European Higher Education Area: The Good and the Bad

Abstract

Europe is undertaking a long process of closer political, economic, and social development, which affects the majority of its member states. As a result significant progress is being made in establishing a comprehensive legislative and regulatory body in a wide range of areas of activity. In this vein, in the last 10 years the E.U. has been promoting, encouraging, and favoring a framework of convergence for the organization of university education. In the case of Spain, this organization implies, particularly for the teaching of engineering, not only a profound break with the traditional model of teaching in our country but also with the philosophy of the model of engineer, who seeks to establish both his/her technological and scientific background when he/she enters the world of work. The so-called Bologna process began with the agreement signed in 1999 by 29 ministers of education from various European countries, many of them belonging to the European Union, as well as others such as Russia and Turkey, in the form of what is known as the Bologna Declaration. It was a “joint statement” since the E.U. has no competence in matters of education; however, this initial agreement initiated a process of convergence whose stated aims are to facilitate the exchange of graduates among states and to adapt the content of university courses to social demands. Be that as it may, the Bologna Declaration had, as one of its most immediate manifestations, the creation of the European Higher Education Area, an area that would serve as a reference for the educational reforms that signatory countries should undertake in the first decade of the 21st century. This European Higher Education Area is based on six basic principles: 1. The adoption of an easily intelligible, comparable, and acceptable system of degrees within its zone of influence. 2. The structuring of degree studies into three cycles: a first cycle of a general nature Bachelor’s degree lasting three to four years; a second cycle of specialization Master’s degree lasting one to two years; and a third cycle Doctorate degree . 3. The establishment of an international system of credits: the European Credit Transfer System ECTS . 4. Encouragement of mobility both of students and of teachers and researchers. 5. Encouragement of European cooperation to ensure the quality of higher education. 6. Encouragement of a European dimension for higher education.