Double degrees in the context of the Bologna process

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Notes

1. Different definitions should of course be taken into consideration. Different terms are actually used (on the Bachelor/Master/Doctorate level), like joint degree, double degree. A joint degree means a common program of study for all students involved. A unique diploma is delivered which supposes an agreement between both institutions and the question and/or problem of accreditation. A double degree means that each institution will deliver its own diploma (awarding of two separate degrees) and differences can appear in the programs of study. See Rauhvargers, A. (2002), ‘Joint Degree Study,’ in Survey on Master Degrees and Joint Degrees in Europe, C. Tauch and A. Rauhvargers, Brussels: EUA. pp. 27–41. European University Association (EUA) Masters and Erasmus Mundus Masters should also be considered. Erasmus Mundus Masters are established by an agreement between three European institutions with a period of study in at least two institutions, and a mutual course recognition using ECTS. The diploma is either a joint degree or, like a double degree, each institution delivers its own diploma. The EUA Masters are programs agreed upon by the European University Association. Those programs involve four to seventeen establishments of the European Union. See www.eua.be.

2. Cf. John Bell’s presentation.

3. Cf. Pierre Thilen’s presentation.

4. And of course joint degrees as well.

5. Double degrees have, for example, a long tradition in Germany, particularly because of specific support for French–German cooperation.

6. The Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region was developed by the Council of Europe and UNESCO and adopted by national representatives meeting in Lisbon, 8–11 April 1997. Most European countries have since ratified this Council of Europe/UNESCO Convention – usually referred to as the Lisbon Convention. See www.coe.int.

7. First year (in Leicester): analysing law, constitutional and administrative law, contract, criminal justice system, civil justice system, law of torts, learning legal skills; second year (in Leicester): criminal law, equity and trusts, European Union law, land law; third year (in Strasbourg), Licence examination in two of the following four modules: Droit administratif, Droit civil, Droit commercial, Droit public and two optional modules; fourth year (in Strasbourg) Maîtrise examination in the subjects required to obtain one of the three following maîtrises: Droit européen dominante privée, Droit européen dominante publique.

8. See the double degree Paris II–Cambridge, as well as Paris 1, Paris II–Dublin.

9. Students remain enrolled in both institutions for the duration of the program. Courses are multi‐disciplinary. Students at Sciences Po Paris are required to attend language classes, in at least two different languages. They will take 30 credits at Sciences Po Paris and three terms at the LSE. Final graduation will depend on satisfying the requirements of both years of the program. Cf. www.sciences-po.fr

10. French Masters are structured as follows. For example, at the Strasbourg Robert Schuman University, the Master Droit et etudes européennes is subdivided in different ‘mentions’ (for example: ‘Mention Droit et économie’). Those mentions are also subdivided into different ‘spécialités’ (‘Droit de l’environnement et des risques’ and ‘Droit de l’économie et de la régulation’).

11. See Audrey Guinchard’s presentation.

12. Concerning especially competences, the questions raised are: who is going to define them? Which list of competences is going to be chosen? The Dublin Descriptors which establish a certain number of general qualifications to be acquired have been generally accepted. See ‘Shared “Dublin” Descriptors for the Bachelor’s, Master’s and Doctoral Awards,’ A report from a Joint Quality Initiative informal group, March, 2003.

13. De Carvalho, J.R. (2006), ‘Les compétences: un véritable instrument de gestion du changement,’ in Espace européen de l’enseignement supérieur: ECTS et compétences d’un pays à l’autre, AMUE (Agence de Mutualisation des Universités et Etablissements), Seminar, 9 May 2006.

14. The Commission adopted on 5 September a proposal for a Recommendation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the establishment of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning (EQF). The EQF will provide a common language to describe qualifications which will help Member States, employers and individuals compare qualifications across the EU’s diverse education and training systems. The adoption of the proposal follows almost two years of consultation across Europe. The core element of the EQF is a set of eight reference levels describing what a learner knows, understands and is able to do – their ‘learning outcomes’ – regardless of the system where a particular qualification was acquired. The EQF reference levels therefore shift the focus away from the traditional approach, which emphasizes learning inputs (length of a learning experience, type of institution), focusing rather on learning outcomes. The draft recommendation foresees that Member States relate their national qualifications systems to the EQF (by 2009). It will therefore enable individuals and employers to use the EQF as a reference tool to compare the qualifications levels of different countries and different education and training systems, for example vocational training and higher education. The EQF will function as a type of translation device to make relationships between qualifications and different systems clearer. Cf. www.europa.eu/educations/policies. See also, Bologna Working Group on Qualifications Frameworks (2005), ‘A Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area,’ Report of the Bologna Working Group on Qualifications Frameworks, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Copenhagen.

