What is the Bologna Process?
The Bologna Process is a sustainable reform act that was formed by 47 member countries with the cooperation of several international institutions to create a coherent field in European Higher Education Area. The target is to ensure the comparability and consistency of higher education systems by conserving their unique differences. The studies conducted on reaching that goal have developed the following objectives:
- To form easily understood and comparable higher education diploma and/or degrees
- To apply European Credit Transfer System (ECTS)
- To enable and generalize student and faculty member mobility
- To form and generalize higher education quality assurance network
- To enable active participation of student and higher education institutions to the process
- To extend lifelong learning
TED University and the Bologna Process
TED University has adopted a student centered approach to education and to do this the university has accordingly determined and declared the qualifications of each program, outcomes of the courses, workloads and ECTS credits. The information specific to each program is available on the web page of each department and involves the points below.
- Program Goals and Outcomes
- The consistency of Qualifications Framework and Program Outcomes
- Goals -Outcomes Matrix
- Courses-Program Outcomes Connectivity Matrix
- Course Teaching Methods and Learning Outcomes Consistency
- Course Evaluation and Evaluation of Course Learning Outcomes
- Program Outcomes assessment
- Goal Assessment
- Course Profiles
- Course Syllabus
In the development phase of the Bologna Process, the stages that TED University experienced and common principles that it considered are summarized below.
Teaching and Learning Goals of the Program
The teaching and learning goals of each program are identified separately. The statements which show the expectations from the graduates after several years of completing the program are:
- Consistent with the missions of the institution, faculty , unit or department
- Designed considering internal and external shareholder’s needs.
- Published for who wants to access and inform.
- Updated periodically according to internal and external shareholders of the program
Program Outcomes
Program outcomes are the qualifications that define a successful graduate. In other words, they are what a graduate “knows, understands and can do”. These outcomes involve both general (non professional) and professional knowledge and skill, and they are consistent with the Turkish National Qualifications Framework and Qualifications of Basic Field; the correspondence between each outcome and the program goals is clearly defined (C: goal-outcome relation). A matrix (D) shows the courses that satisfy the program outcomes. In some cases, weighting of contribution is delineated whereas in others, contribution is simply indicated.
Curriculum
Each diploma program has a curriculum which supports the goals of education and program outcomes/qualifications. The curriculum involves all components that guarantee the outcomes particular to the program. TED University curricula are between 133-138 credits and 240 ECTS. ECTS is used for the transfer of the credit and it also reinforces considering the process of extracurricular activities.
The load and credit for each student is defined as 1 ECTS= 25-30 working hours. Class hours, course reading, project time, laboratory, application and preparation for the course are included in the process. In order to keep a balance among the curriculum, the course categories are defined and weighted as below:
Core courses are in groups of compulsory courses and elective courses. Compulsory core courses are 12 (or 13) credits in total. They are mathematics, English, academic writing and information technologies. Core electives are in 6 groups: math, science, social studies, human sciences, literature, arts and aesthetics. Each student takes at least one course from each group and completes 21 core elective credits.
Compulsory courses specific to each program are limited to 50 credits and elective courses are limited to 15 credits. Each student has the chance to take 6 credits of free elective courses and 15 credits of minor courses. TEDU values that its students have knowledge about another disciplines. All elective courses are 3 credits and the proportion of total elective courses to total program credit is over 33%.
The Architecture program and Faculty of Education programs do not match this structure completely because of reasons apart from TEDU.
The distribution between total program credit and different components will be conserved in case of any change.
The curriculum is suitable for the organization of interdisciplinary programs and student’s lateral or vertical transfer.
Courses
The scope, content, credits and prerequisites of each course in a curriculum appear in the university catalogue. The information is updated according to professional developments and changes in teaching goals. Moreover, student workload, teaching and learning strategies, course performance evaluation, the principles and methods of grading transfer are all on the web page of each department in a standard format under ‘Course Profile.’ A single measurable verb is conscientiously used in stating learning outcomes. Learning outcomes are designed to promote program outcomes. The syllabus which contains the content of the term is prepared by the instructor of the course and delivered to the students. These details are stated in the quality document.