World Education News and Reviews

January/February 2004

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Regional News

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Africa

ANGOLA

UNICEF Workshops to Train Teachers

Angola has been at peace for almost two years, and after 27 years of fighting, the government has committed US$44 million to get 1 million grade-schoolers back in class within a year. International children’s charity UNICEF will train 29,000 teachers in three national workshops. The aim is to cut the number of children under age 11 who have no basic primary education from 44 percent to just 4 percent. In a country where 70 percent of the population of 13 million is under age 24 and more than half are children, the benefits will be felt far beyond the classroom, considering the multitude of problems — including AIDS, poverty and malnutrition — Angola faces.

Angola is famous for its endemic corruption, but with money already earmarked for education, Angolans are hopeful it will find its way to the children. Part of the challenge has been to persuade people at all levels of society of the importance of investing in schools. During the last four years of the war, the country spent just 4.7 percent of its GDP on education; in 2002, it spent 7 percent, and the plan was to increase that to 10 percent in 2003. The success of a pilot program in two Angolan provinces, which was backed by regional and church leaders, helped win the argument.

— The Guardian
Oct. 28, 2003

KENYA

Lecturers End 3-Month Strike

The three-month old strike by public university lecturers is, for the time being over, and their unions have finally accepted a government assurance that a salary deal will be tabled by the end of February. All six public universities in Kenya were closed Nov. 10 after the lecturers went on strike. Three universities re-opened Jan. 7, but the remaining three stayed closed as lecturers continued to protest government inaction. Talks broke down Jan. 12, and activities at all six public universities were again suspended, prompting student riots at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

After a further two weeks of cancelled lectures, an agreement was reached for classes to resume. In keen anticipation of the salary package, union members said it is the culmination of a determined effort to push the government to recognize their role and status in the development of the nation. Should the government fail to come up with an acceptable package, the teachers' union has warned that serious learning in public institutions will not resume. Meanwhile, students have reportedly started to filter back to campuses, but very few classes are said to have restarted.

— Allafrica
December 2003/February 2004

No Funds to Avert Lecturers’ Strike

The Government is broke and cannot afford lecturers’ pay demands. This statement by Minister of Education George Saitoti last week effectively shattered lecturers’ hopes for a better pay deal.

Saitoti moved to avert a planned lecturers’ strike by announcing a modest increase of their housing allowances. However, he said the basic salaries remain at the rates suggested by the Inter-Public University Council Consultative Forum in February – already rejected by the Universities Academic Staff Union. Statements from union officials suggest that the new move would harden the union’s resolve to carry out its strike threat, slated for April.

— The Nation
March 10, 2004

MOZAMBIQUE

Language Key to New Curriculum

Education is a key instrument in the fight against absolute poverty, declared Prime Minister Pascoal Mocumbi at the January launch of a new curriculum for basic education. An immediate priority is tackling the illiteracy rate, which stood at more than 90 percent in 1975. Today, according to Mocumbi, that rate is down to 53 percent.

The new curriculum allows Mozambican languages to be the medium of teaching in the first years of primary school. Educational experts have long argued that teaching 6-year-olds in Portuguese, a language many of them have never encountered before, is a recipe for failure. Mozambique is a mosaic of many ethnic and linguistic groups. In the first stage of the new curriculum’s implementation, Mocumbi said, it will only be possible to introduce the 10 Mozambican languages whose written form has been standardized.

The new curriculum also introduces moral and ethics education, and attempts to make schooling more relevant to the needs of local communities.

— Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique
Jan. 19, 2004

NAMBIA

India Courts Unam Officials

An academic team from the University of Namibia (Unam) recently went on a two-week trip to India for academic development and to strengthen ties between Unam and institutions of higher learning in India. The team visited a number of high-profile institutions and also such Indian educational organizations as the All India Council for Technical Education. The trip already has produced plans for an academic exchange that will lead to India being profiled as a quality educational destination for Namibians.

— New Era
Jan. 23, 2004

NIGERIA

Three Professional Schools Earn Approval

Thirty years after its establishment, the Nigeria Institute of Journalism gained approval in December from the National Board of Technical Education to offer programs in mass communication. Ronik Polytechnic in Ogun state and Allover Central Polytechnic in Lagos also satisfied the requirements of the governing board to offer programs in engineering, science and business studies.

— This Day
Dec. 31, 2003

Open University Up and Running

With support from UNESCO, the Commonwealth of Learning, India and the United Kingdom, National Open University of Nigeria welcomed its first 32,000 students in January.

Speaking at the orientation ceremony for the first students, Minister of Education Fabian Osuji said programs offered at the institution will fill the gap created by the closure of satellite and outreach campuses of conventional universities. He justified the government’s decision to embark on the project by arguing that conventional universities lack the capacity to absorb eligible candidates for university education. According to the minister, Nigeria’s 54 existing universities have the capacity to enroll 200,000 students — less than 15 percent of the 1.5 million applications the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board received last year. Considering the statistics, the minister argued, it has become imperative for Nigeria to adopt open and distance-learning options. The ministry expects the new Open University to enroll 68,000 students by the end of the year.

— This Day
Jan. 27, 2004

SOMALIA

Private Education May Hold Key to Future

Despite the collapse of the central government in 1991 and the chaos that followed, parents, teachers and aid agencies have managed to piece together a private education system that ranges from preschool to newly founded institutions of higher education.

Because most Somalis are poor and have no money for tuition, many children are left out of the nascent school system. A report released by the United Nations Development Program found that only 16.9 percent of primary-school-aged children in Somalia attend school. “Children in Somalia are either learning or looting,” said Abdulrachman Abdullahi, chairman of trustees for Mogadishu University. Abdullahi helped rebuild his country seven years ago by establishing the first functioning university in Somalia since war broke out in 1991. The university now has 6,000 students enrolled in nine programs. Fees are several hundred dollars a semester. “We’re trying to convince Somalis that education is a commodity, like rice and oil,” he said.

Ridiculed at first, the former army officer’s initiative has been followed by others, and universities have opened to meet the growing demand. In 2003, Banadir University’s medical school was restarted (see WENR July/August 2003) with 22 students. On Dec. 25, Sudan’s Al-Neeylain University opened a branch in Somalia. Funded by the Sudanese government, the university already teaches 4,000 Somali students at the main campus in Khartoum and plans to serve thousands more in Mogadishu. Mogadishu University is building a 20-acre campus north of the city, and educators predict that if peace is reached and a stable government returns, students will enthusiastically fill classrooms again.

— Mail and Guardian
Jan. 21, 2004

SOUTH AFRICA

Complications Await Institutional Mergers

A new era dawned in the South African higher education sector on Jan. 1 with institutional mergers leading to the birth of four new universities: the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Tshwane University of Technology, North West University and the University of SA (Unisa). While this signals new beginnings for the sector, the US$450 million dollar merger exercise will not yield immediate transformation results given the complexities of rationalizing 36 institutions into 22. For cash-strapped and poorly governed institutions that have been given a second lease of life, the merger process is a fraught process.

Massive challenges and administrative nightmares lie ahead. The four newly integrated institutions still do not know which staff will be taking voluntary severance, so they cannot plan enrollments or staff allocations. The schools have not finalized their new mission statements or consolidated their curriculums and program offerings. Buildings have to be consolidated and new satellite campuses have to be set up, while more mundane administrative issues such as designing new letterheads, brochures and joint registration processes also have to be dealt with. In April, a new funding formula will be enacted to add to their woes. The amount of state funding will then depend on the universities' three-year rolling plans, graduation rates, research outputs, staff and student equity and other targets. There are also sure to be lengthy battles between management and staff unions as the emotional issue of salary gaps starts to cloud important governance issues.

For a full list of merging institutions, please visit the September/October 2003 issue of WENR.

— Business Day
Jan. 12, 2004

National Register Aims at Fraudulent Degrees

South Africa is struggling to contain an explosion in university-degree fraud. It is estimated that more than 15 percent of South Africans obtained their jobs on the basis of bogus education credentials. The huge scale of the problem has forced South Africa’s leading universities to create a National Qualification Register to help employers confirm the veracity of academic claims.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Nov. 19, 2003

TOGO

New University Opens

Togo’s second university is in the northern town of Kara. The foundation stone for Kara University was laid some four years ago; however, it is still sitting in an empty field. Because the government cannot afford to build the campus, lecturers and students are making do with the buildings of a former teacher training college.

The new university is expected to reduce crowding at the University of Lomé, Togo’s only other university, in the capital city of Lomé. The new institution offers classes in economics, management, history, geography, modern languages and biological sciences. Annual tuition fees at Kara of US$50 are half those in Lomé.

— UN IRIN
Jan. 27, 2004

UGANDA

4 Universities Shuttered

The National Council for Higher Education has shut down Nakaseke, Kabale, Mbale Elgon and Farland universities. The council also deferred issuing operating licenses to five other universities, including Kampala International University, in a crackdown on substandard institutions of higher education. The council granted charters to Uganda Christian University in Mukono and the Uganda Management Institute.

— New Vision
Jan. 28, 2004

ZIMBABWE

Teacher Shortage Closes Nursing School

Zimbabwe’s already strained health sector will come under even greater pressure after one of the country’s biggest nursing schools failed to open. Harare Central Hospital, with an annual intake of 180 nursing students, could not open its doors to new students because of a crippling shortage of instructors. Students were turned away Jan. 4, when hospital authorities said they would be called to return at a later date. Students and nurses who talked to the U.N. Integrated Regional Information Networks said the school had been left with only three instructors; a minimum of 15 are needed to operate. The situation is set to worsen — the remaining instructors have all submitted their resignations.

— UN IRIN
Jan. 9, 2004

Strike Continues for University Lecturers

Lecturers at the University of Zimbabwe have been on strike for several weeks and Minister of Higher Education Herbert Murerwa recently said the government has no money to meet their demands. Late in February, lecturers resolved to stay on strike until the government comes up with a solution to their grievances, which include unacceptable housing and transport allowances.

— Zimbabwe Standard
Feb. 29, 2004

Americas

CANADA

Universities Adapt to Competition with US for Graduate Students

To remain competitive with the United States, some Canadian universities are offering postgraduates guaranteed funding. The University of Alberta and a handful of other Canadian universities are now paying stipends to doctoral students in what administrators describe as an attempt to compete with the heated environment in the United States, where colleges offer stipends and tuition waivers to attract the best students.

Alberta Provost Carl Amrhein said the university is losing potential doctoral recruits to U.S. universities, a situation he had also seen at Toronto, his former institution. Alberta estimates the stipends will cost C$1.6 million a year ($US 1.2 million).

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Dec.5, 2003

Home-Grown English Language Test Launched in China

The Canadian English Language Proficiency Index Programme (CELPIP) made its Chinese debut in Shanghai on Jan. 18. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the governmental department responsible for immigration issues, will now consider CELPIP scores for immigration purposes. The announcement was made in Canada last June.

The exam was developed by the University of British Columbia (UBC) for assessing individual English listening, speaking, reading and writing skills. Previously, the International English Language Testing System’s (IELTS) general training module was the only English language test available for immigration purposes. IELTS will still be accepted and used, but according to officials, the international scope of some test items is not considered suitable for Canada.

CELPIP has three sections, with two hours for reading and writing, 30 minutes for listening and 30 minutes for speaking. The exam is computer-based. Scores consist of 1-no proficiency, 2-minimal, 3-developing, 4-adequate, 5-effective and 6-advanced proficiency. For immigration, the CIC requires scores of at least 4.

Meanwhile, UBC is promoting CELPIP use for admissions purposes. Currently, it is the only Canadian higher education institution that considers CELPIP scores for admission.

For more information on test registration or test tutorials, interested readers can go to www.lpi.ubc.ca/celpip.

— China Daily
Jan. 9, 2004

Drop in Applicants Could Lead to Easier Entry Standards

Figures released in January show that 32 percent fewer students applied to Ontario universities for the fall 2004 term. As a result, many universities say their minimum entry marks may drop by anywhere from 1 to 5 percentage points. The drop in demand was expected after last year’s double cohort surge, but most universities do not plan to shrink their first-year enrollments a matching 30 percent, because they know the university-bound “echo boom” age group is still growing, as is the general tendency to attend university. Many also need those students to pay for the expansion for the double cohort.

So, with fewer Ontario school leavers applying, universities can either ease their requirements to admit more high school students or keep them unchanged but take in more international and mature students to fill the gap. Although most universities have said they will likely ease their admissions requirements, the University of Toronto and the University of Guelph say they will keep their requirements the same, and Carlton University may actually raise the requirements.

— The Toronto Star
Jan. 22, 2004

COLOMBIA

Private School Officially Recognized as University

In recognition of research development and quality, the Ministry of Education awarded the title of university to La Tecnológica de Bolívar, a decision made official in December, 2003. The school can now offer specializations, master’s degrees, doctorates and post-doctorates. La Tecnológica de Bolívar will to continue development in research and technology. This is the first private institution of higher education to obtain recognition as a university in the city of Cartagena.

— La Tecnológica de Bolívar news release
Dec. 2, 2003

HONDURAS

New Nine-Year Elementary Cycle

Faced with a 58 percent dropout rate by grade three, the ministry of education has instituted a new basic educational structure that extends primary schooling form six years to nine, accompanied by a new national basic curriculum. The new curriculum is designed to aid the nations’ transition into the global economy by promoting English-language and technological education.

Six-year elementary education will be replaced by a more constructive and integral system consisting of nine grades divided into three cycles. The new national basic curriculum, which has already begun to be implemented, establishes a first cycle of first through third grades, a second of fourth through sixth grades, and a third of seventh through ninth. With the aid of outside donors, learning centers have been built in rural areas to promote literacy and alternative forms of primary education for out-of-school youths, adults, and young learners.

— El Heraldo
Jan. 23, 2004

UNITED STATES of AMERICA

States’ Attack on Diploma Mills an Uphill Battle

Unable to snuff out the proliferation of illegal diploma mills, many states have changed their strategy: If you can’t catch the dealers, go after the consumers. Illinois, Indiana and New Jersey have recently criminalized the use of fake degrees, and legislators in a few other states are trying to do the same. A recent proposal from the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education would punish people who use fake degrees with a $1,000 fine and up to one year in prison. North Dakota passed a law in 2003 that makes manufacturing a fake degree a felony, punishable by up to five years in jail and a $5,000 fine. Using a fake degree to get a job, promotion or admission to a college would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.

