COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATION STEERING IN FINLAND AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Transcription

1 COMPARATIVE STUDY OF HIGHER EDUCATION STEERING IN FINLAND AND THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION Within the Context of the Bologna Process and Development of Joint Degrees in the Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University Project (CBU) Ms. Kati Isoaho Project Co-Ordinator Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University Project (CBU) 1

2 INTRODUCTION POSITION OF THE CBU UNIVERSITIES General Overview Participating Units at the CBU Universities LAWS AND DECREES CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION The Russian Federation JOINT DEGREES, JOINT PROGRAMMES AND THE BOLOGNA PROCESS CURRENT DEGREE STRUCTURE IN THE CBU COUNTRIES The Russian Federation Finland The Nature of the Master s Degree Horizontal Mobility Main Challenges Recommendation AWARDING OF DEGREES WITHIN THE CBU The Russian Federation The Right to Award Degrees in a Particular Academic Field Awarding of the Degrees at the Universities Finland Right to Award Degrees in a Particular Academic Field Awarding of the Degrees at the Universities Situation at the CBU Universities Main Challenges Recommendations CURRICULA REGULATIONS Joint Curricula as an Indicator of Joint Degree Detailed Regulations in the Russian Federation Framework Regulations in Finland Curricula Procedures Language Studies within the CBU Main Challenges Recommendations CREDITING OF STUDIES The Russian Federation Finland Main Challenges Recommendation STUDENT SELECTION The Russian Federation Finland Student Selection and Joint Study Programmes Main Challenges Recommendations RECOGNITION OF THE PLANNED MASTER S DEGREES Recognition of Joint Degrees

3 9.2. The Russian Federation Finland Main Challenges Recommendation TUITION FEES AND FUNDING OF CBU ACTIVITIES Current Situation in the Russian Federation and in Finland Main Challenges QUALITY ASSURANCE Joint Quality What Is It? The Russian Federation State Accreditation Actors involved in Quality Assurance Finland Evaluation Actors involved in Quality Assurance Quality Assurance and Students Main Challenges Recommendations SUPPORT FOR BOLOGNA PROCESS IMPLEMENTATION Current Situation in the Russian Federation and in Finland Results of the Pilot Support Survey Main Challenges Recommendations...35 LIST OF BACKGROUND AND REFERENCE MATERIALS...36 Laws, Decrees and State Recommendations...36 Interviews...36 Reports and Recommendations...36 Conferences and Seminars...37 APPENDICES 1 A List of the Russian Actors Interviewed in October A List of the Questions Used in the Interviews with the Russian Actors 3 A Questionnaire of the Survey on the Pilot Support 4 A List of the Questions for the Finnish Actors 5 A Comparative Table on Bologna Process Implementation in Finland and The Russian Federation 6 A SWOT-analysis of the Feasibility of the CBU 7 Recommendations and Conclusions of the Stockholm Bologna Process Follow-Up Seminar in May Development of International Joint Degrees and Double Degrees: Recommendations of the Ministry of Education. Finnish Ministry of Education The Current Bologna Process Implementation at the Finnish CBU Universities 3

4 INTRODUCTION The Finnish-Russian Cross-Border University Project (CBU) was established at the beginning of 2004 in order to carry out the feasibility study about the possibilities to create joint degrees or joint programs between Finnish and Russian universities. The universities involved in the project are: University of Joensuu, University of Helsinki, University of Kuopio, Lappeenranta University of Technology, University of Tampere, St. Petersburg State University (STPSU), St. Petersburg Polytechnic University (STPSPU), European University at St. Petersburg (EUS) and Petrozavodsk State University (PetrSU). This study has been conducted as a part of the Cross-Border University s (CBU) Feasibility Study. The purpose of the study has been to identify the major challenges in the areas of laws, decrees, regulations and - within the relevant cases - also their implementation concerning joint programmes and joint degrees provided jointly by Finland and the Russian Federation. In the context of this study steering is understood as a combination of the following key elements linked with the profile of the higher education: legislation and regulation, financing and information given by the different stakeholders (primarily state officials).views of development have been collected and analysed in order to generate change within the project in the future. The material for the study has been collected from the current actors of the CBU. The Russian partners members of the CBU Working Group and academic teams of the pilots were interviewed in October 2004 (appendix 1). Similar questions also have been made for the Finnish Working Group members and pilot co-ordinators and distributed by . Part of the Bologna Process information from Finland was collected by Project Co-ordinator Kati Isoaho. All the pilot co-ordinators were met by Isoaho and Project Manager Paul Fryer in September-October 2004, at which time these issues were discussed as well. Additionally, these issues were discussed with the following experts from both countries: Professor Vadim Kasevich (Vice-Rector, St. Petersburg State University, the Russian Federation), Dr. Evgeny Kniazev (Kazan State University/ Deputy Director, National Centre for Development Of Education, Russian Federation Ministry for Science and Education), Professor Emeritus Ossi V. Lindqvist (University of Kuopio/ Chairman, Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council), Counsellor for Higher Education Anita Lehikoinen (Ministry of Education, Finland), Senior Adviser Sirkka-Leena Hörkkö (Ministry of Education, Finland), Counsellor for Cultural Affairs Maija Lummepuro (Ministry of Education, Finland), Counsellor for Education Carita Blomqvist (National Board of Education, Finland) and Senior Adviser Anna-Maija Liuhanen (Finnish Higher Education Evaluation Council). Their valuable comments and advice have been used while identifying the entire field of the issues that have needed to be 4

