Transcript Folie 1

Quality Labels: The Chemistry
Eurobachelor® and
Euromaster
Brussels, May 4th 2007
The „Tuning Project“ is the HE institutions‘ answer to
the political decisions underlying the Bologna process.
It involves almost 150 HE institutions in 9 subject area
groups; apart from chemistry, these are: physics,
mathematics, history, earth sciences, business,
education sciences, nursing, European studies.
The chemistry Eurobachelor and Euromaster are
products of Tuning.
ECTN is a network with over 150 members from 37
countries; apart from universities these include 13
national chemical societies (BE/Flanders, DE, ES, FR,
GB, IT, NL, CS, SK, LT, RO, SI).
ECTN also exists in the form of an Association under
Belgian law.
Both the Network and the Association are open; further
member institutions, chemical societies or other
chemistry-interested organisations are welcome to join
us!
ECTNA Quality Assurance
Mission Statement
• Our mission is to ensure that the
Eurobachelor® and Euromaster Labels
awarded by ECTNA and its partners set the
standards for chemistry higher education in
Europe and ensure that Bachelor and Master
degrees offered by European higher
education institutions are comparable and
easily readable as far as skills, competences
and learning outcomes are concerned.
Eurobachelor®
The Logo
Eurobachelor®
The Past
The Eurobachelor® Story
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2001-2002: developed by Tuning Chemistry Subject Area Group
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May 2002: presented at Closing Meeting of Tuning Phase One in Brussels
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April 2003: adopted by ECTN Association Assembly in Prague
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October 2003: adopted by FECS (now EuCheMS) General Assembly (…from
Cork to Vladivostok)
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April 2004: ECTN Association decides to offer “Eurobachelor Label” to
interested institutions
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September 2004-June 2006: EU Commission-funded pilot project for
accreditation of the “Chemistry Eurobachelor Label”
The Quality Label
Awards during pilot
project: 30, from 20 institutions
• Countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech
Republic, England, Finland, Greece,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, The
Netherlands
• Most labels: Università di Bologna
• Eurobachelor®
Supported by the European Commission (pilot project)
Run by an international “Label Committee”
• First: “Slimline” self-assessment procedure
• Second: One-day site visit by 1 national and 2 international
experts (at least in the pilot phase)
• Third: Award recommendation made by Label Committee
• Final decision taken by Administrative Council of ECTN
Association
• National chemical societies and EuCheMS will play a vital role
• Valid for 5 years with simple renewal procedure
The Site Visit
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2 international experts
1 national expert
One-day visit
Discussions with institution leaders,
programme coordinators, teachers,
students
• Tour of facilities
• The Eurobachelor is about quality: defining
reference points on an international basis.
• The Eurobachelor is about quality assurance:
evaluation and accreditation.
• The Eurobachelor is about autonomy: not a
straitjacket but a framework to be applied as the
institution wishes.
• The Eurobachelor is about flexibility: it can readily
be adapted as the needs of the subject change.
• The Eurobachelor is about transparency: together
with the Diploma Supplement it is an easily
understood qualification.
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• The Eurobachelor is based on ECTS and its correct
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application.
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• The Eurobachelor is about mobility: it
makes it possible for the graduate to
move easily within Europe, but also
almost certainly throughout the
world.
• The Eurobachelor is about
recognition: even if the Lisbon
convention is in force, institutions
need to apply it.
LENGTH OF THE FIRST CYCLE
Planned or realised
(as of Oct.2006):
 Ba = 180 ECTS
 Ba = 240 ECTS
 VARIABLE
The Chemistry Eurobachelor - A framework
for a European first-cycle degree in
chemistry
Outcomes
Define which competences a programme seeks to
develop, or what its graduates should be able to
know, to understand, and to do
• Aid to transparency
• Aid to the development of better-defined degrees
• Aid to the development of systems of recognition
• Aid to employability
Chemistry Eurobachelor – defined as a programme of
180 credits based on outcomes, but also applicable
to institutions using 240 credits.
