The Berlin ministerial summit of 2003 called for ‘every student graduating as from 2005 to receive the Diploma Supplement automatically and free of charge’.

The Diploma Supplement is a document to be issued to students by their higher education institutions on graduation. It aims to describe the qualification they have received in a standard format that is easy to understand and easy to compare. It also describes the content of the qualification and the structure of the higher education system within which it was issued. It is not a curriculum vitae and simply acts as a supplementary explanation of the qualification rather than a substitute for it.

By making it easier to compare qualifications gained in higher education systems across Europe, the Diploma Supplement attempts to facilitate mutual recognition of qualifications and lead to greater transparency and mobility. It ties in closely with the Bologna Process objective to create a system of easily readable and comparable degrees. The Diploma Supplement is widely used in other Bologna signatory countries. The Europe Unit is advising the sector on issuing the Diploma Supplement in the UK and has published a Guide to the Diploma Supplement. In 2007, the Unit survey of UK HEIs on European HE developments indicated that sixty per cent of respondent institutions currently issue the Diploma Supplement. UK HEIs are urged to proceed with issuing the Diploma Supplement as soon as possible.

The information contained in the Diploma Supplement is similar to the ‘Transcript’ element of the UK’s Progress Files, which details the final achievements of the student, albeit in a different format.

One of the sections of the Supplement requires a description of the national higher education system. Working with key UK HE stakeholders, in particular UK NARIC and the QAA, the Europe Unit produced an agreed description, which should be used by all HEIs in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has produced its own national description.

The Steering Group on Measuring and Recording Student Achievement, chaired by Professor Robert Burgess, Vice Chancellor of the University of Leicester, produced recommendations in October 2007 for the UK HE sector on degree classification in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Group recommends the development of a Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR), which will incorporate and build upon the Diploma Supplement. 

The UK has fourteen Bologna Experts who are on hand to provide further information on introducing the Diploma Supplement to UK HEIs.

For Diploma Supplement samples visit the UK National Europass Centre website. Further information is also available on the European Commission website.