TALKBACK:Though not widely known, the Bologna Declaration could play a central role in your future,  writes BRIAN MOONEY

This declaration, ratified by 46 European countries, is already shaping the third-level experience of millions of European students.

Bologna aims to create a European Higher Education Area by 2010, in which students can choose from a range of courses and benefit from mutual recognition procedures. It is designed to allow the European third-level system match the performance of the best in the world, notably the US and Asia.

In implementing the Bologna Declaration, our third-level colleges have moved to a credit- based system of awards, enabling graduates to move freely throughout European universities.

For the adults considering a third-level course, these credits can also be acquired in many lifelong learning courses.

The Bologna process envisages two main cycles; undergraduate, lasting a minimum of three years; and a second two-year cycle leading to a Master’s and/or doctorate. The results will be a standardised three-year undergraduate degree, in many disciplines, followed by a two-years Master’s programme. The latter is now being specified

by many professional bodies, including engineers and architects, as an entry requirement for full membership.

Linked to the Declaration is the European Qualifications Framework (EQF), a translation device to that will make national qualifications more readable across Europe, promote mobility between countries, and facilitate lifelong learning.

Ireland has now developed a National Framework of Qualifications, which provides a way to compare qualifications, and to ensure that they are recognised widely. The NFQ is a system of 10 levels, based on standards of knowledge, skill and competence. Prior to its introduction, it was extremely difficult to compare and contrast the level and standard of different qualifications.

As our universities begin to implement the various aspects of the Bologna Declaration, the debate regarding the return of third-level fees becomes academic. The reality is that all postgraduate courses will continue to charge substantial fees.

Irish universities now offering four- and five-year undergraduate courses may now switch to the new standardised Bologna model. This would see students taking the five-year undergraduate/ Master’s model. This is good news for our underfunded colleges, as this could provide a large fee income, but clearly not so good for students and parents.

Students now face a registration charges of at least €1,500 for three years plus hefty post-graduate charges. So, in order to gain a professionally recognised qualification, students will need access to substantial funds.

Batt O’Keeffe’s proposal to provide student loans would have covered student tuition and registration costs until they reached an income threshold after graduation.

This is a far preferable option to the alternative, where students will face substantial costs under the emerging Bologna model. These costs will be a particular burden for middle- and low-income families.

The retention of so called “free fees”, demanded by the Greens as the price for remaining in Government, could be regressive. Only the children of the well off may have the funds to gain professional qualifications called for under the Bologna Declaration.

• Brian Mooney teaches at Outlands College, Stillorgan, Dublin