In Oregon, laws against making and using fake degrees have been on the books for almost 20 years. It is a misdemeanor to use a fake degree to get a job or a promotion, and doing so could result in a $1,000 fine and up to a year in prison. Cease-and-desist letters have been sent to at least 40 people, says Alan Contreras, administrator of the state’s Office of Degree Authorization. Oregon long has been the model for such legislation, and Contreras has emerged as a national player in the fight against diploma mills. Still, no one has gone to jail. Oregon did not strictly enforce the laws until a few years ago, according to Contreras. And now, because of budget cuts, the office has lost most of its funding.

Facing deep budget cuts, many states cannot afford to spend money on fighting fake degrees. So, while these new laws allow politicians to take on an industry with few allies, implementation is a different matter. No legislation has been introduced at the federal level, but the Education Department has taken note. In October, Secretary of Education Roderick R. Paige said state and federal officials will meet to discuss ways of dealing with government employees who use fake degrees. However, members of Congress say it is unlikely that national legislation will appear anytime soon. Legislators feel there are much more pressing issues, such as the war in Iraq and budget concerns.

Instead of urging jail time, some higher-education groups and state agencies have created online postings or Web sites to help consumers recognize diploma mills. They include the Council for Higher Education Accreditation’s diploma-mill fact sheet, Oregon’s Office of Degree Authorization and discussion forums such as Degreeinfo.com, where consumers and education professionals can share experiences and offer advice.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Dec. 19, 2003

Study: U.S. Attracts, Keeps Foreign Doctoral Students

Foreign students who graduate from U.S. universities with doctoral degrees are staying in the United States more than ever, a new study by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education has found. According to the study, two-thirds of foreign students who received U.S. science and engineering doctorates in 1999 were still living in the country two years later. In 2001, there were 3,600 more graduates who stayed in the United States for at least two years than 12 years earlier, according to the report.

The trend has particular ramifications on the U.S. economy, which depends on the pool of foreigners in some areas of science and engineering. Seventy percent to 80 percent of graduates of doctoral programs in the physical sciences, math and computer science, life sciences and multiple fields of engineering stay here for at least two years. But only half of those graduating with doctorates in agricultural science, economics and social sciences do the same.

Students from China, India and Taiwan are the top sources of foreign students earning advanced degrees in science and engineering. These graduates usually end up taking jobs with businesses, such as computer chip makers, in which the United States prides itself in holding technological superiority. For example, 96 percent of the Chinese citizens who graduated with doctoral degrees in 1996 were still living in the United States five years later. Similarly, 86 percent of those from India receiving doctorates in 1996 were still in the country five years later. Countries with low stay rates include South Korea (21 percent), Indonesia (18 percent), Japan (24 percent) and Brazil (25 percent).

— Associated Press
Dec. 22, 2003

China to Prepare Advanced Placement Tests for U.S. High Schools

Chinese officials announced in December that they will help create a US$1.37 million Advanced Placement (AP) program in Chinese language and culture for U.S. high schools. The course and test are the second, and most expensive, AP program to be financed by a foreign government. A similar Italian program was announced in September. The cost of developing the equivalent of a college-level, third-year course and exam in Chinese for high school students will be split equally between the Chinese government and private foundations.

The Chinese and Italian programs will be added to the 34 courses and exams in 19 subject areas covered by AP, which gives high school students the chance to prepare for college academic work and, if they score high enough, earn college credit. The College Board said 500 high schools have so far indicated a desire to participate in the first AP Italian course, which is scheduled for fall 2005, with the first exams in May 2006. The Chinese course will not be ready until fall 2006, with the first tests in May 2007, the College Board said.

The majority of students in China study English, but only 50,000 American students study Chinese, a language spoken by 1.5 billion people, according to a statement from the College Board. In contrast, 1 million American students study French, which is spoken by 70 million people, the statement noted.

— Washington Post
Dec. 5, 2003

Education Department Ponders Online ‘Diploma Mill’ List

In January, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, urged Education Secretary Roderick R. Paige to develop a list of accredited degree-granting institutions on the Internet as part of the fight against “diploma mills” and to aid employers in hiring and promotion decisions.

The Department of Education hosted a summit comprised of staff from the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and representatives of state and federal agencies to coordinate efforts to crack down on the use of fake degrees. In a follow-up letter to Paige, Sen. Collins wrote: “I urge you to implement a Web-based list of accredited schools as soon as practicable. The single list should consolidate the lists maintained by the various accrediting agencies recognized by your department ... Currently, an individual who wants to check on the validity of an institution must navigate a confusing and circuitous route in order to verify a school’s accreditation status.”

The diploma mill controversy and a General Accounting Office (GAO) investigation was sparked in 2003 when Department of Homeland Security administrators placed a senior technology official on administrative leave and investigated her educational credentials. The GAO had planned to release its findings in February but widened its probe amid concerns the problem is more prevalent than investigators originally thought. The degrees audit team now expects to complete its investigation sometime this month and congressional officials expect to hold hearings on the issue shortly thereafter. Several states have already passed laws in the battle against diploma mills, including Oregon, New Jersey, North Dakota and Illinois.

— U.S. Department of Education news release
Jan. 27, 2004

High School Diploma a ‘Broken Promise’

“For too many graduates, the American high school diploma signifies only a broken promise,” concludes a recent report from the American Diploma Project. The study found that more than 50 percent of high school graduates need remedial classes in college, and most who go onto tertiary education never get a four-year degree. Meanwhile, employers rated high school graduates as “fair” or “poor” on basic abilities.

The coalition of education-reform groups who conducted the two-year review in five states said the diploma’s value can be restored if graduates come away with a deeper understanding of English and mathematics. The report, titled “Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma that Counts,” said all students should be able to show strong written and oral communications skills, analytic and reasoning ability at the honors-course level and learn statistics, data analysis, advanced algebra and geometry. In a damning conclusion, the report says the diploma “often serves as little more than a certificate of attendance.”

The full, 128-page report can be found at: www.achieve.org/achieve.nsf/AmericanDiplomaProject?OpenForm.

Asia/Pacific

AFGHANISTAN

Education Struggles to Rebuild

After almost 25 years of warfare, Afghanistan is now battling to restore a shattered educational infrastructure. The central challenge is coping with the so-called “lost generation” of students who have had their education put on hold by conflict. Education was the largest item in the Afghan government’s development budget last year and is slated to double this year. However, its status remains shaky: It seems the necessity of the reconstruction of education in a country that boasts 90 percent illiteracy is not fully appreciated.

Inevitably, the budget — which is mainly in the form of donor pledges — falls short of what the Ministry of Education needs. Education Minister Yunus Qanooni warned in 2002 that shortfalls might force closures in the provinces, and indeed an answer to these closures was to cram students into the remaining open schools. Unfortunately, there are areas where all local schools have closed, leaving no alternative. Conflicting statements from the ministry and the provinces leave the reality of the situation unclear.

The number of enrollments in 2002 — 2.9 million students — far exceeded original projections of 1.7 million. Enrollment rates for 2003 were expected to reach 4 million, close to the estimated 4.5 million school-age children. However, a large percentage of those who enrolled are from the so-called “lost generation.” Qanooni sees three main challenges to the future of Afghan education: resources for construction of schools, furnishing schools and the shortage of teachers. Organizations such as UNICEF are working to address these issues, but more must be done, as even in Kabul children do not have adequate learning environments. In addition, statistics suggest the system is facing an educational bottleneck, with up to 50 percent of all students enrolled in 2002 being in first grade.

— Eurasianet
Sept. 12, 2003

Winter Classes Fast-Track Education

Children who were deprived an education by years of war are being given a chance to catch up this winter through an accelerated learning program. With the help of UNICEF, the Afghan Ministry of Education has initiated a series of courses in five provinces during the three-month school holidays. Approximately 46,000 students are said to be attending the free classes. The learning program was introduced to girls in December 2002; 92 percent of them were subsequently able to enroll for school at least one grade higher.

December also saw the final phase of a national teacher-training program. Key teachers were trained in the principles of learning, methodology and core curriculum subjects. These teachers then passed their skills to provincial trainers, who in turn are currently training small groups of teachers. This cascade method has proved highly effective. In December, 25,000 primary-school teachers underwent training, and the final winter round hopes to reach a further 25,000.

— The Guardian
Dec. 9, 2003

AUSTRALIA

New Higher-Education Law Passed

Parliament approved in December sweeping changes to Australia’s system of higher education, focusing on university tuition fees and how students will pay for them. The historic legislation allows universities to increase their fees up to 25 percent, and will require more than one-third of all students to pay all of their university costs.

The highly contentious piece of legislation, in a country that promotes the widest-possible access to its institutions of higher education, also makes new provisions for the availability of government scholarships

and low-interest loans. It is expected that most universities will introduce the new fee package as soon as possible.

— The Australian
Dec. 5, 2003

CHINA

Merger Creates New University

Xihua University was established in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, in December through the merger of Sichuan Institute of Industries and Chengdu Normal College. The school currently has 20,000 students and teachers.

In recent years, the Ministry of Education has been reorganizing and streamlining higher education institutions across the country in an attempt to streamline the effectiveness and competitiveness of Chinese universities.

— People’s Daily
Dec. 8, 2003

Scottish Degree Program Established

The Scottish Qualifications Authority has agreed to a deal with the Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange. The initiative will see students at Chinese universities study for Higher National Diplomas in business, computing, hospitality, tourism and finance. These qualifications will be recognized in Scotland and give students the opportunity to study at Scottish higher education institutions.

The Scottish Executive recently launched its Fresh Talent initiative, which aims to address Scotland’s population decline and increase its skilled work force.

— BBC
Feb. 15, 2004

Beijing to Boost Foreign-Student Enrollment

According to a recent report in the Beijing Morning Post, universities in Beijing are planning to enroll an additional 10,000 foreign students in 2004, a 30.3 percent increase over 2003. The 33,000 foreign students currently in Beijing account for 40 percent of the national total. Official surveys show that foreign students are increasingly enrolling in subjects other than Chinese language and traditional medicine.

— Beijing Morning Post
Feb. 4, 2004

Exploding Enrollments Leading to ‘Professor Crunch’

China expects 2.8 million college graduates in 2004, an increase of 680,000, or 22 percent, from 2003. This comes on top of a 46 percent increase in the number of graduates who left higher education institutions in 2003. Student numbers have been exploding since 1999, when the government launched an initiative to increase university enrollment and improve the quality of the work force. However, there has not been a proportionate increase in faculty numbers to meet student needs, which, according to the Xinhua News Agency, is leading to a “professor crunch.”

Education experts now warn the teaching shortage may lead to a regional brain drain as the nationwide competition for quality professors heats up. The booming provinces in the east are attracting the most talented professors, leaving a deficiency in less-developed regions of the interior, where an increase in the knowledge base is vital for development and poverty reduction.

— Xinhua News Agency
Feb. 4, 2004

INDIA

Institutes of Management Seek Higher Visibility

In October, The Economist magazine ranked the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) as the world’s 45th best business school. Not content with being the first Asian business school to appear in the list’s top 50, IIM-A has set its sights on a top-20 placement in the near future by improving its international components and attracting foreign applicants through not only exchange but also to full-time programs.

To attract the kind of student it is looking for, the institution is attempting to increase its visibility. One step it has taken is to collaborate with such foreign universities as Canada’s McGill and the United States’ Stanford and Columbia in areas such as telecom, power and energy. It is also asking professors to not only conduct research and publish but to present papers at international conferences so the visibility of the institution increases.

Meanwhile, the Bangalore branch (IIM-B) recently announced plans to take its brand appeal to foreign destinations, beginning with Sri Lanka. At IIM-B, the approach is of a more populist nature: The school plans to offer condensed programs in management studies. Officials have stated that in addition to Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have also shown keen interest in IIM-B. Singapore and Malaysia are also said to be on the radar screen. As the institution increases its faculty, the number of foreign initiatives is expected to expand.

— Ahmedabad Newsline
Nov. 19, 2003

Common Entrance Exam for Professional Courses in 2005

The University Grants Commission recently announced plans directing universities to admit students in professional programs through a common entrance exam. Management students will soon have to appear for only one national-level or state-level exam.

Admission to national quota seats will be made through an all-India common entrance exam, while states will hold their own state-level entrance exams for the state quota seats. Common entrance to engineering, architecture and pharmacy programs will be through the All-India Engineering Entrance Exam (AIEEE). Despite objections from institutions and politicians, the commission maintains that the new exam will not encroach on university autonomy. After introducing a three-tier entrance examination system for engineering courses in 2001, the Ministry of Education — armed with a Supreme Court order — decided to make AIEEE mandatory for all educational institutions admitting students on an all-India basis in October 2003.

Beginning in 2005-06, a similar common entrance test will become mandatory for all management courses where admissions are made on an all-India basis, eliminating the multiplicity of entrance examinations.

— The Hindu
Jan. 14, 2004

New Top-Tier Science Schools to Be Established

In an effort to boost the number of top science graduates, the University Grants Commission announced in December the establishment of four National Institutes of Science and 1,000 annual scholarships to postgraduate students attending the institutions. The institutes will be in Chennai, Pune, Allahabad and Bhubaneshwar.

— Expressindia
Dec. 28, 2003

Distance Education to Be Regulated

The Distance Education Council (DEC) is planning to regulate all university open-learning courses. The move is regarded as the first step toward bringing accountability to distance education, with only DEC-approved correspondence courses being recognized, starting in 2005. All universities offering courses through correspondence will have to have their programs accredited by the DEC. The regulatory body instituted by Indira Gandhi National Open University has already begun the assessment process.

After sending institutions a questionnaire on benchmarks and norms, a DEC team will begin the process of verification. The council also plans to start a “resource pool,” from which an institution can select and initiate an academic program after paying a specified amount to the university that constructed the program.

— The Times of India
Jan. 8, 2004

UGC Rethinks Recruitment Strategy to Combat Enrollment Trend

A recent study by the University of Delhi reveals a negative trend in the number of foreign students at Indian institutions of higher education. According to the results of the study, 8,145 foreign students studied in India in 2003, compared to 11,888 in 1995. Foreign-student adviser at Delhi University A.S. Nang, who conducted the study, believes a lack of initiative by Indian universities to promote and market their programs abroad is to blame for the diminishing numbers.

In an apparent attempt to counter the trend, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has suggested that special economic zones be used to promote higher education. The “special education zones” at selected locations around the country would house both Indian and foreign higher education institutions in close proximity to scientific and research and development centers. The UGC committee in charge of the project, which has already short-listed 25 universities to participate in a series of global education fairs, feels there is a tremendous market to attract more foreign students to the country.