5 studied. Senior Adviser Hörkkö is also responsible for the entire CBU project within the Ministry of Education in Finland. Also conducted was a sub-survey (appendix 2) in August-September 2004 on the required support for the pilots with target groups of the CBU Steering Group members, Working Group members and members of the academic teams. Some relevant parts of these results also are included in this study. A list of questions used in the interviews (appendix 3) and in the interviews (appendix 4) are attached to this study. Some parts of the results of this study are presented in the comparative table of Bologna Process issues (appendix 5) and in the SWOT-analysis (appendix 6). 1. POSITION OF THE CBU UNIVERSITIES 1.1. General Overview There are some major differences between Finland and the Russian Federation in terms of the general position of the universities. Some of these originate from the noticeable difference in the number of higher education institutions. As known, the number of private higher education institutions has increased remarkably during recent years in the Russian Federation. Compared to state higher educational institutions, many of these are still rather small. The classical universities in the Russian Federation are, in terms of steering, under the Ministry of Education and Science. There is also a certain number of higher education institutions that, due to their academic specialisation, under double governance, e.g. higher education institutions specialised in transport or agriculture are steered both by the Ministry of Education and Science and by the ministry responsible for their certain field. The role of the field-specific ministry is related especially to curricular and labour market issues. All the Russian CBU universities are steered by the Ministry of Education and Science. As a general description it can be noted that the Ministry of Education and Science finances a part of the state universities, while those remaining are financed by other ministries or by local authorities. STPSU, STPSPU and PetrSU receive state funding as state universities. Additionally to budget funding, they also have fee paying students. As the EUS is a non-state university, all students pay tuition fees. In the Russian Federation, foreign students usually are required to pay tuition fees. All the Russian CBU universities are state accredited. In Finland all universities are state universities, and following from this are under the same steering system of the Ministry of Education. All Finnish universities are given basic state funding based on a particular result-focussed model, and most 5

6 also have some private or other state funding, e.g. for research purposes. The percentage of other funding varies a lot up to 50%. All higher education programmes that lead to a degree are tuition free in Finland, as stipulated by the Universities Act, and at the moment also cover foreign students. Most of the CBU universities give university education in a classical way, including undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral education. The EUS is the only exception as it is focussed on doctoral education, though it has a tradition of educational co-operation at the graduate level as well. It is worth looking at some of the general guidelines in higher education policy in the CBU countries as well. As mentioned, the difference in the number of higher education institutions is remarkable. If looking at the general state interest concerning the higher education institutions, there are both similarities and differences. In both countries the higher education is seen as one of key elements while building the international competitiveness. But, due to the e.g. differences in the size of the national higher education system, the policy lines concerning the higher education as a commodity diverge to some degree. After the reform of 1990 s in the Russian Federation there seem to be growing initiatives to privatize a part of the higher education institutions. Individual responsibility over funding of higher education is discussed as well, especially within the Master-level education. Due to its position as one of the leading forces in the world, it is also natural, that the Russian Federation wants to export higher education as a part of the other export promotion. In practise this may mean both sub-campuses of the Russian higher education institutions abroad and active drawing of the feepaying foreign students to the Russian Federation. Additionally to the higher education itself, one of the benefits for the Russian Federation are relatively low costs of living for the potential students. In Finland there have also been growing discussions about the possibility to charge non-eu/eta nationals at the higher education institutions. According to the state statutes, degree-leading higher education will anyway be tuition-free also in future at least to the Finnish citizens. Some discussions about the labour market responsibility over the higher education costs have emerged during the recent years. This would concern primarily the higher education provided for the adults, who are already integrated to the labour market. It is possible, that Master s programmes would play an essential role within this kind of tendency. Thus, this possible tendency has not concretized yet on the level of legislation or statutes or in the other ways of steering. It has to be noted, that Finland seems not to have similar pressure to export higher education in terms of commodities than the Russian Federation has. When building the joint degree or other co-operation in the field of higher education, this has to be taken into account. Both the Russian Federation and 6

