The overall picture sketched in the 2009 Bologna Stocktaking Report seems less ‘green’, when compared to the previous reports of 2005 and 2007. The main reasons for this appear to be: firstly, the introduction of more demanding and detailed criteria for the various indicators, and secondly, the rather recent geographic expansion of the Bologna Process. Nevertheless, there are participants, such as Serbia, which despite joining late, have made considerable progress towards integrating the Bologna goals into their higher education systems. In fact, Serbia has achieved an overall score of 3.8, as high as that of Germany – a signatory of the Bologna Declaration. The indisputable frontrunner in terms of successful implementation of the Bologna objectives, according to the report, is Scotland (achieving the maximum score of 5, i.e. an entirely dark ‘green’ scorecard), with Denmark (4.9), Ireland (4.8) and Sweden (4.8) very close to catching up. 

The report’s major conclusion is that while progress has been made in implementing some of the specific Bologna objectives, significant challenges remain. One of them is the adoption of an integrated approach to quality assurance (QA), and in particular, the implementation and harmonisation of internal QA systems, throughout the EHEA.

The key to the future of the EHEA, the report points out, is to intensify work with learning outcomes and strengthen the link between learning outcomes, qualification frameworks, quality assurance systems and recognition practices.

Stocktaking Report 2009
List of indicators