THE University of New England will lead a consortium of 14 Australian universities to develop a template for a new international "qualifications passport".
It is part of the commonwealth's response to Europe's Bologna Process, a higher education bloc of 45 countries with common degree structures.
Education Minister Julie Bishop announced in September that she would proceed with a diploma supplement. Today she will reveal the 14 members of the consortium selected to draw up a template.
The supplement, used in many European countries, is a document of several pages attached to a degree or diploma that can be easily understood by institutions and employers anywhere.
It outlines their achievements, describes courses, the university attended and the higher education system in their country of study.
"The ultimate aim for the supplement is to assist students and employers, both at home and abroad, by providing a world-class system for verifying student qualifications," Ms Bishop said.
The consortium will work with a range of interested people, including students, and employer and professional associations.
Ms Bishop has also established a steering group to monitor the Bologna Process.
"The steering group will help to fill some of the gaps in our knowledge on the latest developments in Europe and act as an important source of advice and leadership on this issue."
Last April a federal government discussion paper warned that Australia needed to look at uniform degree structures, a diploma supplement and international recognition of qualifications to meet competition from Europe.
"The Bologna process seems likely to have a profound effect on the development of higher education globally," the paper said.
But some sceptics believe the potential effect is overstated and that it would be better for Australia to align with Asian countries.
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