THE BOLOGNA PROCESS AND ITS IMPACT ON HIGHER EDUCATION AT BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: THE CASE OF INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SARAJEVO

Uluslararas› Yüksekö¤retim Kongresi: Yeni Yönelifller ve Sorunlar (UYK-2011) 27-29 May›s 2011, ‹stanbul; 3. Cilt / Bölüm XVI / Sayfa 2520-2525 The Bologna Process and its Impact on Higher Education at Bosnia and Herzegovina: The Case of International University of Sarajevo Assoc. Prof. Dr. Leman Figen Gül, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Murat Gül International University of Sarajevo, Hrasnicka cesta 15, Sarajevo 71000, Bosnia and Herzegovina Abstract As a signatory of the Bologna Declaration since 2003, Bosnia and Herzegovina has committed to restructure its education system. Today Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has a very complex constitutional and administrative system which consists of three levels: state, entity and canton. On the state level the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), the Republica Srpska (RS) and of the Brcko District function as semi-autonomous administrative entity. Furthermore FBiH consists of ten cantons each administered by its own government and parliament. Each of these administrative bodies has its own rules and regulations of higher education. Considering the above mentioned complex political system, this paper examines the higher education issues in BiH by focusing on the relationship of models and processes, using a case study of the implementation of the Bologna Process in the International University of Sarajevo (IUS). The paper also summarizes the difficulties of the implementation process. Key words: Bosnia and herzegovina, higher education, bologna process, ECTS. Introduction The Bologna Process is not only restricted to Western European countries; since 2003 it also accepted by a wide range of South-eastern European countries including Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). As the most significant and wide-ranging reform of higher education in Europe, the Bologna Declaration, which owes its name to the ‘Bologna Declaration on the European Higher Education Area’ (EHEA) signed in 1999 in this Italian city. The Bologna Declaration rested on the principles of the two former declarations: Joint Declaration on the Harmonisation of the Architecture of the European Higher Education System of Paris-La Sorbonne (25 May 1998) and Magna Carta Universitatum of Bologna (1988). Presenting a broader scope than the two previous documents, the Bologna Declaration emphasised the solid commitment of the organisations with the decision making power in Higher Education and of all agents that constitute the Higher Education community towards the establishment of a EHEA. The Bologna Declaration focused on six main principles: • • • • 2520 The adaptation of a system of easily readable and comparable degrees; The adaptation of a system with two main cycles (undergraduate / graduate); The establishment of a system of credits (such as ECTS); The promotion of mobility by overcoming obstacles; L. F. Gül, M. M. Gül • The promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance; and • The promotion of European dimensions in higher education. With the signing of the Bologna Declaration in 2003, BiH committed to restructure its education system. This paper presents the implementation process at IUS with a particular example of Architecture Program that would be fruitful to address the challenges on the way to harmonise the higher education in BiH with principles set in Bologna Declaration. Higher Education System of Bosnia and Herzegovina Since 1992 BiH has not been part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The independence of the country had been paid for the Yugoslavian War (1992-1995). With the Dayton Agreement in 1995 peace was established and so the new constitution. Yet all these did not provide a sustainable outcome for the country which has a very complicated history. Today BiH has a very complex administrative system which consists of three levels of governmnet: state, entity and canton. On the state level the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), the Republica Srpska (RS) and the Brcko District operate as semi-autonomous administrative entity. Furthermore, the entity of the FBiH also consists of ten cantons. Each of these twelve administrations has its own ministry of education, laws related to the field of education and the budget to run the system. As a result of this complex political structure, there are a large number of challenges and obstacles stand in front of BiH affecting the implementation of the required educational reform. The country that is characterised by economic transition in post-war conditions and a high dependence on international support in the process of reconstruction and institution-building (Papic, 2001) needs a well coordinated and comprehensive education reform. At the state level of BiH, the Ministry of Civil Affairs has the competency in terms of ‘coordination of activities, harmonization of plans of the entity authorities and definition of international-level strategy in the area of education’ (Official Bulletin, 2003). The Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH put forward several frameworks in the area of higher education at the state level such as the Framework Law on Higher Education in BiH (2007). Three state level agencies for education are established: Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance, Agency for Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education, and the Centre for Information and Recognition of Documents in the Area of Higher Education. The Federation’s Constitution states that the education is the responsibility of the cantons, including ‘decisions concerning the regulation and provision of education’ (Section III, Article 4 (b)). The authority over education is given to the two entities: FBiH, and RS. In RS, a single ministry of education manages the higher education. On July 19, 2006, the National Assembly of the Republika Srpska adopted the new Law on Higher Education in RS. In FBiH, the authority over education is divided into ten cantons, thus each canton has its own ministry of education. On the other hand, eight of the ten cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have adopted their respective laws on higher education. The laws have been adopted in the Tuzla Canton, Sarajevo Canton, Zenica-Doboj