Study on the Diploma Supplement as seen by its users - naric

Good practices identified:
- The subchapter should be filled in only if the Higher Education Institution organising
the studies is different from the institution awarding the degree.
- The full official name of the Higher Education Institution in the original language
should be shown here. A translation may also be provided.
- The official status of the institution is supplied i.e. “A state recognised university,
Decree X on the Higher Education System of X.”
- When one institution awards the degree on the base of studies administered by
several institutions, the names of all the participating institutions should be indicated
here.
Chapter 3: Information on the level of qualification
In the third chapter, the reader should obtain all the necessary information on the level of the
degree awarded. For quality assurance professionals this section is one of the most
important. From the examples studied it also became apparent that Higher Education
Institutions that have introduced the Bachelor-Master structure and the ECTS had
considerably less difficulty in clearly expressing the level of the qualification, than those
working in old, or different, degree structures.
3.1. Level of qualification
Analysis and Findings
It should be easy to place the qualification in the framework of the national higher education
system (chapter 8). However, Higher Education Institutions should avoid only using national
terminology and national abbreviations, as they can be confusing or even misleading. It
would be helpful to use the common “international terminology” when describing the level of
the qualification such as that employed under Bologna reforms i.e. first-, second- and thirdcycle.
When the EHEA Framework, European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and the
National Qualifications Framework (NQF) are available, the information on how the degree is
placed within these frameworks should be clearly stated as well.
Good practices identified:
- Use of common terminology such as “first-, second- and third cycle”, familiar to the
Bologna process.
- Abbreviations, in particular national abbreviations, when not accompanied by the full
title, should be avoided.
- When qualification frameworks are implemented, information on how the degree is
placed in the framework should be found here. More detailed information on the
higher education system, as well as frameworks can be introduced in chapter 8.
3.2. Official length of programme
Analysis and findings
Chapter 3.2 provides further assistance for recognition experts when they are comparing the
qualification with their respective national qualifications. Many Higher Education Institutions
do not make use of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) when
stating the workload or duration of studies. However, information about the workload would
make study programmes more easily comparable, especially full-time and part-time
programmes. Thus, the duration of studies should be stated both in years, when the
normative length of studies is determined in years, and in ECTS.
“Diploma supplement as seen by its users” 16