The Bologna Process is the name of the reform of higher education in Europe, the main goal of which was to build a single European Higher Education Area (EHEA) by 2010. European higher education organized in this way should lead to various synergistic effects, increased competitiveness and greater mobility of students.
The reform was initiated by the famous Bologna Declaration, on June 19, 1999, and rests on a series of documents and declarations that provide the basic principles for the establishment, construction and operation of universities. Our country officially joined the Bologna Process on September 19, 2003, when it committed itself to work towards fulfilling the goals of the Bologna Process.
Bosnia and Herzegovina achieved the greatest progress in the implementation of the Bologna Process by adopting the Framework Law on Higher Education, published in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina in August 2007, and by adopting seven strategic documents that create prerequisites for the implementation of the Bologna reform.
In practical terms, the Bologna Process implies:
- adopting a system of easily understandable, recognizable and comparable academic titles;
- adopting a system with two main study cycles (undergraduate and postgraduate);
- establishment of the ECTAS credit system;
- promoting the effective free movement of students, teachers, research associates and administrative staff;
- promoting and improving European cooperation in quality assurance with the aim of developing comparable criteria and methodologies;
- promoting the European dimension in higher education;
- lifelong learning (lifelong learning);
- more active involvement of students in the reform and management of higher education institutions;
- improving the attractiveness and competitiveness of the European area of higher education
WHAT IS ECTS?
One of the basic "tools" in the construction of a single European area of education is ECTS (European Credit Transfer System), i.e. the European credit transfer system, which enables national systems throughout Europe to facilitate the mobility of students and professors.
ECTS was designed as a unique system that enables easier identification and comparison of different educational programs at universities and other higher education institutions in Europe. The system is based on points ("credits") that express the student's workload in mastering a certain study program. In other words, it is the "weight factor" of a course or study. In order to rationalize the study space in Europe, it was agreed that for one academic year it is necessary to accumulate 60 ECTS points, that is, 30 for a semester or 20 for a trimester. The application of ECTS in university practice contributes to greater mobility of students in the European Higher Education Area, with the possibility of transfer and accumulation of points acquired at different institutions, which creates the initial assumptions of quality inter-university cooperation. And ECTS is not only that. It is also the best indicator of the previous studies that the student has completed, so it is of great importance for employers.
Points, or "credit points", are a key element of ECTS. Points ("credits") are awarded to individual courses, modules and subjects, as well as other forms of mastering the intended study program such as various projects, seminars, studies, experimental works, exams, field works, dissertations, etc. ECTS is a quantitative measure of the student's overall effort in mastering the intended material and is awarded to the student after the successful completion of a specific program.
ECTS is primarily an e-mail instrument for creating transparency of programs offered by higher education institutions and diplomas they issue. ECTS connects institutions in an easier way and thus expands the choice for students. Also, the system makes it easier for educational institutions to recognize the student's results in mastering a specific study program through generally accepted criteria for its evaluation. This ensures a unique approach in the interpretation of national higher education systems throughout Europe. Today, ECTS has wider dimensions compared to the period when it was first established. Namely, it is also a measure of accumulation of points ("credit"), so today you will meet it as ECTAS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System). But basically, the general idea of ECTAS is to enable flexibility and accumulation of points for students, both at their educational institution and in the wider area of academic education.
BA