"Pedagogical
sciences" / 4. Strategic directions of the education
system reforming.
Nikolaeva S.Yu., professor
Kyiv
National Linguistic University, Ukraine
Higher Education in
Ukraine:
achievements and perspectives
The article presents the results of the analysis of achievements and
shortcomings of Ukraine in joining the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)
(http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna/). For the research implementation the ten-year
period of the Bologna process in Ukraine is divided into four stages (steps): step 1 – from Bergen to London; step 2 – from London to Leuven; step 3
– from Leuven to Bucharest;
step 4 – from Bucharest
to Yerevan. Within each of the stages the appropriate investigation methods are
used. In general, the following techniques are applied:
review of documents and publications; survey of students, PhD students and professors; observation of the educational process and
reflection; testing of bachelors, masters and PhD students, data collection; overview of the
official sites of Ukrainian universities. For each of the stages identified pros and cons
are considered. It has been concluded that Ukraine has achieved a lot, but many
of the key issues need solution. The research allows us to state the following.
The Higher Education major achievements from
2005 to 2007
During the period the important steps in realization of the
Bologna Process regulations were implemented in the system of higher education
of Ukraine; the Action Plan of their implementation till 2010 was developed. In 2006,
according to the instruction of the Ministry of Education and Science the
ministerial Bologna Follow Up working group and the National Team of Bologna Promoters interagency working group consisting of the leading universities specialists
were established. They
participated in training seminars on actual problems in higher education in
European Education Area and further organized the training seminars in Ukraine
on basic issues of quality assurance, three-cycle system, recognition of
degrees and study periods.
Ukrainian Council of Students, organized within the
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, became the candidate to the members of European Students’ Union (ESU).
During the 2006/07 academic year almost all
the universities established the ECTS.
The corresponding sets of the innovative
legislative documents and recommendations were carried out; a draft of the
Diploma Supplement and its implementation procedure were elaborated. Two seminars
concerning the convergence problems on the way to EHEA initiated by Magna
Charta Council were held in 2006. The contacts with the European Union working
groups were established (http://osvita.ua/legislation/).
The Higher Education major achievements from 2007 to 2009
Beginning from London 2007 a number of main developments
relating to the Bologna process took place in the system of higher education of
Ukraine. An Action Plan on quality assurance for higher education
of Ukraine and its integration into
the European and world educational
community for the period until 2010
was approved by the order of the
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No.162 of July 13,
2007. A draft of the Law of Ukraine “On
Amendments to the Law of Ukraine on
Higher Education” was developed
according to the Bologna provisions
and recommendations. A system
of ranking the
national higher education institutions (HEIs)
was implemented in September 2007. Ukraine became a
governmental member of the European Quality Assurance
Register (EQAR) in April 2008. Ukrainian Association of Student Self-government
(UASS) became a member of ESU
in December 2007. Under the order of
the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No.602 of July 03, 2008 a
working group on the development of
the National Qualifications Framework
(NQF) for higher education was
established. Consultations on the designing its profile, level descriptors,
credit ranges were held. The two-cycle system was implemented at all higher
education institutions except for training students in the fields of medicine
and veterinary medicine. Instruments of the third cycle implantation were
elaborated. A state target research and technical and social program “Research
at Universities” for 2008–2012 was developed. Funding for doctoral students was
provided by the state budget. All qualifications of the first cycle gave access
to several programs of the second cycle; all qualifications of the second cycle
gave access to at least one program of the third cycle. The employment data for
graduates of all cycles in the 2007/08 academic year increased: Bachelors – to
14.4%, Masters – to 57% (http://osvita.ua/legislation/).
As we can see, achievements of Ukraine in
joining the EHEA were significant, but some of the London Communiqué
recommendations remained unfulfilled.
The Higher Education major achievements from
2009 to 2012
The order of the
Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine on Introduction of the European Credit Transfer System in Higher
Education Institutions was published in
2009. The Law of Ukraine “On
Higher Education” was approved in
2010 (the Bologna provisions
and recommendations were partially taken into account).
