Same reforms, different implementation

The Bologna reforms to the structure of European higher education are nearing completion, according to a major survey of universities to be presented to a ministerial summit in May. But it is less clear that the reforms are having the desired effects, suggesting that further work will be required to establish a European higher education area beyond the target date of 2010.

The main element of the Bologna reforms is harmonisation of degree structures into three cycles, the first a bachelor degree, the second a masters, the third a doctorate. According to the Trends V report, compiled by the European University Association (EUA), 82% of institutions now report that this structure is in place, a dramatic increase on the 53% reported in 2003.

But behind the figures are signs that things are not so straightforward. "Although the degree structures have changed, the fact that every country does something a bit differently means that you can’t just say that now Europe will have a harmonised system," says David Crosier, who oversaw the report for the EUA.

For example, in Germany the new structure is being introduced in parallel with the country’s existing system, rather than replacing it, while in Belgium and the Netherlands post-master courses are still offered that lie somewhere between cycles two and three.

"It’s not that Bologna is not being implemented, it’s just that everyone is doing it in the way they think best for their system," explains Crosier. While these are not dramatic problems, it means that the pan-European benefits of harmonisation are harder to realise and require further work on the articulation between national systems.

The behaviour of universities is also contributing to the gap between reform and its benefits, particularly when it comes to student mobility. "Perhaps there was some naivety in thinking that if we could just change our degree structures increased mobility would automatically follow," says Crosier. "I think that is proving not to be the case."

With university funding in many countries dependent on student numbers, there is a tendency for institutions to cling on to students moving from the bachelor to the master level rather than encourage them to move elsewhere. A drastic solution would be to stop directly funding institutions for master programmes, something the EUA does not advocate. Instead, it wants to see the strict link between funding and student numbers relaxed.

"If mobility really is the goal, then if you have students going to a second cycle course in another country perhaps governments should think at least of not penalising the institutions where that happens," says Crosier.

Some sort of intervention is also indicated to address the imbalance in student mobility that is apparent even in the incomplete data available to the EUA. "There is quite clear evidence that a number of central and eastern European countries are losing students in significant numbers," says Crosier. "While that’s not necessarily a bad thing from the point of view of the individual students, it has societal consequences that need to be thought about. When you combine the demographic changes that are coming up in a lot of these countries - the ageing society and loss of population - with the young academic class leaving, they are moving quickly to a very difficult situation. If we are talking seriously about a European higher education area there needs to be some European responsibility for that."

• Ian Mundell is a freelance journalist based in Brussels.

The Bologna reforms to the structure of European higher education are nearing completion, according to a major survey of universities to be presented to a ministerial summit in May. But it is less clear that the reforms are having the desired effects, suggesting that further work will be required to establish a European higher education area beyond the target date of 2010.