Montpellier 13-14 mai 2010

Bologna Process in France:

Shortcomings and strenghts

in implementing ECTS and DS

Montpellier 13-14 mai 2010

•The Strenght of the law in a very centralized public administration (the Ministry decides, the state employees obey…)•The weakness of an individualistic tradition by the academics (oh, come off it!)= the two sides of a same coin.

Montpellier 13-14 mai 2010

2002 : a decisive and deciding year

The decrees of April 2002 install the so called LMD system, with one semester courses, use of ECTS, and issue of the Diploma Supplement (annexe descriptive au diplôme) compulsory from 2005.

All the Higher Education Institutions must implement the new landscape (except medical/paramedical and artistic curricula)

La loi de modernisation sociale law of january 2002 creates the CNCP (national committee of vocational qualification) , in charge of the RNCP (National Register of Vocational qualification), which gives an up to date information for all diplomas, titles et certificates recognised by the State. It allows to position all the diplomas in relation to the European Qualification Framework (EQF).

Montpellier 13-14 mai 2010

The L.M.D.

1st cycle = 3 years/180 credits grade of “licence”= bachelor2nd cycle = 2 years/120 credits grade of master3rd cycle = minimum 3 years grade of doctor (=Phd) Not all the Doctoral Schools use ECTS (no regulation)

1 ECTS stands for around 25 to 30 student working hours

Montpellier 13-14 mai 2010

Positive points

-All the Higher Education Institutions (universities + grandes écoles) use ECTS- Good use of the learning agreement and transcript of records for mobility- The recognition of the periods of study made abroad is guaranteed

Montpellier 13-14 mai 2010

Structural weaknesses persit

•The DS is not yet issued in all the universities (especially in the Human sciences universities) in spite of the law…• The student workload is measured only on the base of the contact hours•The ECTS are not linked to learning outcomes•Semesters are not true semesters (the courses of semester 1 do not start again at semester 2)

Montpellier 13-14 mai 2010

Why ?

•French Higher Educational system is always a teacher centred system and not a student centred system.•Many French academics think that the Bologna process has been entirely implemented with the LMD.• The notion of learning outcomes has not been appropriated by the academics.•Some tools like Tuning Educational Structures in Europe are not very known in France (the literature is in english…)•Tutorial system is not yet brought into widespread use •No idea about what general knowledge and skills of a student at the end of the 1st cycle should be=The reform has not been supported by a real pedagogical reflection• The top down approach has been too strong respect to the bottom-up one ; the reform has been “suffered” but not really adopted or assumed.• There are political and ideological resistance and opposition to the Bologna process

Montpellier 13-14 mai 2010

Thank you for your attention….