus.net

Conclusion 16

Eurydice, the information network on education in Europe, produces reliable, readily comparable information on national education systems and policies: www.eurydice.org

A great deal of additional information on the European Union is available on the Internet. It can be accessed through the Europa server (http://europa.eu.int). See also : www.europa.eu.int/comm/education/index_en.html www.ploteus.net www.eurydice.org The European agency Cedefop can provide you with the latest information www.cedefop.eu.int on vocational education and training in the European Union: Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. www.cedefop.eu.int

Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, 2003

ISBN 92-894-6119-5

Printed in Belgium

PRINTED ON WHITE CHLORINE-FREE PAPER Foreword

‘It's never too late to learn’. Education is a lifelong process and, in the end, an individual responsibility. At the same time, education and training are huge public and private sector responsibilities. Economic, social and cultural developments are greatly dependent on the quality of schools and, especially, higher education.

All European countries are well aware of this and education has moved up the political agenda, accompanied by a great expansion of learning opportunities beyond conventional school-leaving age. Now education systems are under pressure on a number of fronts. Among the challenges they face is increasing internationalisation, in a global economy that calls for qualifications that are of undisputed quality and recognised abroad.

While education remains a national or regional responsibility in the European Union, over the years the Member States have brought it increasingly into the EU sphere, encouraging opportunities to learn or teach abroad, creating European networks and new learning methods, promoting lifelong learning and jointly agreeing education and training targets to be met throughout the EU.

Our potential in Europe is enormous. We have the biggest single market in the world. Thousands of universities produce hundreds of thousands of graduates every year. Many universities, many individual departments, maintain world-class standards of teaching and research. But we do not use this potential to the full. There are still too many barriers to the mobility of students, teachers and researchers. Universities still do not cooperate enough, the transmission of new knowledge to the world of enterprise is not well organised and funding is often inadequate or used inefficiently.

1 Europe by degrees

According to the Treaty on European Union, the EU ‘shall contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between Member States’. With this political mandate, the European Commission has created, launched and nurtured numerous initiatives - such as the popular Socrates-Erasmus programme - to promote closer cooperation in education, increase access to learning opportunities and develop world-class education systems in Europe. This collaborative effort is promoted not just at government or EU level but, vitally, by those in the front line: the staff and students in schools, training institutions and universities.

Working together in government and higher education, we can make the most of our potential and create a ‘Europe of knowledge’ that truly offers the best education in the world.

Viviane Reding Member of the European Commission, responsible for education and culture

2 EU cooperation in higher education

Context

Education is being driven by both economic Yet education in Europe already faces tough and social factors. European Union policy is challenges. Resources are stretched through- focused on the potential of education as a out the public sector. In many countries, means to promote economic growth and attracting and retaining young teachers is create a fairer, more integrated society, becoming harder. Students with the means while giving every individual the best and the ambition increasingly have the opportunities for personal development choice to study anywhere in the world, not throughout life. just in their home country or in Europe.

Faced with globalisation, the emergence of Within this changing context, the EU coun- a knowledge-driven economy and society, tries have taken up the Lisbon challenge, the enlargement of the EU and the devel- increasing their cooperation in the field of opment of a single European employment education in order to learn from each other market, EU leaders at their Lisbon Council and exchange good practice while respec- meeting in 2000 set Europe the ambitious ting the particular character of their 10-year mission of becoming ‘the most national education systems. For today's competitive and dynamic knowledge-based students and young professionals, this economy in the world, capable of sustain- opens up new opportunities for career able growth, with more and better jobs and development across Europe and beyond. greater social cohesion’.

In Barcelona, in March 2002, the Council added that European education and training systems should become a ‘world quality reference’.

The Lisbon strategy relies on a combination of policies based on economic and structural reforms, the promotion of research and innovation, the improvement of elec- tronic services, support for employment policies and ‘social cohesion’. Education evidently has a central role to play in this strategy: the Lisbon summit meeting placed education at the centre of EU policy by emphasising investment in human resources and lifelong learning, and the importance of defining common goals for the development of education.

