The Bologna Process is an intergovernmental higher education reform process that includes 49 European countries and a number of European organisations, including EUA. Its main purpose is to enhance the quality and recognition of European higher education systems and to improve the conditions for exchange and collaboration within Europe, as well as internationally.
Launched in 1998-1999, the Bologna Process established goals for reform in the participating countries, such as the three-cycle degree structure (bachelor, master’s, doctorate), and adopted shared instruments, such as the European Credits Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) and the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG).
When the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) was announced in 2010, all participating parties agreed to continue the Bologna Process, as many of the established goals were not fully implemented in all countries. Over the years, the Bologna Process has grown into a Europe-wide policy platform for coordinated higher education reform. It addresses new topics, such as fundamental values and learning and teaching; as well as its longstanding commitments, which require continued attention.
EUA believes in the added value of the EHEA, as a means to enhance European higher education collaboration and exchange and to provide better education to a growing and more diverse studentship. Since its beginning, EUA has been engaged with the Bologna Process as a Consultative Member in the Bologna Follow-Up Group (BFUG), representing universities.
Bringing the Bologna Process closer to the universities, and ensuring that it provides tangible improvement, is a key goal. EUA engages in dialogue and cooperation with members and partners, also beyond Europe, to explain and promote the Bologna Process, and to contribute to building the frameworks and conditions European universities need to thrive.
EUA supports the Bologna key commitments to ensure that all countries fully implement the three-cycle system, quality assurance, and the smooth recognition of qualifications and study periods. EUA works on a wider range of issues that are of central importance for the EHEA and its universities, such as mobility, governance, learning and teaching, and the social dimension of higher education. A central goal is to enable and enhance compliance and complementarity with the European Union’s European Education and Research Areas.
As the Bologna Process enters its third decade, EUA invites members and partners to join forces to ensure its success.
On 19 November 2020, the EHEA Ministerial Conference took place, resulting in the Rome Communiqué. It addresses the Bologna Process’s 2030 vision and sets the agenda for the working period 2021-2024, with the secretariat and the Ministerial Conference to be hosted by Albania.
In its 2020 statement published ahead of the Ministerial Conference, EUA called for the Bologna Process to better address social inclusion and equity, as well as university values, and welcomed the Bologna Process’s stronger emphasis on the transformation of learning and teaching, amongst other things.
Since 1999, the EUA Trends Reports have provided data and analysis on how the Bologna Process reforms are implemented at universities across Europe. The reports, which are usually published in conjunction with the EHEA Ministerial Conferences, are based on questionnaires to university leaders, complemented by focus groups and interviews. They provide an institutional perspective to European higher education policy discussions, and have become an important source of information for policy makers and the higher education community alike.
The 2018 Trends report focused on mapping developments in learning and teaching, a topic that is becoming ever more important at institutions and in policy discussions across Europe. EUA plans to issue the next Trends Report in time for the 2024 EHEA Ministerial Conference.
EUA has been an active contributor to the Bologna Process since its start 20 years ago. The present position paper welcomes the recent progress in the development of the European Higher Education Area, on the occasion of the Bologna Process Ministerial Conference on 19 November.
In recent years, higher education provision has been changing rapidly, including the mainstreaming of e-learning, the emergence of micro-credentials, the launch of the European Universities Initiative, and the renewed importance of the third mission of higher education institutions.
