11 - Italy - Curriculum
The level of university and non university education, and even more the level of the third cycle
education, is characterised by freedom and autonomy at a great extent which affects the teaching
programmes, the institution and the organisation of the study courses.
The official teaching language is Italian, however, many universities have already been offering for
many years formative activities (seminars, conferences) in a foreign language (mainly English), while
more recently study courses or single subject courses in English have been offered.
As far as planning and development of the whole tertiary education system is concerned, the majority
of the institutions refers to the Ministry of, university and research (MiUR). Exceptions are the Military
Academies (Ministry of the defence), Higher institutes of religious sciences (if connected to papal
universities, they depend on the Holy congregation for catholic education of the Vatican City State;
otherwise they are accredited by the Italian catholic Church), and some institutes specialised in
safeguard and restoration of cultural heritage under the responsibility of the Ministry for cultural
heritage and activities.
Regulation no. 509 of 1999 has introduced the CFU (university credits) system, to fill in the gap
between legal and real duration of the courses and limit the high rate of university study dropout.
The CFU have the following characteristics:
they represent the quantity of learning work, including study at individual level, required to
students with an adequate initial training for the teachings foreseen by the regulations of the
study courses. A credit corresponds to 25 hours of study;
the average quantity of learning work carried out by a full-time student at the university
corresponds conventionally to 60 credits.
the total or partial acknowledgement of the credits obtained by a student who wants to continue
his/her studies is responsibility of the educational institution that takes in the student;
teaching regulations of each university can provide for a recurrent verification of credits and
indicate the minimum number of credits to be achieved within a pre-arranged period of time;
on the basis of criteria fixed beforehand, universities can recognise as CFUs professional
abilities and skills certified in conformity with regulations in force on this subject, as well as other
abilities and skills gained through educational activities of post-secondary level planned and
carried out in collaboration with the university.
In view of the growing mobility, mainly within the European countries, of university students, and of
problems related to the recognition of university qualifications, criteria of correspondence between the
CFUs and the European credit transfer System (ECTS) are required. According to ECTS, 60 credits
correspond to one year of study (in terms of workload); 30 credits correspond to one semester and 20
credits to a trimester. A specific conversion table has been developed to facilitate the conversion
between the national credit system and ECTS.
As far as Afam is concerned, it has been introduced the CA (academic credit) with the same
peculiarities described above for CFUs (DPR 212 of 2005).
Non-university tertiary education
As far as Afam institutions are concerned, the 60% of the CA required for each course, can be
obtained through the following learning activities:
basic studies;
studies specific of the school and the course level.
In addition, the courses provide also for the following activities:
studies aimed at the final test to obtain the qualification and at the assessment of a foreign
language knowledge to obtain an academic diploma;
further studies aimed at improving linguistic knowledge, as well as knowledge related to
information technology and telematics, relational skills and any other skill useful to get into the
labour market; among them training and guidance apprenticeships which offer a direct
knowledge of the work sector connected to the qualification, in order to facilitate the professional
choices;
studies in one or more subject areas similar or supplementary to basic areas and subject typical
areas, also related to the context culture and cross-curricular education.
Furthermore, learning activities include laboratory activities or artistic productions, where relevant.
The mentioned decree establishes also the number of credits corresponding to teachings chosen by
the students.
The teaching organisation of Afam courses is regulated through each institution regulations approved
by the Ministry. Teaching organisation and its amendments are adopted through decree of the
institution director and made public also through the Internet.
Each regulation establishes what follows:
name and formative objectives of the courses, indicating the respective schools;
general framework of the teachings which should be included in the curricula;
each teaching credits;
description of the final test for the qualification attainment;
list of the courses teachings and of the possible subdivision into modules, as well as of the other
teachings;
specific formative objectives, credits and possible preparatory aspects of each teaching and of
any other formative activity;
curricula offered to students and presentation rules of the individual study plans, if required.
teaching organisation, exams and other procedures of assessment of the students performance.
As far as the other non university higher education institutions are concerned, it doesn't exist a
minimum basis common to the very many different types of institutes. Furthermore, they have, to a
different extent, quite a high level of teaching autonomy, even though it doesn't reach the level of
autonomy of the Afam institutions.