7 Finland have counterparts in the Europe, Northern America and Asia in this sense, thus it is merely an issue to manage, not an obstacle in a true sense Participating Units at the CBU Universities The nature of the participating units does differ to some degree at the CBU universities. There are faculties, departments and schools participating. In the Russian context the units that fall under the labels faculty and school are comparable, as well as in the Finnish context. In the Finnish context the units identified as department are usually under the jurisdiction of a faculty or, such as in the case of Lappeenranta University of Technology, comparable to a faculty. Business Administration pilot Lappeenranta University of Technology: Department of Business Administration STPSPU: International Graduate School of Management STPSU: School of Management (comparable to the faculty) PetrSU: Faculty of Economics History pilot University of Helsinki: Department of History (under the Faculty of Arts) PetrSU: Faculty of History University of Joensuu: Department of History (under the Faculty of Humanities) EUS: Department of History Information Technology (IT) pilot Lappeenranta University of Technology: Department of Information Technology STPSU: Faculty of Applied Mathematics and Control Processes PetrSU: Chair of Computer Science (under the Faculty of Mathematics) University of Helsinki: Department of Computer Science (under the Faculty of Science) University of Joensuu: Department of Computer Science (under the Faculty of Science) University of Kuopio: Department of Computer Science (under the Faculty of Business and Information Technology) International Relations pilot University of Tampere: Department of Political Sciences (under the Faculty of Social Sciences) STPSU: School of International Relations (comparable to the faculty) PetrSU: Chair of International Relations (under the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences) University of Helsinki: Department of Political Science (under the Faculty of Social Sciences) University of Joensuu: Department of Social Policy (under the Faculty of Social Sciences) 7

8 Public Health pilot University of Kuopio: Department of Public Health and General Practice (under the Faculty of Medicine) STPSU: Medical Faculty PetrSU: Faculty of Medicine University of Tampere: Tampere School of Public Health (independent unit; comparable to the department). Forestry pilot University of Joensuu: Faculty of Forestry University of Helsinki: Department of Forest Economics (under the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry) PetrSU: Faculty of Forest Engineering STPSPU: The Applied Ecology Department Lappeenranta University of Technology: Department of Energy and Environmental Technology 2. LAWS AND DECREES CONCERNING HIGHER EDUCATION 2.1. The Russian Federation The following list indicates the current laws and decrees concerning higher education in the Russian Federation: Law on Education (1992) Concerns: System of Education Law on Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education (1996) Concerns: All types of higher education institutions Decree No. 1323, For the State Accreditation of Higher Education Establishments (1999) Concerns: All the higher education institutions Decree No. 1769, On Managerial Structure of the State Educational Standards Elaboration (2001) Decree No. 686, On Approval of the New State Educational Standards (2000) Decree No. 940, Standards Regulations of Higher Education (1994) 2.2. Finland The following list provides the current laws and decrees concerning higher education in Finland. The legislation concerning the universities is naturally the 8

9 most relevant in the context of the CBU. In the case of student selection and access qualifications the legislation concerning the polytechnics is relevant as well. It must be noted that the Law on the Experiment Phase of the Second-cycle Polytechnic Degree is valid until and some new legislation concerning this is expected to be introduced before that. Universities Act (645/1997) Concerns: Universities Universities Decree (115/1998) Concerns: Universities Government Decree on University Decrees (2004; into force ) Concerns: All university degrees Polytechnics Act (351/2003) Concerns: Polytechnics Government Decree on Polytechnics (352/2003) Concerns: Polytechnics Act on the Experiment Phase of Second-cycle Polytechnic Degrees (645/2001) Concerns: all current second-cycle polytechnic degrees Decree on the Structure of Higher Education Degrees (464/1998) Concerns: All higher education degrees at the universities and in the polytechnics 3. JOINT DEGREES, JOINT PROGRAMMES AND THE BOLOGNA PROCESS The promotion of joint degrees and joint study programmes is one of the associated goals of the Bologna Process introduced at the Prague Ministerial meeting in One of the recent Bologna follow-up seminars held in Stockholm in May 2004 particularly handled this issue. The entire list of recommendations from the Stockholm seminar is included as an appendix to this report (appendix 7). The European University Association (EUA) has recently published the report, Developing Joint Master s Programmes for Europe. Results of the EUA Joint Master s Project, which also have been very useful point of reference for this study. As noted in the EUA s report, the focus of their research has been in the following three main themes: 1.) quality assurance and recognition, 2.) student experience and mobility and 3.) curriculum integration and sustainability. As much as possible within the current stage of the CBU, these points of view have been kept in mind, especially while making the recommendations. 9

