Ministers seek an all-inclusive deal

A push to broaden the social inclusiveness of European higher education will be top of the agenda when ministers meet in London in May to discuss progress on reforms to the so-called Bologna process on harmonisation of award systems. But governments are likely to be spared strict monitoring with indicators, instead being allowed to set their own targets.

The ‘social dimension’ has always received some rhetorical attention in the Bologna process, but the early indications from the working groups preparing for next year’s summit are that more substantive attention is about to be introduced.

"Governments are first of all going to be asked to adopt an objective for the social dimension," explains David Crosier, who monitors the process for the European Universities Association, a consultative member of the Bologna Follow-Up Group. "This is the subject of discussion at the moment, but it is likely to talk about the ministers sharing the aspiration that the student body which enters and completes higher education should better reflect the diversity of the population. In other words, the social dimension is being regarded in terms of the actions that governments can take to widen participation as well as to increase participation."

But there will not be a common set of indicators for this social inclusiveness objective as there are for other aspects of the Bologna process, such as the implementation of the three cycles for degrees - bachelors, masters and doctorates. Instead, governments will be asked to identify their own priorities to achieve the objective and to follow them up with strategic policies and national action plans, which would include provisions for monitoring.

This will also have the effect of targeting resources. "The thinking is that if we are in a climate in Europe where we want to foster social cohesion and reduce inequality, resources need to be shifted to those who have the greatest need rather than thinking about, necessarily, all students equally," says Crosier.

"It’s not about everyone getting equal treatment, it’s about ensuring that those with greatest need are dealt with."

The other big theme at the London summit is likely to be the external dimension, or how European higher education can be promoted to the rest of the world. Although the importance of this issue has been clear from the discussions during 2006, it is not yet clear what action is required. "A lot of countries in Bologna at the moment see international relations and the external dimension discussion in terms of how their individual national systems relate to the rest of the world," says Crosier, "whereas the challenge is to look at how the European Higher Education Area relates to the rest of the world." Similarly individual institutions are concerned with their international market rather than promoting Europe more generally.

The likeliest subject of disagreement at the meeting is the potential for conflict and confusion in having two quality frameworks for higher education in Europe, one under Bologna and the other in the EU alone. There have also been lively discussions during the year on establishing a register of quality assessment agencies that can certify university courses. Outstanding questions include how exclusive listing criteria should be, and how the bureaucracy associated with a register can be kept to a minimum.

The meeting is likely to kick-start the debate over Bologna reforms after 2010. This will come down to whether to continue the existing voluntary approach or establish something more structured and regulated.

• Ian Mundell is a freelance journalist based in Brussels.

A push to broaden the social inclusiveness of European higher education will be top of the agenda when ministers meet in London in May to discuss progress on reforms to the so-called Bologna process on harmonisation of award systems. But governments are likely to be spared strict monitoring with indicators, instead being allowed to set their own targets.