In response to the European Commission’s public consultation to evaluate the European Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (EQF), the European University Association (EUA) has developed a set of recommendations on the future development of qualifications frameworks. EUA has long played...
view moreThe "Bologna Hub Peer Support II" project, funded by Erasmus+ and the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, aims at fostering the implementation of the Bologna key commitments at Higher Education Institutions (HEI) throughout the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). During two...
view moreAs the European Universities Initiative moves into a new phase, EUA has taken stock of its impact...
read moreOn 14 June the kick-off meeting of a project to establish a new European RPL (Recognition of Prior Learning) Network took place in Vienna, hosted by the Austrian Quality Assurance Agency (AQ Austria). This initiative is a part of the Austrian 3-IN-AT-PLUS project, which runs from March 2022 to...
view moreAmid renewed political interest in transnational university collaboration, notably joint...
read moreEU education ministers welcome the European Strategy for Universities and have confirmed their support for the four priority areas in the higher education package put forward by the European Commission in January 2022. At the 5 April meeting of the Education Council, ministers placed greater...
view moreOn 17 May 2021, the Education Ministers of EU member states adopted Council Conclusions on the European Universities Initiative. The Council Conclusions come at a crucial point as the mid-term evaluation of the first 17 alliances is approaching and important decisions will soon have to be made...
view moreIn response to the Covid-19 crisis, higher education institutions around the world adjusted their...
read moreThe “Spotlight on recognition” project has launched a series of activities and opportunities to engage. The project, co-funded by Erasmus+, is coordinated by EUA and will be of interest to higher education professionals and other stakeholders working in the field of recognition. The...
view moreMicro-credentials have attracted interest as a means to increase the effectiveness and flexibility...
read moreEUA is pleased to present a seven-part webinar series on the different areas of work in the Bologna Process. The series is composed of seven webinars and will run from 29 September until 1 December. With the next Bologna Ministerial Meeting taking place in Rome on 18-20 November, it is timely...
view moreThe E4 Group (ENQA, EUA, EURASHE and ESU) has issued a joint statement reinforcing the relevance of the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). The statement, “The ESG in the changing landscape of higher education”, reinforces the purpose and...
view moreThe seminar “Recognition, transparency and information provision in the time of Covid-19: the role of Higher Education institutions”, organised in the context of the Bologna Process, will take place online on 18 June from 9:30 to 12:45 CEST. The objective of the seminar is to share...
view moreOn 7 November the first 17 alliances of the European Universities Initiative were launched in Brussels in the presence of some 800 representatives of universities, university associations, student, national ministries and the European Commission. EUA President Michael Murphy addressed the...
view moreMariya Gabriel, Commissioner-designate for Innovation and Youth, was well-received during her official hearing in the European Parliament on 30 September. As the College of Commissioners awaits final approval, Gabriel has already begun meetings with key stakeholders. This week she sat down with...
view moreThe European Commission is organising an event on the European Universities Initiative on 7 November 2019 in Brussels. It will be the kick-off for the 17 European university alliances that were selected through the first pilot call and an occasion to present their projects to the public. In an...
view moreOn 26 June, the European Commission announced the results of the first pilot call for “European Universities”. Out of 54 applications, 17 networks involving 114 higher education institutions from 25 countries have been selected for funding. Each of them will receive up to €5 million over...
view moreThe event "The Bologna Process goes Global: fundamental values of the EHEA beyond 2020" will be held in Bologna on 24 and 25 June 2019. The Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, jointly with the Italian Ministry for Education, Universities and Research, under...
view moreThe partners of the project ‘Linking academic recognition and quality assurance’ (LIREQA) have published recommendations on how fair and effective academic recognition practices can be supported through internal and external quality assurance. Separate recommendations are aimed at...
view moreThe annual European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF), co-organised by ENQA, ESU, EUA and EURASHE...
view moreIn recent years, the enhancement of learning and teaching has become a priority, not only for...
read moreEUA is pleased to present “Trends 2018: Learning and teaching in the European Higher Education Area”. This flagship report gathers data from more than 300 higher education institutions in 48 European countries. Trends 2018 examines how learning and teaching at European higher education...
view moreTrends 2018 examines how learning and teaching at European higher education institutions evolves...
read moreAt its meeting on 12 June 2018, the Board of the European University Association (EUA) welcomed the new political momentum of the Bologna Process resulting from the Ministerial Conference in Paris (23-25 May) and the adoption of the Paris Communiqué. The Board now urges European rectors’...
