Nazwa imprezy11.04.2008 / Gorzów Wlkp.
Poland’s higher educationReforms in brief
Some statistics
38.5 million – population of Poland
5.47 billion USD – higher education and research investment from 2004 till 2015
71 472 – number of researchers (FTE), 40% - women
6.0 – R&D personnel per 1000 employees
134 – public HEIs, 296 non-public ones
1.5 million – number of HE students
Students by sector (public/non-public)
HEIs by sector (public/non-public)
Higher education reform – the 2011 batch (1/4)
- researchers
- universities
- students
Higher education reform – the 2011 batch (2/4)
- a „Diamond grant” for the top 100 undergraduate students to conduct research leading directly to the doctoral degree
- scholarships for the best 30% of doctoral students increased by 50%
- more competitive staff policy
- open competitions for all academic openings
- vacancies published on-line
- nepotism curbed
Researchers
Higher education reform – the 2011 batch (3/4)
Universities
-greater autonomy in designing study programmes
-learning outcomes a defining feature of study programmes
-employers’ role in shaping curricula, in teaching and in assessing its outcomes
-rectors elected traditionally or by open competition
-emphasis on the commercialisation of research
-increased funding for research
-selection of Leading National Scientific Centres (KNOWs)
Higher education reform – the 2011 batch (4/4)
Students
Effective supportEffective support::
-wider access to tuition-free studies-a more inclusive system of state guarantees for student loans-more funding for means-tested scholarships-arbitrary fees banned-a 51% discount for train and bus travel, including for PhD students
More empowermentMore empowerment::
-obligatory agreements between HEIs and students, specifying the rights and obligations of both parties-students put front and centre: limits on academics’ multi-employment-enhanced role of students in evaluating their teachers’ performance
Higher education reform – the 2014 batch (1/4)
- validation of learning outcomes achieved in prior learning
- greater diversification of higher education
- new system for tracking graduates
Higher education reform – the 2014 batch (2/4)
Validation of learning outcomes achieved in prior learning
- new entry route to higher education for adult learners (lifelong learning)
- validation of learning outcomes achieved in non-formal and informal settings, especially for people with professional experience
- possibility of recognizing up to 50% of ECTS allocated to the programme –> shorter study period
- validation procedures to be assessed by the Polish Accreditation Committee as part of external quality assurance
Higher education reform – the 2014 batch (3/4)
Greater diversification of higher education
based on already implemented profiles: academic and professional (“practical”) ones
HEI departments not authorised to confer the doctoral degree obliged to offer only the professional (“practical”) profile
3-month obligatory traineeships for students of professional (“practical”) study programmes
possibility of dual study programmes
Higher education reform – the 2014 batch (4/4)
New system for tracking graduates
since 2011, HEIs have been tracking their graduates’ careers – important element of internal quality assurance
new central tracking system to get reliable data on graduates’ employment outcomes – important information for the public, especially for potential students (different goal than in tracking by HEIs)
based on administrative data: matching database of graduates with anonymized data from the Social Insurance Institution
Nazwa imprezy11.04.2008 / Gorzów Wlkp.
Thank you for your attention
www.mnisw.gov.pl