3 Europe by degrees

Background

The integration of education at European level has helped to establish a into EU policies climate of trust which allowed education ministers of the wider Europe, meeting in The Treaty of Rome in 1958 made no Bologna in 1999, to take a bold commitment mention of education. Only matters related towards creating a European higher educa- to the training of the workforce could be tion area by 2010. addressed at European level and only gradually was it recognised that education The objective of the 'Bologna Declaration' is and training issues should be better inte- to provide access to a Europe-wide higher grated into EU policies. education offer which is transparent and quality-assured. The signatory countries In 1987 the Erasmus programme was agreed to establish comparable degrees launched, promoting inter-university coop- based on two cycles (Bachelor and Master), eration and the mobility of students and promote mobility (studying and teaching staff across the EU. In 1995 the European abroad), and step up cooperation in quality Commission initiated the first Socrates assurance. programme. Unlike Erasmus, Socrates for the first time covered all levels of education The Bologna process is a commitment for all ages. undertaken by some 30 European countries to reform their higher education systems in Over the years, the European programmes a convergent way, with the assistance of the have helped to create thousands of partner- European Commission. ships and hundreds of networks throughout the higher education sector, involving not only students but also rectors, deans, professors, international relations officers, qualifications experts, quality assurance agencies, etc. This process of familiarisation

4 EU cooperation in higher education

THE HISTORICAL EDUCATION POLICY PERSPECTIVE – KEY DATES

Date Event Outcome 1958 Treaty of Rome No mention of education. 1963 Informal meeting of ministers in charge of Creation of two working groups by the Commission training to discuss issues at a European level to reflect on future cooperation. 1971 First meeting of the six ministers of education Adoption of the first resolution on cooperation in to discuss future cooperation in education the field of education. 1973 Presentation of the Janne Report to the Proposals on cooperation in education. European Commission 1974 Creation of Education Committee Representatives of Member States preparing positions for education ministers. 1976 First action programme in the field of Establishment of a programme for studies, research, education educational visits, documentation and statistics. Also created the first basis for Eurydice and Arion, the Lingua and Erasmus programmes. 1987 The Single European Act. Introduction of the notion of human resources as a Launch of the Erasmus programme central policy objective. 1989 Tempus programme EU programme for the development of higher education systems in partner countries. 1992 The Maastricht Treaty – article 126 Introduced education into the EU treaties. 1993-1994 White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and For the first time, education and training are placed Employment at the centre of economic/social/employment policies. 1995 First Socrates programme Brought together and developed existing programmes into an overall action programme in the field of education, with the aim of building a 'Europe of knowledge' and strengthening the 'European dimension' in education. 1996 White Paper on Teaching and Learning – Introduced five major education objectives, putting Towards the Learning Society an emphasis on the recognition of skills, mobility, languages, training, combating exclusion through education, etc. 1997 European employment strategy launched by Added an education dimension to the employment the ministers in charge of employment at a policies of Member States. Council meeting in Luxembourg (Luxembourg process), based on employability, entrepreneurship, adaptability and equal opportunities 1999 The Bologna Declaration signed at the Council Aiming to create a European higher education area of education ministers by 2010, providing high-quality, lifelong learning opportunities without frontiers. 2000 The Lisbon European Council EU to become world's most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010. 2002 The Copenhagen Declaration adopted by the Closer European cooperation in vocational Council of ministers responsible for vocational education and training. education and training 2002 Erasmus Mundus A proposal for a new programme, built around European postgraduate degrees (Masters), increasing the attractiveness of European higher education for our own students and for students and scholars from other continents.

5 Europe by degrees

Challenges

Priorities in higher education Three other priorities have been added since 2001: Under the process first agreed in Bologna in 1999, European countries are working on the • Promotion of lifelong learning. creation of a compatible, coherent and competitive educational system while res- • Higher education institutions and the role pecting each other’s cultural diversity. of students.

The signatory states have initially set six • Promoting the attractiveness of the common action lines: European Higher Education Area.

• Adoption of a system of easily readable and These reflect the need to adapt education to comparable degrees. new challenges worldwide (globalisation, the emergence of new technologies) as well • Adoption of a system based on two cycles as in Europe. They respond to shared (undergraduate and postgraduate). concerns and demonstrate the will to find common solutions. • Establishment of a system of credits. The action programme that emerged from • Promotion of mobility. Bologna is focused on the establishment of a two-cycle system in a common framework • Promotion of European cooperation in for the recognition of qualifications and quality assurance. credits, the promotion of student and teacher mobility, and developing the attrac- • Promotion of the European dimension in tiveness of European education in a higher education. competitive international environment.

