Contains of the discussion papers proposed by Witold Mikulowski, PHD LK Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management in Warsaw Poland

Transcription

1 BETWEEN TRADITION AND MODERNITY (Short story of public administration degree programmes in Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management in Warsaw) Contains of the discussion papers proposed by Witold Mikulowski, PHD LK Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management in Warsaw Poland 1. Introduction 1.1 Objectives and scope of the study This paper intends to present an example of development of a new type of Public Administration programmes in Poland. In fact, the case of LK Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management is specific from at least three points of view. Firstly, the LKAEM it is not classic university, but private Business School and its PA programmes are not part of the Law Department, like in other academic institutions in Poland, but belongs to the Department of Management and Administration. Secondly (and subsequently), the development of the programmes curricula was not following the approach of mainframe of PA programmes in Poland attached traditionally to the Departments of Law and Administration of Polish universities. From the very beginning, the author of LKAEM programmes intended to be much more modern (more interdisciplinary, rather Public Management oriented), and to maintain a good balance between Law and other disciplines entering in the large scope of Administrative Sciences. Thirdly, the PA degree programmes, belongs to few remaining programmes of higher education in Poland, which still have no official standards (required programme minima) approved by the Ministry of National Education. The Ministry of Education approved and authorise successively LKAEM undergraduate, PA bachelor degree programme in 1998 and graduate master degree PA programme in All these programmes are followed now by 415 full time and part-time students 1. Despite relatively successful development, the implementation of these programmes in accordance with their initial premises encountered certain problems. Initially more modern and innovative LKAEM PA programmes were recently modified and moved closer, to more classical, traditional approach, dominating in Polish system of higher education in this field. We will analyse and explain this phenomenon, as well as try to formulate lessons learn and recommendations for farther programs development and improvement. The interest of this particular case study lays in fact, that many of these problems are common to the majority, if not all PA programs of higher education in Poland, independently of their varying institutional framework and other particularities. 1.2 Short presentation of the LK Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management The LKAEM is commonly recognized as the one of the best private business school in Poland enjoying full academic rights of national universities stipulated by the Polish "Law on Higher 1 More precisely, 313 part time and 102 ordinary full time students. The full time programmes stared later and have only three first years.

2 Education" 2. Starting from 1997 the Academy regularly occupies first or second rank among the best private higher educational institutions in prestigious rankings, published by weekly Wprost and Polityka, monthly Perspektywy and daily Rzeczpospolita 3. It figures also on the general list of 12 Polish university level institutions meeting international standards. The Academy was founded in Warsaw 12 May Recognizing high academic standards observed within the Academy, the Ministry of Education has granted it full accreditation for a period of 25 years. In 1998, Polish National Central Board of Degrees gave LKAEM the authorisation to grant PhD degrees and in 2003 habilitated doctor (professor) degrees in the field of Economics, specialisation Management and recently also Economics. The Academy became the first private higher education institution in Poland to have such authorizations. 2 The main events of the LKAEM history: 1989 Establishment of the International Business School (IBS) - Founder of the Academy 1992 Application to register the Leon Kozminski Academy of Entrepreneurship and Management submitted to the Minister of National Education by IBS 1993 The Minister of National Education licenses the Academy to run undergraduate programs in Management 1994 The Academy acquires a then-ruined factory building on Jagiellońska Street in Warsaw. Reconstruction continue along with the classes The Minister of National Education licenses the Academy for the Master's programs in Management - The first students are awarded undergraduate (licencjat) diplomas - Modern auditoriums seating six hundred are inaugurated - The Academy's undergraduate program in Management is accredited by Association of Management Education "Forum" Application for Ph.D. granting rights is submitted to the Central Committee of Scientific Degrees and Title - The Minister of National Education licenses the Academy to run undergraduate programs in Finance and Banking - The Academy wins a substantial EU Tempus grant to prepare for the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) First students (186) are awarded a master's degree - LKAEM is found eligible to start the EQUIS accreditation process - The Minister of National Education licenses the Academy to run undergraduate programs in Public Administration - The State Committee of Scientific Degrees and Title authorizes LKAEM to confer doctoral degrees LKAEM becomes the first school in Central and Eastern Europe to receive accreditation by EQUIS A new building (B) for Executive and International Education is opened - Two first doctoral thesis defended at LKAEM The Minister of National Education licenses the Academy for the Master's program in Law - The Minister of National Education licenses the Academy for Master's programs in Finance and Banking - CEEMAN (Central and East European Management Development Association) grants its accreditation to LKAEM The Minister of National Education licenses the Academy for the Master's program in Public Administration - LKAEM signs the Agreement of Alliance for Business Education with Audencia Nantes. Ecole de Management (France), Bradford University, School of Management (United Kingdom) and Escuela de Alta Direccion Y Administracion (Spain) - First students are awarded undergraduate (licencjat) diplomas in Public Administration A new building, containing a new library is opened First students are awarded a master's degree in Public Administration - Another new building, containing another big auditorium is opened. 3 LKAEM occupies once again the first place in the ranking of this year published by Rzeczpospolita ) the 12 April 2005.