Canton, Bosnian Podrinje Canton, Una-Sana Canton, West Herzegovina Canton, Posavina canton, and Canton 10 (Livno). Those lower government levels have the obligation of the harmonization of their laws with the state-level laws. Because of the abovementioned fragmented governing structure, having 13 Ministries responsible (the Ministry of Civil affairs, two ministries at the entity level and ten ministries at the cantons of FBiH), there is very limited coordination at any level of the education between the governing bodies. The need for the urgent educational reform is stated in the National Report (2004), indicating that the goal of the Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH is to establish a higher education system with credible structures and instruments of effective governance, management and accountability. With the attempt to join the ‘European Area of Higher Education’ and performing the reform in the education system, BiH declared to follow the tested framework offered by the Bologna Process. BiH committed to ‘modernise the financing and management systems and legal framework, which underpin the education system’ (National Report, 2004). In the following section we summarised the implementation of the Bologna Process by analysing the main tools and approaches such as implementation of ECTS system and National Qualifications Framework. 2521 Uluslararas› Yüksekö¤retim Kongresi: Yeni Yönelifller ve Sorunlar (UYK-2011), 27-29 May›s 2011, ‹stanbul Implementing the Bologna Process in BiH Entity Education Ministers signed a registration letter for joining Bologna Declaration, as well as the Declaration Implementation plan. By September 2003, Bosnia and Herzegovina signed the Declaration and committed to reform the education systems based on the Bologna Declaration. One of the tools for the implementation of the Bologna Process is the National Qualification Framework which is defined as an instrument for the classification of qualifications. The qualifications are described according to a set of criteria for specified levels of learning achieved, which aims to promote the transparency, access progression and quality of qualifications in relation to the labour market an civil society. The qualifications of the graduates and the learning achievements are defined by the countries based on the necessities of the relevant society. BiH with other two Tempus[1] countries (Serbia and Tunisia) have reached a level where a National Qualifications Network for higher education has been formally adapted and the implementation process has started (Ruffio et al., 2010). It was decided by the BiH universities and ministries at state and entity level that through the joint EC-CoE (European Commission- Council of Europe) project “Strengthening Higher Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina”, there will be three state-level reforms implemented: the recognition of qualifications, quality assurance and a framework for higher education qualifications. A BiH working group was established in July 2006, which finalised a proposal for these in May 2007 with the assistance of international experts. The following implementation principles are set (Implementing a Framework, 2007): • Long-term political commitment should be maintained for the whole duration of the process; • Close cooperation and full involvement of stakeholders are a prerequisite for successful implementation. • The implementation process of the qualification framework should be linked with implementing the two other components of the higher education reform project. • The implementation process should entail genuine curriculum change together with the development of appropriate teaching and assessment strategies in higher education institutions. • Adoption of a state level higher education law including the concept of a qualifications framework for higher education is an urgent need. • The procedures for linking qualifications to the framework should be transparent, properly documented and based on the Bologna guidelines. The recommendations for the implementation of BiH framework for the integration of the European Area of Higher Education, a working group with the assistance of CoE experts produced several implementation steps[2] (Joint Project, 2008). The political and governing bodies show a great interest and commitment for the implementation of the principles set by the working bodies. Accordingly the Framework Law on Higher Education in BiH was adopted in 2007. Starting from the universal principles of non-discrimination and right to education, the law governs the principles of autonomy of universities, integrated university, mobility of students and academic staff, formation of state bodies in charge of higher education, and the like. The mandatory issuance of diploma annexes, a higher education divided into three cycles, the ECTS, and establishment of the quality assurance system are prescribed in this Law as a single obligation for the higher education system in the whole of BiH (Sabanac, 2006). [1] Tempus countries are Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Rumania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/other/c11020a_en.htm [2] Implementation steps (as in Towards a European Higher Education Area, 2008): Raising awareness: Consultation and dissemination with actors in the process to raise awareness and develop knowledge and understanding of the purposes and functions of the framework, its place in the overall higher education reform process and the new approach towards describing qualifications. Information Campaign: This phase should include an information campaign towards the larger public but also the wider stakeholder community and the social partners Training of BiH Promoters: This should include academic staff as well as the assignment of academic coordinators who will be responsible for taking the lead in applying the general framework to particular fields of study and possibly also in linking qualifications to the framework. The ECTS coordinators may also provide assistance. Consensus: Seek approval of the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications for BiH from relevant governmental authorities at various levels. All relevant authorities should have adequate understanding of the purposes and functions of the framework, its role in the reform process and take the necessary measures for adopting the framework and supporting implementation. Legislation: The lack of relevant legislation could seriously hinder the implementation process and the momentum created by the joint EC - CoE project “Strengthening Higher Education in BiH” may be lost unless the relevant legislation at state level is passed without further delay. 