Wake up and smell the Bologna
10 Nov 2003
Lack of UK Government leadership in acknowledging the effects of the European 'Bologna Declaration' could badly affect those who wish to study physics in England.
The Bologna Declaration, signed by higher education ministers from 29 European countries in 1999, seeks to create a common framework for degrees based on the use of credits.
But according to Professor Peter Main, the Institute of Physics' director of science and education, this threatens the existence of UK 4-year first-degree qualifications in subjects such as physics (MPhys) and might remove the possibility of direct progression from BSc degrees to PhD programmes.
And, he says, it could lead to a 8-year cycle of study (3+2+3), which has implications not just in terms of the restructuring of degree frameworks, but of increased student debt, uncertainties of funding of studentships for Masters programmes and quality assurance.
Chairing a joint meeting of the Institute of Physics and the Royal Society of Chemistry held at the Institute on October 20, Professor Main said that the Bologna process poses major problems with the funding and structure of degree programmes. He admitted that there are also major opportunities too, but universities could only take advantage of them if the UK Government clarified its position with respect to the Declaration.
The Institute of Physics has issued a wake-up call to the UK physics community by publishing a discussion paper, 'The Bologna Process and UK Physics Degrees', which was written by Professor Gareth Jones from Imperial College London.
The Institute has already tried to persuade the UK Government to consider the implications of the Declaration.
In a joint letter from the Institute and the Royal Society of Chemistry to the UK Department for Education and Skills (DfES), concern was expressed that the Bologna Process seems to be gathering momentum in continental Europe, but is largely being ignored in the UK.
'The DfES in its response, stated that the higher education White Paper chose to focus only on domestic issues, which is wholly unconvincing given that the implications of the Bologna Process are far reaching, and could have a huge impact on domestic higher education policy,' concluded Professor Main.
