Application of Bologna cycle programme structures and the European credit transfer system to Irish civil engineering programmes

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess, through a cross-institutional comparison, whether higher education institutions in the Republic of Ireland have responded to Bologna Declaration first- and second-cycle programme restructuring and applied the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) to similarly-accredited civil engineering programmes in a consistent manner. Assessment strategies were also examined. The predominant programme structure was the pre-Bologna ‘4+1’ structure, demonstrating limited national impact of the principles underpinning the Bologna Declaration cycle concept. The first-cycle programmes differed widely in terms of allocated student workload per ECTS credit as well as in the way that educational outcomes were assessed, which was primarily by written examination. There was no ‘best’ (or consensus) practice for applying the two-cycle programme structure or ECTS workload norms. This lack of national consensus reveals issues that may have relevance in other countries, 20 years after the signing of the Bologna Declaration.