6 EU cooperation in higher education

Mobility

Mobility made easy Still, some obstacles to student mobility remain: Travel reputedly broadens the mind. Facili- tating first-hand experience of studying • Lack of information on the exchange abroad in Europe is certainly a fundamental programme and the recognition process. part of the EU's policy, both for students and for education professionals. Erasmus is the • Despite the grants offered by the EU, costs primary and best-known mobility scheme in are still high, especially for applicants for Europe, maybe in the world. It has already countries lacking complementary funding. benefited more than a million students. Tens of thousands of teachers have also taken • Lack of language skills: certain countries advantage of an Erasmus grant. such as the UK and countries which offer studies in English are the most sought- Students on the move after destinations for language reasons. Spain, also offering education in a world While Erasmus allows students to broaden language, is the most popular destination their horizons and benefit from the diver- at present. sity of Europe’s educational systems, the programme is also part of a broader vision to build a Europe of knowledge by promoting lifelong learning, access to education for all and mutual recognition of skills. Through Erasmus, the EU has developed a comprehensive system whereby higher education institutions cooperate via student and teacher exchanges and joint study programmes. Experiences of two Erasmus students Mihaela (Romania): I spent an Erasmus year at the University of Genoa’s Starting in 1987, with an enrolment of Faculty of Architecture. At the end of the course, I also had the opportunity 3,000 students, the Erasmus scheme now to work in a local architect’s office for a few months, benefitting from a annually involves more than a hundred Leonardo da Vinci work placement grant. thousand students at undergraduate, graduate and doctoral level, from 30 parti- The Erasmus Students Group from Genoa introduced me to many other cipating European countries. Erasmus students, which made me realise the fascinating diversity of cultures in Europe. Together we tried to discover the life and customs of Surveys have demonstrated the higher the Italian people. My life has been significantly enhanced by the Erasmus employability rate of former Erasmus experience – academically, personally and professionally. students. Approximately one third of Mats (Sweden): Going to London for three months with Erasmus gave me Erasmus students have received a job offer a real chance to experience and understand foreign cultures and ways of life. in the countries in which they carried out their Erasmus studies, with one fifth staying As a future doctor, I experienced the possibility of dealing with medical on to work. problems in different ways. My Erasmus exchange encouraged me to continue seeking international experiences and contacts, a quest that I believe will be lifelong.

After my Erasmus mobility, I completed my studies in the USA and I am currently working as a physician in Stockholm.

7 Europe by degrees

Erasmus in the EU institutional In October 2002, the European institutions structure and the 30 countries participating in Socrates-Erasmus celebrated reaching the Since 1995 Erasmus has been part of the milestone of one million Erasmus students, Socrates programme. Today, 30 countries together with higher education institutions participate: Member States, EEA countries, and academic and student organisations. On acceding and candidate countries. this occasion, the European Commissioner for education and culture, Viviane Reding, Erasmus has provided a system for the set a new objective: to triple the number of recognition of courses completed by students Erasmus students by 2010. She urged public abroad — the European Credit Transfer and private sponsors to join forces and make System, ECTS — whereby study credits can be this objective a reality. The Commissioner accumulated, at home or abroad, towards a also launched the Erasmus Student Charter, degree or diploma. a ‘mobility card’ that draws students’ atten- tion to their obligations and their rights, Erasmus also supports the joint develop- notably free tuition and full recognition of ment of new study programmes and studies abroad. modules, intensive programmes such as summer courses, and thematic networks — The rights and obligations of participating large groups of universities working on institutions are also now laid down in a themes of common interest involving document called the Erasmus University professional organisations in their field. Charter. Institutions that have been awarded the charter are eligible for parti- The Commission offers grants for Erasmus cipation in the Erasmus scheme and funding students, partially offsetting their expenses from the Commission. such as travel, language preparation and the cost of living, for a period of up to 12 months.