10 Joint degrees and joint programmes are issues of a new kind of co-operation, but also issues of a new kind of legislation In the Bologna follow-up seminar held in Warsaw by the name The New Generation of Higher Education Laws and Policy Documents. Their Trust in the Context of the Bologna Process, joint degree issues were discussed as well. As a general conclusion it was noted by Professor Dennis Farrington (Secretary-General, South East European University), that in most Bologna Process member countries legislation does not yet explicitly enable universities to award joint degrees or provide enough support for the awarding of joint degrees. This was seen as one of the areas to be developed at the level of national legislation. As noted in the EUA report, most of the problematic issues within the joint degree projects are not deriving from the inadequate action within the network, but are rather the result of the current incompatibility of European higher education structures. Hence, the matters of legislation and regulation play an essential role within the CBU as well. One other CBU-relevant question raised by Professor Farrington was how to assist applicant (or new - KI) member states so that they do not have to reinvent the wheel (in matters of legislation in the context of the Bologna Process). The CBU Project can at its best also be a learning process; to generate some new aspects and solutions of Bologna Process implementation both in Finland and the Russian Federation. Learning about the policy and practise in other European institutions and countries is mentioned as one of the potential benefits of the joint degree cooperation in the EUA report as well. As noted at the very beginning of the CBU project, neither in Finland nor the Russian Federation does the current legislation permit the awarding of joint degrees in a true sense. Following from this, the CBU Master s programmes to be piloted will start as joint programmes. The exact nature of the degrees has to be decided and arranged as a part of a CBU development project. In the current context the most obvious alternatives are double degrees (two national diplomas) or one national degree, which is recognised both in Finland and the Russian Federation. In addition to one national degree, also some kind of CBU-appendix or certificate obviously is needed. As an third option it was suggested during the interviews that it would be possible to search for degree recognition from relevant pan-european organisations rather than from national bodies. There have also been some cases within the higher education co-operation of border regions, where the students have been able to choose, with which degree they have continued after the jointly arranged part of their studies. This possibility has naturally been also dependant on the higher education institution and country of each student. This kind of arrangements are described e.g. in the report of German Rectors Conference (2004). 10

11 At the national level the Finnish Ministry of Education has provided recommendations to Finnish higher education institutions regarding joint degrees and double degrees (appendix 7) in June CURRENT DEGREE STRUCTURE IN THE CBU COUNTRIES 4.1. The Russian Federation The current degree structure in the Russian Federation consists of both a onetier system of the Specialist degree (Diplomirovannii Spetsialist; 5 years) and a two-tier system of the Bachelors degree (Bakalavr; 4 years) and Masters degree (Magistr; 2 years). Both Specialist degree and Master`s degree gives similar access to postgraduate studies. At the postgraduate level there are two degrees, Candidate of Science (Kandidat Nauk) and Doctor of Science (Doktor Nauk). At the moment, in some cases also the Bachelors degree can give access to doctoral studies. In practice, there are also 1-year programmes on offer to graduates with a Specialist degree in order to obtain a Master s degree. According to Vice-Rector Kasevich, the Russian system of higher education degrees is a parallel system at the moment. The future of this system is still open. At the moment about 40-50% of all Russian higher education institutions have the right to award degrees according to the two-tier system, but 97% of students are still involved in study programmes that lead to the Specialist degree. According to the interviews conducted, the opinions and actual needs for change do vary from one academic field to another at the CBU universities, e.g. in the fields of IT, International Relations and Business Administration the tradition of awarding Master s degrees already exists to some degree. Opinions on the two-tier system in relation to the system of Specialist degrees seem to vary also depending on the geographical orientation (Europe, Asia) of the particular academic field or unit. Naturally, some fields or units have, e.g. existing exchange co-operation with Asian countries, which might decrease the current attractiveness of the European-type degree structures. There seems be to two main alternatives concerning the future of the Specialist degree: to replace it gradually by the two-tier system or to create a system, in which the 1-year Specialist programme is an alternative to the 2-year Master s programme after passing the Bachelor s degree. Probably in this system the 1- year Specialist degree might be a more practically-oriented part of higher education, while the Master s degree would have a clearer link to research. It seems to be obvious that at least in the medical field the degree structure will continue as a one-tier system. This follows the tendency in most European countries. According to the interviews it is also possible that, e.g. at STPSU, some fields of the natural sciences will keep the Specialist degree instead of 11

