Perceptions of the Bologna process: what do students’ choices reveal?

Abstract

A major element in the creation of the European area of higher education is the adoption of a common structure of degrees, implying in several countries the reduction of the duration of the first degree to 3 years, which is a controversial change. Cardoso et al. (CESifo Econ Stud 54(2): 229-247, 2008) have analyzed student confidence in the curricula change, quantifying its impact on students' first choices of academic programs. This paper goes two steps further. First, it concentrates on a variable that better translates total demand for an academic program, namely the total number of students who place the program among their six revealed preferences, instead of just the first option; and, second, an econometric model that better fits the data is estimated. Results confirm a positive impact of the Bologna process on the demand for programs, which varies with program size and across fields of study. Our results complement those in Cardoso et al. (2008), as they uncover that being a program leader, i.e. the only institution in the country that restructured a given program, was associated with higher demand by prospective students, which nevertheless stemmed from their ''second best'' options and not from their first choices.

The effects of the introduction of Bachelor degrees on college enrollment and dropout rates

“…The literature does provide numerous descriptions of the implementation process (Kehm and Teichler 2006), but to our knowledge, only few papers provide causal evidence regarding the impact of the change in degree regulations on enrollment and dropout rates as yet. For instance, Portela et al (2009) andCardoso et al (2008) compute the effect of the introduction of Bachelor degrees in Portugal on the number of applications by university department. They find that the number of applicants is significantly higher in departments that implemented Bachelor degrees than in those departments that still award traditional degrees.…”

The development of a system of study credits in Ukraine: the case of policy layering in the Bologna Process

“…This is the most 'populated' body of literature on Bologna. It includes numerous small-scale single country studies (e.g., Portela, Sá, Alexandre, & Cardoso, 2009;Cocosatu, 2012;Esyutina, Fearon, & Leatherbarrow, 2013;Dakowska, 2015) and comparative studies (e.g., Dittrich, Frederiks, & Luwel, 2004;Wodak & Fairclough, 2010;Domilescu, 2011). Researchers look at the extent to which the action lines have been implemented in various Bologna countries.…”

The Effect of the Bologna Process on the Duration of Studies

“…For Portugal, Cardoso et al (2008) and Portela et al (2009) find that demand increased for most study programs that were restructured in the course of the Bologna process. This result is consistent with findings for Italy: using survey data, Cappellari and Lucifora (2009) show that the restructuring of study programs had a positive impact on university participation.…”