Final Report Pilot Project - Phase 1

order to ensure that these are actually assessed and quality standards aremet. It goes without saying that competences and learning outcomesshould correspond with regard to the final qualifications of a learningprogramme.The objective of this paper is to formulate a number of principleswhich should, according to the Tuning project, play a basic role in thediscussion about the formal length of study programmes in terms of thefirst and the second cycle (undergraduate and postgraduate degrees).The principlesAs stated before, an important reason for dividing higher educationdegrees into two cycles is to make the distinctions between them clear.They differ in terms of profiles, orientations and purposes. As is statedrightly in the Prague Communiqué: «Programmes leading to a degreemay, and indeed should, have different orientations and variousprofiles in order to accommodate a diversity of individual, academicand labour market needs as concluded at the Helsinki seminar onbachelor level degrees». However, the introduction of a two-cyclesystem for the whole of Europe has obvious implications. If thedistinction is made between undergraduate and postgraduate degreesand the objective is to make degrees transparent, the followingprinciples should be taken into account:—Learning should not be expressed in terms of time but in termsof credits linked to learning outcomes;—Europe should agree on one credit framework: the EuropeanCredit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS), the only creditsystem that has been tested Europe-wide;—First and Second degrees should be seen as separate entities,with a value in themselves;—Each qualification should be expressed in terms of learningoutcomes and competences;—First and second cycle degree should be comparable all overEurope in terms of learning outcomes and competences withregard to the same type of learning programme. It is obviousthat a system of level indicators is crucial here.—Degrees which are expressed in terms of learning outcomes andcompetences should allow a certain amount of flexibility in termsof the time required to meet the prescribed demands for thequalification;249