2522 L. F. Gül, M. M. Gül The Case Study: Implementation of Bologna Process in the International University of Sarajevo International University of Sarajevo (IUS), which is one of the private universities of BiH founded by the Foundation of Education Development Sarajevo in 2004, presently undertakes significant restructuring process to address both the complex internal legislation and the accreditation process in regard to implement the Bologna Processes. The University has three faculties, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Faculty of Business and Administration, and it has around 1,200 students from different countries. The mission of IUS is to produce science, art, and technology and present it to the benefit of humanity; to educate free-thinking, participating, sharing, open-minded individuals who are open to change and improvement and who have the ability to transform knowledge into values for themselves and the community. IUS, with its identity as an international institution of education and research, will cooperate with universities in the region and in other countries to provide a peaceful and comfortable atmosphere of learning for students from a wide geography. Freedom of expression, justice and peace to all, commitment to learning, respect for diversity, striving for excellence, sharing resources, aesthetics, creating values, social involvement are all values. With the aim of becoming major hub in Balkans for bridging the East to West as a leading international institution of higher education and research centre, IUS has taken several steps for the implementation of the objectives of Bologna declaration in terms of improving the compatibility, comparability and competitiveness of the institution. The major step is to re-structuring the curriculums and self evaluation for the accreditation of the University. Implementation of ECTS System in Architecture Program One of the main components of the Bologna Process is the division of higher education programs into three sequential levels first, second and third cycles, leading to three major kinds of qualifications and degrees: Bachelor, Master and Doctorate (Ruffio et al., 2010). To comply with the requirements to implement the Bologna Process, all of the programs at IUS are in the process of the re-structuring their curriculum and the learning outcomes for the all cycles of the education. At the current stage most of the study programs has 4+2+4 system at IUS. We present the implementation of the Bologna Process in the case of the Architecture Program which offers a new curriculum adapting the 4+1+3 system. To achieve a strong interdisciplinary level of education, IUS have adapted a structure in which the education in the first year is devoted to fundamental development in art and sciences for all the students. Freshman students are offered 60 European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) points (10 subjects) in the first year as the common subjects (named as the University Courses) with the exception of some applied areas such as Architecture Program. For example, the students who wish to study the Architecture Program must enroll five Architecture Program subjects in the first year which are listed as the University Courses. The main aim of the University Courses is to provide students with an innovative and in-depth perspective of the world and society, to equip students not only with the fundamental knowledge but with the means of independent and critical thinking, to facilitate an informed and mature decision-making process for the choice of their career. The first cycle of the education includes the min 240 ECTS. The first cycle of the Architecture Program offers the beginning level of education for those who intend to pursue a career in their respective field or profession. A structured sequencing of courses is included which provides for a gradual interactive development of required knowledge and skills. This pre-professional preparation is combined with the core curriculum courses to provide a comprehensive scholarly foundation for the advancement. With the completion of the first cycle, the Bachelor of Architecture (BArch) degree can be obtained. In the first cycle of education our objective is to make sure that our students will be able to communicate effectively in a variety of formats. This will be demonstrated by students’ ability to display effective interpersonal communication skills and/or collaborate effectively. Moreover, each student is strongly advised to take courses from other disciplines at the university to get diverse knowledge from various scientific and artistic areas. The second cycle of education includes one year curriculum in architectural studies offering professional Master Degree of Architecture (MArch). The one year curriculum, min 60 credits (ECTS), in architectural stud- 2523 Uluslararas› Yüksekö¤retim Kongresi: Yeni Yönelifller ve Sorunlar (UYK-2011), 27-29 May›s 2011, ‹stanbul ies offers the professional level of education for those who intend to pursue a career in the profession. The Master of Architecture program is a professional degree program and prerequisite for registration as an architect to official bodies in Bosnia and Herzegovina and many other countries. The Master of Architecture degree is designed to provide the student the skills and insights necessary to achieve professional registration which is necessary to be a practising architect. The completion of the first cycle of education (BArch) is required to commence the second cycle of study (MArch). The basic aims of the professional Master of Architecture program are to provide the knowledge, skills and experience that will equip the graduate to be an architect. The practice of architecture today is, however, extraordinarily diverse and complex and no course could provide training in depth for all areas of practice. It is therefore essential that students obtain from the course a firm grounding in fundamentals, an ability to think creatively and logically, and a capacity to explore for themselves those areas they wish to pursue in detail. The third cycle of education includes a three year research degree: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Architecture. The degree