3 In 1999, as the first and the only school, not only in Poland but also in the entire Middle and Eastern Europe, the Academy received the accreditation of EQUIS (The European Quality Improvement System). The Academy is governed by the Rector (and its cofounder) Prof. Andrzej Koźmiński, member of prestigious International Institute of Management, assisted by the President of the Board of Trustees, 3 Deputies (Vice-Rectors): for Scientific Affaires, for Students Affairs and for its 12 MBA and other Postgraduate Programs. The Senate is the highest collegiate consultative body of the Academy, composed of the Rectors, all of professors (habilitated doctors), two representatives of lower level academic staff, as well as representatives of administrative and technical staff and students. The Board of Trustees, oversees the management of the Academy on behalf of its founders. The Academy also holds a wide range of research centres, chairs and projects (some of them sponsored by PHARE, Polish Academic Research Committee and others) giving the faculties and students opportunities for intellectual development and entertaining very active relations and exchange programs with 34 foreign faculties and research centres all over the world. The Academy has started its development with a Business Management programs and were progressively enlarging and upgrading its activities on other fields of social sciences. It offers presently undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs (including Ph.D. seminars in Management) and is delivering internationally recognized diplomas in: Management & Marketing, Finance & Banking, Public Administration, Law and Social Sciences (Sociology and Psychology). The Academy is offering also a big number of various postgraduate specialised programs including nine conducted in foreign languages (English, German and Russian) 4 The Academy is organised on 3 departments or colleges (Kolegia): Management and Administration, Law and Finance and Banking and research centres. Kolegium of Management and Administration groups programs of Management and Marketing, Public Administration, European Studies and Social Sciences. Kolegia are placed under the authority of Dean assisted by Vice-Deans (one for each discipline). All post-graduate programs are place under the authority of one of the vice-rectors. Currently the school owns 20,000 square meters in three buildings. It has over 5,500 students following regular, evening (weekends) and distance learning courses, and employs over 250 academic staff. 4 a) Undergraduate programmes in English: 4-year Bachelor Programme in Management and Marketing 3-year Bachelor Programme in Finance b) Graduate programmes in English: 1-year Master Program in International Business and Management The ABE International Master in Management c) Executive MBA Programmes: Executive MBA in English (with the University of Bradford) Executive MBA in German MBA in Russian (with Lomonosov University) Executive EURO*MBA (conducted in English) d) Postgraduate programmes: Marketing in English (with Chartered Institute of Marketing)

4 The Academy is currently conducting bachelor and master degree programs, both for full-time and part-time students 5. 2 General overview of higher education system and PA programmes in Poland 2.1 Institutional and legal framework of Polish higher education system Legal system of Polish higher education distinguishes traditional, full right academic institutions: universities, academies and specialized school of higher education 6, called professional schools of higher education. Institutions of higher education can be public as well as private and corresponding legislation includes certain rules governing private institutions, concerning more particularly non-academic aspects of their management. The vocational schools of higher education can deliver only undergraduate bachelor degree programmes. However, they open the way to farther education, which can permit to obtain a master degree in full academic institutions. The full-academic institutions can be authorised to provide bachelor and master degree programs as well as uniform 5 years long graduate master degree programmes. Both type of the institutions are placed under supervision of the Minister in charge of higher education, follow the same rules concerning organisation and quality of educational process and deliver the same officially recognised diplomas. The differences between vocational and academic institutions of higher education lay mainly in the standards concerning the number and academic level of the teaching staff required to conduct the programmes, rather than in their contains or teaching methods. 7 Otherwise, there are no different standards for undergraduate programs in vocational and academic institutions and, in practice, both are often more academically (theoretically) than vocationally (practically) oriented. However, vocational schools are employing more often some professionals available in their direct environment (many of these schools were created in provincial centres were there are no academic type institutions). The Minister in charge of higher education disposes of a consultative body the Principal Council of Higher Education, which determines official list of the names of the programs and corresponding titles of the degrees. The same Council is adopting standards for different programmes contains (minimal number of teaching hours and list of compulsory matters) required for official authorisation to conduct such a program and to deliver corresponding diplomas. As we have already mentioned, the Council did not yet adopt these standards for all recognised programs. It is mainly the case of relatively new and/or interdisciplinary programs like Public Administration or European Studies. 2.2 Evaluation system of higher education institutions and their programs For supervision of the development of higher education institutions and implementation of the quality standards of their programs, the Minister in charge of higher education disposes of the State Accreditation Commission a statutory consultative body created by the Act of 20th 5 Part-time students in Poland are in principle working people studying on 2 days weekend sessions every 2 weeks. 6 They are governed respectively by the Act on Higher Education of 12 September 1990, and vocational schools of higher education governed by the Act of 26 June To run a vocational school of higher education the Act requires at least four full time academic teachers with habilitated doctor degree (professors or assistant professor) and six with doctor degree (PHD).

5 July The Act determines its mission and composition. The Statute of the Commission adopted in January 2002 determines its tasks, internal organisation and way of doing. The Commission presents to the Minister its opinions and proposals concerning: Creation of a new higher education institution; Authorisation for given institution to conduct a higher education programs in concrete domain and of concrete level; Evaluation of the quality of education provided by the given program; Fulfilment of other conditions required by special regulations to conduct higher education activities. The Commission is organised on teams, grouping programs belonging to the main families of scientific disciplines considered also as main fields of higher education. It is important to notice that Public Administration Programs are followed by the Team of Social and Law Studies and Managerial studies by the Team of Economic Studies. Therefore, the site visit teams evaluating PA programs can not include economists and specialists of management and organisation. The process of evaluation of the quality of education contains the preparation by the concerned institution of the self-evaluation report, followed by the field visit of the team composed of the Commission members and designated experts. The self-evaluation report should follow the template adopted by the resolution of the Commission s Executive Committee 8. On the base of the evaluation report and the site visit, the evaluating team prepares its report containing the assessment of the fulfilment of conditions to provide the higher education required by the regulations and the opinion on the quality of delivered education. On the base of this report, the Executive Committee of the Commission adopts a resolution containing the assessment and its opinion and recommendations. This resolution is submitted to the Commission for approval. The assessment can rate the program as outstanding, positive, conditional or negative. In the case of the outstanding and positive rating the next evaluation will take normally place after 5 years. In the case of rating program as conditional the resolution of the Committee should contain the recommendations and the calendar of their implementation. The Commission transmits the resolution to the Minister and the institution concerned. The Minister decides to cancel or suspend the authorisation to run negatively evaluated program. 8 The report should contain: 1) short presentation of the institution, its history, legal status, internal structure, staff, number of students, financial resource and its budgetary allocation, etc.; 2) presentation of organisational unit in charge of the field of education containing the program; 3) detailed description of the academic and non-academic staff of the organizational staff of the unit including the system of assessment of the academic staff; 4) presentation of the educational process, rules of recruitment, number of students by year and mode of education, students profile, teaching methods and materials, learning conditions, system of the assessment, etc.; 5) students social affaires, students organisations, fees, internships, sport and recreation facilities, etc.; 6) research activities of the unit; 7) national and international cooperation; 8) the most significant achievements; 9) the most important weaknesses of the unit; 10) its plans for the future. The program curricula should be annexed to the report.