Aspects considered in the Chemistry
Eurobachelor
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Learning outcomes (adapted from QAA benchmarks–UK)
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Modularisation
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Credit distribution
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ECTS and student workload
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Mobility
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Methods of Teaching and Learning
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Assessment, Grading
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Quality Assurance
Credit distribution:
• At least 150 of the 180 credits should deal
with chemistry, physics, biology or
mathematics.
• The course should include EITHER a bachelor
thesis of 15 ECTS credits OR an equivalent
industry placement.
Credit distribution:
Compulsory modules (total of at least 90 credits):
 Organic chemistry
 Inorganic chemistry
 Physical chemistry
 Analytical chemistry
 Biological chemistry
 Physics, Mathematics
Semi-optional modules (a minimum of 3 modules - 15
credits) from:
 Biology
 Computational chemistry
 Chemical technology
 Macromolecular chemistry
 ….and others, depending on the institution
Modularisation
• We recommend that the chemistry
Eurobachelor programme should be modular,
with EITHER 5, 10, 15 OR 6, 9, 12, 15 credits
per module
• The learning outcomes for each module should
be identified
• The modules should be of three types:
compulsory
semi-optional
and elective (freedom for the student is
important!)
Generic Skills: These are the Key
to Employability of the Bachelor!
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The capacity to apply knowledge in practice, in particular problem-solving
competences, relating to both qualitative and quantitative information.
Numeracy and calculation skills, including such aspects as error analysis,
order-of-magnitude estimations, and correct use of units.
Information-management competences, in relation to primary and
secondary information sources, including information retrieval through online computer searches.
Ability to analyse material and synthesise concepts.
The capacity to adapt to new situations and to make decisions.
Information-technology skills such as word-processing and spreadsheet
use, data-logging and storage, subject-related use of the Internet.
Skills in planning and time management.
Interpersonal skills, relating to the ability to interact with other people
and to engage in team-working.
Communication competences, covering both written and oral
communication, in one of the major European languages (English, German,
Italian, French, Spanish) as well as in the language of the home country.
Study competences needed for continuing professional development.
These will include in particular the ability to work autonomously.
Ethical commitment
The Euromaster
Framework
• Approved by the ECTNA General
Assembly 2006
• Approved by EuCheMS 2006
Primary aims
To provide a second cycle degree which will be:
– recognised by other European institutions as being of
a standard which will provide automatic right of
access (though not right of admission, which is the
prerogative of the receiving institution) to chemistry
doctoral programmes or third cycle courses
– recognised by employers as being of a standard which
fit the graduates for employment as professional
chemists in chemical and related industries or in
public service
– recognised by the European Chemist Registration
Board as being sufficient to allow the graduates to
obtain the status of European Chemist.
Euromaster Descriptor (1)
• Second cycle degrees in chemistry are awarded to
students who have shown themselves by
appropriate assessment to:
– have knowledge and understanding that is founded upon
and extends that of the Bachelor’s level in chemistry,
and that provides a basis for originality in developing
and applying ideas within a research context;
– have competences which fit them for employment as
professional chemists in chemical and related industries
or in public service;
– have attained a standard of knowledge and competence
which will give them access to third cycle course units
or degree programmes.
Euromaster Descriptor (2)
Such graduates will:
– have the ability to apply their knowledge and understanding, and
problem solving abilities, in new or unfamiliar environments
within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to
chemical sciences;
– have the ability to integrate knowledge and handle complexity,
and formulate judgements with incomplete or limited
information, and to reflect on ethical responsibilities linked to
the application of their knowledge and judgements;
– have the ability to communicate their conclusions, and the
knowledge and rationale underpinning these, to specialist and
non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously;
– have developed those learning skills that will allow them to
continue to study in a manner that may be largely self-directed
or autonomous, and to take responsibility for their own
professional development.
Judging the Quality of Euromaster
Programmes: “Fitness for Purpose”
• How can a programme can be judged when a
“Euromaster Label” is under consideration?