Elsewhere on the continent, the trend seems to be the opposite: in China, enrollments from overseas students have risen from 22,755 in 1995 to more than 40,000 in 2003, and in Japan, the numbers have risen from 53,511 to 100,000 over the same period.

— New Kerala
Feb. 9, 2004
— The Times of India
Jan. 28, 2004

Students Protest Cut in IIM Fees

Students at India’s six elite business schools are protesting a reduction in tuition fees. The Supreme Court has upheld a government decision to increase access to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) by cutting tuition fees 80 percent. The Ministry of Human Resources Development, in what some deem a political maneuver with elections pending, intends to slash annual fees from 150,000 rupees (US$3,317) a year to 30,000 (US$663) through government subsidies, maintaining an IIM education cannot be the monopoly of the elite.

Detractors of the plan say it amounts to renationalization, which could result in a loss of autonomy over curricular content to the Human Resources Development Ministry. The ministry is headed by Murli Manohar Josh, a self-proclaimed religious revivalist who has been accused of attempting to give education a more “Hindu” flavor. For his part, the minister says the plans are in line with the government policy of widening access to higher education.

The Economist magazine rated the IIM-Ahmedabad as the “toughest business school in the world to get into” – not in terms of cost, but of competition. There were 127,000 applicants this year for 260 places. Student protests have received support from top Indian industrialists who argue the government should be concentrating its resources on primary education or expanding quality management education, rather than subsidizing education at the IIMs.

— The Guardian
Feb. 26, 2004

Chhattisgarh Begins Review of Private Institutions

The Chhattisgarh government has begun reviewing its private universities, which have mushroomed in number since the passing of the Chhattisgarh Private Universities Act two years ago and the subsequent “reckless sanctioning” of new institutions.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) passed the Establishment and Maintenance of Standards in Private Universities Regulations late in 2003, which led to the establishment of the Regulatory Commission in Chhattisgarh. The commission has been charged with the quality assessment of an estimated 108 private universities, a large proportion of which are said to be operating out of hotel rooms and private residences as “e-universities.” It is estimated only a handful of the new institutions have physical campuses. The most important provision in the regulations is that “each private university shall be established by a separate State Act and shall conform to the relevant provisions of the UGC Act.”

Another important provision of the act concerns the establishment of branch campuses, which now are only eligible after the main campus has proved to have operated successfully for five years. Currently, more than 20 of the unlicensed institutions in Chhattisgarh are operating study centers in a number of other states across the country.

— The Hindu
Jan. 7, 2004

JAPAN

Visa Rules to Tighten in April

The Japanese government will tighten visa requirements for foreign students in April in light of a recent series of crimes allegedly committed by students who overstayed their visas, Justice Ministry officials said in December. The ministry will require foreign students to submit documents on their parents’ income and bank account statements for the past three years to ensure that they have sufficient funds to live in Japan and that the primary purpose of their stay is for study, the officials said.

The new measures will be applied to universities and Japanese-language schools, where large numbers of students have overstayed their visas, as well as to prospective students from countries with a record of students that overstay their welcome, according to the officials. Applicants from China, in particular, will be targeted, because 80 percent of students who overstay their visas are Chinese. The murder of a family of four in Fukuoka, allegedly by three former Chinese students, was a factor in the decision.

— Japan Today
Dec. 12, 2003

Reforms to Push Research and Mergers

Japan’s public universities, modeled on late 19th-century Western academic institutions, are undergoing profound change. Taking effect in April, reforms will influence the future of research in Japan.

The law enabling the structural reform of the universities was approved by Parliament in July and allows Japan to stimulate the creativity of its researchers and to invest heavily in such sectors as medical research and biotechnology, where it lags other countries.

Japanese research and development spending is already high by global standards, enabling Japan to become a world leader in such fields as robotics and nanotechnology. The restructured universities, which in the future will be more private-sector, partnership-oriented, are expected to play a key role in the research domain.

The reforms aim to bring about mergers of universities in order to strengthen their position in global rankings based on assessments by third parties. Twelve of the 99 major public universities have already merged since October 2003, and the trend is expected to extend to the 525 private institutions and 76 run by regional or local authorities. Under the reforms, the national universities will acquire the status of a corporation, which will bring greater “freedom in allocating funds [and] increased accountability on the part of their management,” as well allowing them to recruit staff from outside academic circles or the bureaucracy.

— Agence France Presse
Dec. 12, 2003

New Law Schools Pass Final Test

A panel from the Education Ministry recently approved the opening of graduate law programs at 66 universities, beginning in April (see WENR July/August 2003) — the start of the Japanese academic year. The new schools will be central to the overhaul of the Japanese legal system, which will introduce a partial jury system, emphasize practical rather than theoretical training in legal education and give more rights to individuals.

— Japan Today
Jan. 15, 2004

SOUTH KOREA

Number of Students Abroad Continues to Grow

The number of South Korean students studying abroad has soared to record levels of nearly 160,000. Government statistics released in December, however, contrast the boom in students studying abroad with a relatively anemic presence of foreign students studying in Korea. At last count, there were 12,000 foreign students in the country — just 7.7 percent of the number of Koreans studying abroad.

By region, 45.5 percent are based in the Asia-Pacific region, 39.5 percent in North America and 14.8 percent in Europe. While South Korean students’ preference for the North American market has diminished somewhat, the United States is still the unrivaled destination for Korean students. The number of Korean students studying in the U.S. has dropped from 58,500, in 2001 to 49,047 in 2003.

— Korea Herald
Dec. 16, 2003

MALAYSIA

8-Nation Tour Highlights Malaysian Education

As part of the drive to establish itself as an educational hub, 30 delegates representing 10 universities embark on an eight-country road show to promote Malaysian tertiary education. The government hopes to raise the number of foreign students from the current 36,000 to 50,000 by 2005. The tour kicks off in Mali and the Maldives this month before moving to Sri Lanka and South Africa in March, Bangladesh in July, Iran and Yemen in August, Mauritius in September and Indonesia in October.

— The Star
Jan. 18, 2004

Technology University Gets Boost From Japan

Japan and Malaysia have agreed to open a technical university in a suburb of Kuala Lumpur in June as a center for human resources development in Southeast Asia. According to Japanese Foreign Ministry officials, approximately half of the 30-member faculty will be comprised of reassigned Japanese faculty. In the first academic year, Malaysia-Japan International University of Technology will admit 250 students from Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries to its electronics, mechanical engineering and business administration departments.

— Daily Yomiuri
Jan. 7, 2004

UGC Rethinks Recruitment Strategy to Combat Enrollment Trend

A recent study by the University of Delhi reveals a negative trend in the number of foreign students at Indian institutions of higher education. According to the results of the study, 8,145 foreign students studied in India in 2003, compared to 11,888 in 1995. Foreign-student adviser at Delhi University A.S. Nang, who conducted the study, believes a lack of initiative by Indian universities to promote and market their programs abroad is to blame for the diminishing numbers.

In an apparent attempt to counter the trend, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has suggested that special economic zones be used to promote higher education. The “special education zones” at selected locations around the country would house both Indian and foreign higher education institutions in close proximity to scientific and research and development centers. The UGC committee in charge of the project, which has already short-listed 25 universities to participate in a series of global education fairs, feels there is a tremendous market to attract more foreign students to the country.

Elsewhere on the continent, the trend seems to be the opposite: in China, enrollments from overseas students have risen from 22,755 in 1995 to more than 40,000 in 2003, and in Japan, the numbers have risen from 53,511 to 100,000 over the same period.

— New Kerala
Feb. 9, 2004
— The Times of India
Jan. 28, 2004

Students Protest Cut in IIM Fees

Students at India’s six elite business schools are protesting a reduction in tuition fees. The Supreme Court has upheld a government decision to increase access to the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) by cutting tuition fees 80 percent. The Ministry of Human Resources Development, in what some deem a political maneuver with elections pending, intends to slash annual fees from 150,000 rupees (US$3,317) a year to 30,000 (US$663) through government subsidies, maintaining an IIM education cannot be the monopoly of the elite.

Detractors of the plan say it amounts to renationalization, which could result in a loss of autonomy over curricular content to the Human Resources Development Ministry. The ministry is headed by Murli Manohar Josh, a self-proclaimed religious revivalist who has been accused of attempting to give education a more “Hindu” flavor. For his part, the minister says the plans are in line with the government policy of widening access to higher education.

The Economist magazine rated the IIM-Ahmedabad as the “toughest business school in the world to get into” – not in terms of cost, but of competition. There were 127,000 applicants this year for 260 places. Student protests have received support from top Indian industrialists who argue the government should be concentrating its resources on primary education or expanding quality management education, rather than subsidizing education at the IIMs.

— The Guardian
Feb. 26, 2004

Chhattisgarh Begins Review of Private Institutions

The Chhattisgarh government has begun reviewing its private universities, which have mushroomed in number since the passing of the Chhattisgarh Private Universities Act two years ago and the subsequent “reckless sanctioning” of new institutions.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) passed the Establishment and Maintenance of Standards in Private Universities Regulations late in 2003, which led to the establishment of the Regulatory Commission in Chhattisgarh. The commission has been charged with the quality assessment of an estimated 108 private universities, a large proportion of which are said to be operating out of hotel rooms and private residences as “e-universities.” It is estimated only a handful of the new institutions have physical campuses. The most important provision in the regulations is that “each private university shall be established by a separate State Act and shall conform to the relevant provisions of the UGC Act.”

Another important provision of the act concerns the establishment of branch campuses, which now are only eligible after the main campus has proved to have operated successfully for five years. Currently, more than 20 of the unlicensed institutions in Chhattisgarh are operating study centers in a number of other states across the country.

— The Hindu
Jan. 7, 2004

NEW ZEALAND

New Laws to Protect International Students

The government has announced new laws that will increase protection for international students in New Zealand, according to Education Minister Trevor Mallard. The move came in the wake of two controversial school closures — the Carich Computer Training School in November and the Modern Age Institute of Learning in September — that left thousands of international students stranded. Most of the students are among the 30,000 mainland Chinese studying in New Zealand.

An amendment to the Export Education Levy will allow the government to widen collection funds from education providers in New Zealand so they can be used to reimburse international students if providers go out of business.

— Scoop
Dec. 3, 2003

Dramatic Slump in Visa Applications Worries Export Industry

New Zealand’s education export industry is bracing for the worst in early 2004 after a large drop in visa applications from Chinese students. Trade Commissioner Grant Fuller says there has been a “significant falloff” in visa applications.

About 20,000 new visa applications were made by Chinese students in 2002, but figures for 2003 were likely to be closer to 12,000. Fuller says universities are well-placed for next year, but the drop will affect private training providers, language schools and some secondary schools. The high-profile collapse of two private schools in 2003, followed by negative statements from Chinese officials, is widely thought to be largely to blame for the decline.

— Fairfax New Zealand Ltd
Dec. 22, 2003

PAKISTAN

3 Institutes Earn Official Recognition

The following schools have been officially recognized by the Higher Education Commission as private, degree-granting institutions: Dadabhoy Institute of Higher Education in Karachi, on Aug. 23; Institute of Business & Technology in Karachi, on Sept. 20; and the Institute of South Asia in Lahore, on July 27.

For a full list of recognized, higher-education institutions in Pakistan, please visit: http://www.hec.gov.pk/collunilist.htm

SRI LANKA

Tertiary Education Reform Program Under Way

Tertiary education reforms in Sri Lanka were officially launched in October. The Improving Relevance and Quality of Undergraduate Education (IRQUE) project aims to support Sri Lanka’s tertiary education system so it can more effectively contribute to economic and social development. The project is supported by US$40.3 million in credit approved by the World Bank in June 2003.

The IRQUE project provides grants to support the strengthening of public universities. It is intended to transform Sri Lanka’s predominantly publicly run, campus-based higher education system — which is inaccessible to the majority of the population — into a more broad-based system providing increased support of vocational and private institutions and the use of online learning. The program also finances a program that provides training and helps place unemployed graduates in companies for work experience. The Jobs-Net Web site will be used to facilitate access to the program for unemployed graduates and companies from all parts of the country.

— Daily News
Oct. 29, 2003

THAILAND

Chinese University to Open Branch in Bangkok

Officials from Guangzhou-based Jinan University have indicated the university will open China’s first foreign branch school in downtown Bangkok in 2005. The school is expecting to welcome an initial enrollment of 600 to 800 undergraduate students, and later will offer graduate-level courses. The school hopes to offer five or six business management courses.

Jinan University is one of two universities in China that specifically educates overseas Chinese students from such areas as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. The other is Overseas Chinese University in Quanzhou, Fujian province.

— Xinhua News agency
Nov. 17, 2003

VIETNAM

Plans for International University Announced

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced in late December that funding for construction of Vietnam’s first international university has been approved. To be located in Ho Chi Minh City and Di An, Viet Nam International University will include undergraduate and graduate training for both Vietnamese and foreign students. The university hopes to attract up to half of its faculty from abroad, the majority of whom will be lecturing in English. The curriculums will be created in cooperation with foreign universities, and programs will be offered in information technology, biotechnology, telecommunications, business management and law. The university plans to recruit approximately 200 students for the fall term.

The announcement came on the heels of an announcement by Australian-owned RMIT Vietnam that it will begin construction of a second campus in the Saigon area. Although RMIT enrolled only 700 students in its first two years, the second campus expects to accommodate up to 10,000 students.

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Dec. 29, 2003

Europe

BELGIUM

Three Universities Merge, New University Emerges

The University of Antwerp was established Oct. 1 with the merger of Universitaire Centrum Antwerpen, Universitaire Faculteiten Sint-Ignatius Antwerpen and Universitaire Instelling Antwerpen.

— University of Antwerp
October 2003

GERMANY

Plans Afoot for For-Profit University

For-profit Hanseatic University, the brainchild of a group of entrepreneurs, is being touted as the answer to Germany’s flagging higher education system (see May/June 2003 WENR). To be based in Rostock, classes are expected to begin this fall. If projected profit targets are reached, the university will eventually be floated on the stock market.