6 The periodic evaluation of each higher education program is compulsory and is organised systematically following pre-established calendar known in advance to the institutions concerned. The evaluation procedure was introduced recently and many programs in many institutions were never evaluated yet. In the case of LKAEM, only its Management and Marketing programmes were evaluated very recently in They were rated outstanding and are the first and only Management and Marketing programmes in Poland to obtained such a high rating. 2.3 Development of Public Administration degree programmes in Poland Long tradition of Faculties of Law and Administration Teaching public administration has in Poland a very long tradition. The first School of Administrative Sciences was created in Poland in the beginning of XIX century 9. From this time, the Public Administration is considered as a subject of studies naturally and inseparably linked to the study of Law and now we have again the Departments of Law and Administration in our universities. Under the communist regime, the Public Administration first appeared as special higher education programme in sixties, with a 3 years programme of Professional Administrative Studies created at certain Faculties of Law. This programme was organised exclusively on evening (weekend) courses mainly for the party, police, army and public administration officials occupying managerial position without any academic preparation. Later, the same population ambitioned to complete this programme, which was not considered as full higher education 10, a new two years programme of Complementary Master Degree Administrative Studies was introduced for the same population of working officials. In this way the system was introduced in Poland well before Bologna, but only for limited types of studies (public administration, pedagogical colleges and technical schools of engineers) and for very specific students 11. Progressively, this Public Administration programme was introduced also for ordinary students (but under the form of unique graduate 5 years long programme only) and the Faculties of Law were renamed the Faculties of Law and Administration. Because of the large number of candidates for external system, each Law faculty opened subsidiary centres. Some of them later became independent higher professional schools or even university level schools. 9 The school was created in Warsaw in 1811, during the period of Grand Duchy of Warsaw. The school merged very soon with the Warsaw School of Law (created bit earlier in 1808) and in 1816 both were transformed into the Department of Law and Administration, the first faculty of new Royal University of Warsaw. The Polish Kingdom in that time was under the sovereignty of Russian Empire with the Russian Emperor Alexander the 1 st as a Polish King. 10 During this time, bachelor degree didn t exist yet in Polish system of higher education. Actually it appears recently in early nineties. 11 During this period all higher curricula were organised on 5 year programs (7 years for medical studies) and were gratified with a master (magister) degree. Any other post-secondary education was considered as uncompleted higher education and there was not any lower than master degree in official educational system. This situation was partly justified as the reaction on the post-war period of introduction and enforcement of the communist regime when many accelerated higher education programs were developed with easy access (even without high school certificate) to promote the active and merited followers of the regime, especially in such a sensitive fields as judiciary but also in other important fields as medicine, technical education or teachers training. This policy opened the way of promotion for many incompetent but zealous supporters of the regime. This policy was stopped and reversed after 1956 unfreezing and relative democratisation of the Stalinist system. From that time, the idea, that only full five year program can be considered as real higher education, is deeply enrooted in the consciousness of the Polish people.

7 Development of PA degree programmes after the fall of communist regime Under the communist regime, the state maintained monopoly of higher education 12. The number of higher education institutions was limited and they infrastructures were limited too. They were recruiting a limited number of full time and part time students through competitive exams. After the fall of communist regime and liberalisation of the economy, private schools of higher education started to spread very quickly all over the country. Demographic boom and rapidly growing number of young people with diplomas of secondary schools from one side rapid development of private sector, creation of local self-government and development of central government administration from other side, have created a big demand for better-educated staff with higher education degrees. This demand was particularly strong in the fields of business and public administration. In the first time, this trend has contributed to rapid development of private schools of higher education. Later on also public institutions, not only universities but also specialised schools of higher education started to develop a new degree programmes in most demanded specialities. In that manner we have now in Poland PA programmes run by public schools of engineers, of economics or agriculture. Nowadays, every regional, and even some subregional, town has at least one higher education, public or/and private, institution offering at least a bachelor and sometimes even master degree PA programme. The part-time, working students represents a big majority of the students attending theses programmes. The PA programmes in Poland never had, and did not have up to now, any official standards. Moreover, they never had any clearly formulated philosophy précising their assumptions and objectives. They never had also any hinterland of an autonomous, institutionalised scientific research, which could ennoble them and liberate of the mark of an offspring deriving from the study of Law, just good to satisfy casual needs to complete education of uneducated administrative staff from public and private sector. That is an important point from where comes, profoundly enrooted common opinion considering PA studies being less exigent, with lower standards and producing weaker graduates than traditional Law or Economic studies. 3. The origins and development of LKAEM PA degree programmes 3.1 The origins and reasons of a PA programme in the LKAEM Faculty of Public Administration was developed almost seven years ago in November 1997, as expression of the will to enlarge the offer of already existing programmes and to grow up School s revenue. Initially, only undergraduate, bachelor degree programme was conceived and approved by the Ministry of National Education. The program was implemented progressively, starting in 1998 with part-time studies for working students. The recruitment of full-time students started only 3 years later in the same time with the recruitment of the complementary graduate master degree programme. In that period, this programme was significantly different of other existing PA programmes, which were presenting traditional legal approach to the PA studies. The author of the programme tried to find the equilibrium between theoretical foundations, practical knowledge 12 In fact, this monopoly suffered in Poland some exceptions. Poland was only country in communist block having three private higher education institutions: Catholic University in Lublin, Academy of Catholic Theology in Warsaw and Pope s Theological Faculty in Cracow recognised as such by the State running officially recognised programmes and delivering academic degrees. They were not running any PA programme.