8 EU cooperation in higher education

Teachers across borders • Adding an international/European dimension to a teacher’s work. The Socrates-Erasmus programme is not only about student mobility, it also encourages • Being part of a network and building higher education teaching staff to travel transnational cooperation projects. abroad. Teacher mobility within Erasmus includes teaching periods abroad of two All Socrates-Erasmus activities concerning weeks on average. higher education aim at integrating a European dimension within the higher Any higher education teacher can apply for a education institutions' academic programmes mobility grant from the EU. The number of and adding a European perspective to their teachers taking part in Erasmus has increased courses. since 1997 from approximately 8,000 to 16,000. The most popular destinations have Intensive programmes offer an opportunity been Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK. to bring together students and staff to focus, during two weeks on average, on subjects Like student mobility, teacher mobility is that might not otherwise be taught for these managed at decentralised level by the students with this intensity. Socrates-Erasmus National Agencies in each country. Other mobility opportunities are available to teachers in other parts of the Socrates Under Erasmus, teaching staff mobility is programme, specifically in the areas of aimed at: schools or languages.

• Providing opportunities for professional updating and development.

• Encouraging institutions to broaden and enrich the range of courses they offer.

• Allowing students who cannot participate in mobility schemes to benefit from the knowledge and skills of staff from other European countries.

• Strengthening relationships between insti- An Erasmus teacher's experience tutions in different countries. Tomas (Czech Republic): In 2000, I was given a chance to spend six months • Fostering exchanges of expertise and expe- at the Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) in Ireland as a PhD student and rience in teaching methods. lecturer. During this period, I worked on a project relating to my thesis and participated as a lecturer in the maths and computing department.

• Enhancing the international profile of the The time I spent in Ireland was not just an experience that contributed to teacher’s department. my career, but added an essential element to my background: the understanding of the international environment I was plunged into. I have continued to build on that knowledge since my return.

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Researchers without frontiers Virtual mobility: e-learning

Taking full advantage of the potential offered While some EU e-learning actions are by European research, increasing the number funded through existing programmes such and quality of researchers and then as Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci, in late supporting them in their studies, and 2002 the Commission also proposed to stemming the brain drain, are just some of launch a specific eLearning programme the numerous challenges faced by the EU in with new objectives until 2006. This the area of research. programme is focused on promoting digital and media literacy, virtual campuses and The EU has begun laying the foundations for online school-twinning throughout Europe. its vision of a European research area in It aims to ensure that schools and higher which researchers can improve on and gain education institutions across Europe make support for their activities by working with greater and better use of information and colleagues in other Member States. This is communication technology (ICT) for educa- being promoted through the EU’s 6th tional purposes. It provides funding for Framework Programme for Research and developing innovative projects, encourages Technological Development. the exchange of good practice and promotes cooperation projects in education with In this context, the Commission’s Marie Curie networks, associations and other public or programme has been supporting European private partners. The goal is to advance the researcher mobility since its launch in 1984. educational benefits of ICT, especially for It is aimed at the development and transfer less computer-literate people. of research skills, the consolidation and widening of researchers’ career prospects and With regard to higher education, the the promotion of excellence in European programme will help support joint ‘virtual research. campuses’. Such campuses are aimed at developing joint online courses, promoting Marie Curie grants are available to students’ virtual mobility and offering a researchers at any stage in their careers and real/virtual mix of curricula. Networking of in all fields covering scientific or techno- virtual higher education institutions in logical issues. The programme is open to Europe will be encouraged, as will the devel- private companies, higher education insti- opment of sustainable e-learning models in tutions and research institutions. higher education. A student who is to embark on an Erasmus course might prepare and consolidate the experience through online activities, for example, remote learning and tutoring with teachers from his/her hosting university or cooperating with peer students.

10 EU cooperation in higher education

Recognition

Students are seeking courses and qualifica- A single market tions abroad which really count for something in their CVs. To facilitate recog- EU citizens have the right to establish them- nition of qualifications and periods of selves in any Member State. The recognition foreign study, the EU is promoting four of professional qualifications is fundamental instruments: if they are to exercise their professions outside their home countries and still • The European Credit Transfer System benefit from the same rights and obligations (ECTS) makes courses transparent and as national professionals. facilitates the recognition of study periods abroad. It is now being transformed into At present, a series of EU directives provide a credit accumulation system for lifelong rules for the recognition of regulated learning that will make it easy to validate professions across Europe. In 2002, the all learning and give it a place in a Commission launched a proposal for an EU framework of qualifications, whether it is directive regrouping the existing ones. This acquired through formal or informal proposal develops a single, consistent, legal education, internships, work or just framework for the free movement of quali- personal experience in the 'university of fied workers between Member States which, life'. The idea is that no learning should be while maintaining the guarantees afforded lost and it should all count towards formal by each of the existing recognition systems, qualifications, if so wished. standardises the rules as far as possible. The proposed directive will replace the current • The Diploma Supplement is an annex to 15 existing directives covering the recogni- a higher education qualification describing tion of diplomas and qualifications. the context, level, nature, content and status of the studies completed.