12 adopting the two-tier system, and at PetrSU it might be possible to keep some professional areas within academic education in the field of history (e.g. training for archivists) as one-tier degrees as well Finland Finland will introduce the obligatory Bachelor s degree from 1 August 2005, when recently-approved changes in legislation will come into force. There have been non-obligatory Bachelor s degrees in most academic fields since the 1990s, but the forthcoming changes will clarify the functioning of the two-tier system. The only exceptions are for the fields of medicine and dentistry, as the law will allow faculties to decide whether they will use a one- or two-tier system. Probably, there will be some differentiation between these faculties in this matter. The two-tier system will consist of a Bachelor s degree (180 credits/study points and 3 years of study) and a Master s degree (120 credits/study points and 2 years of study). Some exceptions will be introduced to the following fields: Psychology (180/3 and 150/2,5), Music (180/3 and 150/2,5), Fine Arts (210/3,5 and 120/2), Medicine (360/6 or 180/3 and 180/3), Dentistry (300/5 or 180/3 and 120/2). It is also stated in the decree that those Master s programmes offered specifically to foreign degree students may consist of a particular duration and number of credits (maximum 2 years, minimum 90 credits). It must be noted that in the chosen CBU pilot fields the Finnish model follows the most common Master s degree model of 120 credits/study points with a duration of two years. As noted, it would be possible to use the shorter duration and smaller number of credits as well. After changes in the Universities Act the Polytechnic degree also will enjoy the status of an access qualification to Master s programmes at the universities. Within this framework universities can define their more detailed requirements when selecting students. At the postgraduate level there are two degrees, the Licentiate degree and the Doctoral degree. The Licentiate degree is traditionally the first postgraduate degree in many academic fields, although a non-obligatory one. During recent years it has become more common to obtain a Doctoral degree directly after the Master s degree, and this tendency seems to continue and is generally supported by the government. It has to also be noted, that according to the forthcoming Decree on University Degrees the award of the degrees in foreign languages (in practise most often in English) will become possible in Finland. There are the titles (In English) of those degrees stated in this decree as well. 12

13 Titles, which are the relevant ones within the CBU programmes are: Humanities: Bachelor of Arts, Master of Arts, Licenciate of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy. Business and Economics: Bachelor of Science (Economics and Business Administration), Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration), Licenciate of Science (Economics and Business Administration) and Doctor of Science ( Economics and Business Administration). Agriculture and Forestry: Bachelor of Science (Agriculture and Forestry), Master of Science (Agriculture and Forestry), Licenciate of Science (Agriculture and Forestry) and Doctor of Science (Agriculture and Forestry). Technology: Bachelor of Science (Technology). Master of Science (Technology), Licenciate of Science (Technology) and Doctor of Science (Technology). Health sciences: Bachelor of Health Sciences, Master of Health Sciences, Licenciate of Health Sciences and Doctor of Health Sciences. Social sciences: Bachelor of Social Sciences, Master of Social Sciences, Licenciate of Social Sciences and Doctor of Social Sciences. More detailed descriptions of the entire Bologna Process implementation at the Finnish CBU universities are collected in a separate document (appendix 9) The Nature of the Master s Degree At the moment the nature of the Masters degree differs greatly in the context of the Bologna Process in Finland and the Russian Federation. The most visible difference is in terms of student selection. In Finland most students receive two study rights (for both the Bachelor s and Master s degrees) after one selection procedure, meaning before starting undergraduate studies. Following from this, the Finnish students in the forthcoming CBU programmes will, in most cases, be undertaking part of their basic higher education. There is also the option to choose students only for Bachelor s programmes in the Finnish Universities Act, but at the moment this does not seem to be very common. In general, there will be second selection to Master s programmes only in cases of those special Master s programmes (such as CBU programmes). In the Russian Federation the role of the Bachelor s degree is still perhaps more unclear, but in terms of student selection the Bachelor s degree comprises the basic higher education in the two-tier system. As an example, in STPSPU s International Graduate School of Management only about 15% of applicants are accepted into the Master s programmes. 13

14 Within the CBU students are at least when based upon co-operative student selection in each particular Master s programme equal not depending on their nationality. Due to the different national two-tier solutions it is anyway possible that students may have different expectations of some degrees Horizontal Mobility The future of horizontal mobility is still unclear both in Finland and the Russian Federation. Both countries have traditionally had rather coherent 5-year degrees, and an increase in horizontal mobility is one of the Bologna Process action lines that will change existing practices. In both countries horizontal mobility exists to some degree. For instance, at STPSU there has been some mobility from Oriental studies to international relations after the Bachelor s degree, and in Finland in the fields of technology and business there has been increasing mobility from the polytechnic sector to the university sector. According to the interviews, e.g. at Lappeenranta University of Technology, students with a polytechnic degree may be accepted into Master s studies, although some additional studies ( bridging studies ) are usually required. According to the interviews there are differences in these matters between the Finnish universities. In Finland there is also occasional mobility between the universities, but because of the old degree system its basis primarily has been in the recognition of credits, not degrees. Since the first separate Master s programmes were introduced, some have been open to students with a relevant polytechnic degree as well. In future this kind of mobility should be technically easier when the polytechnic degree will be an officially accepted access qualification for Master s programmes at universities. The forthcoming legislation allows universities to require additional studies in cases of horizontal mobility, and the recommended duration of these studies is a maximum one academic year (60 credits/study points). It is possible that Finnish universities will define the specific amount of additional studies through institutional regulations. The issue of horizontal mobility nationally, internationally and transnationally is rather important for CBU programmes. All students must be selected for the programmes, and every academic team has to define the suitable access qualifications, and especially the preferred academic fields that will be required. When promoting mobility the programmes should, as much as possible, allow students from different neighbouring academic fields to start studies in the same programme. This is a real challenge for the substance of the programmes, as well as for student guidance. 14

