The Bologna Process is the process of creating the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) and is based on cooperation between ministries, higher education institutions, students and staff from 46 countries, with the participation of international organisations.

The basic framework adopted is of three cycles of higher education qualification. The cycles are defined in terms of qualifications and European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) credits:

        1st cycle: typically 180−240 ECTS credits, usually awarding a Bachelor's degree.

        2nd cycle: typically 90−120 ECTS credits (a minimum of 60 on 2nd-cycle level).

                           Usually awarding a Master's degree.

        3rd cycle: Doctoral degree. No ECTS range given.

In most cases, these will take 3, 2, and 3 years respectively to complete. The actual naming of the degrees may vary from country to country.

One academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS-credits that are equivalent to 1,500-1,800 hours of study. The new model comes closer to the North American and Japanese systems. It gives greater weight to practical training and to intensive research projects. The way credits are measured reflects how hard a student has worked. The new evaluation methods reflect not only a student's performance on exams, but also his or her lab experiments, presentations, hours spent on study, innovation capacities, and so forth.

Goals:

1. it is easy to move from one country to the other (within the European Higher Education Area) – for the purpose of further study    or employment;

2. the attractiveness of European higher education has increased, so that many people from non-European countries also come to  study and/or work in Europe;

 3. the European Higher Education Area provides Europe with a broad, high-quality advanced knowledge base, and ensures the  further development of Europe as a stable, peaceful and tolerant community benefiting from a cutting-edge European Research Area;

4. there will also be a greater convergence between the U.S. and Europe as European higher education adopts aspects of the  American system.

Since a large number of European Universities are now following the Bologna model for the higher education, it’s time to assess its immediate impact and consequences to the university community and the whole society.

Academic  degree and quality assurance standards

The Bologna process intends making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe. Even though it is not an European Union initiative, since legally is an intergovernmental agreement between both EU countries and non EU countries, the European Commission plays an increasingly important role in the implementation of the process.

Issues to discuss in this area are related to gaining academic degree and quality assurance standards. Should European universities have a single model in terms  of evaluation, Financing,, students and acholar selection, programs? Should European Universities follow American University Model? Are students and professors pleased with the new model?  Is it realístic to implement a common university model in Europe where national standards in terms of wealth, social policies, public policies, are so different?