Social Sciences University of Ankara (ASBU), Turkey, is gradually adopting its teaching and education to the Bologna Process. It has already taken a formal decision to implement and apply ECTS Credits in line with the Bologna Process. Thus, this credit system forms the basis of education at ASBU. In addition, ASBU has also been granted “Diploma Supplement” which will be given to all students graduating from ASBU. These initiatives will bring transparency, measurability and comparability between ASBU and other European higher education institutions.
ASBU defines itself as a research university and consequently gives priority to graduate studies. In this respect, ASBU has already founded 5 graduate institutes for master and doctorate studies and established more that 40 research centres to realize its mission and vision as a top-range research university.
In line with Bologna Process, ASBU has already incorporated Life-Long Learning both as a vision and as an institution. In practice, ASBU wishes to demonstrate “lifelong learning can enhance our understanding of the world around us, and provide us with more and better opportunities to improve our quality of life,” with the double aim of supporting participants to realize both “personal development” and “professional development.”
ASBU also aims to facilitate mobility of staff and students within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Within the framework of Erasmus and Mevlana Programmes, ASBU has signed exchange agreements with various universities in Europe and elsewhere.
ASBU aims to create opportunities for flexible modes of acquiring knowledge and for this purpose it has issued regulations to recognize previous studies and competence. In line with the aims of the Bologna Process, ASBU also plans to implement extra-curricular activities to contribute to society in general.
Contributing to European collaboration in quality assurance, teaching programmes and inter-institutional cooperation has been one of the main aims of ASBU. For instance, ASBU’s School of Foreign Languages has been visited by external auditors for quality assurance purposes. Moreover, ASBU abides by initiatives taken at the national level in Turkey to facilitate European collaboration. In this context, for instance, Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK) has issued and is in the process of enforcing a directive for Quality Assurance, which each university in Turkey is obliged to comply with. Also, it has to be noted that Turkish Higher Education Council (YÖK) has prepared a national qualification framework which is in line with the Qualification Framework of the European Area of Higher Education (for the Turkish National Qualification Framework see (http://www.tyyc.yok.gov.tr/) In addition, ASBU has also organised all its programmes, both at undergraduate and graduate levels, in line with the Bologna Process.
In order to promote a strong relationship between the European Area of Higher Education and the European Research Area, ASBU has established an International Office, which deals not only with exchange of students and staff but also with issues of research collaboration and joint projects in Europe.