The Bologna Reform: Beyond 3+2+3 Prof. Dr. Konrad Osterwalder Rector, ETH Zürich

1. The Bologna Reform:Beyond 3+2+3Prof. Dr. Konrad OsterwalderRector, ETH Zürich

2. Questions asked • Why did ETH decide for the Bologna Reform in the first place? • How did it prepare and organize the reform? Who was responsible for what? • Why did it decide for 3+2, how is the content of the programs structured? • How is the international cooperation and cooperation with the economy embedded in the policy of ETH? • Ect.

3. Bologna Reform: the main stages • Setting the European stage: Bologna, Salamanca • The national stage • the 12 Theses of the Rector’s Conference • The recommendations (academic) • The guidelines (political) • ETH • Defining the general strategy • The Bachelor Level • The graduate School: Master and PhD • Admission rules, changing the tracks • Exams and selection: new approaches • New teaching methods • Quality • Networking

4. The Bologna Reform • Setting the European Stage: • Sorbonne/Bologna (1998/1999), • Salamanca (2001)

5. Bologna Reform: Action Lines (Bologna) • Adoptation of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees • Adoptation of a system essentially based on two cycles • Establishment of a system of credits • Promotion of mobility • Promotion of European cooperation in Quality assurance

6. Bologna Reform: Action Lines (Prag, 2001) • 6.Support of lifelong learning • 7.Participation of students in HE institutions • 8.Promotion of the attractiveness of the European Higher Education Area to students of Europe and other parts of the world • 9.Taking account of the social dimension

7. The details • Adoption of a system essentially based on two main cycles, undergraduate and graduate. Access to the second cycle shall require successful completion of first cycle studies, lasting a minimum of three years. The degree awarded after the first cycle shall also be relevant to the European labour market as an appropriate level of qualification. The second cycle should lead to the master and/or doctorate degree as in many European countries.

8. Salamanca (March 30, 2001) • More than 500 representatives of European Universities • European universities [..] want to shape their own future in the new European context. They clearly expressed their will, their intention and their determination to take up the challenge of the Sorbonne/Bologna declaration and to be proactive in the process of building the European Higher Education Area,by 2010

9. Competition • Higher education institutions are willing to take the responsibility of operating in a competitive education arena, but this requires more real managerial autonomy (going beyond classical academic freedom), a flexible regulatory framework and fair financing.

10. Freedom with responsibility • Universities as legal entities need autonomy in, and want to be held accountable for: • strategic planning, setting goals and priorities funds allocation • selection of partners, locally, nationally and internationally, in research and in teaching • selection of research areas • definition of curricula • management of human capital, in particular the hiring the professors • setting of admission rules for students.

11. Quality • Quality as underlying condition for • trust • relevance • mobility • compatibility • attractiveness • in the European Higher Education Area

12. Bs – Ms System • Higher education needs to be structured in such a way that after 3 - 4 years (or rather 180 - 240 ECTS credits) a student should be eligible for a Bachelor-type degree. This degree should either lead to immediate employment or provide preparation for further studies leading to a Master degree. Under certain circumstances a university may decide to structure a curriculum as a 5-year integrated (i.e. unbroken) programme leading directly to a Master-level degree

13. Employability • Employability in a university context means: • A well developed imagination • The ability to approach and to solve a problem systematically and methodically applying substantial knowledge • The capacity to lead social process • The overall structure of university programs and each element thereof must be targeted towards the development of the above mentioned personal skills, while allowing for a great variety of curricular approaches and for competing course designs

14. The Bologna Reform • II. The national stage

15. Vision / Goals • Offering a future oriented top quality education • Rethinking curricula, teaching and learning • Flexibility and transparency • Quality assurance • Mobility of students and staff • Competition for the best students • Undergraduate level: mainly national • Graduate level: international • Cooperation in networks, Alliances, (Fusions?) • Arc Lémanique, Zürich, … • TIME • CLUSTER • IDEA League • Institutional autonomy and responsibility