Like struggling state-run universities, private establishments are fighting for funding. Founders of the new institute believe it will bridge the gap between state and private universities and provide not only a high standard of education but also a supply of trained managers and leaders for the country’s business sector. Hanseatic will be the first entrepreneur-organized private university in Germany. The Ministry of Education and Research states that it has not yet received an application for state recognition.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Dec. 5, 2003

Central Agency to Receive International Student Applications

In response to overburdened university admissions offices, Germany’s higher education institutions have established a work and service center for international applicants — ASSIST (Arbeits- und Servicestelle für Internationale Studienbewerbungen) — in Berlin. Foreigners interested in studying in Germany can now submit their applications either directly to the chosen university or to ASSIST. Once it receives the application, ASSIST checks whether the formal admissions requirements have been met and whether the supporting documents are trustworthy.

— DAAD
December 2003

Mannheim University Adopts Bologna Structure

By winter semester 2004-05, Mannheim University will stop offering German graduate degrees (diplom/magister atrium) in its social science departments and instead will offer internationally recognized bachelor’s and master’s degrees. University officials decided to change to the new structure after a successful four-year trial period, during which students could choose between the traditional German graduate degree and a bachelor’s degree. The new bachelor’s will take three years to complete, and is compatible with the Bologna model.

— Deutsche Welle
Dec. 1, 2003

Winds of Change: Tuition Fees, Private and Elite Universities

The egalitarian concept of education as a privilege granted free to all is being challenged by the growing realities of an underfunded and overregulated public education system. Younger-generation Germans are increasingly viewing education as a commodity worth investing in as demonstrated by the sharp increase in the number of students choosing private education and the tripling of the number of private colleges to 51 over the last decade. Although the private sector educates only 1.5 percent of 2 million students, by breaking the taboo of asking students to pay for their college degree, private schools are being viewed by some as a catalyst of change.

Early in December, students and faculty protested cuts of hundreds of millions of euros in university funding, the imminent closure of some departments and the prospect of an introduction of tuition fees of up to US$725 a year by 2006. But there are also those in Germany who argue that free higher education has come at the cost of heavy-handed government regulations and a lack of healthy competition among students and schools. Despite Chancellor Gerhard Shroedor being on the record in speaking out against tuition fees, five states have passed legislation introducing fines, or “tuition fees” on “long-term” students who take 20 percent longer than the prescribed time to finish their degrees. And six states have challenged in Germany’s highest court the government’s refusal to let public institutions levy fees.

Meanwhile, in early January, Schroeder proposed a plan to develop five “elite universities” with funding of 250 million euros over the next five years to help German universities compete globally.

— Christian Science Monitor
Feb. 10, 2004
— Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Jan. 9, 2004

IRELAND

Kaplan Acquires Dublin Business School

Kaplan Inc., a leading provider of educational services worldwide, announced in December it has acquired Ireland’s largest private undergraduate institution, Dublin Business School, for an undisclosed sum. The school was established in 1975 and has approximately 5,000 students participating in undergraduate, postgraduate, professional and lifelong learning programs. It also operates a campus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and has relationships with a number of business schools in Europe. Under the deal, qualifications will continue to be issued by the Higher Education and Training Awards Council, Liverpool John Moores University and other examining bodies.

— PRNeswire-Firstcall
Dec. 2, 2003

FINLAND

Education Plan 2003-2008 Places Internationalization High on Agenda

The Development Plan for Education and University Research (2003-2008), adopted by the Finnish Cabinet in December, includes as one of its main objectives strengthening the international character of Finnish universities and Finland’s competitiveness in the international higher education market. The plan sets a target of increasing the number of foreign students at Finnish institutions of higher education to 12,000 by 2008. There are currently approximately 7,000 foreign students studying at the tertiary level in Finland, representing about 2 percent of the total student body. Interest has grown considerably, however. In 2003, close to 3,500 foreign students applied to study in Finland – 1,000 more than in 2001. The plan also sets the goal of doubling the number of exchange students to 28,000, and increasing the number of courses taught in languages other than Finnish and Swedish.

Full details of the plan can be viewed at: www.minedu.fi/opm/koulutus/asiakirjat/kehittamissuunnitelma041203.pdf.

— Ministry of Education news release
December 2003

KOSOVO (Former Yugoslavia)

Albanian-Language Textbooks Causing a Stir

New school texts in Albanian high schools liberally sprinkled with patriotic references have spurred international calls to tone down the rhetoric, which in turn has infuriated the authors of many of the texts. History lessons in Kosovo are based on texts devised in the 1990s for the parallel, semi-underground school system that Albanians set up to counter Serbian state-controlled institutions. Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic had scrapped Kosovo’s autonomy in 1989. Now, the European Council wants the Albanian school texts to moderate their tone and has asked for a review of the history curriculum by May. European Union (EU) and U.N. representatives are calling for a more balanced history, which will avoid offending Kosovo’s minority communities.

The authors of the criticized books are furious, saying the EU and United Nations have not even clarified what they objected to. They intimate that the real reason for demanding changes is because the books refer to Albanian demands for an independent Kosovo, while U.N. resolutions treat Kosovo as a province of the former Yugoslavia. Sven Lindholm of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said creating a history curriculum that is acceptable to all communities would help persuade Serbs to give up running a parallel school system in Kosovo.

Related: Integration of Education in Bosnia and Herzgovina.

— Institute for War and Peace
Dec. 5, 2003

LATVIA

Controversial Education Amendments Signed Into Law

Latvian President Vaira Vike-Freinerga announced Feb. 10 that she will sign contentious amendments to the education law that Parliament passed amid fierce public protests earlier in February. The amendments (see May/June 2003 issue of WENR), which require that 60 percent of subjects in minority schools be taught in the Latvian language beginning Sept. 1, were condemned by the Russian state Duma after their passage.

— RFE/RL
Feb. 11, 2004

MACEDONIA

State Sanctions Albanian-Language University

The Macedonian Parliament passed a law Jan. 19 turning a private, Albanian-language university in Tetovo into a state institution (see May/June 2003 WENR). The decision means Tetovo University can operate as a legal institution for the first time since it opened 10 years ago. Until now, the Macedonian government was unwilling to allow higher education taught in the Albanian language, despite an almost 25 percent minority of Albanians in the country and a strong majority of Albanians in Tetovo. When established in 1994, authorities sent police to close the institution, claiming the school was trying to divide the nation along ethnic lines.

In an attempt to reach a compromise, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe opened the officially approved and internationally funded South East European University, which teaches mainly in Albanian. With the recognition of Tetovo University, work must now proceed toward the recognition of credentials of approximately 10,000 students who have passed through the institution since it was founded. A commission has been set up to work on this issue and a number of others to ensure the institution conforms to Macedonian law.

— Maknews
Jan. 21, 2004

UNITED KINGDOM

House of Commons Passes Controversial Tuition Bill

A hotly debated bill, supported by most higher-education institutions but fiercely opposed by the National Union of Students, squeaked through the House of Commons on Jan. 27. The bill would allow institutions to increase tuition to a top rate of £3000 (US$5,500) a year beginning in 2006. The current limit is approximately £1100.

To get the bill passed, the potential financial blow to students was made as soft as possible. The bill would abolish current upfront fees and would instead allow students to repay the fees once they have graduated and are earning a yearly wage on or above a set amount. While student unions opposed the bill, officials at Britain’s ailing universities welcomed the vote and saw it as a first step toward rectifying a 37 percent decline in funds per student. The funding cuts have led to the commonly held belief that British universities are losing their competitive edge globally, as class sizes have increased and facilities have deteriorated.

The Higher Education Bill will now be given to committees in the House of Commons, which may make amendments. It will then be subject to another vote in the lower house and, assuming it passes, will then go to the House of Lords for approval.

— The Daily Telegraph
Jan. 28, 2004

Underfunded Universities May Double International Student Intake

Britain’s top 19 universities are warning the government they may double their intake of full fee-paying students from overseas by offering up to 80,000 extra places to them. The universities said the government has made so many concessions on its tuition reform bill (see above) that they may have to embark on an all-out drive to recruit international students, who pay full fees, in order to meet their budgets.

Currently, approximately 20 percent of the 400,240 students at elite British universities are from outside the European Union (EU). They pay an average of £11,350 (US$21,000) in fees each year, compared with the maximum of US$2,000 that undergraduates from Britain and the EU currently pay. If the tuition reform bill passes, British and EU students will be required to pay a maximum £3,000 (US$5,500) beginning in 2006 — a figure far lower than that demanded by most universities. The 19 elite universities that make up the so-called Russell Group say the plan will be ineffective because the government has made so many concessions to students and to the public protest.

— The Straits Times
Jan. 12, 2004

Traditional Degree Classifications Challenged by Aggregate Marks

Recent research shows most universities are giving graduates aggregate final marks with their transcripts of achievement, which has led some observers to believe the traditional first-, second- and third-class degree classifications could easily be replaced, as the government has urged.

Commissioned by the Department of Education and Skills, the research shows most universities have already embraced a 1997 recommendation by Lord Dearing to introduce student progress files, which include an “aggregate summative mark” for final results.

Later this year, a government-backed “scooping group” will report on alternative methods for presenting the overall achievements of students amid concerns that the growing proportion of students obtaining first-class and upper-second degrees — a record 55 percent in 2002 — have rendered the traditional system too crude to be meaningful. The research, carried out by the Centre for Higher Education Research and Information at Open University, found that most institutions of higher education have already introduced transcripts giving a detailed breakdown of student achievements, giving marks for all units of assessments and reporting a total aggregate mark for the course, usually as a percentage mark.

The report follows government criticism of the existing system in the white paper on higher education issued in January 2003. The Times Higher Education Supplement reported in September 2002 that the third-class degree was dying out — it was awarded to just 3 percent of students at Cambridge University in 2002, compared with 22 percent in the 1960s.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Oct. 10, 2003

Study Compares A-levels, IB

The British Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) released a study in December that compared International Baccalaureate (IB) and A-level qualifications. By focusing on exam material from four subjects, the report found that “A-level and IB examinations were comparable in the demands they placed on the candidate at the level of the individual subject.” Those who participated in the study agreed that the grades A and E awarded in the A-levels were comparable to 7 and 4 awarded in the IB. One of the limitations that the QCA faced was in the different ways in which each system is structured. The IB diploma is awarded to students, usually between 16 and 18 years of age, who complete a set of compulsory components. The A-levels, on the other hand, are “single-subject qualifications awarded for demonstrating sufficient attainment against defined objectives” and are more commonly taken by students in a wider age range.

There are a number of reasons for the timing of the report, most notably, and as the report points out “the IB has recently been accredited as a general qualification at level three,” and “it is also a qualification with a number of staunch supporters in the UK who are vocal in declaring its qualities. In addition, with the Tomlinson Task Force reviewing the whole structure of post 14 qualifications in England and seeming to favor some sort of diploma, it is timely to consider the main example currently in use in the UK.”

The full report is available online at: www.qca.org.uk/news/6369.html.

— Overseas, Overwhelmed
Jan. 28, 2004

International Student Numbers Rising – Target Hit

A record increase in the number of international students studying in the United Kingdom (UK) has seen government recruitment targets achieved ahead of schedule, the British Council reports. Statistics compiled by the Higher Education Statistics Agency for 2002-03 show the number of non-European Union international students studying in the UK rose 23 percent the previous academic year – to a total of 174,575. The 32,000 additional students mean the Prime Minister Tony Blair’s recruitment target of an extra 50,000 international students in higher education by 2004-05 has been achieved well ahead of target.

— British Council news release
Jan. 21, 2004

Law Admissions Test Introduced

Top law schools confirmed in February that they are planning to launch a national admissions test for undergraduate law degrees. The eight leading law schools that designed the new National Admissions Test for Law (Lnat) say it will help distinguish the best candidates as they receive more and more applications from students with top grades. The two-hour examinations, which will consist of multiple-choice and short-essay questions, are being planned for November.

— The Guardian
Feb. 2, 2004

Middle East

BAHRAIN

Manama Awaits New University

A new private university in Bahrain, specializing in information technology and business, is set to open this month. With the establishment of its Manama campus, Kingdom University will be one step nearer to the completion of Phase 1, according to the adviser to the board of trustees, Yousef Abdul Ghaffar. The campus, in the Zinj area, can accommodate 500 students. In December, Ghaffar said work on a second campus, in Hamad Town, was to begin in January.

The university will offer bachelor’s and master’s programs in business administration, information technology, finance and computer science.

— Gulf News
Dec. 12, 2003

ISRAEL

Moldovan University Latest Institution Embroiled in Degree Forgery

Dozens of teachers, principals, psychologists, administrators and social workers from northern Israel are suspected of having knowingly purchased forged master’s and doctoral degrees, purportedly from Ion Creanga Pedagogical University in Moldova. According to police, the university says it has never enrolled any Israeli students and has never opened a branch in Israel.

The fraud squad began investigating the situation several months ago in response to a complaint by the Civil Service Commission. The commission said several government ministries, including the Education and Health ministries, had noticed a surprising stream of diplomas from Ion Creanga University submitted by employees who were either requesting wage increases on the strength of these documents or using them to support an application for promotion. Police questioned dozens of people holding Ion Creanga diplomas. According to Superintendent Herbie Primat, commander of the Northern District Fraud Squad, several of them admitted to having bought the diplomas for US$2,000 to $10,000, depending on the degree and the subject. He said the fraud went on for approximately two years, from 2001 through 2002.

The investigation comes on the heels of a similar investigation into the validity of degrees of about 5,500 government employees suspected of having fictitious diplomas from the Israeli extension of British University of Humberside, the University of Latvia and American Burlington Academy (see Sept/Oct WENR 2003).

— Haaretz
Jan. 19, 2004

KUWAIT

Textbooks, Curriculum to Be Revised

Kuwait has decided to revise textbooks and the school curriculum to promote religious tolerance, government officials announced in January. Parliament had been debating the changes announced by Education Minister Rasheed Al Hamad, who said such issues as terrorism had come under scrutiny in the latest selection of new textbooks. Though the minister defended the existing curriculum, he said some pupils could be led astray by the tone and content of some texts. “[Books] should not encourage pupils to hate other people and religions,” Al Hamad said told a Kuwaiti newspaper.

Parliament began debating the revisions after a group of Islamic lawmakers voiced their opposition to the proposed changes. Al Hamad responded by denouncing anyone who sought to “make the young generation think in a fanatic way, which leads them to take aggressive initiatives.” Earlier in January, the Gulf Cooperation Council agreed on educational reform as a way to combat religious extremism among Muslims.

— United Press International
Jan. 2, 2004

American University to Open in September

The Kuwaiti Ministry of Education and the Board of Private Universities granted American University of Kuwait (AUK) its final license on Dec. 17, 2002, paving the way for the university to commence classes this September. The university will comprise three schools: business, engineering and architecture and arts and sciences.

Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H., will provide a series of advisory and cooperation ventures over the next five years to help AUK establish itself as Kuwait’s first private, liberal arts university.

— AMIDEAST
Jan. 12, 2004

LEBANON

Baccalaureate Replaced

As of the 2000-01 academic year, the Lebanese General Secondary Certificate (shahaada thaanawiya amma) has replaced the Lebanese baccalaureate. The secondary tracks were also revised. The maximum points possible on the exam are as follows:

General sciences — 570 points

Humanities (insaniyaat) — 480 points
Life sciences (uloum al-hayaat) — 560 points
Social and economic sciences (uloum iqtisadiya wa ijtima’iya) — 530 points

— AMIDEAST
Jan. 23, 2004

QATAR

New Zealand Organization Consulting on Education Reforms

A New Zealand organization will play a key role in bringing educational reforms to Qatar. Multi Serve Education Trust has reached an agreement with Qatar to help upgrade the oil-rich country’s education system. The reforms include giving considerably more autonomy to some existing schools and to others that have not yet been built.

Initially, Multi Serve will mentor five Qatari schools through an 18-month transition to self-management, providing the schools with input on infrastructure and administration, as well as recruiting teachers and other staff. If this pilot project proves successful, Multi Serve will have broader involvement in the Qatari education system, including the construction of schools. Multi Serve is New Zealand’s leading independent service provider to schools. The Qatar program is the organization’s first multi-school project overseas.

The reforms in Qatar (see March/April 2003 WENR) will focus on autonomy, accountability, parental choice and diversity. By moving away from its previous, more centralized approach, the country hopes to lift educational standards and ensure that young Qataris can fully participate in today’s globalized economy. At the same time, Qatar wants to preserve its values, culture and beliefs.

— Scoop
Jan. 15, 2004

SAUDI ARABIA

New Medical College Opens

Saudi Arabia’s first private college of dentistry and pharmacy opened Feb. 7. The school’s aim is to provide Saudi professionals in a field now dominated by expatriates. A complete hospital will soon be built to meet the requirements for a university, which is the eventual goal of the founders. According to officials, the college will serve as the nucleus of a future university and will offer courses in all medical branches.

Citing an official study, one of the college owners, Dr. Al-Shamamry, said the kingdom would be able to meet only 40 percent of its needs in medical education by 2020. He also pointed out that there was an acute shortage of facilities for medical education in the country.

The medium of instruction at the new college is English, and admission is open to both Saudis and non-Saudis. Highly qualified professors are being recruited for the new college, which will also have a Web site for hosting lectures and facilitating interaction between the college and its counterparts in other countries.

— Arab News
Jan. 20, 2004

Education Reform Moves Forward

Interior Minister Prince Naif recently stated that the aims of Saudi Arabia’s educational reforms, announced in November, are the enhancement of Islamic values, the promotion of moderation and the strengthening of the concepts of flexibility and respect for the opinions of others. The reforms also aim to put greater emphasis on the need for scientific and technical training to meet the future needs of the labor market, government officials have stated. In November, the government allocated funds for the training of 100,000 Saudis and announced the establishment of 20 new technical colleges for 60,000 students and of 39 technical training institutes for 40,000 students.

The educational-reform process is being supervised by a high-level committee of academics and experts. Officials have said the committee has already completed the required study and forwarded its recommendations to a decision-making level for the benefit of the national educational process. Saudi officials have also denied reports recently that they are under pressure from the United States and other Western countries to change the national curriculum, pointing out that the kingdom is revising the curriculum for the educational development of its people and that the decision was its own.

— Arab News
Jan. 22, 2004

SYRIA

Military Withdrawn From Universities

Syria’s cabinet has issued a decree formally ending the half-century-old militarization of higher education. The decision, which is being applied to all colleges and universities in Syria, will result in the disbanding of the Military Training Board and the removal of all military personnel and equipment. Courses in political and military indoctrination taught by military officers, under the auspices of campus branches of the Training Board, will also be abolished.

Mandatory military training for college students previously had occupied one day of each week of the academic year. Syrian scholars say they are encouraged by the new openness and focus on studies.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Dec. 19, 2003

3 Private Universities Licensed Under New Private Education Law

The country’s first two private universities were issued licenses in August under the nation’s 2001 Private Education Law, and a third was licensed in September. Qalamon University, being established in Deir Attyoeh, and Maamoun Private University for Sciences and Technology, being established in Hasaka province with a branch in Aleppo, were licensed in August. A private university of science and arts, as yet unnamed, is also being established in Aleppo.

— Syria Live
Sept. 24, 2003

TUNISIA

Newly Established Private Sector Growing

Since 2000, 17 private schools have been accredited, four of which opened this academic year. These actions were in response to serious overcrowding and underfunding at public institutions of higher education. In 2000, the government adopted legislation allowing for state regulation and recognition of private institutions of higher education, which it hoped would ease the strain on state schools.

In 2002, there were 270,000 students enrolled in the Tunisian higher education system; in 2003, there were more than 300,000. That figure is projected to near 500,000 by 2010. Government officials hope the private sector will be able to help fill the gap, and that in three years 30,000 students will be enrolled in private schools. To ensure the quality of credentials and learning outcomes, and in line with a July 2001 education law, successful completion of the baccalaureate is a prerequisite for entry to newly accredited private schools of higher education.

A list of licensed private higher education institutions can be found at: www.universites.tn/anglais/divers/enseignement_prive/prive2.htm

— La Presse
Nov. 10, 2003

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Second Australian Campus Launched

The University of Wollongong’s second Dubai campus was launched in December. The university’s international arm, Illawarra Technology Corp., opened its first campus in Dubai nine years ago, when other Australian universities were heading to Asia. It is still the only Western university with its own campus in the UAE. The new campus is situated in the government-funded “knowledge village” — a 395-acre technology park that also houses media and Internet “cities” (see July/August WENR 2003).

— The Australian
Nov. 26, 2003

Indian Entrance Exam Available in Dubai

Dubai will become the first overseas center for the All-Indian Engineering and Medical Entrance Examinations. The decision to make Dubai a center for the 2004 exams grew out of strong demand for such a facility by Dubai’s large minority Indian population. The examinations will be conducted directly by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations and supervised by the Indian consulate in Dubai. Interested candidates can log on to www.cee-kerala.org and download the forms.

The Kerala state government has also proposed starting courses equivalent to the Secondary School Leaving Certificates, in the wake of a new regulation in the UAE that stipulates such a certificate is a minimum education qualification for a laborer.

— Gulf News
Dec. 9, 2003

Russia & The Commonwealth of Independent States

RUSSIA

History Texts to Be Re-evaluated

Minister of Education Vladimir Filippov announced in January that all history textbooks in Russia will be re-evaluated. According to the new policy, all history textbooks will be selected on competitive grounds and will not include “pseudoliberalism, aimed at misinterpreting our history,” Filippov said. He also noted that the ministry has introduced a new project concerning the need to develop special programs of general education for schoolchildren.

In December, President Vladimir Putin forwarded a letter to the Russian Academy of Sciences, asking the academy to examine history textbooks used in schools throughout Russia. Numerous complaints from World War II veterans served as a basis for the president’s letter. Some unofficial sources claim Kremlin officials are outraged by one particular textbook entitled, “Russian History of the XX Century,” which is said to paint a relatively negative picture of certain aspects of Russian history, and even asks students to debate whether President Putin is a dictator running a police state. The book was banned in November.

The Kremlin has been careful to create a popular mandate for the revision. According to the Kommersant newspaper, Putin writes in the letter: “I share the feeling and opinions of the veterans of the great patriotic war [World War II]. I order that in the shortest period of time scientists and historians be invited to consider the situation with history books for middle schools.”

— Pravda
Jan. 27, 2004

University Autonomy Seriously Questioned By Rector’s Resignation

The rector of a pioneering liberal arts university resigned in November in a bid to spare the institution from radical restructuring by the Ministry of Education. Leonid Nevzlin, a close associate of an embattled oil executive, cut ties with Russian State University for the Humanities after Education Minister Vladimir Filippov threatened to reorganize the university and install a rector of his choosing.

The university’s governing board had refused to fire Nevzlin. But the highly regarded state university, which in 1991 grew out of the former Moscow State Institute for History and Archives, ultimately would have been powerless against a ministry edict, so Nevzlin opted to quit rather than drag his supporters and the university down with him.

Filippov ostensibly sought to replace Nevzlin because he was running the university in absentia from Israel, where he had sought citizenship. Some believe the rector’s relocation is related to investigations in Russia of his associates. Of particular concern for the government is Nevzlin’s holdings in the YukosSibneft oil company and his close association with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of the company who was arrested in November. Nevzlin’s links to YukosSibneft, not his administrative shortcomings, are widely seen as the real reason for his departure from the university.

Nevzlin was named rector on June 17, shortly after YukosSibneft pledged to give US$100 million over 10 years to the university. Private financial support on such a scale is unprecedented in Russia, and the pledge enabled the university to double both faculty salaries and student stipends, as well as to create new majors. The recent events carry a degree of irony — the university was founded in a spirit of openness, respect for individual rights and freedom from manipulation by the state.

— The Chronicle of Higher Education
Dec. 12, 2003

Business Looking Up for British MBA Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs from business schools in the United Kingdom rushed off en masse to Moscow in September, drawn by the growing strength of the Russian economy, to advertise their wares. The growth, they were told by officials at the British Council’s education exhibition, was 4.3 percent in 2002. In addition, they learned that the wealthiest third of Muscovites have as much purchasing power as the wealthiest third of Swedes. Russia is getting near what financiers call “investment grade,” according to the council, in part because of the Iraq war, which has pushed up the price of Russian oil, and in part because of favorable exchange rates.

Approximately 66,000 young Russians have taken courses in Britain over the past five years; 13,500 were expected to study there in 2004, and a sizeable proportion of them were planning to work on their master’s in business administration. Open University has had 24,000 Russian students, most of them studying business. Some business schools run their MBA programs in Russia, including Open, Herriot Watt and Middlesex universities. Others recruit Russian students to the United Kingdom. Loughborough University has an agent in Moscow who recruits students and guides them through the process of getting a visa and arranging to live in the the UK. It’s a pattern used by several universities, and one agent often serves more than one institution.

— The Guardian
Oct. 16, 2003

Feature

The Bologna Bachelor’s Degree: An Overview

By Mariam Assefa, Executive Director, WES
and Robert Sedgwick, Editor, WENR

I. Introduction

Since the signing of the Bologna Declaration in 1999, Europe has gradually been moving toward a two-tiered system of higher education based on separate bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Countries that have the traditional long first degrees plan to phase them out by 2010, when the Bologna Process is scheduled for completion.

The reasons for this transition are fairly straightforward. First and foremost, the new degrees are more flexible, both in terms of their curricular content and exit points. The long first degrees, which were primarily designed to prepare students for scholarly work, can last up to seven years in some countries forcing many students to abandon their studies before graduation. It is anticipated that the new (shorter) bachelor-level degrees will make university education more relevant to the demands of the labor market and enhance comparability between the disparate systems of higher education that exist in Europe.

By adopting the new bachelor/master's degree structure, European countries also hope to boost the global competitiveness of their institutions of higher education. Many countries began introducing the new bachelor's programs in 2001/2002, and the first of the new degrees will be awarded in 2005.

This article will examine the new Bologna bachelor's degree using Austria and Italy as case studies. In 1999, both countries adopted legislation that restructured their higher education programs and implemented the Bologna bachelor/master's model. We will be focusing on the bachelor-level degree here and will deal with the Bologna master's degree in a forthcoming issue of WENR.

One of the main benefits of the new bachelor's degree is that it allows students to pursue graduate studies or employment anywhere within Europe depending on the type of program they completed. However, gaining recognition for the new degrees beyond Europe is also among the stated objectives of the Bologna Declaration. The first cohort of students enrolled in the new Bologna programs are scheduled to graduate next year, and the new degrees will begin turning up in North America for assessment. How will the Bologna bachelor's degree be viewed on this side of the Atlantic?

This article will take an in-depth look at the Bologna bachelor's degree. To better help us understand and assess this new degree, we will examine two sample programs taken from universities in Austria and Italy.

II. The Traditional (Long) First Degree

University first degrees in Europe differ significantly from country to country. The typical long degree can require anywhere between four-and-six years of study but students usually take longer to graduate. The curriculum for long first degrees is largely defined by individual faculties but specialization in a particular field of study is perhaps its most salient characteristic. In almost all instances students are required to write and defend a thesis in order to graduate.

AUSTRIA

The traditional Diplomstudium programs last four-to-five years, but in fact most students usually take longer to finish. The programs are divided into two cycles: The first cycle introduces the student to an area of specialization and concludes with an examination known as the Erste Diplomprüfung. The second cycle entails in-depth study and concludes with an examination, the Zweite Diplomprüfung, and a written thesis. Students who successfully complete this stage of higher education are awarded either a Magister or a Diplom degree, depending on the field of study.

ITALY

The traditional Laurea requires four-to-six years of study depending on the discipline and is awarded upon the defense of a thesis. In the sciences, the curriculum is divided into two phases: a first two-year period which is considered a preliminary stage with basic theoretical disciplines and a second three-year stage which consists of courses in the specialization and its application. The laurea gives admission to doctoral studies programs via competitive exams, and is also the minimum legal requirement for entry into most professions. Holding the laurea gives the right to use the title dottore/dottoressa.

III. The Bologna Bachelor’s Degree

Under the new system currently being implemented, bachelor's and master's degrees can be awarded by universities and non-university institutions of higher education. The degrees will be defined by their content and outcome rather than by the type of institution that awarded them. Hence, the new degree structure under Bologna represents a departure from the traditional binary system of universities and polytechnics because the value of degrees is now based on the content and objectives of the curriculum rather than school type. Some degrees will be designed to allow immediate access to the labor market while others can be used for admission to graduate study at the master's and doctoral levels. In sum, the new degrees will require a significant restructuring of traditional systems of higher education.

A principal objective of the Bologna Process is to make university degrees transparent so that employers and institutions of higher education will be able to understand a student's credentials. To further facilitate transparency, the new degrees will be quantified in terms of ECTS credits and accompanied by the diploma supplement, which provides a detailed description of the studies completed by the individual.

