THE ENGINEERING STUDENTS' POINT OF VIEW

The action programme set out in the Bologna Declaration was based on a clearly defined common goal: to create a European Area for Higher Education in order to enhance the employability and mobility of citizens and to increase the international competitiveness of European higher education; a deadline: the year 2010 and a set of specified objectives: the adoption of a common framework of readable and comparable degrees, also through the implementation of the Diploma Supplement; the introduction of undergraduate and postgraduate levels in all countries, the ECTS-compatible credit systems also covering lifelong learning activities; a European dimension in quality assurance, with comparable criteria and methods and the elimination of remaining obstacles to the free mobility of students and teachers. Within Higher European Education Area context, Institutions of Higher Learning must adapt to changes in their environment. Spanish universities were urged to make fundamental changes mainly in two ways: the adoption of comparable degrees and students' instruction. This new approach requires the active participation of the academic staff and the students who play a mayor role within the new context. This work was developed to prospect the students' opinion about the implementation of the EHEA, the role of their teachers as instructors and their reactions to the use of adapted teaching methodologies (such as lecturing, laboratory instruction, cooperative learning and tutorials) and their self-perception of acquiring competencies by the end of their degree.