Implementation of the Bachelor Master Structure - PTEE 2005

Implementation of the
   Bachelor Master Structure

Erik Lagendijk             PTEE 2005
Director of Education
Applied Physics TU Delft

Outline of presentation
A European Higher Education Area: can it be?

• Bologna 1500: Where did we come from?
• Bologna 1999: Which are our aims?
• Brno 2005: Where do we stand?

With emphasis on IDEA league universities, TU Delft in particular

Erasmus will be our guide

Erasmus of Rotterdam
         1467-1536

Novum Instrumentum (1516)    Laus Stultitiae (1511)
Greek version of the NT      In praise of folly

      The great humanist and “European”
Did he live in a European Higher Education Area?

Erasmus’ travels
He studied and worked at the universities of:

•   Paris
•   Oxford
•   Bologna
•   Rome
•   Cambridge
•   Basel

                                • Mater Studiorum
                                • Bolonia docet
                                • 1200: ca 10,000 students
                                  (now 1800)

The Bologna system
• Originally a Liberal Art and Law school, later
  also Medicine and Natural Philosophy
  (Aristoteles) and Mathematics (Arabs) and
  Astronomy
• Lingua franca: Latin
• “Student” university
• (from Paris) Baccalaureate-Licentiate-
  Doctorate
• (from Paris) Ecclesiastical authority
• Universally accepted system
• But declining from 1500 on

What caused the decline?
• Reformation and Contra Reformation:
  Church loses worldly power
  Latin loses its lingua franca status

• French Revolution:
  The Continent versus England
  Different educational systems

• Rising of superpowers: France, England,
  Russia, Germany:
  Strong nationalistic tendencies (ending
  in tragedy)

Bologna Declaration 1999
• Adoption of a system of easily readable and
  comparable degrees
• Adoption of a system essentially based on
  two (since 2003: three) cycles
• Establishment of a system of credits
• Promotion of mobility of students and staff
• Promotion of European co-operation in
  quality assurance
• Promotion of the necessary European
  dimensions in higher education

Adoption of a system of easily
readable and comparable degrees
     based on three cycles?
          And the answer is:
 The Bachelor-Master-Doctorate
          (BaMaDo) system:
3 or 4 (Ba) - 1 or 2 (Ma) - 3 or 4 (Do)
               year cycle

                     At last:
                     The Anglo-Saxons rule the
                     university system?

Universities: where do we
                    come from?
                 Idea League                       France          Italy        USA
RWTH         ETH Zurich   TU Delft    IC London
Aachen
 Vor-    2    Vor-    2   Kand.   3    BSc    3    Bac1          Dipl.     3   BSc    4
Diplom       Diplom                               DAEU1          Univ.2
                                                  DEUG       2
                                                  DEUST      2
                                                  CPGE       2
Diplom   3 Diplom     2   Doct.   2    MSc    1 Licence 1 Laurea 4             MSc3   1
                          (Ir.)                                  -                    -
                                       MSci   4 Maitrise 1
                                                                 6                    2
                                                 DESS 1
                                                  DRT    1
                                                  DEA    1
1.   Pre-university
2.   Rarely used
3.   Mostly a failed PhD (exception: engineering sciences)

Where are we?
                   Idea League                        France2      Italy
RWTH        ETH Zurich     TU Delft     IC London
Aachen
Vor-   2 BSc             3 BSc        3 BSc         3 Licence  3 First       3
Diplom   (=3 yr                                       (=Bac+3)   Laurea
or       Diplom)
BSc1   3
Diplom 3 MSc       1 MSc              2 MSc         1 Mastaire 2 Second      2
or       (= 4th yr                                    (=Bac+5)   Laurea
MSc1   2 Diplom)                                                 Mr di I0    1
                                        MSci        4
                                                                 Livello
Dr        ? Dr           ? Dr         4 PhD         3 Doctorat 3 Dott        3
Habil.?                                             - (=Bac+8) - Mr di II0   1
                                                    4          4 Livello

1. 25% of courses now, 6% of students, should be all in 2010
2. All MENESR institutions in 2007 at the latest

