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The differences in global Business Education The considerable ofStandardized business education models have long been viewed as a barrier between schools. Eventually, however, these differences may become higher education's greatest strength. by Howard Thomas illustration by James Yang It's been four years since the European Ministers of Education drafted their joint 1999 Bologna Declaration, which sought to define the parameters of undergraduate and graduate degrees in European countries. The task may look simple on paper, but in fact, it was an enormous undertak- ing in the face of the hundreds of models for higher education in the European Union. Undersigned by representatives from 29 countries, the document address in Europe are coming to bear on business schools worldwide. Students no longer are staying in their home countries to live and work, but traveling the world. Even now, these students face obstacles to their employment and education. A degree earned in India might not be recognized in Italy, for example. A diploma earned in Italy might not impress employers in Germany, and credits earned in Germany might not transfer to the United States. And yet, in an era of increasing globalization, such a narrow-minded view of interna- tional credentials needs to change. What happens in Europe, then, over the next decade—the time sets out to turn the heterogeneous systems of higher education in European countries into a "European Higher Education Area," where higher education degrees are comparable, mobile, and widely recog- nized. Its stated purpose, among others, is to "increase the interna- tional competitiveness of the European system of higher education." The educational trends that the Declaration's signatories hope to period the Bologna Declaration has chosen to achieve its goals—has important implications for international business education. But while we search for ways to make the world's educational systems compati- ble, we should not strive to make them identical. Standardizing such a complex assembly of educational models would be impossible; moreover, it would be regrettable to lose the diversity they offer. On the other hand, establishing a system of equivalencies among school systems—in which educators understand and acknowledge the foun- dations for and value in international models of education—would benefit all institutions of higher education. 40 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003