Memorandum submitted by Imperial College
London
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. It is important that the UK HEI are aligned
to Bologna.
2. The UK first, bachelors, cycle is already
aligned, giving 180 ECTS in three academic years (AY).
3. The UK third, doctoral cycle is already
Bologna aligned, providing a training by research, with transferable
skills, during a period of three to four calendar years (CY).
It is inappropriate to introduce credits to this third cycle.
4. However, the second, masters, cycle is
problematic for the UK, affecting both the four-year (4x AY) integrated
(eg MEng) and the 12 month (1 CY) freestanding masters programmes.
5. Our detailed analysis of masters courses
at Imperial College London supports the allocation of 90 ECTS
to teaching of a full CY duration. Thus a masters qualification
with 90 ECTS can be gained in one calendar year (freestanding
masters). An integrated masters, which at present accumulates
only 240 ECTS in 4 AY, can be aligned to Bologna by enhancing
the fourth year giving a structure of 3 AY + 1 CY (180+90 ECTS=270).
Alternatively the additional three months could be more spread
(eg longer academic years, summer vacations).
6. Based on the situation at Imperial, we
therefore consider it critical that:
(a) 90 rather than 75 ECTS must be made the
maximum number of credits that can be accumulated in a 12 month
period of full-time education; and
(b) the position of no "creditisation"
of the third cycle is maintained.
BACKGROUND
1. The Bologna Process aims to provide greater
consistency and transferability of qualifications within the European
Higher Education Area (EHEA).
2. The effects of this process will not
be confined to Europe, as educational providers in other regions
such as Asia and Australia are also taking it into consideration.
3. It is therefore important that UK Higher
Education Institutions are players in this harmonisation process,
and are aligned to Bologna.
4. However, it is critical that the system
retains sufficient flexibility to accommodate the wide range of
HEI within the UK, and more widely within Europe. The Bologna
Process must not become a straightjacket.
5. The Bologna Process defines three cycles
of higher education: bachelors, masters and doctoral.
6. A key aspect of enabling student mobility
is the establishment of a system of credits—the European
Credit Transfer System (ECTS). The Framework for Qualifications
of the EHEA that was adopted at Bergen (2005) gives typical credit
ranges of 180-240 ECTS and 90-120 ECTS for the first (bachelors)
and second (masters) cycles, respectively; for the latter, a minimum
of 60 must be at second cycle level. There is no credit range
for the third cycle.
7. The UK is already aligned to the first
and third cycles of Bologna. However, the UK's second cycle masters
programmes are of shorter duration than those of most other European
HEI.
8. We consider our 12 month masters graduates
are equivalent to those emerging from the longer (2AY) degrees
in other countries of Europe. However, although it is learning
outcomes that are the key indicator of equivalency in education,
it is the much more readily measurable ECTS that will be used
as the common European HE currency. It is therefore important
that comparable input (ECTS) equates with learning output.
9. While quite separate from educational
issues and learning outcomes, there are also serious financial
implications. Scholarships are limited in number, and most students
are self-funded for their accommodation and living expenses, especially
on the free standing masters programmes. Any increase in course
duration will render the masters programmes financially unviable,
destabilising the UK HE sector. The resultant loss of masters
provision would deplete second cycle opportunities in the UK,
with knock-on effects for recruitment of top quality students
for the doctoral cycle.
IMPERIAL COLLEGE
LONDON
10. We consider our 12 month masters graduates
are equivalent to those emerging from the longer (2AY) degrees
in other countries of Europe. However, although it is learning
outcomes that are the key indicator of equivalency in education,
it is the much more readily measurable ECTS that will be used
as the common European HE currency. It is therefore important
that comparable input (ECTS) equates with learning output.
11. In order to assess the teaching and
learning input to our education programmes at Imperial, we have
recently conducted an analysis of all our bachelors, integrated
and freestanding masters courses.
12. Our data show that taking 1 ECTS to
be 25 hours (the Bologna range is 25-30 hours/ECTS), 90 ECTS can
be achieved within our 12 month (1 CY) masters. An example from
each of our Faculties of Medicine, Engineering and Natural Sciences
is given in the attached Appendix ("Imperial College London
1CY MSc anonymised returns December 2006").
13. We therefore support the model of 1
CY for freestanding masters.
14. For the integrated masters we support
either a 3AY+1CY model, or one where the additional material is
spread between years three and four.
15. We do, however, note that teaching styles
differ between different disciplines such that the balance between
contact hours and personal study can be very different. While
this difference is likely to be most marked between arts/humanities
versus science subjects, even across the sciences there can be
significant differences between the more theoretical subjects,
such as mathematics and physics, compared to those with a high
practical component such as engineering. It may therefore be harder
for the theoretical subjects to meet the 90 ECTS requirement within
one year, using current accounting methods. Thus, the aim of the
Bologna accord to achieve academic mobility may require agreement
that some subjects are treated differently to others (for example,
by adjusting the number of hours/ECTS).
