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A Quick Recap of the Bologna Accord
Signed in 1999, the Bologna Accord outlined the steps European higher education needed to make to adopt a shared model of higher education. The primary aim was to increase competitiveness by increasing graduate mobility, both within and into the European zone. The reforms included—
- creating a system of comparable and easily understandable degrees throughout Europe;
- establishing a clear, uniform division between undergraduate and graduate studies; and
- promoting student mobility among different fields of study, institutions, and nations.
To date, the Bologna Accord has been adopted by 40 European countries—nearly all of continental Europe. The agreement will simplify degree qualifications and nomenclatures; offer more educational choice and mobility; and bring many more potential applicants into the graduate management pipeline. We estimate that, by 2010, more than 2.4 million students will graduate annually with bachelor’s degrees. This influx of potential graduate program applicants represent a major opportunity for continental European graduate management education programs to give the market-dominating U.K. and U.S. programs a serious run for their money.
Introducing Bachelor’s Degrees to Europe
At its heart, the Bologna Accord introduces a break point to the traditional European long-cycle first degree, in which students study for five years, or often longer, to earn a qualification roughly comparable to the master’s degree in the Anglo-American system. Students in European countries where the Accord is in effect will now graduate with a bachelor’s degree after three or four years of study, and then have the option of either continuing in their studies for a master’s degree or directly entering employment. Some European countries, such as Switzerland and the Netherlands, already have adopted the new system, which will be implemented across Europe by 2010.
Achieving convergence around a common model, however, is difficult to achieve, given the long history of unique national qualifications in Europe. Institutions face numerous challenges in such areas as program design, degree nomenclatures, and new methods of competition in an expanded market. The risks are high—institutions that do not live up to the challenges could find their very existence in jeopardy.
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