The resolution by the Cabinet
of Ministers of Ukraine on the “List of Specialties Trained in Higher
Education Institutions at Educational Qualification Levels of Specialist and
Master” was adopted in 2010. The National Qualifications Framework
was passed in 2011. The cooperation
between employers, students and
higher education institutions was achieved. Lifelong learning was becoming one of the important factors in meeting the needs of a changing labor
market. Higher education
started to ensure a stronger link between research, teaching and learning at all levels. Second cycle programs became a necessary
precondition for the success of linking teaching, learning and research; learning outcomes
were under development. Learning mobility
gradually intensified. Data collection
was improved. The above reflects both the significant
achievements of Ukraine and certain flaw in joining the EHEA.
The Higher Education major achievements from 2012
to 2015.
Some professional standards are
designed. Law of Ukraine
“On Higher Education” was
approved in July 2014 (the Bologna provisions
and recommendations have been taken into account).
The Act sets out the principles on which the State’s policy on higher education is based: promoting the sustainable development of society by producing competitive human capital and creating the conditions for life-long learning;
ensuring access to higher education; independence of
higher education from political
parties and
civil
or religious organizations;
integration into
the
European Higher Education Area and
wider international integration; government
support
for
research
and innovation, including preferential
financial
treatment of universities engaged in research;
supporting graduates to
access and
enter work
and providing incentives for
employers to provide graduates with their first employment destination; fostering the development of higher education institutions as centres of independent thought.
Under the law a number of higher
education institutions was reduced (60 universities). The resolution on information disclosure of the higher education institutions activities
was adopted in
February 2015. The recommendations for 2015/16 academic year curricular
development were designed in March 2015. Forms
of the higher education documents were approved in March 2015. Instruments for graduates employment were refined in April 2015. The resolution “On the List
of Knowledge Areas and Specialties for Higher
Education Applicants
Training” was adopted
in April 2015. Diploma Supplement forms were adopted
in May 2015. Institute
of Education
Analytics and
Institute of Educational Content Modernization were created in June 2015. The
decision on improving quality of the learning outcomes external independent
assessment was taken in June 2015. European model Diploma Supplement was issued
to all graduates in July 2015. The resolution about laying
out the theses and the official opponents’ reviews on the university sites was
accepted (August 2015). All of the above materials are freely available on the Ministry of
Education and Science of Ukraine official website (http://osvita.ua/legislation/). A list of the documents presented shows
significant efforts of Ukraine in joining the EHEA. One important step towards integration into the European and global research areas is that in
March
2015, Ukraine formally became an
associate
member
of the Horizon 2020
programme. In November 2015, Ukraine also joined Creative Europe.
Thus Ukraine has passed a complicated and
responsible way to join the EHEA. Much has been
done. Something succeeded, something needs to be improved and implemented. According to the Yerevan Communiqué (May 2015) by 2020 Ukraine should focus on the
following key issues: enhancing the quality and relevance of learning
and
teaching; fostering the employability of graduates throughout their working lives; making the systems
more inclusive; implementing agreed structural reforms.
To this we add that,
from our point of view, special attention should be paid to the following:
- to harmonize the relevant national documents
with the revised Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG,
2015); the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programs
(2014) and the revised ECTS Users’ Guide (2015),
as an official EHEA document;
- to establish conditions
that foster student-centered learning,
innovative
teaching
methods and a supportive and inspiring working and learning environment, while continuing to involve students
and staff in governance structures at all levels;
- to allow EQAR-registered (the European Quality Assurance Register
for Higher Education) quality assurance agencies to perform their activities across
the EHEA,
while complying with
national
requirements;
- to work to
enhance employability,
lifelong
learning, problem-solving and
entrepreneurial skills
through improved cooperation with employers, especially in the development of educational
programs;
- to ensure that
qualifications frameworks, ECTS and Diploma Supplement implementation is based on learning outcomes;
- to implement the recommendations of the strategy “Mobility for better learning” and work towards full portability of
national grants and loans
across the EHEA;
- to review national
legislation to fully comply with the
Lisbon
Recognition Convention and promote the
use of the EAR-manual
to
advance recognition
practices;
- to encourage knowledge-based
alliances in
the EHEA, focusing on
research and
technology.
One
of the main challenges is management of the higher education sector: the functions of the Ministry of Education
and
Science must be primarily concerned with setting and implementing national strategy and frameworks rather than the day-to-day operations of higher education institutions.