8 and professional know how in the field of Public Administration, and to develop a truly innovative programme and not only sligthly modernise the traditional ones. The new programme was innovative for many different reasons. It was the first PA programme in Poland developed in well-known private business school, which at that time did not run any programme of the Law Studies and had no direct relations with any traditional Faculty of Law and Administration. The conception of the programme was entrusted to an independent person, just returning to the home country after very long stay abroad and not implicated in any network representing interests of other Polish institutions already running PA programmes. For this reasons no lobby of jurists, used to think in terms of traditional model and incline to defend it, was involved in its elaboration. On the contrary, the conception of the programme contains was built on the recent experience of western developed countries and in conscious opposition to existing PA programmes run by traditional university Faculties of Law and Administration. However, the number of lectures (classroom contact hours) was respecting generally overloaded Polish standards of higher education programmes, based on traditional, deeply enrooted but erroneous conviction that the quality of the programme depends of the number of matters and lectures taught. The LKAEM authorities supported this approach actively. Actually, the project of the programme bore initially the name of Public Management. However finally, fearing the problems which the School could encounter from the Ministry of Education with authorisation of such unknown discipline, the authorities of the School decided to adopt commonly used name of Public Administration. They maintain however initial more multidisciplinary and managerial orientation of the programme. Also later, when the School has revised its structures and the new organisation introduced colleges (faculties) for each of main fields of its activities, the PA programmes were placed together with Management and Marketing programmes in the Faculty of Management and Administration and not with the Faculty of Law. 3.2 Principal characteristics of initial BPA programme The documentation presented to LKAEM Senate for approval and joined to the application for authorisation to run the program sent to the Ministry of Education contained general assumptions, mission statement including the definition of graduates professional profile, their potential employers and detailed description of programme curriculum. Principal elements of each component of the curriculum were annexed to the presentation document. The mission statement of undergraduate, bachelor degree programme determines as its main objective education of modern specialists of public administration and management preparing for middle level clerical and managerial positions in: central government and local self-government administration; nongovernmental civic society organisations collaborating with public administration institutions in realisation of general interest objectives or executing tasks delegated them by public administration and under its supervision; public and private enterprises, for which public administration institution are clients or constitute important elements of their environment through their regulatory and control functions; consulting firms, public administration clients; international organisation and more particularly European Union and other supranational institutions integrating or supervising certain public administration competences and functions.

9 The diploma of the BPA programme should also open the way to the graduate, master degree programmes in the same domain. The programme, was linking elements of general knowledge and administrative culture (legal, political, social and managerial) with concrete professional skills in chosen domain of public administration and management. It included theoretical and practical courses as well as professional internships in public or private institutions. The structure of the programme did not followed commonly used in Poland division of curriculum components on matters of general education, basic matters and field matters. Actually, this classification seems not very useful because not well-defined and not enough precise to divide program components in a logic and coherent way. Instead, the programme was divided into 4 thematic blocks conform to vocational character of bachelor degree programs: Basics of general knowledge and professional culture in the field of public administration and management; Disciplines of professional knowledge necessary for public servants and public managers; Basic methods and techniques of public management and administrative reform; Skills and techniques of professional know-how necessary for middle level administrators and public managers; The programme foresaw 4 tracks of specialisation: governmental administration, local selfgovernment, economic administration and international administration. 3.3 Programme implementation and mobilization of human resource (academic staff) The bachelor degree program started in academic year 1998/1999. Its academic staff was completing progressively, partly from schools own resource, partly recruited on the part-time basis among experienced practitioners from different public administration and academics from research centres 13. All of them have had some academic background, most of them a doctor degree, and training experience. They were representing different disciplines: Sociology, Policy Studies, Public Economy, Public Management, Public Administration and Public Law. The school own resource was also enriched with few full time professors recruited for this purpose. Unfortunately, partly due to insufficient academic staff, but mainly due to financial constraints to pay it, initially foreseen specialisations were not implemented, which means that all students were following the same courses. Insufficient capacity of school administration did not permit also to implement compulsory internships for full-time students without any professional experience. 3.4 Next step - the development and official accreditation of the master degree programme (2001/2002) Progressing implementation of the bachelor degree programme put on the agenda the question of development of next academic level of the studies. Initially, the policy of School authorities was to develop only complementary, master degree graduate, two years programme and such a programme was conceived and prepared for authorising authorities. However, during the authorisation process, the authorities of the School changed their mind and applied also accreditation for uniform graduate, master degree five-year programme. The final draft of new programmes was revised by the small committee of LKAEM professors, 13 Among others: Prime Minister Chancellery, Bureau of Studies and analyses of Senate Office, Governmental Centre of Strategic Studies Regional Self - Government Administration, Polish Academy of Sciences, Centre of Self-Government Studies of the Warsaw University.

