The ‘Tuning’ working group 

The main objective of the Polifonia ‘Tuning’ Working Group was to take the existing AEC descriptions of learning outcomes for the 1st and 2nd study cycles (English Français Deutsch) to a next level of development and implementation by studying the implications of using such learning outcomes in relation to other issues. These included the relation between competences and learning outcomes, the use of credit points, (competence-based) teaching and learning, assessment procedures, curriculum design, modular systems, credit-based structures, internal and external quality assurance mechanisms and more. In addition, the group’s aim was to ensure that the existing learning outcomes meet the requirements of the ‘Tuning’ methodology. Finally, the group monitored and gave advice on various ‘Bologna’ developments, such as European approaches to external quality assurance and accreditation, and the establishment of a European Qualifications Framework (EQF), including the use of the so-called ‘Dublin Descriptors’ for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd study cycles.

The outcomes of the working group’s work are: 

• a review of the existing AEC Learning Outcomes document according to the ‘Tuning’ template containing a comparison of the learning outcomes with the ‘Dublin Descriptors and a connection to credit points 
• a Handbook for the Implementation and the Use of Credit Points in Higher Music Education 
• a Handbook on Curriculum Design and Development in Higher Music Education 
• a Handbook for Internal Quality Assurance in Higher Music Education 
• a Response to the EU consultation on the development of a European Qualifications Framework (EQF) 
• the creation of a pool of ‘Tuning/ ECTS Counsellors’ 
   

The members of the Polifonia 'Tuning' Working Group were: 

• Jeremy Cox (Chair – Royal College of Music, London) 
• Hannu Apajalahti (Sibelius Academy, Helsinki) 
• Evert Bisschop Boele (Hanzehogeschool Groningen) 
• Cristina Brito da Cruz (Escola Superior de Música de Lisboa) 
• Bruno Carioti (Conservatorio Statale di Musica L'Aquila) 
• Grzegorz Kurzynski (K. Lipinski Academy of Music Wroclaw)
• Jörg Linowitzki (Musikhochschule Lübeck) 
• Jacques Moreau (CNSMD de Lyon)