`I think we went too fast'

"I think we went too fast," says Jordi Berrio, vice rector of academic affairs at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. This modern campus university of 34,000 students was one of the first to start implementing the new syllabuses in 1991.

Dr Berrio, who teaches in the departments of sociology and journalism, thinks the results have been "positive on balance", but paying for the new syllabuses has become a headache. Planning was done in a healthier economic climate, but after three years of recession many Spanish universities are feeling the pinch. "The plans were approved when we were confident, but had no guarantees, that government would provide sufficient funding."

On course content, Dr Berrio sees the introduction of optional and free-choice units as a positive step which will allow universities to develop separate identities and strengths. He favours the idea that a degree's first two years should have few optional elements, but believes that, as things now stand, specialisation comes too early and should be kept for postgraduate study or continuing education.

University teaching cannot hope to keep up with the rate of technological change, Dr Berrio admits. "So if you explain something very specific, when you have finished, it is already out of date." In spite of pressure from students for more specialisation, he believes "the biggest favour we can do students is to give them a general education which allows them to adapt to the demands of change".

He says the move towards shorter, four-year courses is driven by three objectives: "To encourage a more flexible structure, adapt to what is happening in Europe and cost less money" by moving students through the system faster. In practice, however, he finds the amount of hours and lectures has remained the same or increased, "so that we are doing more hours in four years than before in five, so many students cannot finish the course in four years," he says. "There is no need to give the students so much material."

Each department has a say in designing new syllabuses, so each applies for more classes - and therefore more teachers, resources and status. "As well as a genuine desire to pass on more information to students, there are many interests involved," he says.

Dr Berrio thinks in some areas reform has not gone far enough. While he approves of the new structure of credits, he dislikes the system of double exam sittings which remains untouched. This scheme, common to all Spanish universities, means students can choose to sit exams at the end of term or at a later date. With two semesters, this leaves four sets of exams per academic year.

Dr Berrio says double sittings eat into valuable teaching time, so semesters become too short to teach complex subjects. "Teaching becomes something much more bureaucratic and distant," he said. But due to strength of student feeling, he thinks change here is unlikely.

Further reform is inevitable, possibly involving reducing excessive student workloads by merging some examinations, he predicts. He adds the results of reform so far are "more positive than negative".