Day 4: Amsterdam

Today was a conference day. We began with a number of plenary sessions that mainly focused on the move of the Netherlands and Bulgaria toward short cycle higher education. The name seems to come from the definitions of the various cycles of higher education that begin with a definition between what we would see as high school level and a bachelor's level. It appears that they are attempting to define the associates degree level. Also it appears that relatively recently they have defined professional degrees that end into a job as an additional degree apart from an academic degree. It is clear that the professional degrees are not as esteemed as the academic degrees. This is clearly evident on Bulgaria. Bulgaria is very behind in their move toward this process. This process is referred to as the Bologna process. In the US we have been doing the short cycle higher education in our technical and community colleges for quite some time. The Dutch are very interested in learning from us.

I am struck by the apparent unity in which Europe has adopted the process. I remember when Europe was switching to the Euro and how amazed I was that they were able to agree upon a currency. Now I am watching a degree of "standardization" (they would not like that word) of their higher education system.

Tonight our dinner was served on a canal boat. We took a two hour cruse through the canals of Amsterdam. The city is lovely. While there is much building and renovation occurring, the Dutch have been Abe to preserve the charm of the architecture. Rembrandt spent some time in the city. We saw a house where he spent a great deal of time painting and teaching students. We saw the various bridges and a couple of canals that regulate water levels. We also saw a few houses that lean due to their sinking. Amsterdam is on land reclaimed from the sea. If the foundation of the house was not properly set then the house will lean over time. In the US we would tear the house down and rebuild. Here the house is still occupied and serves as a viable residence. I was again struck by the leisurely approach to dinning. I really wish we Americans would adopt that approach.