But how about content and
   method of teaching?
               RWTH      ETH        TU Delft       IC
               Aachen   Zurich                   London
               Diplom   Diplom    BSc      MSc    MSc
 ECTS
 Mathematics    40       68*      30+      6+    25-35
 Thesis work    60        20     10-16     48    22-25
               * Einstein was not amused

Intermezzo: Physics curriculum
        reform at TU Delft
• End of term projects, especially bachelor thesis project in
  research groups
• New teaching methods: problem oriented, small groups,
  studio classroom, research lab

Physics curriculum reform at
             TU Delft (2)
• Better structured curriculum: vertical concept formation by
  repetition in on-going depth, e.g. quantum mechanics in BSc1
  (Giancoli), BSc2 (Griffith), Bc3 (advanced applications like
  quantum computing) and MSc1 (second quantization etc.);
  horizontal integration by labs, projects and (computational)
  assignments
• Major-minor structure: about 30 ECTS on another subject
  (mathematics, chemistry, materials science, …)
• More emphasis on computational methods in physics
• English as the language of teaching in the master education:
  the new lingua franca

IDEA League physics
            conclusions
“Significant differences have been found in
• programme duration,
• amount of mathematics content,
• teaching, learning and examination methods,
• fraction of students successfully completing degrees,
• mean over-run time,
• tuition fees,
• student entrance selection.”

                            Too much friction for mobility?

IDEA League physics
           conclusions (2)
 “A barrier to vertical mobility arises from the fact that at
all four institutions students are expected to stay until
completion of the Master stage and programmes are
constructed in an integrated way on this assumption.
Other barriers concern the issue of fees and the different
lengths of the Master stage.”

Not to mention: cultural and language problems

Establishment of a system of credits
   We all have adopted the European Credit Transfer System
   (but in some cases – e.g. UK – only as a transfer system)

                             BUT

1 ECTS QM at Brno = 1 ECTS QM at Delft = 1 ECTS QM at Zurich
                          = … ??

For example: Imperial College claims his one year master course
                    to be worth 120 ECTS!

How are other countries doing?
  BOLOGNA SCORECARD From Stocktaking Working Group
  QUALITY ASSURANCE
  1. Stage of development of quality assurance system
  2. Key elements of evaluation systems
  3. Level of participation of students
  4. Level of international participation, co-operation and networking
  TWO-CYCLE DEGREE SYSTEM
  5. Stage of implementation of two-cycle system
  6. Level of student enrolment in two-cycle system
  7. Access from first cycle to second cycle
  RECOGNITION OF DEGREES AND
  PERIODS OF STUDY
  8. Stage of implementation of Diploma Supplement
  9. Ratification of Lisbon Recognition Convention
  10. Stage of implementation of ECTS
  TOTAL
  Czech Rep. France Germany Italy Netherlands                      UK

A European Higher Education Area
      Where do we stand?
• Adoption of a system of easily readable and comparable
  degrees based on three cycles?
  Yes and No: the BaMaDo system, but degrees are not yet
  easily readable and certainly not comparable

• Establishment of a system of credits?
  Yes and No: the ECTS system, but needs validation – diploma
  supplement?

• Promotion of mobility of students and staff?
  No: only lip service -although adventurous students can profit
  from the ERASMUS/SOCRATES programs

A European Higher Education Area
     Where do we stand (2)?
• Promotion of European co-operation in quality assurance?
  Yes and No: many countries have introduced systems of
  accreditation by law, but all (?) differ
• Promotion of the necessary European dimensions in higher
  education?
  Does anybody know what this means?

Any signs of a Phoenix arising from
            the ashes?

                  At least, as we did,
 seize the opportunity to reform your curriculum!
  (Thanks to the Bologna process the money is there)

Erasmus back on earth
            Would he think we live in a
       European Higher Education Area now?

       Physics: maybe as a discipline,
       but physicists are as foolish as in
       1500:

       “Sub hos prodeunt philosophi, barba
       pallioque verendi, qui se solos sapere
       praedicant, reliquos omnes mortales
       umbras volitare”