10 adopted by Senate, approved by the National Accreditation Commission and authorised by the Ministry of Education. First alumni of bachelor part-time programme became students of complementary master degree programme in academic year 2002/2003. The axiology of the master degree LKAEM PA programmes mission statement presume that: Different components of the curriculum should aim to train professionals able to conduct intelligent, creative analyses of communication and activities in the public sector; Students should be able to demonstrate their capacity to conduct independently research, to analyse and solve concrete problems related to public sector activity through realisation of research projects, essays and final theses; Core, compulsory programme components, should develop students values, knowledge and skills preparing them to an efficient and ethical professional activity; The master degree studies aims to educate modern specialists of Public Administration and Management prepared to exercise higher level managerial, control, conceptual and advisory functions. Similarly like bachelor degree studies, potential employers of master degree graduates are: Widely conceived public administration (central government and local self-government parliamentary and judicial administration); nongovernmental civic society organisations collaborating with public administration institutions in realisation of general interest objectives or executing tasks delegated them by public administration and under its supervision; public and private enterprises, for which public administration institution are clients or constitute important elements of their environment through their regulatory and control functions; consulting firms, public administration clients; international organisation and more particularly European Union and other supranational institutions integrating or supervising certain public administration competences and functions. Master degree studies are supposed to open the doors to professional carriers as well as to doctor degree studies and to prepare to academic didactics and research in the field of public administration and public management. The development of these new master degree programmes obliged to revise, adapt and modify the bachelor degree programme too. 3.5 First overview and revision of the PA programmes curricula (2003) and their implementation (academic year 2004/2005) In the beginning of 2003, the author of the programmes responsible for their implementation took one-year leave for UN mission abroad. Soon after his departure the School hired a new professor coming from Warsaw University and trust him responsibility to revise and possibly improve the PA programmes. His critical analyses and proposals concerned mainly uniform master degree five year programme. They were approved by Senate and implemented starting with academic year 2003/2004. Other two programmes were simply incorporated into this new scheme. Special transitional programmes were introduced to ensure the transition between old and new curricula. Apparently, old and newly revised programmes are not very different. More or less 80% of their component are the same or very similar. Exact evaluation is difficult taking into account

11 that in difference with old curricula, the new ones contain only the list of courses and are not précising even main elements of their substance. Both programmes are based on similar, if not identical assumptions concerning the notion of public administration as subject of studies, their multidisciplinary character, necessity to adapt the programmes to current situation and needs of Polish public administration and to train managers of interactions between public administration and its national and international environment. However, formal approach and construction of revised programmes are substantially different and the objectives justifying proposed modifications are discussible. Main reason justifying introduction of proposed modification was supposed necessity to adapt the programmes to the standards proposed by the resolution of the Conference of Deans of Faculties of Law and Administration of Polish Universities in September 2002 and the requirements of European accreditation by EAPAA. Concerning the Deans standards, they are binding, in some way, only the participants of the informal body, which has adopted them. The majority of them were even not public sector specialists and they were obviously defending the position of their faculties, which were not convinced, nor interested to introduce some substantive modification to their present PA programmes. The proposed standards are very conservative and leaves only small margin for necessary modernisation of existing programmes. They reflect a rather narrow concept of programme standards, which concentrate attention mainly, if not exclusively, on curricula components and minimal load of classroom contact hours. The LKAEM has no obligation nor any particular reason or interest to follow these standards, which were not officially recognised yet and hopefully will be never recognised, as national standards by the Principal Council of Higher Education. The standards adopted by Deans of the Law Faculties have also very little to do with the standards of the EAPAA. Of course, if we are taking into consideration only curricula components and minima required for classroom contact hours, without closer look on the substance of these components and teaching methods, they could look fitting to certain aspects of EAPAA standards. In fact, the EAPAA standards accept a very large spectrum of programme profiles and specialisation but under two conditions: that curriculum components contain substance proving that programme is basically concentrated on public administration and that it has really multidisciplinary character which means that it covers equitably all disciplines considered fundamental for public administration studies 14. The standards, adopted by the Deans of Faculties of Law and Administration, do concentrate on public administration. However they do not really respect multidisciplinary character of public administration studies clearly privileging legal components occupying about half of the programme components. Furthermore, the EAPAA requirements contain also many other criteria of programme accreditation, which the Deans standards are not mentioning at all and the LKAEM new programmes unfortunately are not bringing them closer to the EAPAA accreditation criteria. 14 All programs are always multidisciplinary in some extent, in the sense that they encompass not only one scientific discipline but also some elements of other disciplines, necessary to build general culture and situate the main subject of studies in larger context of its cultural and scientific environment. We can consider as multidisciplinary the program referring to several scientific disciplines combine in equitable proportion and none of them is secondary or just supporting one, considered as main or obviously dominating