view moreOn 25 May, European education ministers adopted the Paris Communiqué at the Bologna Process Ministerial Conference. It takes on topics already discussed in the Yerevan Communiqué such as implementation, learning and teaching, digitalisation and academic and civic...
view moreOn 22 May, the European Commission launched the second part of its ambitious...
read moreOn 22 May, the European Commission published the second education package including further proposals for the creation of a “European Education Area” by 2025. EUA welcomes the package, as it is an important step in giving life to the EU’s goals in the sector and agrees to the overall...
view moreAs the Bologna Process looks towards its third decade, EUA has published a statement focusing on how to further the Process’s achievements and enhance its ability to respond to a changing higher education landscape. The document comes as the Bologna Process prepares to hold its 2018...
view moreAs the Bologna Process looks towards its third decade, EUA has published a...
read moreThe inHERE (Higher Education Supporting Refugees in Europe) project consortium is pleased to...
view moreWith the present paper, the European University Association (EUA) responds to the European...
read moreAbstract The implementation of the Bologna reform in the Croatian context has led to a number of issues with reforming and delivering doctoral education, including a lack of research qualifications other than PhDs, unusually large admission quotas, low graduation rates, long time to graduation,...
read moreThe European University Association (EUA) applauds the European Commission’s proposal to put education front and centre on Europe’s social agenda. With its Communication on “Strengthening European Identity through Education and Culture”, published ahead of the European Social...
read moreWith this statement EUA responds to the Communication of the European Commission on a Renewed EU Agenda for Higher Education published on 30 May 2017. The Renewed Agenda is a follow-up to the 2011 Modernisation Agenda, and is the first major communication by the Juncker Commission...
read moreThe European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), European Students’ Union (ESU), European University Association (EUA), European Association of Institutions in Higher Education (EURASHE) and European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education...
read moreEUA reports regularly on two policy areas which have implications for higher education institutions: EU trade agreements and EU legislation on the recognition of professional qualifications. As the globalisation of higher education gathers pace and as potential EU trade agreements proliferate,...
read moreUpdate n.14 on EU legislation on the recognition of professional qualifications, February 2016.
read moreIn 2012-2014, EUA was part of the stakeholder group that revised the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). This work resulted in the current ESG, which were adopted by the ministers in charge of higher education in May 2015. The...
read moreEUA has a long record of working on quality assurance (QA) in Europe and has supported its members in developing their internal QA systems through a variety of activities. Many of these activities have been co-funded by the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme...
read moreTrends 2015 is the seventh in the series of Trends reports published by the European University...
read moreThe first results of U-Multirank (UMR), a multi-dimensional ranking of higher education institutions produced with seed funding from the European Commission, were unveiled on 13 May 2014. UMR has also been discussed by EUA’s governing bodies on a number of occasions and these...
read moreThis publication intends to provide observations on and recommendations for enhancing the complementarity between higher education mobility policies at the institutional, national and European level. A collaborative venture by the European University Association (EUA) and the...
read moreThe publication “Rankings in Institutional Strategies and Processes (RISP): Impact or Illusion?” is the outcome of a 2.5 year EUA-led project, which has carried out the first pan-European study of the impact and influence of rankings on European higher education...
read moreCreated in 1994, IEP (Institutional Evaluation Programme) is an independent membership service of the European University Association (EUA) which has carried out over 300 institutional evaluations in higher education institutions (HEI), in Europe and worldwide, and a number of system-level...
read moreThe first EUA report on “Global university rankings and their impact” was published in June 2011. Its purpose was to inform universities about the methodologies and potential impact of the most popular international or global rankings already in existence. This second report was...
read moreQuality assurance and doctoral education have been elements of the Bologna Process since the 2003 ministerial meeting in Berlin, but until rather recently, they have been developing on two different tracks. The basic principles governing both, the Standards and Guidelines for Quality...