In order to promote the desired comparability and transparency among European credentials, some common criteria have been formulated to define the new Bologna bachelor's degree:

1) A bachelor-level degree is earned at an institution of higher education and requires between three-and-four years of full-time study, or 180 to 240 ECTS credits.

2) A bachelor-level degree is earned at both traditional universities and at non-university institutions of higher education.

3) The details (profile) of each degree program and its learning outcomes should be noted in their title and included in the diploma supplement issued to the student.

4) Bachelor’s degrees that prepare students for further study should be freestanding and should not be regarded as part of a longer curriculum. This allows students to change disciplines and/or pursue graduate studies at another institution. Admission to second-cycle (graduate) degree programs requires successful completion of first-cycle (undergraduate) degrees.

Austria

Austria adopted the Bakkalaureat as a first university degree in September 1999. Programs leading to this qualification were introduced the following year, and the first cohort of new degree holders is scheduled to graduate in 2005. As of 2003/2004, as many as 180 individual bachelor programs have been adopted at Austrian universities.

The current plan is to offer bachelor’s and master’s degrees in at least 50 percent of all academic fields by 2006. All newly introduced programs must adhere to the two-tiered structure called for by the Bologna Declaration. Universities can no longer offer the traditional long first degrees. Students who began their studies under the old system have the option of staying in that program or transferring to the new, bakkalaureat program. Admission requires the Reifeprufung or Matura, the Austrian school-leaving certificate awarded upon the completion of 12 years of elementary and secondary education.

Sample Program

The Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien) offers a bachelor’s program in information systems designed to train specialists in the field of IT and information systems. The program focuses on the IT knowledge necessary to qualify students for occupations that include designing, developing and introducing applications in the IT sector.

The program lasts six semesters and consists of 106 weekly hours (64 in core subjects, 32 in special subjects and 10 in electives.) Core subjects include 16 weekly hours in business administration, 22 weekly hours in information systems, 8 weekly hours in information technology and a variety of additional classes. The 32 hours of specialized subjects include an IT specialization area plus additional IT-oriented specialist subjects or an advanced IT subject. The program includes an internship that can be completed either in a business enterprise or as a research project within the university. Twenty-five percent of the program is taught in English.

Students are required to write two research papers in the course of the program. In the first paper, they must discuss a specific topic in an IT-related field (i.e., their IT specialization area or an advanced IT subject.) In order to graduate, students must successfully complete all required courses and submit a second research paper related to their internship. A student’s overall grade is based on the individual grades received in each course. Students graduate with the academic degree of Bakkalaurea/Bakkalaureus in social and economic sciences.

University Education in Austria

Italy

In 1999, the Italian government began restructuring its degrees along the lines set out in the Bologna Declaration. The first university degree under the new system is the Laurea (same as the old degree name). It is three years in length and requires 180 ECTS.

The process of adopting the Bologna reforms has been taking place gradually with the first bachelor-level (laurea) programs launched in 2000/2001. Some of the traditional long first degrees programs, especially in the professional fields, are still being offered. For example, medicine, dentistry, veterinary science, pharmacy, architecture, etc. will continue to be offered via integrated long programs lasting 5-6 years leading to the laurea. They have not been restructured the way other programs have.

Students who were enrolled in the old laurea (long, first degree) or diploma universitaria programs in 2000/2001were given the choice of completing their studies under the old system or transferring to the new laurea programs in a corresponding field. However, the transfer is not automatic and has been left up to each faculty to decide on a case-by-case basis.

The new undergraduate programs (corsi di laurea) are designed to give students an adequate command of general scientific methods and contents as well as specific professional skills. Admission to laurea programs requires the Italian school-leaving certificate (Diploma di Superamento dell’Esame di Stato conclusivo dei corsi di Istruzione Secondaria Superiore) after completion of 13 years of primary and secondary schooling. The more selective programs can impose further course and grade requirements.

Sample Program

The Bocconi University of Milan offers a new laurea program in business administration (economia aziendale). The program's objective is to give students an understanding of the economic, financial, social, legal, cultural and technical foundations of business, and to equip them with the analytical and decision making skills that will allow them to manage different businesses in a changing environment. Graduates will be qualified for professional and managerial positions in marketing, sales, finance or human resources.

The program is three years in length and requires the completion of 180 ECTS credits (146 credits in compulsory subjects, 12 elective credits, 12 credits in two European languages, four credits in computer science and six credits for the final project). Students who wish to take English as one of their languages must have achieved a minimum TOEFL score of 550 on the paper test or 213 on the computer-based examination. Other English language tests may be used to show a comparable level of proficiency.

During the first year, students study economics, business administration, law, history, quantitative methods and computer science. In the following years, they take marketing, finance, production, logistics, business organization and accounting. Courses in Italian and English are taken throughout the program.

University Education in Italy

Practical Information

Bologna Country Updates:
Central Europe

By Nick Clark, Assistant Editor WENR

Czech Republic

Legislative Framework

In 1992 the Czech and Slovak Federation was dissolved and each republic became independent. In both republics the same higher education reform was passed in 1991. The new law abolished central planning by the ministries and re-established institutional autonomy, including the authority to establish curricula, regulate student numbers and create new faculties. The reforms also introduced the bachelor degree and an independent accreditation system. Student enrollments increased rapidly after 1991 — doubling in the first eight years. By 1998, the Czech system of higher education consisted of 27 universities and other more specialized institutions offering degrees after four-to-six years of study. The system did not include a recognized non-university sector.

The Higher Education Act of 1998 and its amendment of 2001 allowed for more sweeping reforms including the creation of a binary system of university and non-university education, the establishment of private institutions, the creation of a two-tiered system — bachelor’s and master’s — alongside the traditional four-to-six year integrated programs, and the increased importance of the independently run Accreditation Commission in the validation of study programs.

Under the 1998 Higher Education Act, higher vocational schools can apply for accreditation to award degrees at the bachelor's level (or higher), either in their own name or under the umbrella of a university. Currently the Czech Republic has 57 institutions of higher education: 24 public, 4 state (military and police), and 29 private institutions of higher education.

1. Easily Readable and Comparable Degrees

• The Czech Republic has signed and ratified the Lisbon Convention on the Recognition of Degrees, the provisions of which legally came into force in 2000.

• The diploma supplement was introduced into the Czech system under the Higher Education Act of 1998, which states that the supplement must be issued upon student request. The language of the diploma supplement is not prescribed. The European model of the diploma supplement was promoted during two NARIC seminars in 1999 and 2000. Feedback from institutions suggests that they have not had much experience with the supplement and the number of applications for it has not been too high. Ultimately, they intend to issue it to every student automatically in Czech or English.

• The Center for Higher Education Studies operates as the Czech ENIC/NARIC offering consulting and advisory services for institutions of higher education and the Ministry of Education in the recognition and evaluation of academic credentials.

2. Degree Structure

Stage I: Bachelor's-level programs lead to the academic degree of Bakalár (Bc.) or Bakalár Umení (BcA) in the field of Arts (introduced 1999). These degrees are generally awarded after three-to-four years of study at a recognized institution of higher education and prepare students to be admitted to a Magistr degree program. At the same time, they prepare graduates for a profession. A final state examination (Statni Rigorozni Zkouska), part of which is the defense of a thesis, is required to graduate. It should be stressed that many stakeholders in Czech education (employers and students alike) are still skeptical of the bachelor’s as a qualification in its own right. Therefore, a 2001 White Paper set the target of getting fifty percent of graduates from bachelor programs to enter the workforce rather than continue into a master’s program.

Stage I & II: Despite the introduction of bachelor-type degrees, universities continue to offer one-tiered, integrated master’s degree programs that take between four-to-six years, although these long programs are now an exception rather than the norm. Post-graduate programs that follow the Bakalár take one-to-three (most commonly two) years of study, and lead to the Magistr in the humanities, natural sciences, mathematics and theology. The title of Inzenyr is awarded in technical, agricultural and economic fields. Finally, the title of Doctor Medicíny as the result of a first degree is now awarded in the medical sciences (medicine 6 years, dentistry 5-6 years, veterinary medicine and pharmacy 5 years). The fields of architecture and law also only offer integrated programs.

Stage III: Doctoral programs (Doktor) have a standard length of three years of full-time study beyond the master’s level. Doctoral programs require the defense of a dissertation and the passing of an Examen Rigorosum.

• Short master's programs of the kind that build on a first university degree, were formally added to the traditional one-tiered programs in 1990 and described in more detail in the Higher Education Act of 1998 and the 2001 amendment. The amended law of 2001 makes it compulsory to complete undergraduate studies before beginning postgraduate studies. Only over the last five years have a majority of Czech higher education institutions begun to introduce “short” master’s programs. The delay in the implementation of bachelor programs was a result of the realization by higher education institutions that simply dividing the existing curricula would not meet the criteria of a genuine two-tiered system defined by learning outcomes.

• Early skepticism from institutions, students and the labor market over the adoption of the two-tiered system is waning. Hence, more and more short-cycle master’s programs are replacing the one-tiered programs, especially after they were more clearly defined in the 2001 amendment to the Higher Education Act (one-to-three years compared to two-to-three previously) and have been promoted and supported by the Transformation and Development Program since 2000.

• Non-university higher education institutions continue to offer bachelor's-level programs, and only a few have been accredited to offer master’s programs. They may not, however offer doctoral programs. All private institutions are currently of the non-university type.

3. Credit Transfer

• Most Czech universities use their own credit system, as there is no unified system at the national level. Credit systems are less common in non-university institutions of higher education. No legal provisions oblige institutions to use credit systems and there is no general rule as to how to allocate credits.

• Since October 1997, the Czech Republic has been successfully participating in the Socrates, Erasmus and Leonardo da Vinci programs. The ECTS system was established at most higher education institutions as an instrument for international mobility through the SOCRATES-ERASMUS programs and the transfer of foreign-earned credits. All universities use ECTS for transfer. Some non-university higher education institutions (colleges and polytechnics) also use ECTS for transfer. As a rule, institutions that wish to participate in the Socrates international mobility programs have introduced ECTS for transfer.

• Traditionally, credits have been used as a means of measuring student workload while their utilization as an accumulation tool has been minimal. The latest Bologna report from the Ministry states “the number of institutions, namely university-type institutions, which use the accumulative function to enable their students more flexible paths within a respective study program has been growing.” The use of ECTS for accumulation is especially popular at technical universities, whereas in the non-university sector programs tend to be less adaptable.

• A national team has been established by the Council of Higher Education Institutions and since the beginning of the current academic year has been providing consultative services nationally and internationally regarding the implementation of ECTS.

The Charles University (Prague) Law School ECTS information package offers the following ECTS/Czech grade equivalency:

4. Mobility

• When the changes came in 1989, there was a widespread desire to rejoin the Western European educational community. EU-funded Tempus projects under the PHARE program provided funding and established partnerships for educational reform. However, universities for a long time were more likely to talk the talk about reform than to take measures.

• The promotion of international mobility is described by the Ministry of Education as “a priority of national strategic development.” Most academic mobility is realized through international programs or on the basis of direct bilateral cooperation organized by the individual higher education institutions. Today, all public institutions of higher education are involved in Socrates programs, and some of the newly established private institutions are also beginning to participate.

• About three-to-four percent of Czech students study for at least a period/semester abroad and the foreign students constitute approximately three percent of the student body at Czech universities (to meet Bologna and Sorbonne goals, the rate of outgoing students should be closer to 13 percent.) The ministry cites funding as the main obstacle to increased mobility of Czech students and staff.

• From the 1998/99 academic year to 2001/02 academic year the number of outgoing students participating in the Erasmus program has risen from 879 to 2533, and for incoming students the number has risen from 290 to 800. The ministry attributes the rapid increase in numbers to the introduction of the national co-funding scheme in 2000.

• Institutions in the Czech Republic have a number of bilateral agreements with higher education institutes abroad. Charles University, the Czech Technical University in Prague, and Masaryk University in Brno have the largest number of bilateral agreements.

5. Quality Assurance

• By April 2002, most university faculties had undergone the accreditation procedures of the new three-level model. Thus, as of 2002/03 and especially 2003/04 most faculties will adopt the three-tier model for most of their programs.

• The Czech quality assurance system includes self-evaluation, external evaluation, peer review and accreditation (based on previous evaluation). For additional information please go HERE

• The Higher Education Act determines that higher education institutions have to regularly provide internal quality assurance and to specify details of the process in its internal regulations.

• External evaluation is conducted by the Accreditation Commission and its working committee. Accreditation is awarded by the Ministry of Education on the basis of positive assessment from the Accreditation Commission. All study programs must have accreditation to be permitted to award academic degrees. Programs are re-evaluated at least once every ten years, or twice the nominal length of the program.

• Any private institution wishing to offer study programs in the Czech Republic can only do so once it has gained accreditation from the Accreditation Committee.

• Various other scientific or educational institutions may apply, in co-operation with a higher education institution, for accreditation of their study programs. In connection with these developments the importance of the Accreditation Commission, which is an independent expert institution, has been increasing since its inception in 1990.

• The Accreditation Commission became a member of the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) in 2001.

6. Promotion of European Dimensions in Higher Education

• Aside from participation in above mentioned mobility programs, a number of Czech institutions have created common study programs with foreign partners. The latest Bologna report from the Ministry of Education offers the following examples:

1. Under the CEEPUS program a Joint Central European PhD program has been developed in adapted physical activities. Students use resources and attend classes in a number of different countries depending on their specialization. The program is recognized in all participating countries.
2. The Neisse University is a collaboration of three institutions of higher education from Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic: University of Wroclaw, Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz, Liberec Technical University. The three institutions combine to offer a three-year bachelor’s and two-year master’s program in information and communication management with students spending a year studying at each institution. The language of instruction is English and one foreign language of the region is included in the study program. At the end of the current academic year, the university will graduate its first students.
3. There are some common master’s-level programs offered in connection with French institutions in the fields of economics and law where graduating students are awarded both French and Czech credentials.

• In addition, many institutions have introduced tuition-based, short-term and degree programs for international students. Others have set up joint-degree programs with foreign universities to offer business and management programs to Czech students.

