On 19 June 1999, the European ministers of higher education made a joint declaration undertaking to create and consolidate a European higher education area by 2010.

This agreement, signed by more than 40 European countries including Switzerland, is known as the Bologna Declaration.

Its objectives are as follows:

• To harmonise the higher education structure and increase the attractiveness of studying in Europe by means of a comparable system based on two cycles of study, undergraduate level (Bachelor degree, the first cycle) and graduate level (Master’s degree, the second cycle)
  
• To facilitate the mobility of students and research staff by means of a system of transferability and credits: the ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System)
  
• The recognition of academic qualifications by all European employers by means of a system of easily readable and comparable qualifications, to which is added the diploma supplement
  
• Cooperation in quality assurance matters
  
• To reinforce European culture while respecting diversity

Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees

Within the scope of the Bologna Declaration, the Bachelor’s degree (180 to 240 ECTS) and the Master’s (90 to 120 ECTS) correspond respectively to the qualifications on completion of the first and second cycles of higher education study.

The ECTS

The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a system for the recognition of learning outcomes, enabling credits to be accumulated and transferred.

Centred on the student, it is based on the volume of work done in order to achieve the objectives of the course of study. These are preferably based on the form of results to be achieved or skills acquired. The volume of work is expressed in the form of credits, as follows:

• 1 credit corresponds to 25 to 30 hours of work.
  
• A bachelor’s degree corresponds to a volume of work between 180 and 240 credits.
  
• A master’s degree is between 90 and 120 credits.

The diploma supplement

The diploma supplement is a document attached to a higher education diploma, which is intended to improve the international “transparency” and facilitate academic and professional recognition of qualifications.

This diploma supplement describes the type, level, context, content and status of the studies undertaken.

Quality assurance

The states are aware of the importance of the Bologna process and attach great importance to quality.

The Bologna process exists thanks to close collaboration with the national authorities, academic networks and associations, but also with the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and the network of National Academic Recognition Information Centres in the European Union (NARIC/ENIC). Two pilot projects on the subject of “quality” are currently under way:

• A project coordinated by the European University Association (EUA) on the internal quality culture of higher education establishments
  
• A project coordinated by ENQA on external quality evaluation (definition of common criteria)

With reference to the UASs, the Federal Chambers of the Swiss government have adopted the text concerning the Bologna process of 17 December 2004 (Art. 4).

This stipulates: “In accordance with the Bologna Declaration, the Universities of Applied Sciences propose higher education in two cycles leading to the bachelor’s degree (first cycle) and the master’s degree (second cycle)”.

Implementation of the principles of the Bologna Declaration in the UASs actually began in 2004. All the subject areas work together to ensure optimum harmonisation of their practices.