– The “Budapest Descriptor” gives a global description of
the aims of the programme, and institutions should
draft a statement which defines the aims and the
profile of the programme. Such a statement will
describe the elements of the programme with
reference to the Budapest descriptor. It will describe
the skills and competences which the graduate will have
at the end of the programme.
– This statement defines the purpose of the programme,
and the accreditation process will then be designed to
find out whether the programme is fit for the purpose
for which it is designed.
The Number of Credits
– Master study programmes should involve 90-120 ECTS credits,
at least 60 of which must be at Master level. A normal
academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS credits, a European
average workload of around 1500 hours and an average of 40
weeks per year during which the student will be studying.
– Why the emphasis on "at Master level"? Because of the
expected flexibility of Master programmes, it may for
example be possible in a particular institution for a Physics
Bachelor to enrol as a Chemistry Master. In such a case, the
Master candidate may well have to make up work (at Bachelor
level) in order to be able to reach the defined learning
outcomes.
– Depending on the structure of the individual programme and
the number of credits involved, these may be EXTRA credits
or may be included in the 90 or 120 which the complete
programme carries.
– Such "bridging" modules or course units must be given
credit and mentioned in the Diploma Supplement.
The Master Thesis
– The academic goal of the Master degree in the chemical
sciences is to give graduates a research experience much
broader and deeper than that involved in the limited
Bachelor Thesis. The intention is the graduate will
successfully complete a research project, the outcome of
which is of a quality that is potentially publishable.
– Thus the Master Thesis should normally carry at least
30 credits.
– The Thesis will be written in the language prescribed by the
institution and defended according to the rules of the
institution. It should be remembered that Thesis
presentation can be used as a tool for improving
presentation skills, also in a foreign language.
– The supervision (and assessment) of the Master thesis must
be transparent.
Teaching Staff
– The supervisors bear a heavy responsibility in the
Master programmes. Institutions applying for a
Euromaster Label will be asked to provide brief
details of the members of the teaching staff
involved in the degree programme and of their
recent publication records and other scholarly
activity.
– This information is necessary in order to judge the
background of the programme. Naturally no
outside interference in the teaching staff policy
of the institution is intended.
Outcomes: Subject Knowledge
– A Master programme will be much more flexible than a
Bachelor programme.
– It is therefore neither necessary nor advisable to list
areas of subject knowledge which the programme
should cover. According to the needs of the
institution, such programmes will be either broadlybased or specialised. Thus the second cycle graduate
will often have an in depth knowledge of an area of
specialism in chemical science.
– Euromaster programmes will have NO defined "core"
comparable to the "core" of 90 credits
Eurobachelor framework.
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– The institution can define a core for its own
individual degree programme.
Language
– At Euromaster level, where the research
component forms a main component of the
programme, language proficiency must be
developed
further
and
must include
communication competences in a second
language (which for chemists will logically be
English).
– Competences in reading and understanding
English should be achieved automatically,
since the vast majority of the chemical
literature to be consulted is now written in
this language.
The Euromaster Label
• EU pilot project for a „Euromaster
Label“ is running
• Applications close 30.11.2007
• For details see www.eurobachelor.eu
The Chemistry
Eurobachelor® and
Euromaster:
The Future
ECTNA has now licensed the award
of the Eurobachelor® Label to three
partner organisations:
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The German accreditation agency ASIIN
www.asiin.de
The Royal Society of Chemistry, UK
www.rsc.org
The Società Chimica Italiana
www.soc.chim.it
For details of applications to them see their websites
The future of the Euromaster Label?
• From April 2008 these three partners
(and any new ones) will also be able to
award the Euromaster Label
Who will operate where?
• From April 2008 the three partners will
also be able to work outside their
„national“ boundaries
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What is left for ECTNA to do?
Join ENQA
Be listed on the „Register“
Work within Tuning on a Sectoral
Qualifications Framework for Higher
Education (and hopefully Vocational
Education and Training)
Thank you for listening!