Work in progress - a case study of transformation in Higher Education

Universities in Spain have launched one of the most ambitious and significant changes in their history through the adoption of the so-called Bologna process. The European Higher Education Area (EHEA) to be established by this effort aims at promoting mobility and internationally comparable degree programs within European Union (EU). This paper presents an implementation experience at Carlos III University, with a focus on their Engineering School. The objectives of this study are two-fold: (i) to share the implementation experience so that other Spanish universities may be able to adopt any success factors from the case study, and (ii) to inform other higher educational institutes around the world about significant changes taking place in their counterparts in Spain. In addition, a data collection system is being developed so that the effectiveness of the new system can objectively be measured and analyzed. Experiences with EC2000 changes initiated by Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in USA will also be compared with the Spanish experience.