The evolution of qualification frameworks (QFs) within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) has been a cornerstone of the Bologna Process, demonstrating a progressive and determined effort to enhance transparency, recognition, and mobility.

In order to promote comparability and compatibility of national qualification frameworks, thus improving transparency and trust between them and mobility of higher education graduates, the ministers in the European Higher Education Area adopted in 2005 the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area (QF-EHEA), last revised in 2018 at the Paris Ministerial Conference.

The QF-EHEA comprises generic descriptors based on the learning outcomes (so-called ‘Dublin Descriptors’) for the short cycle, the first cycle (Bachelor), the second cycle (Masters) and the third cycle (Doctorate). They describe what graduates are expected to know, understand and be able to do when being awarded a degree in five categories:

1. Knowledge and understanding
2. Applying knowledge and understanding
3. Making judgements
4. Communication skills
5. Learning skills.

Furthermore, they set credit ranges in ECTS for the short cycle (typically 90-120 ECTS credits), first cycle (typically 180-240 ECTS credits) and second cycle (typically 90- 120 ECTS credits, with a minimum of 60 credits at the level of the second cycle). The credit ranges set within the QF-EHEA created the ‘Bologna Process’ division for the three cycles-system – with Bachelor programmes of three years and Masters programmes of two years, which is the most common length of delivery across Europe and became a hallmark of the Bologna Process. The QF-EHEA presents a “common face” for higher education in Europe, which is important in a global context, and the “outer limits’ within which the national frameworks should be situated, while allowing for a diversity of national qualification frameworks. 

While initially the QF-EHEA covered only the three cycles, the short cycle was introduced in 2018 as a sign of acknowledgment of their increasing demand, their role in preparing students for employment and further studies as well as in improving social cohesion and the increased cohesion between the qualification’s frameworks in Europe. Nevertheless, each country would decide whether and how to incorporate short cycle qualifications within its own national framework.

After the adoption of the QF-EHEA, another reference framework was developed at European level, by the European Union – the European Qualifications Framework (EQF). In comparison with QF-EHEA, the EQF covers all levels of education (levels 1 to 8) and includes learning outcomes divided into knowledge, skills, and responsibility and autonomy and focuses on the process and progression of learning rather than the outcomes at the end of a study programme. The two frameworks are fully compatible and complementary. 

The development of the QF-EHEA marked an important step not only for European cooperation in higher education, but also for promoting transparent qualification frameworks at national level, focused on outcomes, integrative, built in coordination with stakeholders. These national frameworks describe the qualifications and how they interlink, explain to learners how to move from one qualification to another within a system, support flexible learning pathways and the recognition of prior non-formal and informal learning. In order to achieve the comparability between the national qualification frameworks, the EHEA members certified their national frameworks with the QF-EHEA, with the reports available on the section of each EHEA member.  

Historical overview

The foundational vision for qualification structures emerged with the Sorbonne Declaration (1998), which called for "a common framework of reference, facilitating in particular the establishment of transparent qualifications and diplomas." This aspirational idea was swiftly taken forward in the Bologna Declaration (1999), which more directly aimed to "promote a common framework of qualifications" to ensure greater transparency and recognition of academic degrees.

A definitive turning point came with the Berlin Communiqué (2003), which made explicit the commitment by Ministers to "elaborating a framework of qualifications for the EHEA” and urged countries to "elaborate national frameworks of qualifications compatible with the overarching framework." This marked the formal integration of QFs into the Bologna Process agenda. The development culminated in the Bergen Communiqué (2005), where Ministers formally adopted the QF-EHEA.

The focus then shifted resolutely to implementation, as reflected in the London Communiqué (2007). This communiqué critically underscored the role of learning outcomes in designing and describing qualifications, advocating for a shift towards competency-based approaches, and highlighting the link between NQFs and the Diploma Supplement for enhanced recognition.

The drive for practical impact continued with the Yerevan Communiqué (2015), which reinforced the commitment to NQFs and their self-certification, setting a new deadline for some countries. Importantly, it stressed the role of NQFs as enabling tools for fair and automatic recognition of qualifications within the EHEA, directly supporting student and graduate mobility. The Paris Communiqué (2018) adopted the revised QF-EHEA and further acknowledged the evolving landscape of qualifications, discussing the interplay between NQFs, learning outcomes, recognition of prior learning, and emerging concepts such as micro-credentials. It further established the implementation of the three-cycle system scaled on ECTS and based on the QF-EHEA as one of the three key commitments of EHEA.