Final Report Pilot Project - Phase 1

B. Definition of «Core Content»Definitions may be given with reference to three differentcontexts:a) With reference to a degree course offered by a particularuniversity: we define (core course units or) core content the set ofcourse units/activities whose content is not left to the choice of thestudent but is compulsory and fixed by the academic authorities.b) With reference to all the degree courses in the same subjectoffered by the universities of a given country, two differentdefinitions may be given:b.1) minimal core content, defined as the set of the courseunits/activities which are fixed by law or other nationalrequirements, in order for a university to be allowed toaward that given degree title/qualification 12 ;b.2) common core content: the set of the course units/activitieswhose content is common to all the degree courses,conferring the same title in the country. This set may belarger than the one, as defined at (b.1) just above, and itrequires a study/survey in order to be identified. It has todo with the whole didactic offer of the degree courserather than with the compulsory part of its offer.c) With reference to all the degree courses of a given ensemble ofcountries (e.g. EU, the European countries, etc): common corecontent: the set of the course units/activities whose content iscommon to all the degree courses, conferring the same or similartitle and/or similar learning outcomes. Again this set requires astudy/survey in order to be identified. Notice that in this case nosupra-national requirements 13 are usually active. Indeed, doremind the EU Treaties, which explicitly state that no homogenisingaction can be carried out by the Union authorities in this field (asa consequence of the subsidiarity principle).Moreover, very often, the units/activities are not only characterised bythe type of contents but also by a corresponding number of credits. Theabove definitions can then be phrased in terms of credits too. In this12The partners of the Tuning Physics Network were asked in this connection:QUESTION 1 is this actually the case in your country? YES NO. Theiranswers are reported in Table 113Of either legal or other nature.187