Joint programmes, why not do it?

Abstract

The development of joint degrees was set as an aim for the European Higher Education Area in the Prague declaration (2001). In the Berlin Communiqué (2003), the ministers responsible for higher education in the countries participating in the Bologna Process decided “to actively support the development and adequate quality assurance of integrated curricula leading to joint degrees”[1]. The European Commission also supports integrated curricula leading to joint degrees. The European Commission supported Erasmus Mundus programmes, has launched in the academic year 2004-05, are intended to lead to a “joint degree, a double degree or several degrees”[2]. Joint degree programmes have been established in several countries, but they are not very numerous yet. Most of these programmes are bilateral. The lack of national legislation sometimes preclude the implementation of the joint degree programmes and may lead to problems concerning the legal protection of student’s rights.