Europe has been telling students for a long time more, than ten years that they will get something that sounds easy: their school work will be automatically recognized by other countries. Europe has promised students this recognition for a very long time.
The European Higher Education Area got the phrase at the last minute in 2012. It was added to the Bucharest Communiqué after people talked about it all night. The European Higher Education Area was very hopeful about this.
If European countries could make their degree systems and credit systems and quality assurance tools the same using the Bologna reforms then recognizing each others qualifications should be very easy, for the European Higher Education Area.
Almost. When you have a degree from another country it is not always easy to use it. You cannot just scan your masters degree. Get approval to start working in a profession or to join a new university program right away. People still have to look at it and decide if it is okay. They want to know if your masters degree is at the level. They also want to know if the university that gave you the degree is an one.. They want to know if your degree is good, for what you want to use it for. Your degree has to be recognized. That means someone has to check it carefully. They have to make sure your degree is good enough to practice a profession or to enter an university program.
The Bologna instruments that we have now like the qualifications frameworks and the quality assurance standards and the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System they give us some answers.
They help us figure out the level of a course and how work it is and the basic quality it needs to have.
The Bologna instruments like the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System and the qualifications frameworks are useful, for this.
They do not mean that universities do not have to look at what kind of students they are getting and what those students are learning.
The universities still get to decide who they want to let in the Bologna instruments do not take away that from the universities the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System and the qualifications frameworks do not override this decision.
The difference between these two things is important. The Lisbon Recognition Convention draws a line, between being able to apply to a school and actually getting in. When we talk about access we mean that European Higher Education Institutions have to consider your application. On the hand admission is the decision that the institution makes about whether or not you can attend. The idea of recognition, which is widely discussed in Europe means that people have the right to apply but it does not mean that the institution has to accept them. Automatic recognition gives people the right to be considered. It does not guarantee that they will get in.
The Council of Europe is thinking about a convention on automatic recognition. This is an idea but it also has some political meaning. Does Europe need a law to make recognition work better?. If Europe needs a better law should Europe get this law from a completely new treaty on automatic recognition? The Council of Europe is considering this idea of a convention, on automatic recognition.
The idea of wanting things to be clear is easy to understand. Moving to a place for school or work has become pretty normal. Students travel to countries for their whole degree or just for a semester or even for a short time to do some research. Employers want to know what they are getting.. Even in Europe it can still be hard to know if your degree will be recognized. This is partly because each country has its way of doing things. It is also because people are careful. People need to be able to trust that academic credentials are real. Mobility is something that students do for degrees for exchange semesters or for short research stays and that is why recognition of academic credentials, such, as degrees is important.
The Lisbon Recognition Convention is something that we already have in place. This convention was adopted back in the 1990s and it has been ratified by 57 states. The Lisbon Recognition Convention helps with cooperation across the region. The ENIC and NARIC networks are used by recognition bodies to share information with each other. They agree on what certain texts mean. The Lisbon Recognition Convention has been around for a while now over time the people in charge have adopted some additional documents that deal with newer issues. These issues include things, like qualifications frameworks. Recognizing the credentials of refugees who are trying to start over in a new place.
The mechanism is really flexible. This means that states can make changes to the practice without having to open up the treaty again. If we have a document about automatic recognition it could easily fit into the system we already have. Then once all the parties agree to it it can be applied to everyone. The mechanism is what makes this possible so the mechanism is very useful, in this case.
Making a set of rules on the other hand would take a long time. Treaties need to be approved by everyone. Some countries do this quickly. Europe treaties need approval from all the countries. Some countries are fast others are slow. While we are waiting institutions would be in a situation. There is also a problem with this: Europe could break apart. Europe has been working for years to make sure everyone recognizes the same rules. If we introduce legal documents that are different from the ones we already have it could make things more confusing rather than simpler. Europe has spent a lot of time making sure everyone is, on the page.
The argument about this might seem like something that only matters to officials. For students it is very real. This decision determines whether a nursing degree from one country will be accepted in another country. It also determines whether a graduate can apply for a program without having to fill out a lot of paperwork that takes months to complete. It determines whether moving to a place for school feels normal or like a big risk, for students who want to study nursing. The nursing qualification is what is really important here. Students need to know if it will be accepted in another country.
Automatic recognition was never meant to eliminate judgment. It was meant to reduce unnecessary doubt. The question now is whether strengthening that promise requires a new legal edifice or a careful renovation of the one already standing. Europe’s ministers will decide the format. Students will feel the consequences.