read moreThe present study aims at providing an overview of the tracking initiatives of students and graduates in Europe. As a first study of this kind, its aim was to map the state of play, and provide factual information on reasons, uses and methods for tracking. While the study considers...
read moreAt the end of first decade of the Bologna Process, there was an acute awareness that academic mobility in the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) had probably not improved as anticipated, but also that existing data sources were not sufficient to assess this. The launch of a 20% benchmark for...
read moreIn October 2009, the European University Association (EUA), together with its partners, the German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) and QAA Scotland, launched a project entitled: “Examining Quality Culture in Higher Education Institutions” (EQC). The EQC project...
read moreEUA response to European Commission’s Consultation on Green Paper COM(2011) 367, 10...
read moreLe présent rapport a été établi à la demande de l’EUA en raison du nombre croissant de classements internationaux et nationaux dans l’enseignement supérieur, en réponse aux demandes de plus en plus nombreuses d’informations et...
read moreThe project "Examining Quality Culture in Higher Education Institutions" (EQC) aimed to provide an overview of the internal quality assurance processes in place within higher education institutions across Europe and tackled the question of how they have responded to Part 1 of the...
read moreEUA commissioned this report in response to the growth in international and national rankings, as a result of increasing questions from member institutions requesting information and advice on the nature of these rankings, because of the interest shown by national governments in ranking...
read moreEUA response to European Commission’s Consultation Paper on the Professional...
read moreThe project “Examining Quality Culture in Higher Education Institutions” (EQC) aims to identify institutional processes and structures that support the development of an internal quality culture. The study bases its understanding of “quality culture” on the...
read morePresentation on the Evaluation of the Professional Qualifications Directive – presentation...
read moreThe Bologna Process and DIR 2005/36/EC: the points of divergence - presentation by Howard Davies,...
read moreTrends reports are generally timed with the biannual ministerial meetings and track...
read moreConcerns about the relationship between quality assurance processes and creativity and how quality assurance, whether internal or external, can either enhance or stifle innovative practices and creativity within higher education institutions (HEIs) was picked up as a main question for...
read moreThis EUA report gives a detailed overview of the development of Master degrees in Europe. Based on a wide-ranging survey of European students, universities (leaders and academics) and employers, it specifically looks at how Master programmes in Europe have developed a decade after the Bologna...
read moreUpdate n.1 on EU legislation on the recognition of professional qualifications, April 2008.
read moreReport on the sectoral professions. EUA Workshop 17 October 2007.
read moreBackground note on Qualifications in the Sectoral Professions, Directive 2005-36-EC and the...
read moreTrends V provides the most comprehensive view available of the state of European higher education - as seen by higher education institutions themselves. Indeed, more than 900 European higher education institutions contributed to this report, either by responding to a wide-ranging...
read moreThis report is the result of a four-year project, which involved 134 higher education institutions grouped in 18 networks. The major aim of the project was to identify how internal quality culture can be developed and embedded in institutions. The project report highlights...
read moreThese Guidelines for Quality Enhancement in European Joint Master Programmes are addressed to all higher education institutions either considering or actually running joint programmes. It is the outcome of the follow-up to EUA’s 2003-2004 Joint Masters Project, which highlighted a number...
read moreThe Institutional Evaluation Programme of the European University Association (EUA) was launched in 1993 and has evaluated over 110 universities in 35 countries. The evaluation reports offer a wealth of insights and recommendations which were waiting to be tapped. At the...
read moreTendencias IV es el único estudio completo elaborado en Europa que analiza la respuesta de las universidades a los retos que plantea la puesta en marcha de las reformas de Bolonia. El estudio pone de manifiesto que existe un interés general en estas reformas, describe que se ha conseguido hasta...
read moreLe rapport Trends IV constitue la seule analyse à l’échelle européenne sur la manière dont les universités répondent aux défis de la mise en oeuvre des réformes de Bologne. Témoignant d’un large soutien à la...
