When decision makers at institutions of Higher Education hear the term Bologna these days they usually will not (only) be thinking of the Italian city carrying that name. Rather they will be reminded of the date 2010 which is really the marker in this context. What is Bologna standing for? The Ministers of Education of 29 EC countries signed the “Bologna” Agreement in June 1999. There were further signatories in Prague 2001, Berlin 2003, Bergen 2005 and recently in London. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Leuven in 2009. There are now at least 45 Governmental signatories. With its content, the agreement transforms the world of Higher Education including its underlying IT infrastructure gradually and for goods. Its overall goal is to emphasize the creation of a European area of Higher Education as a key way to promote the citizens’ mobility and employability. For this the governments participating in it have agreed on the following items: 1. Adoption of a three-cycle structure (Bachelor/Master/Doctorate) 2. Introduction of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) 3. The provision of the Diploma Supplement 4. The recognition of joint degrees 5. The introduction of national qualifications frameworks and 6. The development of quality assurance in higher education. As a consequence of this, universities will have to collaborate among each other at the administrative level, not just at the academic level. Student mobility, transparency on academic achievements beyond national borders, standardization of academic offerings and efficient student services are really at the center of “Bologna”. As students’ options for study locations grow immensely, competition among institutions grows in parallel. Due to Bologna institutions of higher education will be recruiting students on a much larger scale. A growing number of SAP’s Higher Education customers implement or have already implemented SAP Campus Management and fullfill the Bologna criteria. The goal of the SAP Industry Business Unit for Higher Education is now to bring these customers together in a Bologna Council in order to - build a pool of joined best practices - collaborate and share implementation experiences - examine consequences of Bologna on topics that are not explicitly mentioned in the agreement, e.g. changes in academic progress and examination procedures, mobility of academic personal in addition to student mobility and exchange of academic achievements (ECTS) - support standardization and efficiency of processes on a European level The structure of the council will be mainly a virtual one as a group of institutions that exchanges ideas and experiences in the BPX discussion forum and blogs. This shall be accompanied by one or two annual events where participants have a chance to meet in person. Webcasts and distribution/collection of questionnaires shall go hand in hand with this. Representatives of SAP Development and Solution Management will participate, present new concepts in the solution and verify Best Practices. Let us know your opinion on this and if you are interested in joining this group. We conducted the first meeting on this topic in July 2007 at the University in Basel and will welcome suggestions on topics to be included in the agenda of the next meeting.
