Memorandum submitted by the University
of London Union (ULU)
1. INTRODUCTION
The University of London Union (ULU) is the
federal students' union for more than 120,000 students at the
20 Colleges and 12 Institutes of the University of London. The
trustees of the organisation comprise four elected full-time sabbatical
officers who represent the views of students across the federation
to the central University and act as the interface between students
and local and national decision-makers to achieve improvements
for students in the capital. ULU has a team of part-time elected
officers each with their own portfolio in an attempt to ensure
that ULU is responsible to the needs of all its diverse membership.
2. EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Successful implementation of the Bologna Process
offers clear benefits in terms of facilitating student mobility.
There are concerns, however, that unless efforts are made to ensure
that these benefits are shared by all students, irrespective of
background, current inequalities in education and in career opportunities
may become further entrenched.
3. IMPLICATIONS
OF THE
BOLOGNA PROCESS
FOR THE
UK HIGHER EDUCATION
SECTOR: ADVANTAGES
AND DISADVANTAGES
The potential advantages of the Bologna Process
for the UK HE sector are significant in terms of the promotion
of student mobility. However, the process could have an adverse
affect on the widening participation agenda: greater mobility
might be confined to those students who have the language skills
and socio-economic advantages that would enable them to benefit
most from the opportunities offered.
4. THE AGENDA
FOR DISCUSSION
AT THE
2007 MEETING IN
LONDON—CLARIFYING
THE UK POSITION
The social dimension should figure prominently
on the 2007 agenda. Unless this issue is addressed there is a
likelihood that the Bologna Process will merely entrench present
inequalities and squander the chance to widen the skills base
across all social classes.
5. THE IMPLICATIONS
OF A
THREE-PHASE
STRUCTURE OF
HIGHER EDUCATION
AWARDS FOR
TO ONE-YEAR
MASTERS AND
SHORT UNDERGRADUATE
COURSES (HNCS,
HNDS, AND
FOUNDATION DEGREES)
As one of the purposes of the three-phase structure
is to improve the employability of all students it appears counter-productive
to impose financial barriers to access. It has, for example, become
extremely difficult for students wishing to undertake a stand
alone one year master's course to obtain funding from research
councils, as most funding for masters is now tied to PhD study
(1 + 3). Increased levels of funding for masters programmes would
assist those students who are not suited to doctoral study but
wish to develop their skills for the workplace.
6. AWARENESS
AND ENGAGEMENT
IN THE
BOLOGNA PROCESS
WITHIN HEIS
Greater efforts should be made to engage students
with the Bologna Process. The vast majority of students have no
awareness of the initiative and, similarly, amongst academic staff
there is a lack of understanding of either its principles or progress
made to date.
7. OPPORTUNITIES
TO ENHANCE
THE MOBILITY
OF STUDENTS
FROM THE
UK
If the aim is to enhance the mobility of all
UK students, rather than a privileged few, students from disadvantaged
backgrounds should be encouraged to participate and, most importantly,
must be provided with the language, cultural orientation and funding
support that will allow them to take advantage of the opportunities
available.
8. THE POSSIBLE
IMPLEMENTATION OF
A EUROPEAN
CREDIT TRANSFER
SYSTEM (ECTS) AND
A FOCUS
ON LEARNING
OUTCOMES AND
COMPETENCIES
The absence of a widely accepted national credit
system in the UK means that even internal undergraduate transfers
between universities are problematic. The adoption of ECTS would
therefore have domestic advantages in addition to promoting mobility
within Europe. However, even within those European countries that
have used such systems for a number of years credits are accessed
differently, making comparisons and therefore inter- and intra-country
transfers difficult.
At the third cycle stage the situation is exacerbated
because in most UK universities credits are not applied to doctoral
study. The adoption of a European doctoral credit system would
be problematic because of the diversity of national doctoral programmes.
A focus on learning outcomes and competencies
rather than workload is preferable in the current political climate.
The implementation of workload criteria, with restrictions on
the amount of paid employment permissible, is likely to have a
detrimental affect on the widening access project, unless financial
support for students from socially disadvantages backgrounds is
to be increased radically.
9. QUALITY ASSURANCE
SYSTEMS IN
HE (TEACHING AND
RESEARCH): THE
COMPATIBILITY OF
UK PROPOSALS AND
BOLOGNA
The UK has a well established QA system in place
and in this respect is ahead of most other Bologna Declaration
countries. A number of countries have adopted the UK assessment
format but there are concerns about the extent and weight accorded
student involvement in QA processes, and the issue of transparency.
Should a single framework and evaluation authority be introduced,
it is to be hoped that the UK QA system would not be diluted in
the interests of standardisation but rather that it would be improved
upon.
10. DEGREE CLASSIFICATION
REFORM IN
LIGHT OF
BOLOGNA
Progress with degree classification reform within
the UK has been disappointing, with little consensus on any of
the proposed alternatives to the present system. However, as the
information contained in the diploma supplement, which HEIs are
being encouraged to introduce, is similar to that to be found
in student transcripts, which detail final achievements, it would
seem sensible for degree classification reform to take the route
of the inclusion of transcripts. The blanket introduction of student
transcripts would allow potential employers and postgraduate education
providers to differentiate between the growing number of undergraduates
awarded 2.1 and 2.2 degrees.
11. THE BROADER
IMPACT OF
BOLOGNA ACROSS
EUROPE: A
MORE STANDARDISED
EUROPE AND
THE CONSEQUENCES
FOR THE
UKS POSITION
IN THE
GLOBAL MARKET
FOR HE (BOLOGNA
AND THE
SECOND PHASE
OF THE
PRIME MINISTER'S
INITIATIVE FOR
INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION
(PMI 2))
The UK's position in the global market will
suffer unless the necessary support mechanisms are put in place
for international students. Language and cultural barriers mean
that a number of students, particularly at postgraduate level
where international students are most heavily represented, encounter
difficulties in adapting to UK academic programmes. These students
also often suffer social isolation. As the number of postgraduate
international students in the UK has grown over the past decade
support services have not kept pace. As a result, there appears
to be a marked incidence of international postgraduates failing
to make progress with their studies and being forced to withdraw
from their courses, most notably at doctoral level. Greater input
from universities, in terms of language support and clarification
of culturally-defined expectations of postgraduate research, is
therefore urgently required if the UK is not to lose ground in
the international education market.
December 2006
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