The Garbage of the Garbage

Abstract

This article argues that although presented as a systematic higher education reform initiative in Europe aimed at converging higher education structures, the Bologna process and its expected impact on higher education have yet to be discussed and agreed upon. The European system of higher education is emerging in the form of unintended and potentially undesired outcomes of solving political and economic problems of national and European scales. A major issue that overshadows the Process is a lack of a democratically delegated mandate to any European level agency to lead a higher education policy reform. While the Commission of the European Communities has been playing a leading role in the Bologna Process, lack of a legitimate mandate to do so had led the Commission investing more efforts in establishing its own authority than leading European higher education in any meaningful direction.

Keywords

• Bologna process reform
• European system higher education