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It is a European Union-led process by which a European Higher Education Area has been created as a privileged means of promoting the mobility and employability of European citizens and the global development of the continent, recognising the role of universities in the enhancement of the European cultural dimension.
The Bologna declaration of 1999, signed by 29 European ministers of education, marked the beginning of the process of convergence towards the EHEA which has become a reality in 2010.
The declaration of Bologna is complemented by later ones of university presidents (Salamanca 2001), students (Goteborg 2001) and ministers (Berlin 2003, Bergen 2005 and London 2007) who have been giving shape and content to this process.
These objectives can be found in the Bologna Declaration.
1.- Establishment of a two-cycle teaching system: undergraduate and postgraduate.
The undergraduate degree format will be exclusive, with a duration of 4 years and finally named Graduate in...
Official postgraduate studies will be defined as a University Master's Degree with a duration of one or two years, classed as a specialisation course. In the case of Doctorates, they are advanced training studies in research areas that are completed with the elaboration of a Doctoral Thesis, an original research work.
This university studies structuresta is regulated by Royal Decree 1393/2007 andRoyal Decree 861/2010 (doctorate) as a modification of the prior.
* Degree in Medicine continues to have a duration of six years and Degrees in Principles of Architecture, Pharmacy, Denistry and Veterinary Medicine shall have a duration of five years.
2.- Establish the European Diploma Supplement which is a document that goes with each official university diploma, valid within Spain, including unified information, personalised for each university diploma according to the studies taken, the marks obtained, the professional skills acquired and the diploma level in the national higher education system.
The European Diploma Supplement offers students.
The European Diploma Supplement to the university diploma is regulated by Royal Decree 1044/2003 .
3.- Establish the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) to measure the academic value of subjects.
The ECTS credit assess the hours corresponding to taught classes, theoretical or practical, study hours, time dedicated to seminars, work, internships or projects and the time required to prepare and do exams and tests.
The ECTS credit will have a minimum of 25 hours and maximum 30 hours. The number of ECTS credits per course will be 60.
It is a credit concept, like the current one that values the teaching effort (1 credit is equivalento to 10 hours of class), which now values the students' effort.
In this same sense, a common grading system (from 0 to 10 with one decimal point).
The European credit and grading system favours recognition of professional qualifications, national and international mobility, it allows collaboration between universities, and promotes learning at any time in a person's life and in any country within the European Union.
the ECTS credit and grading system is regulated by Royal Decree 1125/2003
4.- New teaching and learning method. The concept of "learning to learn" is important, more than the mere accumulation of knowledge. Face-to-face participatory teaching is strengthened and distance teaching as a way for students to learn independently by searching for information, carrying out work in groups and online, as well as studying.
More importance is given to tutoring, continuous assessement, preparing papers and projects, whether individual or in a group, as well as using Information and Communications Technology (ICTs).
By this means of pedagogy, the aim is to reinforce the concept of life-long learning and pay attention to the different and changing student profiles.
The development of the European Higher Education Area began with the signature from Spain and 28 other European countries in the " Bologna Declaration " (1999)
The " Organic Law of Universities" (2001) and its modification in 2007 expresses the need for the best higher education centres of the EHEA to come together and recognises one of its essential reasons of the law to promote mobility among students, teachers and researchers within the Spanish system, as well as the European and international systems.
In order to meet the requirements to guarantee the university quality verification system, the Organic Law of Universities creates the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation of Spain ( ANECA ) as a state foundation which is independent and of technical nature.
University degrees leading to an official diploma and valid throughout Spain will be structured as undergraduate degrees and postgraduate degrees (University Master's and Doctorate).
Official diplomas shall be issues, on behalf of the King, by the President of the university where the studies were completed.
The universities carry out study plans that will be verifief at the University Council and authorised for its implementation by the corresponding region.
The study plan leading to obtained an official diploma shall be registered at the University, Centres and Diploma Registry ( RUCT )
Royal Decree 1393/2007 and Royal Decree 861/2010 (doctorate) modifying the prior.
The implantation of the European Credit Transfer System, ECTS, is one of the measures established for the creation of a European higher education area recommended in the Bologna Declaration and subsequent.
ECTS credits originated from the European mobility programme "SOCRATES-ERASMUS" facilitating equivalances and recognition of studies carried out in other European Union countries.
The ECTS credits enable easy comprehension and comparision of the different educational systems, facilitating recognition of professional qualifications and national and international mobility, with complete recognition of studies and increase collaboration among European universities.
The ECTS credits values the real effort made by students to learn, no exclusively related to class hours as established in the traditional credit concept.
The ECTS credits shall have a minimum value of 25 hours, maximum 30 hours, corresponding to taught classes, theoretical or practical, study hours, time dedicated to seminars, work, internships or projects and the time required to prepare and do exams and tests.
At the University of Alicante an ECTS credit shall be valued at 25 hours.
Each academic course shall have 60 credits.
The ECTS European credit is regulated by Royal Decree 1125/2003 of the Ministry of Education.
All official studies (undergraduate degrees, Master's and Doctorate) studied at public universities, are regionally governed by specific yearly public fees within the limits that the Ministry of Education has established.
The cost of a credit in the first enrollment of undergraduate degrees varies between € 16.31 and € 24.89 depending on the level of experimentation. The cost of a credit for official Master's, at the University of Alicante, is established in general at € 46.20 (Master's that enable students to carry out a professional activity, between € 17.60 and € 23.85).
The cost of a credit in a Doctorate varies between € 49.44 and € 69.60, depending on the field of knowledge.
Organic Law on Education(Art. 83) and Organic Law of Universities (Art. 45) regulate student rights and the administration's oblgiation to established a grant and funding system that allows students to have the right to study.
In accordance with these principles, official university studies (Undergraduate Degree, Master's and Doctorate) have the following calls for grants and funding:
The Bologna Declaration (1999) established the implementation of the European Higher Education Area in 2010.
In accordance with this, Royal Decree 1393/2007 in its 1 additional provision established that academic year 2010/11 would not offer new students places in old undergraduate degrees (two-cycle degree, three-year degrees...), as the new undegraduate degrees would come into force.
Some private and public universities started to offer the new undergraduate degrees in 2008/09.
Official university Master's began in 2007/08.
The University of Alicante implemented the new undergraduate degrees in 2010/11.
The old undergraduate degrees (three-year degrees, two-cycle degrees) shall be taught in parallel to new undergraduate degrees until academic year 2014/15 ( 1 Additional provision RD 1393/2007 ).
In academic year 2010/11 there were no places offered for studies to be phased out and there was no classes in first-year subjects. The rest of the subjects would lose face-to-face classes each year.
Once the degree subjects are phased out, exams will continute for at least two further academic years ( 2 transitional provision . RD 1393/2007 ).
The agreement of the UA Governing Council (29.05.12) exams will be carried out (six calls) in the three consecutive years after the degree subjects are phased out.
Universidad de Alicante. Aulario II. Planta baja.
Carretera de San Vicente del Raspeig s/n
03690 San Vicente del Raspeig
Alicante (Spain)
Tel: (+34) 96 590 3456Fax: (+34) 96 590 3755