16. Principle • The academic side • takes the initiative • is the process owner

17. II.1 The 12 Theses of the Rector‘s Conference (2000) • General approval of Bologna program • Revision of the curricula, coordination at national level • Definition of cycles, duration • Avoid parallelism (Diploma versus Master) • Minimize prolongation of study times • Determine additional costs

18. The 12 Theses of theRector‘s Conference (cont.) • Standard university qualification is Master • Bachelor as intermediate degree (“hinge”) • Ability to work in a profession versus qualification for a profession • Every institution defines its own admission rules for the master programs • Maintaining the two track system: professional and academic • Transfer from Universities of Applied Sciences (HES): sur dossier

19. II.2. The Guidelines (political, binding) • Organization in three levels • Introduction of ECTS • Admission to the Master Level • Coordination of the titels

20. II.3 The Recommendations of Rector’s conference: the 10 basic topics • Organization of studies • Performance based credit system • Admission procedures • Titles, Diploma Supplement • Terminology • Continuing Education • Promoting mobility (study plans, financial and legal aspects) • Quality assurance and accreditation • Promoting the European Dimension • Social aspects (stipends, part time students, equal opportunities)

21. 1. Organization of studies • Three cycle system • Integrated Bachelor-Master Programs • Integrated Master-Doctoral Programs (graduate school) • Definition of profiles for Bs and Ms • Joint Master Programs (with HES?) • New learning and teaching habits (self-study, coaching, reading courses, etc.) • Whole programs in English

22. 2. Performance based credit system • Credit points depend on • learning effort (30 hours/point on the average) • learning outcome: points are given for sufficient performance only • Reform of the examination system (avoid killer topics)

23. 3. Admission Procedures • Bachelor level: same as now. • Master Level: Minimal requirement defined in Directives CUS. For the rest: Universities are free. • Problems: • Admission of Bachelors from other Swiss Universities • Admission of Bachelors from HES

24. 4. Titles, Diploma Supplement • Harmonization of Titles • Protection of Titles • No further awarding of old titles • No conversion of old titles • Name of awarding Institution as part of the title

25. 5. Terminology

26. 6. Continuing Education • New structuring • Admission rules • Titles and terminology • besides that: • financial aspects

27. 7. Promoting Mobility • Admission procedures to Master programs should promote mobility, not obstruct it: it should help to choose the appropriate program • Elimination of political obstacles (immigration) • Portability of grants • Scholarship programs

28. 8. Quality assurance and Accreditation • Quality assurance is in the first place an obligation of every university • Accreditation still has to be established • Berlin: Ministers advocate the introduction of a European Register for Quality Assurance • and the cooperation between national accreditation agencies

29. 9. Promoting the European Dimension • Curricular cooperation at European level • Erasmus World, joint Master and other graduate programs

30. 10. Social aspects • Grants and loans • Part time students • Equal opportunities • Include the students and the staff in the reform

31. III. ETH • III.1Defining the general strategy • (Decisions by the bord of Management) • Introducing the new model in stages: students already present finish according to old system, with Diploma • Beginn of new system distributed over several years (completed BS in 2005, Ms in 2008) • Limitation of study time: Bs < 5 years, Ms < 3 years

32. III.1 Defining the general strategy • No credit point without proof of achievment (exam, paper, report on experiment, etc.) • Part of teaching in English, at Ms level some curricula everything in English • Diploma Supplement, including detailed Qualification Profiles • Curricula determined by qualification profiles

33. Begin of Bachelor courses

34. III.2 The Bachelor Level • Duration: 3 years • Admission according to the legal rules • First year: now credit points for individual courses • Aptitude test at the end of the first year.