• The European CV is a standardised form, offered on a voluntary basis by the Commission, which makes it easier for employers in particular to understand the experiences and abilities of candidates from different EU countries.

• EUROPASS, developed for vocational education and training, is a standard EU information document attesting to work placements abroad.

11 Europe by degrees

Cooperation on curricular reform

Universities need to update their study Typically involving 100-150 universities programmes constantly in order to keep pace along with professional associations and with developments in research and the research organisations in a particular field, changing needs of society, notably as regards their aim has always been to emphasise the the labour market. European Commission teaching dimension of university activity. initiatives help universities to cooperate in Many institutional synergies have been carrying out this difficult task, to learn from created within and outside the academic experiences abroad and to pool resources community, based on the mobilisation of Europe-wide. The main instruments are the university faculties and departments, Socrates-Erasmus thematic networks and responsible for drafting and implementing curriculum development projects. One teaching and scientific policies. particularly promising project for curricular reform is called ‘Tuning educational In curriculum development projects, small structures in Europe’ (see opposite). groups of three to ten universities work together for one or two years to develop a Thematic networks were launched in 1996 new study programme or module, with the under the Socrates-Erasmus programme to aim of implementing it in their curricula. help higher education institutions create Often the implementation is also carried out fora to analyse and study the state of in a collaborative manner between the development of the various education and partner institutions concerned, and they training fields in Europe, in order to make use of Erasmus student and staff encourage the European dimension and mobility and intensive programmes to help improve the quality of education and implement the transnational component of training. They were also created to deal with the new curriculum. forward-looking, strategic reflection on the scientific, educational and institutional issues in the main fields of higher education.

12 EU cooperation in higher education

The Tuning project 'Competences' describe what a learner knows in theory and is able to do in prac- ‘Tuning educational structures in Europe’ is tice on the labour market. They provide a an EU-backed university initiative coordi- common language for describing learning nated by the universities of Deusto (Spain) without interfering in the organisation of and Groningen (The Netherlands). Some 135 the university and the method of teaching. universities are participating in this project, Agreement on core competences will facil- which addresses notably the adoption of a itate the comparison and recognition of system of easily readable and comparable degrees, whilst respecting the autonomy of degrees and the adoption of a two-cycle the university and its capacity to innovate system. More specifically, the project aims at and experiment. 'Competence descriptors' identifying generic and subject-specific will assist universities in curriculum devel- competences for first and second cycle opment and can also be used for internal studies in nine subject areas (business and external quality assurance. studies, education sciences, geology, history, mathematics, chemistry, physics, European studies and nursing) and provides a metho- dology for analysing common elements and differences.

13 Europe by degrees

International cooperation

The growing internationalisation of educa- The Tempus programme tion requires higher education systems to open up, not only within Europe but to the In 1990 Tempus, a trans-European pro- rest of the world. Over the years, the EU has gramme of cooperation in higher education, developed different approaches to its was established to help the process of social external action in the field of education: the and economic reform in Central and Eastern first through what can be described as Europe. The programme has been renewed development aid programmes, using twice and is now in its third phase (2000- networks to encourage the development of 2006). During this period, the programme’s higher education systems in partner coun- geographical scope has changed. Some of its tries. The Tempus programme is an example original participants are now about to join of this. the EU. Today, the programme covers 27 countries from Eastern Europe and Central A second approach aims at encouraging Asia, the Western Balkans and, since its last multilateral cooperation between higher extension in 2002, the non-EU Mediterra- education institutions in Europe and part- nean countries. Its main objective continues ners in developed countries, to encourage a to be the reform and upgrading of partner collaborative search for responses to countries’ higher education systems; common challenges. The best examples of however, there is now much greater this are the EU's agreements with the USA emphasis on its potential as an instrument and Canada. to strengthen intercultural dialogue.