read moreThe Glasgow Convention provided the opportunity for over 600 EUA members and partners from over 40 countries to come together and take stock of progress made so far in developing the European Higher Education Area, as well to discuss the challenges that lie ahead. Based upon the results of the...
read moreTendències IV proporciona l’única anàlisi d’àmbit europeu sobre la manera com les universitats responen als reptes de la implementació de les reformes de Bolonya. Després de constatar el suport que ha rebut arreu la reforma, l’informe descriu els avenços assolits i identifica les...
read moreIf we want universities to make a leap in transnational cooperation, policymakers must take their...
read moreEnhancing the social dimension of higher education has been a central pillar of the Bologna...
read moreMicro-credentials are expected to widen participation in higher education by supporting inclusion...
read moreThe European Commission aims at developing a “European strategy for universities” to strengthen...
read moreOn the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the European University Association, Andrée Sursock...
read moreStudents from disadvantaged and marginalised backgrounds still struggle to participate in higher...
read moreWe enter into a New Year, a world more enriched and more impoverished than just 12 months ago. We...
read moreFair recognition in the European Higher Education Area can only be fully achieved if practices in...
read moreThe European Commission should learn from the Bologna process, which has shown how universities...
read moreMicro-credentials are growing exponentially in popularity, attracting the interest of various...
read moreThe idea of a European degree is fascinating and attractive, but it also raises many conceptual...
read moreIn the coming academic year, virtual mobility might be the only reliable option for some...
read moreAs universities across Europe move to online learning and teaching amid the coronavirus crisis,...
read moreThe Bologna Follow-up Group has developed a new strategic document that defines ten principles and...
read moreWhat would be the most effective way forward for universities to promote social dimension in their...
read moreThe importance of learning outcomes has gained traction at Europe’s universities in recent years....
read moreResearch assessment practices are becoming more accurate, transparent and responsible. This is...
read moreCross-border quality assurance has been slow in the making over the past two decades. However, as...
read moreWill quality assurance as we know it remain relevant amid the changing higher education landscape?...
read moreHow can universities frame their internal quality assurance and shake up the image of the...
read moreEuropean higher education has made tremendous progress since the Bologna Declaration. As EUA...
read moreResearch-based education is happening in Europe, but there are clear challenges with how it is...
read moreAs discussions are underway at the European Learning & Teaching Forum, EUA’s Tia Loukkola gives an...
read moreStudent-centered and active learning are a necessity for European universities to remain relevant...
read moreRecognition of study and qualifications are key for people to move freely to study and work in...
read moreIt has been 10 years since the European Universities’ Charter on Lifelong Learning was published....
read moreIn line with Emmanuel Macron’s speech and discussions at the recent Social Summit in Gothenburg,...
read moreThursday 28 January, 14.00-15.00 CET EUA, in collaboration with Nuffic, HRK and CRUE, was pleased to present this webinar organised in the context of...
Read moreDuring the final webinar of the EUA series “Towards the Bologna Process Ministerial Meeting”, European university leaders discussed their feedback and...
Read moreThe social dimension of higher education has been featured in the discussions of the Bologna Process since its early years. A new set of Principles and...
Read moreQuality assurance is one of the key commitments of the Bologna Process that underpin the European Higher Education Area. During the past two decades, the...
Read moreIn response to the societal changes, learning is expected to become more flexible with students being able to choose the pace, place and mode of learning....
Read moreThis webinar from EUA’s “Towards the Bologna Process Ministerial Meeting” series examined where European higher education institutions stand in terms of...
Read moreThis second webinar of EUA’s series “Towards the Bologna Process Ministerial Meeting” addressed internationalisation, including mobility. While the Bologna...
Read moreDuring more than twenty of existence, the Bologna Process has profiled as the main European collaboration platform for higher education. It is an...
Read more