12 The implementation of the new programmes started before the end of their conception. In fact, only the conception of the uniform master degree 5 year program was completed. The conception of bachelor programme and complementary master degree programme was not revised and adapted in view to ensure overall coherence of all three programmes. In practice, there is now only one, common curriculum for all three formally different programmes, each having its own students but following the same courses 15. In this situation two programmes out of three have not their own missions and functions. This problem is particularly important for bachelor degree if we are not considering it just as first stage of education preparing to master degree programme, but, in conformity to Bologna strategy, as autonomous programme preparing directly to professional live. Otherwise, we are contributing to maintain traditional archaic conviction that only uniform five year master degree program can be considered as true higher education. Lack of specific mission for autonomous graduate master degree programme can have some negative consequences for the prospects of farther development of this type of programme in the context of more and more competitive marked of higher education services in Poland. This program should have its own logic and structure attracting bachelors in public administration and also bachelors of other close disciplines wanting specialise themselves in public governance issues. It will have much more chances to attract them being innovative and modern than trying to be conform to the form and contains of the majority PA programmes existing in traditional Polish universities. 4. Tentative of programmes self-assessment: Weaknesses and missed opportunities 4.1 Mission and objectives of different programmes Mission statement in the initial BPA programme The definition of mission of the BPA programme was logic and coherent with legislation on higher education defining vocational character of undergraduate programmes. Unfortunately, it is not entirely true in practice because all these employers prefer to hire for these positions the people nearing a master degree and often in other discipline, mainly Law or Economics. It does not mean that the mission was ill defined. Firstly, it means that employment policy in Poland, especially in public sector, is not adapted to the standards of modern public administration requiring less juridical and more multidisciplinary skills. Secondly, it reflects traditionally poor opinion on the quality of traditional PA programmes graduates often considered as less skilful, incompletely educated layers. This opinion is reinforced by the fact that, in Polish higher education system, bachelor degree in Law does not exist and, unfortunately, is even considered inconceivable. This situation crates unnecessary inflation of master degree graduates. It pushes all bachelors to continue with graduate studies even if they have not necessary abilities to pursue higher academic education. It lowers considerably academic level of master degree studies and their graduates who, at the end of their studies, are occupying most frequently middle or even lower level positions in public administration. This solution is irrational because costly for the Administration as well as for students and their parents and give a false impression that general level of education in the country is rapidly progressing. 15 The only difference appears in fact that the number of curriculum components are reduced BA and complementary MA programmes. This solution gives the impression to consider the 5 years graduate programme as most noble and prestigious one. This solution is at least questionable. It seems undermining Bologna requirements and makes difference between two master degree diplomas of legally the same level.

13 The only issue from this pathological situation is to promote and valorise bachelor degree level of education in general, and more particularly BPA programmes. Therefore, information and promotion of BPA programmes and their graduates should become an important element of their mission. Differentiation between first (Bachelor) and second (Master) cycle education The Bologna requirements are distinguishing two level of higher education have not a lot of sense if each level has not its own finality and is not offering any prospects of rational insertion into corresponding level and domain of professional life. Therefore, the curriculum of each programme and teaching methods should be adapted to the mission statement of each programme describing professional profiles of its graduates. When a school offers three different programmes: BA, MA complementary 2 years programme and unique MA five years programme, and students are choosing from very beginning which one they want to follow, then logically the BA and first three years of the long MA programme should differ. If not, the BA programme has not its own finality or the long MA has not any sense other that the students of the BA option are following a seminar preparing a thesis and the final exam. Presently, in LKAEM, all 3 programmes are following almost the same curriculum during the first 3 years (except the seminar, which long MA students are not following). The logic of the sequence of their components was conceived on the base of the long MA programme and, in consequence, the BA programme is open ended, not offering any specialisation and has not its own finality and corresponding logic of its curriculum. This situation reinforces common opinion the a BA degree can not be considered as full higher education programme, which goes against the principles of Bologna requirements and is compromising chances for EAPAA accreditation for BA programme. 4.2 Students and graduates of PA programs Students of PA programmes, selection criteria, origins and motivations In LKAEM, there is no other selection at the entry of bachelor and uniform master degree PA programmes, then formal requirement to have a diploma of secondary school. For complementary master degree studies, candidates with bachelor degree in PA from LKAEM are recruited without any other procedures. The candidates from other schools are interviewed and their diplomas analysed, but even in this case the selection is more formal than real. The main reasons for lack of substantive selection at the entry are financial. On the open market of higher education services, with dramatically falling number of candidates, the competition is very harsh and School has no other resources then students fees. Even if the school has certain number of comparative advantages, like excellent reputation and good learning conditions, its fees are rather high in comparison with other schools offering the same programmes. The number of candidates is diminishing and entry selection could reduce and endanger the rentability of the programmes. However, lack of selection at the entry has obviously a negative impact on the quality of the students, who are often very weekly prepared, lacking necessary basic knowledge, intellectual capacity and/or interest and motivations to study Public Administration. In longer perspective, this policy of recruitment seems dangerous. It endangers the reputation of the PA programmes and, in last resort, also the reputation of the School presently build exclusively on the quality of its leading programmes (Management and Marketing, Finance

