Berlin Students Declaration

Between the 16th and 19th March 2007, more than one hundred student representatives
from forty countries gathered in Berlin to discuss their demands to the ministers ahead of
the upcoming London summit.

The discussions at this - the 13th European Students Convention, led to the recognition
that the Bologna Process has triggered some of the largest and most crucial reforms of
higher education policy in Europe. The Bologna Process helps to create a better Europe for
all and a future in which all citizens have the possibility to develop their personality and to
become active democratic citizens.

Students, however, express their doubts about the progress that is being made towards
the goal of a European Higher Education Area. ESIB believes that the Process is and
should remain challenging to all governments and stakeholders dealing with higher
education. The London Summit can only be successful through joint efforts between
governments and stakeholders, resulting in an ambitious reform agenda building on the
work that has been done in the past eight years. Importantly, after these eight years,
discussions surrounding the Process are still not prioritising institutions and students. The
work done and the input from institutions and students have to be the reference point for
future discussions.

We underline the importance of the involvement of students and their representatives in
the implementation of the Process. ESIB notes that progress has been made regarding the
involvement of students in the decision making processes and the follow-up of the
Bologna Process in its signatory countries. However, students are not recognised as full
and equal partners at all levels yet. The Bologna Process needs to become a strong driver
of change, and spearhead an increase in the involvement of students in a democratic and
transparent higher education system.

Taking stock – achievements so far

ESIB was always and is still against an “à-la-carte” implementation of the Bologna
Process. Its communiqués cannot be implemented partially, but they provide a set of
measures that jointly aid the creation of a European Higher Education Area. Unfortunately,
we can see that some action lines are still being neglected and we hope that this will
receive serious attention at the ministerial summit in London.

ESIB raises its concerns about the growing gap between countries that recently joined the
Bologna Process and the other European countries. Indeed, implementation is taking
place at two different speeds which can only lead to the splitting up of Europe into two
regions, posing a serious threat to a European Higher Education Area. More support is
needed for those countries that joined the Process most recently.

Equal Opportunities for All Students

ESIB welcomes that the Social Dimension of the European Higher Education Area has been
taken up as a priority action line by Ministers in Bergen. The goal of the action in this area
must be a situation in which the student body reflects the diversity of our population, and
in which all measures in higher education aim at promoting equal opportunities. The lack
of sufficient reliable and comparable data on the social and economic conditions of student
life in Europe has to be addressed with urgence.

ESIB notes that there is a lack of appropriate action towards access to, progression in and
completion of study programmes on the basis of equal opportunities at a national level.
The prioritisation at the European level has not yet been recognised at national level.

Mobility of students and staff

ESIB demands that a significant increase of student and staff mobility must be a core
focus in the Bologna Process. The upsurge of xenophobia all around Europe has had a
significant impact on the restriction of immigration. Mobility can only take place in an open
and tolerant society, not in a fortress Europe.. We note with concern that eight years after
the Bologna Declaration, major obstacles to mobility in Europe still remain and in some
cases have even become more problematic.

Up until today, we have not seen reliable and comparable statistics on mobility, which had
been asked for in the Bergen communiqué. Towards 2009, data collection needs to be
prioritised. On this topic, ESIB emphasises the need for data on so-called 'free-movers',
students who are mobile outside their curriculum out of a free decision.

As a matter of urgency, visa-regulations, work permits, recognition procedures and social
and financial conditions for mobility need to be addressed, with a view to the removal of
all obstacles to student and staff mobility.

Recognition of Prior Learning

ESIB welcomes that, since the Bergen Ministerial Summit, the creation of possibilities for
the recognition of prior learning (for the purpose of access and credit) is considered part
of the Bologna Process. We note that recognition of prior learning may provide an
important tool to enable traditionally disadvantaged groups to access higher education
and/or to make full use of their informally and non-formally acquired competences.

ESIB is however concerned that no concrete action has yet followed this commitment to
implement procedures for the recognition of prior learning.

Quality Assurance

ESIB notes with satisfaction a debate has been started on the compliance of national
quality assurance systems with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality
Assurance, adopted by Ministers in Bergen. They are important and helpful in designing
quality assurance systems which fit the signatory countries’ needs and are compatible
throughout Europe.