— Nick Clark
January 2004

References

• Survey on Master Degrees and Joint Degrees in Europe, Christian Tauch and Andrejs Rauhvargers, September 2002

• The State of Implementation of ECTS in Europe, European University Association, October 2002

• Diploma Supplement — State of Implementation, European Commission, June 2003

• Lisbon Convention Status Reports, Council of Europe, Aug. 29, 2003

• The Information Network on Education in Europe — Eurydice, European Union, 2001/2002

• Erasmus Mobility by Country 2001/2002 — ECTS Workshop, Feb. 20-21, 2003, UK Socrates Erasmus Council

• Implementation of the Bologna Declaration: The Czech Republic and Hungary, World Education News and Reviews, Robert Sedgwick, October 2001

• General Information About Higher Education in the Czech Republic, Center for Higher Education Studies

• Czech Republic: National Report, Implementation of the Bologna Process, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, August 2003

Hungary

Legislative Framework

Hungary’s system of higher education underwent significant changes after Parliament passed a reform package in 1993 (amended 1996) aimed at overhauling education at the tertiary level. The reform package emphasized the principle of institutional autonomy making colleges and universities answerable to a single body, the Ministry of Education. Under the new laws, only institutions offering both undergraduate and postgraduate education are permitted to call themselves universities. Schools that only offer undergraduate degrees are designated as föiskola (colleges). Those that only offer doctoral courses are known as disciplinary-accredited university doctoral schools.

The law of 1993 also approved the establishment of private colleges and universities, which currently enroll approximately 10 percent of all students in Hungary. The law established two institutions to provide professional advice on the development and control of higher education: the Hungarian Accreditation Committee (HAC) and the Higher Education and Scientific Council (HESC).

The 1996 Amendment of the Law on Higher Education integrated post-secondary vocational training into the system of higher education. The amendment defined a four-level structure of higher education: two years for higher vocational training; 3-4 years for college programs; 4-6 years for university programs; and three years for doctoral programs together with other specialized postgraduate programs. Legislation in 1999 on the transformation of the network of higher educational institutions and on the modification of the Act of 1993 sets out the greatest structural transformation in the history of higher education in Hungary. A new network of merged higher education institutions, established in 2000, has resulted in a reduced number of re-named colleges/universities, although the number of faculty continues to rise. There are currently 18 state universities, 1 non-state university, 12 colleges, 26 church-owned institutions and 9 colleges run by foundations.

The Ministry of Education recently stated that a new, comprehensive higher education act is currently under preparation to establish a legal framework to support the provisions of the Bologna declaration. The new act will likely outline the following provisions: 1) the establishment of a clearly defined two-cycle system (three with doctoral studies); 2) a commitment to lifelong learning based on the mutual transfer of credits; 3) the establishment of a new, national qualification framework based on three cycles along with competence-based qualification requirements; 4) a system of accreditation to be modified by separating traditional accreditation and quality assessment. Discussions and studies have already commenced among the various stakeholders such as the Hungarian Rectors’ Conference, the Hungarian Accreditation Committee and several higher education institutions.

1. Easily Readable and Comparable Degrees

• The Hungarian Equivalence and Information Center (HEIC) was established in 1993 and serves as the Hungarian ENIC/NARIC body.

• HEIC was an active participant in the development of the diploma supplement and contributed to its introduction in Hungary after the publication of a handbook and a pilot project in 2001. In June 2003, Parliament adopted a proposal on the amendment of the Higher Education Act, which regulates the use and issuance of the diploma supplement. The proposal states that institutions of higher education are obliged by law to issue a Hungarian-language diploma supplement upon student request. Upon further request, and at the student’s expense, an English-language supplement must be issued. The diploma supplement, however, is currently being issued on a trial basis at one institution: the Trade, Catering and Tourism College Faculty of the Budapest Business School.

• Hungary signed the Lisbon Convention on the Recognition of Diplomas in 1997, and ratified it in 2000.

2. Degree Structure

• Hungary currently has a binary higher education system provided by colleges and universities, although the divide is currently somewhat unclear as some colleges act as university faculties and some universities offer college-level courses. The latest ministry Bologna report states that, “…the present dual education system should be gradually dissolved and a sequence of bachelor and master’s degrees built on each other should be created.” Traditional-style universities offer “long” 4- to 5-year degrees in arts and sciences, law, social sciences, economics and education. Föiskola (colleges) offer three- to four-year, professional-oriented programs in areas such as technology, business administration, health services and teacher training.

Stage I: Föiskola (colleges) offer bachelor-level degrees (Föiskolai Oklevél) with the possibility to continue on for a master’s degree at a recognized university. Although most programs take three years to complete, upper primary teaching programs require four years.

Stage I & II: Universities generally follow a one-tier system leading to an integrated master-level degree (Egyetemi Oklevél) that requires a total of five years of study (six years for medicine). Holders of the föiskolai oklevél can continue on for a master’s, which requires an additional two to three years of study. Normally this requires that the student take additional subjects before or during the master’s program that are included in the first three years of the long, one-tier master’s program, but not in the bachelor’s program.

Stage III: The Hungarian doctoral degree corresponds closely to what is known and recognized internationally as a PhD degree.

*Both colleges and universities also offer short-term, post-secondary programs with a two-year duration called Accredited Higher Vocational Courses, which lead to a certificate.

• The current situation is changing with regard to consecutive two-tiered degrees. In 2003, the Higher Education Act was modified to allow for the launch of experimental first-degree programs. Hence, at universities, two-tier (separate bachelor-and-master-level) programs are now being introduced on the 3 + 2 model in certain disciplines.

• Only universities are entitled to offer these programs and they may be introduced in all disciplines except medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and veterinary studies.

• According to the ministry’s current plans, by 2006/2007 only new, bachelor- and-master's-level programs will be introduced at Hungarian institutions of higher education. At the same time, the long, integrated programs will be phased out by that year. Preparations for a new comprehensive higher education act are currently under way and the following principal objectives have been outlined:

1. The establishment of a two-tiered, 3 + 2 system, with an undergraduate cycle leading to a degree and a professional qualification in every field of study. The successful completion of the first cycle (bachelor's-level) of study will be a prerequisite for commencement of the second cycle (master's-level) and likewise for progression from the second cycle to the existing doctorate cycle.
   
2. Higher vocational studies will lead to a two-year diploma that can be partially transferred to a bachelor program, or used for entry into the labor market.
   
3. The establishment of a new national qualification framework based on a more flexible three-cycle system.
   
4. Increased participation in tertiary education through the promotion of vocational programs and doctoral studies.

3. Credit Transfer

• In 2000, the Hungarian Government issued a decree on the introduction of the credit system stating that all institutions of higher education must offer credit-based graduate courses by September 2002, and a credit system for Ph.D. courses by September 2004.

• The credit system was introduced in approximately 50 percent of state institutions by September 2002 in preparation for the mandatory nation-wide introduction at the undergraduate level for the 2003/04 academic year.

• The system is based on student workload and used as a transfer and accumulation system. It allocates 60 credits per academic year and is fully compatible with the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS).

• To increase awareness and provide as smooth a transfer as possible to a credit-based system, the National Credit Council and Credit Office have recently been established.

4. Mobility

• Hungary participates in the ERASMUS/SOCRATES and Leonardo Da Vinci mobility programs. In the Erasmus and Leonardo programs special preparatory language programs have been organized for incoming students, including one or two month intensive language programs to facilitate the integration of foreign students into Hungary.

• According to the recent Bologna report, published by the Ministry of Education, Hungarians show great interest in pursuing studies abroad particularly if scholarships are provided. Therefore, additional national resources (in addition to EU resources) must be mobilized in addition to community support to assist the increasing number of scholarship holders.

• In 2001/2002 outgoing students outnumbered incoming students through the Erasmus program 1,736 to 769.

• A law on the right of entry and residence for foreign students entered into force in 2002.

5. Quality Assurance

• The Education Law of 1993 established the Hungarian Accreditation Committee (MAB). While quality assurance is maintained by individual institutions the MAB largely functions as the guardian or overseer of quality in higher education. Specifically, it renders opinions on the establishment, abolition or recognition of institutions, fields of study and courses. In addition, the law specified that the MAB must assess the standard of education and research for each higher education institution every eight years (institutional accreditation). The Higher Education and Scientific Council was established to advise on issues not covered by MAB.

• A nation-wide discussion has commenced on the basic characteristics of future higher education programs and joint development programs. The Bologna Committee of the Hungarian Accreditation Committee has already published recommendations on the accreditation of new qualification requirements under a new qualifications framework.

• The Ministry states in its latest Bologna report that “the most important tasks to be implemented include the elaboration of a self-evaluation system for higher education (based on the model of European Quality Award). Elaborating and operating this system makes it possible to spread the practice of self-evaluation in the Hungarian education system.”

6. Promotion of European Dimensions in Higher Education

• A national network of 12 European Study Centers involving 14 higher educational institutions was established in 1998 with support from the PHARE program. The primary aim of establishing the centers was to build a wide-ranging and transparent system for European studies and related scientific activities. The centers promote the establishment of cooperation with the authorities, research centers and libraries of smaller regions. Over 100 courses related to the European Union have been launched providing training and in-service training for over 10,000 students and experts. The network has acquired and made available over 50,000 publications in the field.

• The 1993 Higher Education Act states that Hungarian higher education institutions may conduct joint programs at all levels provided that the foreign institution and the degree are recognized. However, in practice, this has to date served as a basis for transnational education rather than for joint degree programs with institutions abroad.

— Nick Clark
January 2004

References

• Survey on Master Degrees and Joint Degrees in Europe, Christian Tauch and Andrejs Rauhvargers, September 2002

• The State of Implementation of ECTS in Europe, European University Association, October 2002

• Diploma Supplement — State of Implementation, European Commission, June 2003

• Lisbon Convention Status Reports, Council of Europe, Aug. 29, 2003

• Country Report Hungary, Ministry of Education, September 2003

• Implementation of the Bologna Declaration, World Education News & Reviews, Oct 2001

• Erasmus Mobility by Country 2001/2002 — ECTS Workshop, Feb. 20-21, 2003, UK Socrates Erasmus Council

• The Information Network on Education in Europe — Eurydice, European Union, 2001/2002

• A Guide to Hungarian Education, Ministry of Education, 2002

Poland

Legislative Framework

Poland’s current system of higher education management is based on article 70 of the Constitution and four principle acts: 1990 Act on Higher Education, 1990 Act on Titles and Degrees, 1991 Act on Establishing the Committee for Scientific Research and 1997 Act on Higher Vocational Schools, which established higher vocational schools of which there are currently 25. A new Act on Academic Titles and Degrees was passed in 2003 and defines academic degrees and titles in the arena of fine arts. Work has begun on new legislation designed to replace the 1990 Higher Education Act and its amendments. It is expected to include: integration of the various acts that concern higher education issues, including elements resulting from the Bologna process; simplification and update of the law; and a simplification of the rules covering student fees.

Since the collapse of communism in 1989, the Polish system of higher education has been in a state of uncertainty arising from changes in social environments and new legislative proposals. The academic community was given far-reaching autonomy through the higher education law of 1990. At a time of rapid growth in enrollments and in the number of private providers, the system has suffered from decreasing budgets and numerous government proposals for reform. Reform has started at the primary and secondary levels, but has been slow in coming at the higher education level, which is still operating on the basis of the old 1990 law. There are currently a growing number of private higher education institutions that currently enroll almost 30 percent of the Polish student body, which has grown fourfold over the last ten years while the number of faculty has remained level. The increased level of autonomy at the institutional level has meant that structural reform along Bologna lines tends to differ greatly from institution to institution.

1. Easily Readable and Comparable Degrees

• The Polish ENIC/NARIC body is Biuro Uznawalnosci Wyksztalcenia i Wymiany Miedzynarodowej, which started promoting the diploma supplement in Polish higher education institutions in 2000.

• A pilot project on the use of the diploma supplement involving 69 institutions of higher education was initiated in academic year 2000/2001. The object was to specify terms and conditions for the introduction of the new document in Poland as well as the issue of the first supplements (almost 4,000). A report documenting conclusions from the project can be found HERE.

• The Ministry of Education has recommended the introduction of the diploma supplement and the relevant legal act is passing through the final stage of the legislative process. It is assumed that the act will come into fruition in academic year 2003/2004. The mandatory issue of diploma supplements is foreseen for academic year 2004/2005. Until then, supplements will be issued upon request.

• According to a recent poll carried out by the Ministry of Education, 40 percent of higher education institutions have declared themselves ready to adopt the diploma supplement.

• Poland has signed but not ratified the Lisbon Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications.

2. Degree Structure

Stage I: Licencjat (Licentiate) and Tytul Inzynier (Title of Engineer) degrees are awarded by universities and other higher education institutions after three or four years of full-time study (3.5 to 4 in engineering). Graduates of Specialized Foreign Language Teacher Training Colleges functioning within the academic structure are awarded the licencjat degree after three years of study. The Dyplom Ukonczenia (certificate of completion of a given post-secondary teacher-training college) is awarded after three years of study in primary education. Three-year university-level licencjat degrees from teacher training colleges (Kolegium Nauczycielskie) are also available in primary education. The entrance requirement for all three qualifications is the Swiadectwo Dojrzalosci (high school maturity certificate).

Stage I & II: Tytul Magister (Title of Master) is awarded after 4-5 years of study, which includes the defense of a thesis and a final examination. For professional qualifications, the title of the subject is included: Tytul Magister Inzynier (Title of Master in Engineering — 5 years of study), Tytul Magister Lekarz (physician - six years of study), Tytul Lekarza Stomatologa (Dental Physician - 5 years of study) and the Tytul Lekarza Weterynarii (Veterinary Physician - 5 to 5.5 years of study). Master’s studies (Uzupelniajace studia magisterskie) of 1.5 to 2.5 years are available to holders of licencjat or inzynier degrees, and lead to the award of the Tytul Magister. Integration into the European Higher Education Area seems to have increased the availability and popularity of this second-tier qualification (see below).

Stage III: There are two levels of doctoral degree. The lower degree of Doktor includes three to four years of postgraduate study, the submission and successful defence of a doctoral dissertation, and doctorate examinations. Candidates for the higher degree, Doktor Habilitowany (Habilitated Doctor), must have remarkable scientific or artistic achievements; submit a habilitation dissertation; receive a favourable assessment of his/her dissertation; pass a habilitation examination and deliver a favourably assessed habilitation lecture.

Current Trends

• Until recently the two-tier structure had not succeeded in attracting wide interest from students and employers, who preferred the traditional integrated study programs. However, over the last few years, an increasing number of higher education institutions have abandoned the traditional model of integrated master programs and moved to a two-tier structure in which the first degree (licencjat or inzynier) corresponds to a bachelor degree, to be followed by a master degree (Uzupelniajace studia magisterskie) of 1.5 to 2.5 years. These first-tier degrees are considered more academic than they traditionally were, however, this difference is not reflected in the degree title. Although the two-tier structure appears to now be more common, the two systems currently exist in parallel.