35. New Qualification ProfilesUndergraduate • Core Competences • Broad Education in Basic Sciences: Math, Physics Chemistry, Computer Science, Biology • Solid Basic Knowledge of the Discipline • Methodological and Scientific Thinking • Including Humanities and Social Sciences • Scientific english (starting year 2) • Experience in team work, practical work • Optimal Preparation for Graduate Programmes at ETH and at other leading Universities worldwide • Concentration and advanced placement in Master Courses possible • No particular preparation for entering the job market • Limited study time: < 5 years

36. III.3 The graduate School: Master and PhD

37. New Qualification Profiles: Master • Scientific Specialization • First Research experience through collaboration in a research group • Master thesis (~6 Months) • fast tracks into the doctorate for the excellent students • elite programs • Fluent in (scientific) English • joint master programs with other universities • and: • introduction into management, finance, human resource

38. Studying at ETH Zürichnumbers: estimates duration 1‘000 p.a. Ph.D. Doctorate (Total 3‘000) Graduate studies Graduate level 500 1‘500 p.a. External Masters Master (standard degree) Master level (Total 3‘000) 500 p.a. 400 External Bachelors Bachelor intermediate degree, „hinge“ 200 p.a. Bachelor studies (Total 6‘000) 1‘600/ Jahr Bachelor level 100 Changing the program withdrawls 500 p.a. 2‘200 p.a.

39. The Graduate School Regular path to doctorate Fast track Doctorat 9 Doctorate / Master 8 Doctoral thesis and doctoral studies Doctoral thesis and doctoral studies Admission to Doctorate 4 Research plan and additional conditions Zeitachse (ca. Semester) Ok of supervisor, admission Titel of Master, acceptance of research plan Master 3 Master Thesis ca. 30 KP External masters 30 KP ECTS + Research work (30 KP) 2 Assessment, admission to the fast track Master studies 60 KP ECTS 1  30 KP + good grades + additional work + agreement with supervisor Admission to the graduate school 0 27.6.2003 Ba/Pgr Bachelors

40. III.4 Admission rules, changing the tracks • Bachelor: free admission with Swiss “Maturität” or with top grades from a Gymnasium abroad • reduced admission exam with foreign final High school exam • full admission exam without any prior exam • Master: free admission in the same subject and Bs from a Swiss university. Admission procedure for foreigners and for “specialized Master programs” • Specific rules for entering from a university of applied sciences

41. III.5 Exams and selection: new approaches • optimize selection at the entry point. Assessing and advising the entering students • Goal: • Bachelor: loss rate first year < 15% (now 25%) • loss rate 2./3. year < 4% (as now) • Master: less than 5% • Evaluation of examination and selection methods

42. III.6 New teaching methods • Teaching closer to actual research • More individual learning • Using the new technologies, usw. • -> program to support and to finance new approaches to teaching and experimenting • Controlling the quality of teaching • New modes of assessing performance, quality control • Master Thesis: Part of learning Process and proof of performance

43. III.7 Quality Management • Opinion Poll Students (end of term) • Opinion Poll alumni 3,4,5 years after graduation • Peer Review: one week, every 5 years • New project: evaluation the assessment of performance (exams, etc.): • Are the assessments fair, objective, do they show what is relevant, are they reliable, etc.

44. III.8 Networking • IDEA League: Imperial College, TU Delft, ETH, RWTA Aachen, ParisTech (new member) • UNITECH International: 8 Technical Universities and 25 global Companies • TIME network • IARU Network

45. ETH Zurich worldwide: IARU network

46. Conclusion: a story of Mr. Keuner(Bertolt Brecht) • An old friend he had not seen in a while, greeted Mr. Keuner with the words: • „You havn‘t changed a bit“. • „Oh“, said Mr. Keuner and went pale.

47. The Bologna Reform is about…. • more mobility, • yes, but mainly about • more competition, but no cannibalism (developing countries) • more differentiation and more comparability • more flexibility and transparency • more autonomy and more responsibility • more quality • renovating the curricula, the selection process • renovating teaching and learning • The Bologna Reform is a major Change Process