15 4.5. Main Challenges - Finnish and Russian students may have - to some degree - different kinds of expectations about the study programmes because of the differences in the nature of the basic higher education. - Conditions for horizontal mobility are still unclear Recommendation 1. All the CBU academic teams should create a reasonable framework for horizontal mobility within each particular Master s programme to be piloted. While designing this framework, both national degree structures should be taken into account. 5. AWARDING OF DEGREES WITHIN THE CBU 5.1. The Russian Federation The Right to Award Degrees in a Particular Academic Field In the Russian Federation the Ministry of Education and Science makes decisions on universities to award degrees in the different academic fields. For every academic field there is a particular negotiating body, a Committee for Educational Standards, or UMO (Uchebno-Metodicheskoe Otdelenie), which consists of the Heads of Departments, Deans and Vice-Rectors of the biggest universities. Every UMO is chaired by one of the Vice-Rectors and UMO decisions are prepared by a secretariat. The UMO makes proposals for the Ministry on the national educational standards in each field, and also handles all requests for new rights to award degrees. The role of the UMO is essential, and usually its proposals for the Ministry are approved. As described by Dr. Kouptsov in his report to European Centre for Higher Education (CEPES/UNESCO), the UMO system also had a specific role in the 1992 educational reform in Russian higher education. There are also methodological councils at the universities, the role of which will be described later in the chapter concerning curricula procedures. The role of the UMOs regarding the Bologna Process is not clarified yet, but it is possible that they will be essential also for its implementation. The issue of the autonomy of the UMO probably will be discussed during Bologna Process implementation as well. According to Vice-Rector Kasevich, in an ideal situation the UMO should be developed in the direction of being a fully recognised expert body. There seems to be also another opportunity to creating a new programme in the Russian Federation. If the university already has a general right to award 15

16 degrees in a certain field, it is possible to create a new programme in this field as an initiative of a full professor and with the approval of the University Board/Academic Council of the University. These study programmes have to correspond to the State Educational Standard as well Awarding of the Degrees at the Universities In the Russian Federation the state is involved rather deeply in the awarding procedures via State Final Attestation. State Final Attestation is a system of state-determined final examination procedures. All state-accredited higher education institutions follow the same procedures in these matters. State Final Attestation consists of the following evaluation procedures: preparation of a diploma paper or project, which is reviewed by experts and defended before an examination commission. This procedure is obligatory and it is a primary condition for the latter. According to the interviews there seems to be growing initiatives to develop university autonomy over the awarding of the degree. 5.2 Finland Right to Award Degrees in a Particular Academic Field In Finland the Ministry of Education makes decisions on the universities new rights to award degrees. This procedure will be taken into force according to the changes in university legislation in Formerly these decisions were made by the Government according to the Ministry s proposals. Every university has a particular number of academic fields and degrees, within which they are allowed to conduct higher education leading to a degree. This division of the fields is regulated in The Decree on University Degrees (2004). Universities negotiate with the Ministry of Education over new possible fields. Usually these negotiations are linked with the Ministry s steering system (steering by results system) and general steering negotiations held yearly between each university and the Ministry of Education Awarding of the Degrees at the Universities After receiving the right to award degrees a Finnish university is allowed to award degrees that meet the framework legislation on university degrees. Usually the award of a degree is the responsibility of a faculty-level administrative body, depending on the administrative model of each university. The degree-awarding university regulates the detailed procedures of the awarding of the degree within the framework of national legislation. For instance, the detailed attestation procedure of the final thesis is regulated by the universities. All Finnish university degrees enjoy the same legal status, e.g. in terms of recruitment to public posts that require a university degree of a particular level. Hence, in cases involving public posts, the official status of the national degree is 16

