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

• 2001-2002: developed by Tuning Chemistry Subject Area Group

• May 2002: presented at Closing Meeting of Tuning Phase One in Brussels

• April 2003: adopted by ECTN Association Assembly in Prague

• October 2003: adopted by FECS (now EuCheMS) General Assembly (…from Cork to Vladivostok)

• April 2004: ECTN Association decides to offer “Eurobachelor Label” to interested institutions

• September 2004-June 2006: EU Commission-funded pilot project for accreditation of the “Chemistry Eurobachelor Label”

The Eurobachelor® Story

The Quality Label

• Eurobachelor® 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

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

• 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.

• The Eurobachelor is based on ECTS and its correct application.

ww.ectn.net

• 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.

Planned or realised (as of Oct.2006): Ba = 180 ECTS Ba = 240 ECTS VARIABLE

Planned or realised (as of Oct.2006): Ba = 180 ECTS Ba = 240 ECTS VARIABLE

LENGTH OF THE FIRST CYCLE

The Chemistry Eurobachelor - A framework for a European first-cycle

degree in chemistry

OutcomesDefine 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

• Learning outcomes (adapted from QAA benchmarks–UK)

• Modularisation

• Credit distribution

• ECTS and student workload

• Mobility

• Methods of Teaching and Learning

• Assessment, Grading

• 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, MathematicsSemi-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:compulsorysemi-optionaland elective (freedom for the student is

important!)

Generic Skills: These are the Key to Employability of the

Bachelor!– 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 on-line 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 broadly-based 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 in the Eurobachelor framework.

– 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:

• 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

• 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!