The EU is now working on a third approach, Tempus encourages institutions in the based on encouraging the development of a Member States and partner countries to European academic offer - a 'made in engage in structured multilateral cooperation Europe' higher education - thereby bringing through the establishment of ‘consortia’. education systems closer together and These consortia implement joint European raising the profile of Europe as an attractive projects which seek to address specific destination for students from around the needs in the field of higher education, or use world. cooperation in this field to address other issues such as the reinforcement of civil Finally, e-learning brings the international society. dimension of education to the same level as the national: classes can exchange informa- Tempus also provides mobility grants to tion and experiences online with the rest of individuals working in higher education. the world just as they can with their neigh- These grants are not driven by the personal bours. The impact of this opening up to the interest of the applicants, but rather by that world has been seen in a number of high- of the institutions they work for and by the profile cases, but its impact on the systems objectives of the programme (reform and as a whole has yet to be measured. upgrading of higher education systems). A new set of structural and complementary measures introduced in 2003 encourage information, training and pilot projects, completing the range of possibilities offered by the programme.

14 EU cooperation in higher education

Tempus is linked to partner countries’ Erasmus Mundus higher education policies through a series of priorities set in close cooperation with Now a new initiative, the Erasmus Mundus their national authorities. programme, has been proposed by the Commission to promote cooperation and International agreements mobility between the EU and the rest of the world. Since 1990, specific cooperation schemes with the United States and Canada have Erasmus Mundus is built around Masters also been put into place. Following the courses that would have a strong external signature of Transatlantic Declarations, orientation. A scholarship scheme for incom- formal agreements were concluded in ing third country students and academics October 1995 to set up cooperation pro- would be linked to them. Through partner- grammes in higher education and vocational ships with third country higher education training. New agreements were concluded institutions, the postgraduate courses would in 2000, renewing the cooperation pro- also allow outgoing mobility for European grammes until 2005. students and scholars. The programme would aim to raise the international appeal The programmes support student-centred of European higher education by setting projects carried out by multilateral part- high standards of cooperation and attrac- nerships. They especially promote innovative ting highly qualified students and scholars and sustainable transatlantic partnerships, from around the world. It would also the exchange of best practice in curriculum provide an incentive for the convergence of development, credit transfer and recogni- degree structures in higher education in tion, student and staff mobility, e-learning, Europe, by encouraging cooperation at open and distance education. Masters levels and the award of joint or double diplomas. Using the model developed with the USA and Canada, the Commission has also As a flagship programme to support inter- launched joint pilot cooperation initiatives national awareness of European academic in the higher education (focusing on credit excellence, Erasmus Mundus would also recognition and student mobility) involving help Europe build friendships around the Japan and Australia, with a view to explor- world by promoting dialogue and under- ing the potential for lasting future standing based on freedom, democracy and cooperation arrangements. respect for human rights.

15 Europe by degrees

Conclusion

Higher education institutions are crucial to • Recognition of diplomas and periods of the EU's overall ambitions for 2010 and in study would strongly benefit from the early 2003 the Commission put forward its existence of a European qualifications thinking on The role of the universities in framework, complemented by a coherent the Europe of knowledge(1) to spur them to system of quality assurance. Both would become more competitive on the world help to create a climate of trust based on stage. transparency. Recognition would also benefit from the ratification and appli- • As regards quality assurance, all signatory cation of the Lisbon Recognition states need to have systems in operation Convention. By 2005, all graduating by 2005. At European level, agreed sets of students should receive the diploma standards, procedures and guidelines for supplement, issued in a widely spoken external evaluations should be worked European language and free of charge. To out and quality assurance agencies promote this objective, the Commission should be subject to some form of inde- has introduced a diploma supplement pendent, objective monitoring. 'label' for universities already fulfilling this requirement. • All countries should have started implementing the two-cycle system by 2005. • And the Commission would welcome The legal and practical conditions should proposals to make student loans and be in place and students must be able to grants portable, to enable students to enrol in the new-style programmes of carry out short periods of study or full their choosing. The new degrees should fit cycles in other European countries. into national qualifications frameworks, allowing students, under well-defined conditions, to move between different types of formal, non-formal and informal learning. The national qualifications frameworks would relate to the emerging European qualifications framework, based on a common understanding of learning outcomes and competences acquired by graduates.

(1) COM(2003) 58 final of 05.02.2003

16 Table of contents European Commission Europe by degrees EU cooperation in higher education Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities 2003 — 16 p. — 17,6 x 25 cm ISBN 92-894-6119-5