14 and Banking, MBA). Paradoxically, more selective recruitment, could permit to enhance the quality of education, to build the reputation of the PA programmes on the excellence of their alumni and could attract finally more candidates This approach could be particularly worthy for the master degree programme in the situation where there are more then hundred of BPA programme and much less schools authorised to run master degree programmes. There are no systematic investigations and official statistics concerning profiles, origins and motivations of PA programmes students. However, my private investigations conducted regularly with my part-time students, permit me to make some credible evaluations. We can distinguish presently four categories of students. About one third are middle age people working mainly, but not exclusively, in public institutions and occupying managerial or clerical positions. There are highly motivated because they are defending their jobs or trying to open the way for the promotion. Another tiers are young people, unemployed or occupying jobs in private sector, which are not requiring any higher education and hope to find any job and/or willing upgrade their social status. These people are motivated to obtain any higher education degree and the choice of PA programme is more or less accidental. They often present a very limited general education and limited ability to study on academic level. The third group is composed of wealthy young people more interested by the social position of being student than by the subject of their studies. The last one is growing quickly, and is composed of young dynamic people, studying PA as second program, the first one being a full-time program. They believe that to have two degrees instead of one give them more chance on the labour market. They are motivated and ambitious but to follow in parallel 2 overloaded programmes is not easy. The last sad finding of my investigation is that very few students look really interested and attracted by the carrier of civil servant. Graduates profiles and prospects of their employment Taking into account that, the first specialisation tracks started only last year, there was no significant difference in graduates profiles. The only one comes from the choice of the seminar preparing final thesis and exam. The seminar is compulsory for students of the last (third) year of bachelor degree program and covers last three terms for students of master degree program. The choice offered to them depends in fact more of the availability of academic staff with at least doctorate degree, than of any other rationality or faculty policy. Majority of these seminars are conducted by jurists and they concern mainly legal questions, sometimes without any relations with the field of public administration. This is certainly one of the programmes important weaknesses. Once again, this situation is not specific only for LKAEM programmes. It relates probably to the difficulty to understand the specificity of multidisciplinary program. In fact, in monodisciplinary program like Law or Economics, it is easier to distinguish the main field of studies from subsidiary disciplines and nobody even thinks to propose one of the latter as field of final specialisation. It comes also from lack of definition of core disciplines of the field of Public Administration and clear statement in programme regulations concerning this matter. This matter should regulate official standards for this type of programmes, which do not exist yet. Lack of clear specificity of PA programme profiles has a negative impact on the image of PA programmes graduates in the employment marked. Very often graduates of these programmes are considered as incomplete jurists. This opinion has particularly heavy consequences for young bachelors of PA without any professional experience, because in practice, their diplomas are not recognised as an asset and better starting point for the carrier in public administration, than French Literature or Archaeology.

15 4.3 Faculty and Faculty nucleus The LKAEM organisation does not contain any component, which can be considered as the Faculty nucleus of PA programmes. As we have already seen above, the PA programmes are part of a broader entity called College (Kolegium) of Management and Administration placed under the authority of a dean assisted by two deputies one for Management and Marketing programmes and another for PA programmes. Theoretically the College has its Programme Council supposed to care about substance of the programmes but up to now it was not very active. The colleges contains certain number of Chairs. One of this chairs is the Chair of Administration and Juridical Sciences but it has no particular responsibility for the PA programmes. In fact, this Chair was not very actively involved in the last review and modifications introduced in it. The weak point of this Chair is that it has not even one young assistant specialising in the field of public administration and management. All of them are pure lawyers. The lack of an organised and active Faculty nucleus seems to be the weakest point of LKAEM PA programmes. In practice, the quality improvement and innovation process in LKAEM organisation seems strongly centralised and concentrate at top managerial (rectors) level, which entrusts generally one person to conceive proposals discussed first in a small committee then submitted for approval to the Senate, largely dominated by older generation of professors rarely really interested in public sector. The Faculty of the programmes has not any specific institutional framework in charge of systematic program evaluation and improvement through innovations based on bottom up process and democratic debate involving every level of academic staff. 4.4 Main characteristics of the curricula and teaching methods Main characteristics and problems of present curricula and methods of teaching Like most of other programs of higher education in Poland, the program, for full-time students is overloaded. It is particularly evident for long 5 year MA programme curriculum, which includes 65 different components containing classroom contact hours 16. It does not leave a lot of time for individual work in the library or at home or teamwork out of classrooms. The specialisation courses are reserved only for MA programmes and are delivered only during last two years. They include only five courses plus seminar for preparation of final thesis. Once student chooses his specialisation, all five become compulsory. It means, that in practice, all courses are compulsory. Only few, very good students can follow more supple individual track. Other students can take some additional courses from other specialisations or even other programs. However it is not easy when compulsory program is already overloaded. Generally, one term course has 30 class contact hours (16 for part-time students) and two terms course 60 hours. But, certain specialisation courses have only half of it and sometimes even less (8hours). These short courses should be considered rather as monographs. The number of class contact hours for part-time students (one and half day session every two weeks during the weekends) represents about 60% of time consecrated to the full-time students, almost exclusively lectures. The part time students, who are generally full time employees, have also much less time for individual work but are supposed to follow the same curriculum, learn the same contain of the same program and are receiving the same degree. Logically it means that the number of class contact hours of full time students could be 16 One classroom contact hour lasts 45 minutes in Polish system at all educational levels.