University tertiary education
In the recent times, universities have always enjoyed a very wide autonomy concerning research and
teaching activities, but also concerning the contents and structures of their teaching programmes.
Since 1990, this principle has characterised both old and new university systems.
This is one reason why it is impossible to provide a general outline of programmes and subjects for
each course, because they can be highly different depending on the various areas and depending on
the position taken by the academic authorities of each university regarding the organisation of the
various courses.
Regulation no. 270 of 2004 sets the general criteria to outline university studies and qualifications.
These regulations transfer the responsibility to establish the teaching regulations of the study courses
to the single universities, in the respect of the subsequent ministerial implementation decrees.
Teaching regulations are the body of rules that regulate the curricula of the study course while the
curriculum is the whole of the training activities (teaching courses, seminaries, practical work and
laboratory, didactical activities in small groups, tutoring, guidance, apprenticeship, projects, thesis,
individual study activities and self-learning) provided to obtain the qualification.
Each university lays down the teaching organisation and structure of its study courses with a decree of
the rector approved by the ministry.
The teaching regulations of each university determine what follows:
name and training objectives of the respective study courses; general framework of the training
activities that must be included in the curricula; credits assigned to the various training activities;
outline of the final examination for the academic qualification. The final examination to obtain the
Laurea magistrale must include the presentation of a thesis elaborated by the student under the
supervision of a tutor.
organisational aspects of the teaching activities common to the various study courses: in
particular, objectives, times and ways that must be adopted by the responsible teaching units to
determine their planning and co-ordination activities as well as the evaluation of the results of the
training activities; procedures to assign the annual teaching tasks to teachers and researchers;
procedures to carry out examinations, including the final examination; methods of evaluation for
the students' progress which must be expressed through votes in 30ths for examinations and in
110ths for the final test, with the possibility of awarding the summa cum laude; evaluation of the
students' initial training and organisation of training activities preparatory to the assessment of
the initial training; evaluation of the quality of the activities carried out.
Teaching regulations of study courses, deliberated by the responsible teaching unit and approved
according to the procedures foreseen in the University statutes, establish the list of teachings; specific
training objectives and credits; curricula offered to students and rules for the presentation of the
individual study plans; provisions concerning any compulsory attendance.
As far as the teaching of foreign languages is concerned, regulations no. 270 of 2004 prescribe the
knowledge of a language of the European Union to obtain the laurea (L). Many universities have their
own language centres where they organise language courses for Italian and foreign students and
above all offer a wide range of audio-visual and didactic language teaching material. Furthermore,
students can participate in international university exchange programmes and student exchange
programmes with universities in the EEC countries and other countries around the world. A few
universities offer courses in minority languages.
Furthermore, students may participate in international university co-operation programs and student
exchanges with the universities of the member countries of the European Union and of other countries.
At national level, the Ministry established the Laurea (L) and Laurea magistrale classes.
For each laurea class, the Ministry established the qualifying educational objectives and the
subsequent essential learning activities for each field of study.
The essential learning activities are grouped as follows:
teachings in one or more study areas related to basic studies;
teachings in one or more areas typical of the class;
Each course of study should also provide for:
teachings in one or more study areas similar or supplementary to the study areas typical of the
field of studies;
teachings chosen by students;
teachings aimed at the final examination to obtain the academic qualification and at the
evaluation of the knowledge of a foreign language;
further teachings aimed at improving linguistic knowledge, as well as skills relating to informatics
and telematics, relational skills and any other skill useful to get into the labour market among
which, in particular, training and guidance apprenticeships.
Each study course can be subdivided into more branches providing specific curricula.
Ministerial decrees establish the minimum number of credits destined to the various teachings and
areas of study through teaching regulations, provided that the total amount of reserved credits don't
exceed 66%.
Postgraduate level
Choices of curricular subjects, study programs, number of hours or credits, etc., are also regulated by
each University regulations.
Institutions:
Ministry of University and Research
Ministry of Cultural Goods and Activities
National Council for high level art and music education (CNAM)
Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR)
Eurydice - the information network on education in Europe
Date: 2009
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