Bologna Process Concepts and Implementation

The BP concepts and terminologies that need to be explored and clarified for the purpose of implementation at the University of Zakho are shown below:


Diploma Supplement:

Describes the education system of the country and how the program followed by the student and the educational institution places within this system.

Academic year:
  • Each academic year consists of two semesters (Fall and Spring). Therefore, there will be eight semesters, as Bachelor degree at University of Zakho is for four years. 
  • Each semester covers 16 weeks including examination period. 
  • The number of modules in each semester must not exceed 6 modules.

Courses:

Based on qualification frame of BP, any course or subject will be named as a module. For example, the computer application course will be named as computer application module.

ECTS:
  • The European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) reflect the workload associated with study units. 
  • One semester of full time study corresponds to 30 ECTS credits. 
  • One ECTS credit is equivalent to 25 hours of classes and self-study. 
  • In most department, each module holds no less than 4 ECTS and no more than 7 ECTS except University modules.

Bologna Process cycle structure:

Qualifications Framework of BP is composed of three cycles (Bachelor - Master - Doctorate structure). The first cycle is bachelor degree (240 ECTS), the second cycle is Master degree (120 ECTS), and the third cycle is Doctoral degree (~= 180 ECTS). The University of Zakho is adopting the first and the second cycle. The implementation of the first cycle is starting from the academic year 2017-2018. The second cycle has been implemented since 2016-2017 as the MHE-KRG adopted this system for Master degree in all Universities in Kurdistan region which have postgraduate programs.