• Most universities are also adapting to the demand from non-state first-tier degree holders for second-tier programs. These programs are often organized as part-time studies (for which universities may charge fees).

• The transition has not been a centralized move and, as a result, different institutions have developed different versions of the system with regard to the length of the first and second tier and the conditions for moving from the first to the second one.

• Legal restrictions exclude medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary science, psychology and law from the two-tier structure. The new structure seems to be preferred by certain disciplines such as fine arts, archaeology, etc.

• Most technical universities have introduced the two-tier system. In the other universities the situation is less cohesive, with some departments introducing the new structure, while others not. No urgent need is felt by the ministry, institutions, and students to change the present situation of two systems existing in parallel.

• Not all institutions of higher education are entitled to offer master’s programs (short or long). Therefore, only approximately 40 out of more than 200 private institutions are authorized to run master’s programs.

3. Credit Transfer/Accumulation

• There is no legal obligation for universities to use credits for the transfer or accumulation of study periods. However, the participation of Polish higher education institutions in the Tempus Program from 1990 and later SOCRATES/ERASMUS has resulted in the gradual implementation of credit transfer systems based on ECTS for mobility purposes.

• According to a report prepared by the ministry of education for the Berlin-Bologna 2003 ministerial conference, ECTS is applied for credit transfer in 68 percent (43/63) of state institutions and 35 percent (22/63) non-state institutions. ECTS is used by most state institutions specializing in arts, business and health profiles.

• The implementation of ECTS is one of the conditions for study programs to be accredited at the traditional universities. These 17 traditional universities are the most advanced in implementing and using the credit system. It has been used mainly as a transfer system but often too as an accumulation system.

• In the 2002/03 academic year, 70 Polish higher education institutions profited from a grant given by SOCRATES/ERASMUS for the introduction of ECTS. These grants have often been implemented at faculty or departmental level and sometimes at institutional level, although mostly for mobility.

• Some private institutions (over 200 in Poland) have only just started implementing ECTS.

A number of universities and faculties provide ECTS grade equivalencies for international students on their websites. Faculties seem to be fairly unanimous in their equivalencies. This grade conversion guide provided by the Czestochowa University of Management reflects what appears to be the general consensus:

4. Mobility

• Poland entered into the TEMPUS program in 1990.

• In 1998 Poland began participating in SOCRATES programs and in academic year 1998/99, 46 institutions participated in the ERASMUS Program. By academic year 2002/03, 129 institutions were participating.

• Academic year 2001/2002 saw 4323 Polish students making use of the ERASMUS program to study abroad, whereas in the same year only 792 students came to Poland to study through the same program.

• To stimulate the mobility of students and especially to counteract the imbalance in the number of incoming and outgoing students, the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP) has developed a catalogue of programs and courses taught in English at Polish institutions of higher education. The draft version of the catalogue entitled “How to study in Poland” - is available at the CRASP Web site.

• The Ministry of Education has identified two areas that would help institutions profit more from the SOCRATES programs: Improvement of subject matter — new content and didactic methodology — and improved management and administration of a number of institutions of higher education.

• Poland has bilateral agreements with a number of countries for the recognition of credentials. Detailed information can be found HERE:

5. Quality Assurance

• 1992 saw the beginning of a dynamic growth in the sector of non-state institutions resulting in a rise in enrollment rates from 12 percent to 41 percent. This led to an urgent need to introduce internal systems of education quality supervision and profile-related accreditation systems.

• Under the Act on Higher Education of 1990 The Central Council of Higher Education - an independent, elected academic body- performed some functions related to the assessment of the quality of education.

• In 1998, the University Accreditation Committee — a non-governmental body — was established by the Rectors’ Conference to create an accreditation system of university programs and to garner equality in the education standards among institutions according to those of the EU. Accreditation from this body is entirely voluntary.

• Two preconditions that must be met before the accreditation procedure can be started are: an administrative unit of the school (a faculty, an institute, a chair) which applies for accreditation for a given area of studies applies internal methods of stimulating and evaluating the quality of education offered; there exists for this area a system of assigning credit points which is congruent with the European Credit Transfer system (ECTS).

• The National Accreditation Commission (Panstwowa Komisja Akredytacyjna (NAC)) was initiated by an act of parliament in January 2002. The NAC is made up of 70 members appointed by the ministry and oversees quality control issues for both public and private institutions.

• Recommendations of the National Accreditation Commission have resulted in the closure of a few private institutions of higher education by the Minister of National Education and Sports, and the suspension of the right of a few other institutions to offer study programs in selected fields of study. It is hoped that the commission will be able to curb some undesirable quality-related phenomena associated with the expansion of the private sector in Poland.

• The NAC offers opinions, which serve as the basis for the Minister of Education’s final decision to grant, suspend or withdraw authorization for the management of higher education institutions. Other tasks include passing judgment on applications for new institutions and departments, and concession of licences to organize new fields of study in existing ones.

6. Promotion of European Dimensions in Higher Education

• A Ministry of Education prepared document describes, “The most desirable model for joint efforts is the establishment of studies which end in a common diploma, issued by two or more higher education institutions involved in a joint initiative.” Figures suggest that these initiatives and projects are increasing in number, from less than ten in 1998/99 to over 80 in 2002/03, although the same document states “the overall Polish participation in multilateral projects needs to be improved.”

• The majority of existing joint programs are at master level. A small number of joint bachelor degrees exist. In the non-university sector, only one institution is known to offer some form of joint degree program.

• Bilateral partnerships, as opposed to multilateral joint degree networks, are either the only type of cooperation or the dominant one. An example would be the bi-national European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder on the German-Polish border.

• The award of joint-doctoral degrees is being organized on a personal level by those involved (doctoral students and their supervisors), although the process is still at an early stage. Unofficial degree certificates are awarded on behalf of the whole partnership, in addition to the national degree, to testify that the program has been developed and taught jointly.

— Nick Clark
November 2003

References

• Survey on Master Degrees and Joint Degrees in Europe, Christian Tauch and Andrejs Rauhvargers, Sept. 2002

• The State of Implementation of ECTS in Europe, European University Association, Oct. 2002

• Diploma Supplement — State of Implementation, European Commission, last update June 2003

• Lisbon Convention Status Reports, Council of Europe, status as of August 29, 2003

• The Information Network on Education in Europe — Eurydice, European Union

• Implementing the Assumptions of the Bologna Declaration in 2000-2002, Ministry of Education, Dec. 2002

• ECTS Grading Scale, Czestochowa University of Management

• Education in Poland, World Education News & Reviews, Oct 2001

• Erasmus Mobility by Country 2001/2002 — ECTS Workshop, Feb. 20-21, 2003, UK Socrates Erasmus Council

• The Information Network on Education in Europe — Eurydice, European Union, 2001/2002

• Real Time Systems — Reflections on Higher Education in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia — Jon File and Leo Goedegebuure, University of Twente, 2003

Slovak Republic

Legislative Framework

The Higher Education Act of 1990 introduced a structure of higher education featuring a two-tiered system of undergraduate and graduate degrees in contrast to the pre-1989 system based on the five-year integrated Soviet model. It also guaranteed fundamental academic rights and freedoms consistent with those enjoyed by western universities. In 2002, a new Higher Education Act was adopted, which, among other things, outlined the legal status of higher education institutions and their fields of study; allowed for the creation of higher education establishments other than universities; established accreditation procedures; distinguished the bachelor, master, doctorate cycles along “Bologna” lines; and introduced a system of credits (see below for details). The new laws were promulgated in April 2002, and divided higher education institution into the following legal entities:

• Public higher education institutions
• State higher education institutions
• Private higher education institutions

There are 24 higher education institutions in the Slovak Republic, of which, 19 are public, four are state owned and one is private. The only higher education institutions that have remained under complete state ownership are two military, one police and one medical school. City University, the only accredited private institution of higher education, offers bachelor-level qualifications only.

1. Easily Readable and Comparable Degrees

• Currently, some higher education institutions are issuing a diploma supplement upon request from students. In accordance with the new Higher Education Act, the diploma supplement will be appended to all qualifications earned from accredited programs of study. It is anticipated that the diploma supplement will be a mandatory addition to all credentials issued to students from the class of 2005 and beyond.

• Slovakia has signed and ratified the Lisbon Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications.

• The Institute of Information and Prognoses of Education is the Slovak ENIC/NARIC body responsible for the recognition and evaluation of foreign credentials.

2. Degree Structure

• The new Slovak Higher Education Law of April 1, 2002 distinguishes between study programs of the first stage (bachelor’s), second stage (master’s) and third stage (doctoral). It states that tertiary-level education occurs through study programs on three levels: bachelor, master and doctorate.

Stage I: The Bakalár is awarded after three to four years of full-time study. The requirement for admission to bachelor- or integrated-level studies is the Maturita examination.

Stage I & II: The duration of second-tier studies is one to three years, and the combined duration of first- and second-tier studies should be no less than five years. The basic requirement for entry into a master’s program is the successful completion of the bachelor. Despite the introduction of bachelor-type degrees, universities continue to offer four to six-year integrated master’s programs, although they are offered only in special areas and cases (see below). Graduates of second-level programs (both “short” and “long”) are awarded the academic degree Magister, graduates from engineering programs are awarded the academic title Inzinier, and graduates of integrated medical programs are awarded the title Doctor Mediciny. All institutions of higher education that have received accreditation for postgraduate programs can offer master-level programs. However, they remain more typical for universities than for the non-university type institutions introduced by the Higher Education Law of 2002.

Stage III: The standard length of doctoral studies is between three and four years. Graduates are awarded the title PhD. Completion of a second-level program is required for entry into a doctoral program — there is currently no provision for entry into a doctoral program directly form a completed bachelor’s program.

• Integrated bachelor/master programs are still recognized by the Accreditation Commission in subject areas such as medicine, pharmaceutics and veterinary science, all of which are explicitly excluded by law from the ‘Bologna’ format. Only in exceptional cases and after authorization from the ministry may universities combine programs of the first and the second levels into one long program. Integrated programs are particularly favored by forestry, architecture and certain fields of study at military higher education institutions.

3. Credit Transfer

• The implementation of a credit system was stipulated in the Higher Education Act of April 2002 and details are outlined in a related decree. According to the law, all higher education institutions are required to introduce a credit system based on the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) by September 2005.

• The guidelines of the law allow for the student to complete - within the framework of his/her program - periods of study in another domestic or foreign faculty or university.

• Currently, ECTS or other credit point systems are largely used for the first two cycles and to a lesser extent at the PhD level throughout the whole tertiary sector.

• Prior to 2002, several higher education institutions used a credit point system but there was no standard model.

• ECTS has been used as a support tool for student mobility within the Socrates/Erasmus programs. The other credit systems in use have been introduced in most - mainly traditional - universities.

4. Mobility

• The Tempus program had already played a part in reforming higher education in Slovakia and laid the foundations for cooperation with higher education institutes in the European Union. Community programs such as Socrates and Leonardo da Vinci were opened to Slovakia in March 1998.

• Figures supplied by the Ministry of Education show that in academic year 2001/2002 four percent of the Slovak student population spent time studying abroad — primarily in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria and Germany. The ministry goes on to state that to fulfill the requirement that each student spend at least one semester in a foreign higher education institution, a significant increase in financial resources would be needed to raise the proportional number of students studying in foreign higher education institutions from the present four percent to 12 percent.

• From 1998 through 2002 student and teacher mobility experienced rapid growth, supported by co-funding from the PHARE program. Since academic year 2001/02 there has been no PHARE co-funding. The number of outgoing students in the Erasmus program has increased from 59 in 1998/99 to 578 in 2001/02, and the number of incoming students over the same timeframe has increased from four to 85.

• At present, out of 24 higher education institutions, 18 are involved in the Socrates/Erasmus program. One newly established institution will join the program this year.

• Slovak institutions of higher education have also participated, since 1998, in the Leonardo da Vinci program. In the period 1998-2002 more than 2000 Slovak students took advantage of the Leonardo practical placements and exchanges, of which 17-20 percent were higher education students and teachers. Slovak institutions also participate in the CEEPUS program.

• Slovakia also has a number of bilateral agreements, an example of which is the Austria-Slovak program which awards scholarships and research grants for cooperation between the two countries; and regional cooperation between the so-called V4 countries (Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic).

5. Quality Assurance

• The system of quality assurance for higher education in Slovakia is based on internal quality assessment, external evaluation and accreditation.

• Internal evaluations are supposed to occur at least once a year. Institutional external evaluations are part of the accreditation process and are carried out by the Accreditation Commission. After an evaluation is completed, the commission submits proposals to the ministry. Statements by the Accreditation Commission are the basis for decisions made by the Ministry of Education to recognize study programs; and the Slovak government to give consent for the validation of private institutions.

• The Accreditation Commission carries out regular evaluations of all higher education institutions in six-year intervals.

• The academic community would welcome an independent, preferably international accreditation authority to help foster quality.

• The Accreditation Commission is a member of the European Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and a member of the International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAHEE).

6. Promotion of European Dimensions in Higher Education

• The application of the Bologna recommendations has brought about the intensification of cooperation between Slovak and foreign higher education institutions in the creation of joint study programs. An example is the effort to create joint study programs at the University of Economics in Bratislava with a partner from Germany, which would allow students to complete equivalent study at both universities.

• Current Slovak regulations do not allow the issue of double diplomas or joint diplomas.

• According to the new Law on Higher Education, degrees awarded by foreign universities at which students defend their theses are recognized in Slovakia, while Slovak universities in turn may award doctorates to foreign university students who defend their thesis in the country.

• Joint degrees in the non-university sector are theoretically possible, but no such initiative has been reported.

• To increase the attractiveness of Slovakia as a study destination, it is required by law that all higher education institutions publicize in both Slovak and English the possibilities for study at that institution.

— Nick Clark
November 2003

References

• Survey on Master Degrees and Joint Degrees in Europe, Christian Tauch and Andrejs Rauhvargers, September 2002

• The State of Implementation of ECTS in Europe, European University Association, October 2002

• Diploma Supplement — State of Implementation, European Commission, June 2003

• Lisbon Convention Status Reports, Council of Europe, Aug. 29, 2003

• National Report — Slovak Republic, Ministry of Education, Aug. 31, 2003

• The Bologna Process in Higher Arts Education: an Overview, Truus Ophuysen, Autumn 2002