Albanian “Bologna” How close/far is Albanian Higher Education to European standards?

Abstract

Bologna process brought many important changes in the Albanian higher education system. The main objective of the Bologna system of higher education is to achieve European standards in access as well as the quality of the studies. Higher education system in Albania appears to be reformed on the basis of published and already accepted standards in member countries of the European Higher Education Area, making it comparable and compatible with other European systems of higher education. Significant results so far speak for its positive influence and it has open new perspectives towards a European quality education of the Albanian students. However, there are still challenges and difficulties.The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive analysis of the European higher education legislation; the study of some essential elements of this system as the financing system of universities, ECTS, and recognition/non-recognition of Albanian degrees in European countries, in order to define how close/far is Albanian Higher Education System to the European standards.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n10p666