of Doctor of Philosophy shall be an ungraded degree awarded for research that demonstrates that the student has the capacity to conduct research independently at a high level of originality and quality. The expected duration of study is three years and as guided by Bologna Process the completion of the doctoral study in Architecture Program will need 180 credits (ECTS). The research should uncover new knowledge either by the discovery of new facts, the formulation of theories or the innovative re-interpretation of known data and established ideas. The completion of the second cycle of education (MArch) or equivalent is required to commence the third cycle of study (PhD). Internal Evaluation Process In addition to the implementation of three sequential levels of education, the second tool for the implementation of the Bologna Process at IUS is the implementation of the Quality Assurance System. IUS has been adopting an internal evaluation process as part of the Quality Assurance System. Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance has been established by the Framework Law on Higher Education in BiH (Official Gazette of BH No. 59/07), as independent public organization. As stated in the mission of the Agency, it encourages all higher education institutions to build their own system of quality, based on these standards, the periodic self-evaluations as a basis for external evaluation, which shall be performed by independent and impartial national and international experts, in accordance with clear and transparent criteria.[3] The process of the internal evaluation at IUS has been realised based on a number of basic principles about quality assurance which include the followings (based on the principles set in SGQAE, 2005): • the quality of academic programmes need to be developed and improved for students and other beneficiaries of higher education across the EHEA; • there need to be efficient and effective organisational structures within which those academic programmes can be provided and supported; • transparency and the use of external expertise in quality assurance processes are important; • there should be encouragement of a culture of quality within higher education institutions; • processes should be developed through which higher education institutions can demonstrate their accountability, including accountability for the investment of public and private money; • quality assurance for accountability purposes is fully compatible with quality assurance for enhancement purposes; • institutions should be able to demonstrate their quality at home and internationally; • processes used should not stifle diversity and innovation. Based on the above principles, IUS implements a policy and associated procedures for the assurance of the quality and standards of their programmes and awards. IUS committed itself explicitly to the development of a culture which recognises the importance of quality, and quality assurance. The developed strategy, policy and procedures have a formal status and be publicly available through the website. [3] Mission Statement : http://www.hea.gov.ba/o-nama/Misija/?id=486 2524 L. F. Gül, M. M. Gül Concluding Remarks In this paper, we have summarized the implementation process of Bologna Declaration in BiH with a case study of IUS. As a voluntary country to adapt the Bologna Process, BiH has been facing several problems to make the implementation process successful. Particularly, the fragmented structure of higher education system in BiH generates a range of significant problems for the implementation of the Bologna Process in this country. The political division between different entities, and among the cantons in Federation, mirrors on the proposed reforms in higher education, and in many cases severe political disagreement between parties stands as the biggest barrier in front of the efforts made to comply with the Bologna Process. Furthermore the existing legislation, which has been drafted in accordance with the long-standing socialist state model, prevents the implementation of many intended reforms in higher education. Recognition of the academic qualifications and titles obtained in other countries, appointment and promotion of academic staff, student grading system are the weakest points of the existing legislative framework. In particular the lack of specific legislation to address the needs of private higher education institutions creates significant problems for such institutions as they are governed by the same regulations which have been tailored for the needs of the state-owned and financed universities. It is anticipated that the full implementation of principles and rules contained with the Bologna Process would assist the higher education institutions within BiH (both public and private) to overcome the existing problems they face with. In particular this reform would help private higher education intuitions, such as IUS, to better function and compete with similar institutions around the Globe. Acknowledgement Any opinion, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IUS. References Bologna Declaration (1999). Bologna Declaration on the European Higher Education Area, 19 June 1999. Implementing a Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in Bosnia and Herzegovina, approved by Steering Board, 22 June 2007. National Report (2004). Education Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH. Official Bulletin (2003). Laws on Ministries and Other Administrative Bodies of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Official Bulletin, no. 5/03. Ruffio, P. and Heinamaki, P. (2010). State of play of the Bologna Process in the Tempus countries (2009-2010). Education , audiovisual and culture executive agency, Brussels. Sabanac, Z. (2006). National Report on Higher Education 2005-2007, Education Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ministry of Civil Affairs of BiH. SGQAE, (2005). Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European, Higher Education Area, European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education, 2005, Helsinki. Towards a European Higher Education Area (2008). 7 Key Strategies and Guidelines to Implement the Bologna Process, Joint Project 2006 – 2008 ‘Strengthening Higher Education in BiH’, Council of Europe. Zarko, P. (Ed) (2001). International Support Policies to South-East European Countries: Lessons (not) learnered in B-H. team of authors Vasna Bojicic-Dzevlilovic, et al. Sarajevo. 2525