15. See Tavenaz, F. (2003), ‘Quality Assurance: A Reference System for Indicators and Evaluation Procedure,’ EUA Studies, Brussels: EUA; (2006), ‘Guidelines for Quality Enhancement in European Joint Master Programmes,’ EUA Studies, Brussels: EUA.

16. Rauhvargers, A. (2002), ‘Joint Degree Study,’ in Survey on Master Degrees and Joint Degrees in Europe, op. cit. p. 41.

17. Jolivet, J.‐L. (2004), ‘L’adaptation de l’évaluation pratiquée en France par le CNE au nouveau contexte européen,’ Paper presented at AMUE Seminar, January 2004. The CNE was set up in 1984. Its task is to evaluate public institutions of an academic, cultural or vocational nature that are the responsibility of the Minister of Higher Education. The CNE, whose members are appointed by the government, enjoys a considerable degree of autonomy, drawing up its own program of activities and devising the methodology for its evaluations. All universities and about 60 higher specialty institutions have been evaluated. The evaluations consist of self‐evaluation and external evaluation by a peer committee. Peer committee reports are confidential, but the final CNE report is made public. CNE evaluation procedures have been the subject of consultation with the Conference of University Presidents. In the field of research, the Comité national d’évaluation de la recherche (CNER) is responsible for appraising the implementation and results of national policy for research.

18. Recommandations de la ‘Hochschulrektorenkonferenz HRK’ (Conférence des recteurs d’université relatives au développement de doubles diplômes et de diplômes conjoints), UFA (Université franco‐allemande), April 2005.

19. ‘Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area,’ op. cit., Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, Copenhagen.

20. Conraths, B., and Smidt, H. (2005), ‘The Funding of University‐Based Research and Innovation in Europe,’ EUA Studies, Brussels: EUA.

21. Every year, the ‘magic circle’ law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer offers a third year LLB/Maîtrise student a scholarship of £1000.00 a year for two years to help fund the last two years of the course in Strasbourg at the Université Robert Schuman.

22. www.dfh-ufa.org.

23. Programme ‘Vinci’ – ‘Appel à projets 2007’.

24. See http://dfes.gov.uk/studentssupport/eustudents/index.shtml and the English government website, www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance/. ‘Overseas’ students can as well ask for a financial support of the Cambridge Commonwealth and Overseas Trust.

25. Tauch and Rauhvargers, op. cit., p. 43.

26. Ibid. See, also ‘Reconnaissance des qualifications universitaires et professionnelles,’ Université di Padova, Italie, June 2005. With regard to the awarding of a double degree (two or more national degrees) most countries (those where the higher education partners to the degree are not resident) consider that recognition would be the same as in the case of any other foreign degree (if the degree is a joint degree this is not formally recognized in law). That’s why national governments should be encouraged to examine and/or amend national legislation. France adopted in a decree in 2005 (2005‐450, 11 May). As regards international legislation more generally, the main legal instrument for academic recognition in Europe is the Lisbon Convention (2001). A code of good practice in the provision of transnational education was adopted by the Lisbon Convention Intergovernmental Committee in 2001, which stipulates the requirements that should be satisfied by transnational qualifications in order for them to obtain possible recognition under the Convention. The issue of extending the Convention framework also to double/joint degrees was raised at the Joint Degree Seminar in May 2002. A few days later, the European recognition networks ENIC (European Network of Information Centres, established by the Council of Europe and Unesco to implement the Lisbon Recognition Convention and to develop policy and practice for the recognition of qualifications) and NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centres, an initiative of the European Commission and credited in 1984, part of the Community’s Erasmus/Socrates Programme) decided to examine the question. In June 2004, the Lisbon Convention Committee adopted a recommendation concerning the recognition of common degrees and applicable to all contracting parties.