university PoLiti Cs and Pra Cti Ce-based researChEuropean integration, the Bologna process and the third cycleThe 1990s saw some important developments on the higher education scene in
europe. The erasmus programme, an important student and teacher exchange scheme
within the european union had been started in 1987 and expanded rapidly during
the following decade. eFTa countries like norway, sweden and switzerland joined
the programme in 1992. other nations in eastern europe followed suit even before
becoming members of the enlarged european union.
The erasmus programme was important in the sense that it forced teachers and
students from all types of higher education institutions in europe to exchange views
and compare notes about national policies and institutional curricula. The debate
which was going on in some countries about artistic research, was spread through
increased personal contacts and teacher exchange. a kind of pan- european discourse
in the field was rapidly emerging.
This pan- european development was further enhanced with the so- called Bologna
process that started in 1999. This process is surely well known to most readers of
this book. suffice it to say that the aim of this (still ongoing) project is to shape a
european higher education area by making academic degree requirements and
quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout europe. of
particular significance in this context are two goals of the process:
- easily readable and comparable degrees organized in a three- cycle structure
(e.g. bachelor- master- doctorate). - Quality assurance in accordance with the standards and guidelines for
Quality assurance in the european higher education area (esg).
Countries that are signatories to the Bologna process have proceeded at variable
speeds. some governments have seen the process as an opportunity to rationalize
higher education by making programmes shorter and more vocationally oriented.
The uniform pattern of the three cycles has (as could have been expected) created
opposition in many quarters. art schools in a number of countries have expressed their
doubts about a reform that they have regarded as bureaucratic and as an affront to
time- honoured academic ideals.
on the other hand it is obvious that the new movements on the european scene
have contributed to lively national debates on higher education policy in the field of
arts education. These debates have sometimes been linked to the theme of research
in the arts but also more generally to the Bologna structures. The need to enhance
educational quality in a european comparative perspective has led to mergers and
reorganizations in a number of countries, changes that will inevitably also have a
bearing on the future of research activities.
switzerland can be mentioned in this connection. in parallel with the implementation
of the Bologna process, a number of art schools have been merging from 2005 and
onwards. in 2005 the hochschule der Künste Bern was formed, in 2006 the haute
école d’art et de design in geneva was launched, and in 2007 the zürcher hochschule
der Künste was created as an integrated art school. one of the reasons for these merger
activities is apparently the need to shape a broader base for masters programmes and,
at a later stage, research activities.