We note that particular attention is required regarding the involvement of students in
quality assurance as equal partners, not just as clients.

The main challenges for the next 2 years

Starting from our observations above, we call for the following priority actions to be
considered in the follow-up work during the two years to come. We call upon ministers to
make the necessary commitments at their London meeting.

The Social Dimension

ESIB stresses that the Social Dimension must become a top priority for the Bologna
Process. Equal opportunities for all will increase both the quality and the value of higher
education. Therefore, it has to be part of the Stocktaking carried out for the Ministerial
Summit in 2009. Clear indicators must be developed which benchmark how the students
accessing, progressing and completing higher education in the signatory countries reflect
the diverse composition of society as a whole. Any sort of discrimination has to be
stopped, including discrimination on the basis of political conviction, religion, ethnic or
cultural origin, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic
standing or any disability students may have.

We note that while the Social Dimension is being given more priority, the financial position
of students has worsened in a large number of European countries. It is important for the
Bologna Process to address the increase in such barriers to accessing higher education.
In order to facilitate a meaningful Stocktaking, ESIB calls upon Ministers to commit
themselves to carrying out student surveys on the socio-economic conditions of the
student body in their countries. The responsibility for gathering comparable data at a
European level should be entrusted to (a) professional data provider(s) such as the
EUROSTUDENT Network.

ESIB further stresses the need of National Action Plans/strategies for the Social Dimension
to be developed by all signatory states. The Bologna Follow-up Group should be asked to
provide a framework for those.

Mobility

Education International (EI) and ESIB have successfully organised the Bologna Seminar
'Making Bologna a Reality – Mobility of Staff and Students'. We are convinced that mobility
will enhance the quality of higher education and that it is time to make mobility a key
concern of the Bologna Process again. A much greater effort is needed to build coherent
strategies, including action plans at all levels, to provide incentives for more balanced
mobility and to remove obstacles. We ask the Bologna Follow-up Group to give high
priority to work on mobility, and to report back to ministers by 2009.

ESIB and EI's Pan-European Structure wish to develop a project under the auspices of the
Bologna Follow-up Group that aims to develop a European strategy on mobility of staff
and students for consideration at the next ministerial meeting in 2009. We invite
stakeholders and governments to participate in the development of such a strategy.

Recognition of prior learning

ESIB calls upon ministers to charge the Bologna Follow-Up Group with exploring the issue
of recognition of prior learning more deeply. In particular, the feasibility of the European
guidelines for the recognition of prior learning, which would build on the practice already
in place in some countries as well as represent a set of shared cornerstones of a good
system of recognition of prior learning, should be explored.

Quality Assurance

ESIB has collaborated with EUA, EURASHE and ENQA in order to increase the reliable
information on Quality Assurance Agencies, aiming to make European quality assurance
more transparent and trustworthy. Jointly, we are proposing a model of a European
Register for Quality Assurance Agencies. The inclusion of only those agencies complying
with the agreed European Standards and Guidelines will create more transparency for
students, higher education institutions and society as a whole. The stakeholder approach
will be the Register’s hallmark, as it will be governed jointly by students, higher education
institutions, quality assurance agencies and social partners.

Higher Education in Europe after 2010

ESIB strongly believes that there will be an ongoing need for democratic cooperation
between Ministers of Higher Education and stakeholders in Europe. The European Higher
Education Area will need action that stretches beyond 2010 and addresses key concerns
for the future. Students, representing the future, must be put in the centre of the
development of our higher education systems towards 2020. Likewise, they should be put
at the very centre of the learning process itself.

A fair and just system which is centred on this future generation, should aim to empower
this body as much as possible. ESIB believes that high quality education, in which there
are equal opportunities for all, and is free from any form of discrimination, must develop
into the ultimate goal of higher education systems in Europe. This goal can only be
reached in higher education institutions and systems which are jointly and democratically
governed by all stakeholders and recognise students as full and equal partners.

The future success of a European Higher Education Area also depends on its accountability
to a wider public. The development of a higher education area must be part of a public
debate which influences its contents and forms. Higher Education must claim an active
place in this debate, realising its potential as a source of knowledge and reflection.