17 not dependant on the degree-awarding university in Finland. The hierarchy of the national degrees is defined in the Decree on the Structure of Higher Education Degrees (1998). This Decree covers all Finnish higher education degrees, including polytechnic degrees Situation at the CBU Universities There are differences between the Russian CBU universities in terms of rights to award degrees. At the moment, PetrSU has no right to award Master s degrees in most of the CBU pilot fields, but plans to apply for these rights as part of its CBU development work do exist, especially in terms of the fields of international relations and history. The following table presents the current situation regarding the rights to award state standard Master s degrees in the chosen CBU pilot fields pilot by pilot. As a part of the EUS s state accreditation process the university has been given the right to award MA degrees, but they have not been given the status of state standard degrees. According to this, the role of the EUS as a teaching and possibly degree-awarding institution within the CBU has to be arranged in cooperation with the other CBU partner universities. Petrozavodsk State University has a right to award degrees in the medical field, but at the moment no Master s degree in the field of the medical sciences exists in the Russian Federation. Hence, the nature of the degree in the field of public health probably has to be negotiated as a part of the planning process by the academic team. Academic field to be piloted within the CBU History International Relations Partner universities with a right to award state Master s degrees University of Helsinki, University of Joensuu St. Petersburg State University, University of Tampere Partner universities without a right to award state Master s degrees Petrozavodsk State University, European University at St. Petersburg Petrozavodsk State University, St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University Partner universities in the process of applying for a right to award state Master s degrees (at least a concrete plan exists) Petrozavodsk State University Petrozavodsk State University IT Lappeenranta St. Petersburg St. Petersburg 17

18 Business Administration Forestry Public Health University of Technology, University of Joensuu, University of Kuopio, St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Petrozavodsk State University St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Lappeenranta University of Technology, University of Joensuu University of Helsinki Lappeenranta University of Technology University of Kuopio State University Petrozavodsk State University Petrozavodsk State University Petrozavosk State University, St. Petersburg State University State University St. Petersburg State University 5.4. Main Challenges - Some of the Russian CBU partner universities do not yet have the required rights to award Master s degrees in the chosen academic fields to be piloted. - The estimations of the duration of the approval process for new degree rights in the Russian Federation vary between 6 months to 3 years. Following from this, the application processes have to start as soon as possible. - The Joint Degree is not possible at the moment in Finland or the Russian Federation in a true sense. There is not the legal framework that explicitly allows the award of joint degrees. 18

19 5.5. Recommendations 2. The degree awarded after CBU studies should be either Finnish or Russian Master s degree. 3. As a part of CBU development work the issue of the rights to award degrees should be included in the pilot-specific working plans. 4. If the participating university is not able to get a right to award Master s degrees in the chosen pilot fields, it should be allowed to participate in the pilot as a teaching associate partner or as a partner in a minor subject. 5. The long-term goal of designing and developing Master s programmes should be to award Joint degrees or Double degrees. While the legislation does not enable the awarding of Joint degrees, the goal should be the Double degree. 6. CURRICULA REGULATIONS 6.1. Joint Curricula as an Indicator of Joint Degree Joint curricula are mentioned rather often as an important indicator of the joint degree or joint programme. Naturally, all definitions are not this strict because of different national practices. Also the nature of the joint degree as a relatively new innovation leads one to avoid too strict definitions. The importance of curricula work as a part of the joint degree process is promoted by the Finnish Ministry of Education as well. In the Ministry s recommendation on joint and double degrees it is stated that the basis of such degrees should to be in jointly-made curricula work. The most noteworthy difference between Finland and the Russian Federation concerning curricula regulation is in the nature of legislation and, therefore, also in practice. In Finland regulation is made at the level of the framework (framework legislation and regulation), while in the Russian Federation there are rather detailed regulations concerning degrees in every academic field. If looking at the situations in Bologna Process member countries at the moment, both practices do exist. This was noted, e.g. in the presentation by Professor Dennis Farrington at the Warsaw conference in November According to the interviews there is some existing experience about joint curricula within the CBU universities, e.g. STPSPU s International Graduate School of Management has existing curricular collaboration with the South Karelian Polytechnic in Finland. 19

20 6.2. Detailed Regulations in the Russian Federation State Educational Standard is the key issue when identifying the curricular procedures in the Russian Federation. The current Standard was introduced in the Russian Federation in 1992 as a part of the federal Law on Education. According to this law, the State Educational Standard establishes the norms for the contents of education programmes and for the quality of graduate education and training. There are three kinds of educational standards regulating higher education in the Russian Federation: federal standards (federalnyi komponent), regional standards (regionalnyi komponent) and institutional standards (vuzovskii komponent). The amount of courses included in each category varies according to the academic field. There are two universities - Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University - that have the right to use only federal and institutional standards. State Educational Standard was also discussed in the Bologna Process seminar on Bachelor s degree at STPSU in It was noted by Vice-rector Kasevich, that especially on the level of the Bachelor s degree the joint degree co-operation with the Russian higher education institutions might be problematic because of the current State Educational Standard and its requirements (if the joint curricula is pursued in the true sense). State Educational Standard includes e.g. some obligatory parts of the studies in humanities, which are traditional in the Russian higher education. On the level of the Master s degrees situation seems less challenging. The State Educational Standards that probably will be used within the CBU have the following codes: Master of History: Master of Mathematics (IT in the CBU): and Master of Applied mathematics and Computer science (IT in the CBU): Master of International Relations: Master of Economics (Business administration in the CBU): Master of Forestry: Framework Regulations in Finland In Finland the core issues concerning curricula are regulated by the Decree on University Degrees. The Finnish Government has recently agreed to replace the previous 19 field-specific decrees with one single decree covering all academic fields and degrees at the universities. These new regulations will be taken into use from 1 August In fact, this means that universities will have more flexibility when designing the structures and contents of degrees. The Decree on University Degrees gives general guidelines on the following issues: the duration of the degrees, the number of credits in the degrees, general 20

