European structures for qualifications

Introduction

The two-tier system has generated a lot of interest. The Bologna Declaration mentions the fact
that “the degree awarded after the first cycle shall also be relevant to the labour market”. This
sentence and its implications for students are up to this moment still unclear. In this policy
paper ESIB will offer its view on the two-tier system and the relevance it has for students.
ESIB will also point out certain risks connected with this system.

Motivation

For the creation of the European higher education area the higher education community needs
many different types of tools. Introducing a two-tier system is one of these tools. In the
European higher education area the two-tier system would be a compatible degree framework,
which would enhance mobility. This framework will integrate the sub-sectors of higher
education into one higher education system while at the same time raising the attractiveness
of the European higher education area.

A compatible degree system would help to integrate the higher education system because of
the increase of transparency of degree systems. It will provide students from the different subsectors
in higher education with the opportunity to switch studies or to continue studying a
second degree in the same field after finishing a first degree in the other sub-sector nationally
or internationally. Nationally it gives all students programmes built on the same structure and
thus the same amount of credits. A two-tier system in the whole of Europe would make the
European structure for qualifications recognisable for all. The increase in possibilities for
vertical mobility will in turn increase the diversity within the European higher education area.

As educational systems in Europe should be trying to attract students from all groups in
society every means possible should be utilised to reach this goal. Longer study periods are a
financial and psychological deterrent for certain social groups to enter higher education.

Introducing exit points and bridges between different sub-sectors will increase the
attractiveness of higher education to all groups in society.

The main arguments for implementing a two-tier system are these intermediary exit points. In
traditionally long curricula those students that drop out, for whatever reason, often do not
receive any kind of degree. Awarding a first degree after already finishing the first cycle
would ensure that these students would leave higher education with a recognised
qualification. This increased flexibility would give the student more opportunity to be an
active and self-directive learner.

The first and second cycle

The first and second cycle have different educational goals. These goals differ from country to
country, programme to programme and course to course. However, there is a need to define
the first and second cycle. A division can be made, in both the first and second cycle, between
more academic and more professionally orientated studies. The definitions of these two
orientations will be an ongoing discussion in the higher education field.

The first cycle degree with a more academic orientation should introduce scientific thinking,
reflective thinking, general academic skills and competencies. It contains courses on a
specific field of science given in a broader perspective and linked to other relevant scientific
fields. It gives the student an overview of the field and prepares the student for the second
cycle whose content is connected to the previously completed undergraduate programme.
Academic orientated programmes in the second cycle can concentrate more on one narrow
area of science without excluding the possibility of an interdisciplinary orientation. The aim
of these programmes must be that students (amongst others) can conduct independent
scientific research in their field of study.

The more professionally orientated programmes of the first cycle should prepare the student
for a position in the labour market in the field of study. The programmes introduce reflective
thinking and general professional skills and competencies. The content of the courses are
directly related to the required knowledge for that field of work and applied sciences. A
professionally orientated second cycle must deepen the knowledge of a certain professional
field and introduce specific professional skills and knowledge in a specific professional field.

The above distinction is not applicable to all programmes throughout Europe, it is important
to ensure flexibility in building programmes, which means that we recognise that the above
mentioned characteristics can be combined in other ways.

Matters of concern

The introduction of a two-tier system should not be a way of simply introducing more cost
efficiency into the higher education system. It cannot be part of proposals for budget cuts or
for limiting any kind of access to and in higher education. Changing the European structures
for qualification should lead to a more diverse system of higher education. Unification of
programmes within a European context is therefore unwanted and a danger to the
attractiveness of the European higher education area.

To ensure access in all fields, reasonable transition mechanisms between the first and second
cycle should be established, both within the same higher education sector and between
different higher education sectors. Completion of the first cycle of studies must always give
the student access to the appropriate second cycle. Therefore no tuition fees or other
restrictions will be required to enter the first or second cycle.

Different disciplines have their own characteristics and they have to be taken into serious
consideration when developing degree structures. It should be clear that in some fields the
first degree would not always serve as an independent qualification leading to a labour market
relevant professional competence. However, in those fields an intermediate qualification may
also be worth developing for the reasons mentioned above.

Conclusion

Implementing a first degree/second degree system has to be done in a flexible way in order to
sustain the national characteristics and diversity that is essential to European higher education.
The system of two degrees is one way to enhance mobility, to integrate higher education and
to make higher education more attractive for certain social groups. In the diverse European
higher education area, education should always take into account and respect the national
needs of higher education, but also facilitate the common needs of the whole area.

Policy Paper proposed by the Education Working Group
Board Meeting 41, May 2001, Slovakia