ECTS SURVEY (AUTUMN 2006)
Medicine
| Dept A |
| | Course: MSc (1 calendar year)
| | | |
| | | |
|
| Unit | | Teaching hours
| Lectures | Lab
hrs
| Classes | Tutorials
| Sum | Other hours
| Private Study inc exam prep | Project or placement work
| Exams | Sum |
Total Hours | ECTS |
hours
per
ECTS |
"other hours" per
taught
hour
| hours
per week
(48-week year)
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| Term 1 | | 87
| 70 | 42 | 27 |
226 | 335 | |
| 335 | 561 | 22
| | | |
| Term 2 | Lectures | 18
| 70 | | 6 |
94 | 350 | | 9
| 359 | 453 | 18
| | | |
| Term 2/3 | Research project
| | | | 0
| 640 | 665 | |
1,305 | 1,305 | 50
| | | |
| Total | | 105
| 140 | 42 | 33
| 320 | 1.325 |
665 | 9 | 1,999
| 2,319 | 90 |
25.77 | 6.25 | 48.31
|
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
|
ECTS SURVEY (AUTUMN 2006)
Engineering
| Dept B
| | | Course: MSc (1 calendar year)
| | | |
| | | |
|
| Unit | | Teaching hours
| Lectures | Lab
hrs
| Classes | Tutorials
| Sum | Other hours
| Private Study | Project or placement work
| Exams inc exam prep | Sum
| Total Hours | ECTS
| hours
per
ECTS |
"other hours" per
taught
hour
| hours
per week
(48-week year)
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
| Course A | | 26
| 0 | | 13 |
39 | 40 | | 30
| 70 | 109 | 4 |
| | |
| Course B | | 25
| 8 | | 6 |
39 | 55 | | 30
| 85 | 124 | 5 |
| | |
| Course C | | 27
| 0 | | 6 |
33 | 40 | | 30
| 70 | 103 | 4 |
| | |
| Course D | | 18
| 0 | | 3 |
21 | 20 | | 20
| 40 | 61 | 2 |
| | |
| Course E | | 18
| 0 | | 3 |
21 | 20 | | 20
| 40 | 61 | 2 |
| | |
| Course F | | 18
| 0 | | 3 |
21 | 20 | | 20
| 40 | 61 | 2 |
| | |
| Course G | | 30
| 0 | | 0 |
30 | 30 | | 30
| 60 | 90 | 4 |
| | |
| Course H | | 21
| 0 | | 0 |
21 | 20 | | 20
| 40 | 61 | 2 |
| | |
| Laboratory and field techniques, applied coursework
| 28 | 0 | |
14 | 42 | 44 |
| 30 | 74 | 116
| 5 | | |
|
| Course I | | 30
| 0 | | 0 |
30 | 30 | | 30
| 60 | 90 | 4 |
| | |
| Course J | | 18
| 2 | | 6 |
26 | 45 | | 0
| 45 | 71 | 3 |
| | |
| Course K | | 20
| 0 | | 2 |
22 | 35 | | 20
| 55 | 77 | 3 |
| | |
| Course L | | 21
| 0 | | 0 |
21 | 20 | | 20
| 40 | 61 | 2 |
| | |
| Course M | | 30
| 0 | | 0 |
30 | 30 | | 30
| 60 | 90 | 4 |
| | |
Advanced modelling
| 3
| 18 | | 0 |
21 | 20 | | 0
| 20 | 41 | 2 |
| |
| Laboratory practical classes | 0
| 44 | | 6 |
50 | 60 | | 0
| 60 | 110 | 4 |
| | |
| Fieldwork | | 0
| 0 | | 0 |
0 | 40 | | 0
| 40 | 40 | 2 |
| | |
| Dissertation | | 0
| 0 | | 0 |
0 | 0 | 800 | 0
| 800 | 800 | 32
| | | |
| Field Trip 1 | 0 |
10 | | 0 | 10
| 10 | | 0 |
10 | 20 | 1 |
| | |
| Field Trip 2 | | 0
| 60 | | 0 |
60 | 30 | | 0
| 30 | 90 | 4 |
| | |
| Total | | 333
| 142 | 0 | 62
| 537 | 609 |
800 | 330 | 1,739
| 2,276 | 90 |
25.29 | 3.24 | 47.42
|
| | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
|
ECTS SURVEY (AUTUMN 2006)
Natural Sciences
|
Dept C | |
| Course: MSc (1 calendar year)
| | | |
| | | |
|
| Unit | | Teaching hours
| Lectures | Lab
hrs
| Classes | Tutorials
| Sum | Other hours
| Private Study | Project or placement work
| Exams
inc exam prep | Sum
| Total Hours | ECTS
| hours
per
ECTS |
"other hours" per
taught
hour
| hours
per week
(48-week year)
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | |
Term 1 | Lectures
| 103 | 113 | 15
| 10 | 241 | 361.5
| 0 | 50 | 412
| 653 | | |
| |
| Term 1 | Seminars | 0
| | 10 | |
10 | | |
| 0 | 10 | 25
| | | |
| Term 2 | Lectures | 91
| 113 | 18 | 6 |
228 | 342 | | 120
| 462 | 690 | |
| | |
| Term 2 | Seminars |
| | 10 | |
10 | | |
| 0 | 10 | 27
| | | |
| Term 3 | Research project
| | | 38 |
38 | | 950 |
| 950 | 988 | 38
| | | |
| Total | | 194
| 226 | 53 | 54
| 527 | 703.5 |
950 | 170 |
1,823.5 | 2,350.5
| 90 | 26.12 |
3.46 | 48.97 |
December 2006
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| 