21 structure of the degrees, required language skills and core goals of the degrees. Concerning curricular work the core goals for Bachelor s and Master s degrees are proposed. These goals are the same for every academic field. Providing the qualifications that entitle entry into a Master s programme is one of the general goals for the Bachelor s degree. Similarly, being qualified for doctoral studies is one of the general goals for the Master s degree. This decree also provides the general regulations concerning the taking of degrees. As a part of the national Bologna Process implementation there were established field-specific working groups led by one the faculties (or comparable unit) within each academic field. The task of these groups is to make recommendations on the implementation of the principles of framework regulation. This way of working should also ease mobility at the national level from one university to another Curricula Procedures There does not seem to be remarkable differences in the formal procedures in curricula design and approval between the CBU partner universities. Both in Finland and the Russian Federation, a faculty-level decision-making body gives final approval for the curricula (in Finland, the Faculty Board or Department Board, while in the Russian Federation, the Academic Council of the Faculty). Also in Finland, in some cases, the Vice-Rector responsible for academic affairs gives final approval after the Faculty body has done so (e.g. at Lappeenranta University of Technology). In the Russian Federation the role of the individual professor is perhaps more important than in Finland in terms of taking the initiative to start the planning of a new programme. In both countries the preparative work for curricula is made by the staff of the programme or unit. In the Russian Federation there is usually an expert body - a Methodological Council - under the Faculty Council for this purpose. In Finland the solutions do vary from one university to another, but usually there is a similar preparative committee or working group under the faculty or departmental-level administrative body. In Finland there is rather long tradition of integrating students into curricula work. In the Russian Federation student feedback about courses also is gathered in some cases for the purposes of curricula development. The differences in the nature of curricula regulations affect the curricula procedures as well. In the Russian Federation the existence of particular curricula is longer than in Finland because of the system of State Educational Standard. As a result, the cycles of curricular procedures are also different. In general it can be said that there are still only a few concrete descriptions about the existing procedures of curricula work at the universities, as well as at the CBU universities. When looking for the opportunities to design more and more joint curricula with national and international partners, this area may be one of 21

22 the most important ones to be developed. In order to make curricula work jointly, it should be possible to know, which precise actors are involved and in which stage of the process Language Studies within the CBU The issue of required language studies within the CBU were discussed with the co-ordinators of each pilot. In general it is agreed that some professional language studies would be useful as a part of CBU studies. When reasonable skills in English are one of the access criteria for the planned study programmes, it raises the question about the possibility of courses in either Finnish or Russian. Obviously, this will be one of the issues to be discussed by the CBU academic teams. If the need for courses in professional English/Finnish/Russian is widely agreed upon, it could be wise to try to find out the synergy between the Master s programmes. The funding of language courses was discussed in a general way as well. It was noted that in every case it is not possible to find funding for additional language studies from the basic funding of the partner universities. Hence, one of the solutions could be allocating funding for co-operatively-arranged language courses by the CBU. As with all funding issues, this should be discussed among the CBU steering body in 2005 or later Main Challenges - In general there are no existing process descriptions about the designing of curricula at the level of the university units. - The nature of relevant legislation in Finland and in the Russian Federation diverges. - The tradition of student participation in curricula work is rather different in Finland and in the Russian Federation. - The pilot subjects have to discover the needs for language courses in Russian and in Finnish. If they are needed, some basic knowledge might be required in order to guarantee the possibility of linking the teaching of the languages to academic substance and the labour market Recommendations 6. The long-term goal of the CBU Master s programmes should be joint curricula, which can be approved by all the partner universities both in Finland and the Russian Federation. 7. As a first step every academic team should design so-called partly joint curricula in order to guarantee its approval nationally and institutionally. 8. As a part of CBU development work every pilot should make its own plan of how to reach joint curricula in future. 9. As a part of the CBU Development Project transparent and clear procedures of making joint curricula should be designed in each academic 22