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The Bologna Accord was launched a decade ago and established an authority and conceptual landscape called the European Higher Education Area. In 2010, the European Union Ministers of Education triumphed by attaining full international and national implementation of the Bologna Accord, a feat unmatched in the annals of higher education reform. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief discussion of the Bologna Accord and to highlight the strategic initiatives endorsed by the Accord: the European Higher Education Area, the Educational Accumulation and Transfer Credit System, and the Diploma Supplement. From a global perspective, it is important that academics at all levels have a clear understanding of the educational changes prompted by the Bologna Accord. Among the issues discussed are the level of preparation of the new three-year bachelor's degree and the level of achievement relative to obtaining parity to Anglo-American curricula. In this paper these Bologna Accord issues are thoroughly examined and an example of marketing curriculum reforms instituted at a Romanian university is presented. The results of this study indicate that, at the institutional level as implemented in Romania, the new three-year degree initiative falls short of the goal of achieving parity with Anglo-American curriculum levels, and appears geared more toward preparing graduates for vocational rather than managerial positions. However, since many universities have struggled at the institutional level to incorporate Bologna Accord reforms in highly diverse educational settings, Romania is representative and not unique in these outcomes. Finally, we present recommendations for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Bologna process aims at creating a European Higher Education Area where inter-country mobility of students and staff, as well as workers holding a degree, is facilitated. While several aspects of the process deserve wide public support, others are less consensual. The paper checks the extent of academic staff confidence in the restructuring of higher education currently underway, by looking at its implications in Romania. Based on six open-ended interview questions of 29 faculty members in Romania, the results of our study identify central themes associated with this relevant stakeholder group's perception of benefits and issues/challenges associated with the implementtation process. Most notably the themes of process planning, accreditation, lack of information, and unexpected results emerged as issues/challenges, while mobility, wider choice of programs, improved quality, and international standing were perceived as benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The legislative and institutional reform in the education is topical in our country, starting from the Bologna Declaration and from the results of subsequent meetings of ministers who are responsible for the higher education. With the signing of the Bologna Declaration and with the agreement creating the European Higher Education Area, Romania is committed to a long process of change. The undergone transformations from the Romanian education and from the higher education generally and in particular since 1990, the accession of our country to the European, required the conceptual and structural changes to make it compatible with the requirements of an effective education in which the recognition of the diplomas be covered with skills and competencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]