Brussels, 25/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Bologna Accord, signed in 1999 in by 29 European countries (another 11 countries have since joined their ranks) aims to harmonise higher education system by setting up a single university degree system (degree, Master's, doctor of philosophy) to apply in 2005. In a report published on Thursday, 'The Future of Graduate Management Education in the context of the Bologna Accord', the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), an American association of 138 management schools around the world, says the voluntary Bologna Accord 'will radically reform European higher education, bringing into the educational pipeline more than 2.4 million new bachelor's degree graduates ready, willing, and able to consider graduate management education'. The GMAC is concerned, however about the impact this might have in terms of business management schools, warning that some European management schools will be forced to adapt and take on their US rivals, but others will disappear. The GMAC Bologna Project Task Force studied the implications of the Bologna Accord and made recommendations concerning its implementation, noting that 'global employers already struggle to distinguish between titles such as Bachelor, Laurea and Diplomkaufmann. While a Bachelor degree in business administration may be more clearly understood under the Accord, a potentially confusing array of new Master degrees hovers on the horizon. There will be degrees where no work experience is required, which are granted simply as an extension of Bachelor study. Post-experiential degrees, specifically targeted at students with a professional background, may flourish but it is equally possible that they will be lost in the alphabet soup of Master level credentials.' The GMAC concludes that the various stakeholders will have to ensure the Bologna Accords are a platform for re-organising Europe's education system. (See http: //http://www.gmac.com )