16 significantly reduced (or, that the number of hours of part time students is largely insufficient to learn the same program). We should also mention, that PA programmes are not covered yet by the ECTS system and are not compatible yet with other national and international PA programmes. Abilities of students to work independently on real problems the problem of orientation and quality of final dissertations (thesis) It is difficult to expect, that, at the end of their studies, students will be able to work independently on real problems, if during they studies they have very few opportunities to develop these skills. There are some individual initiatives of certain lecturer to require from students to prepare and present some essays or to organise some debates or other form of participative learning process. But, it remains their own initiative and not obligation and there are no instructions or incentives to do it, and many of them are not doing it considering that already they have not enough hours to lecture the contains of their subject. In this situation, the main or even only real opportunity and obligation to develop these skills are seminar and preparation of final dissertation (BA programme) or thesis (MA programme). The recommendations given to the persons running these seminars requires more job oriented, empirical research for BA final dissertation which should take the form of problem solving expertise or project and allows to prepare it collectively by a team of two or three people. Master degree final theses are supposed to be individual and theoretical in view to be more academic. In practice, it proved not to be a good approach and BA final dissertations are often much more interesting and higher quality than Master degree thesis, which are mostly compilation of rather limited and often exclusively Polish literature, without any real personal contribution of their authors. The problem of internships and links with the professional life Both initially approved and later modified programmes contain internship element. However, this element of the programme wasn t yet implemented and School has not any structure responsible for its implementation. This situation can be explained by the fact, that up to now only part-time programmes were fully implemented and daily full-time students are on 3ed year of their studies. Nevertheless, in present situation, growing proportion of the part time students is not working at all (they are jobless or they are studying as full time students another programme) or are occupying jobs without any relation to the subject ob their studies. For them an internship would be an important complement to their theoretical studies and would facilitate their insertion in professional life after the successful end of their studies. The problem of professional specialisation The LKAEM folders are proposing 3 specialisations for 5years long MA program: Local Self- Government Administration, Regulatory Administration and European Administration, and 4 specialisation for 2 years graduate programme: Central Government Administration, Local Self-Government Administration, International Administration and Management of Public Services. This offer is conditional and depends of the number of students choosing them. Presently only two of them, namely Local Self-Government and Central Government Administrations are effectively put in place. The new BA programme does not contain any specialisation at all. This is reinforcing the impression that it has not its own finality and is not really giving to its graduates any professional profile.

17 The specialisation component of MA programmes is certainly too rigid and not enough developed. It contains 5 courses and all of them become compulsory for the student who choose it. Paradoxically, school s regulations does not obliged the students to choose final seminar and subject of their thesis related to their specialisation. In fact, these seminars are organised more in relation with the availability of academic staff than to the main field of programmes interests (public administration and management) and its mission and objectives. 4.5 Research activities: week point and unexploited opportunity Difficulties to develop PA research activities and educational utilization of its results The Faculty of LKAEM PA programmes has a very week institutional bases of research activity. The Faculty nucleus is based on the Chair of Administration and Juridical Sciences) which has had and up to now continue to have dominantly juridical profile and ensures the lectures in all fields of Law not only for Faculty of Administration but also for all other Faculties and programmes (except Law Faculty). It contains certain number of academic staff specialised in Public Administration but most its academic staff is specialised in Private Law (Civil Law, Commercial Law, Banking Law) and it is difficult to organise researches which could involved them in the field of public administration. In this situation the research activities are conducted mainly on the individual bases even if their results are presented regularly during the Chair s monthly meetings. Students participation in the research activities (students scientific circles) In comparison with other LKAEM programmes, the students of PA programmes are less active and less involved in research activities. In the first phase of their development they have crated a scientific circle bearing the name of one of the most known specialist of administrative science Prof. George Langrod. Unfortunately, when the group of the organisers finished their studies, the circle did not continue its activity. This is also one of the consequences of the fact that the PA programmes have not real Faculty nucleus and it is lacking of the young academic staff, specialised in administrative sciences, which could initiate and help to develop this type of activity. 4.6 LKAEM PA programmes in their internal and external environment Programs in the context of other PA programmes in Poland Despite of all its weaknesses the LKAEM PA programmes belongs to the most innovative and modern in Poland. In fact, the conception of its initial programmes coincided with beginning of the discussion on national level concerning national standards for PA programmes. Important role in this discussion played recently created Association of Public Administration Education. The team of 2 people sitting in the Scientific Council of this association, including LKAEM representative, the author of its PA programmes, was entrusted to prepare the project of these standards. The Association approved the project, transmitted it to the Ministry of Education, and largely distributed in the milieu of public and private institutions running PA programmes. Up to now, National Commission of Accreditation did not adopt or reject this project, but SEAP standards has influenced many PA programmes in Poland. Domestic and international academic relations The LKAEM continue to participate in the activities of the SEAP and will hosted this year its annual conference in November with the theme Bureaucrats or Public Managers. PA programmes graduates profile and the needs Polish public services. The School has the status of an institutional member of the IIAS and NISPAcee and the staff members of the Chair of Administration an Juridical Sciences are regularly participating in the activities of these associations as well as in the activities of the EGPA. At the individual bases, they are

18 participating in the activities of the working groups of these associations and are involved in expert and consulting activities in the domain of public administration and governance and public administration reforms. However, up to now, the School has no institutional links or agreements with other national or foreign academic institutions conducting PA programmes and/or research activities in the field of Public Administration and Management. Links with governmental public administration and local self-government The LKAEM is very active in training activities and organises many specialised programmes addressing public sector institutions, Certain staff member of the Chair of Administration and Juridical Sciences are involved giving some lectures but, up to now, the Chair was not involved in the conception and initiative to run these programmes. The programmes has already produced an important number of graduates employed in various public and private institutions. This important assets and potential network of professionals which could bring their experience and contribute to a significant improvement of the programme curricula and teaching methods unfortunately are not yet exploited. 5. Strategy for farther development of LKAEM PA programmes in the perspective of Bologna requirements 5.1 Strategic choices and development objectives The LKAEM has a big potential to become a leading, modern and innovating academic institution running very successfully the best PA programmes and developing important and very valuable research in generally underdeveloped till now in Poland field of public administration and especially research specialised in public management. It disposes for it very important assets, which were not used yet in this purpose. In fact, a big part of LKAEM academic most experienced staff was involved in the researches in this field before the fall of communist regime, when the frontiers between public and business management were much less evident then now. The School has specialists and research centres in every core disciplines composing multidisciplinary domain of public administration and management and is employing many young assistance which could be easily oriented (pr reoriented) to exploit this dynamically developing domain. The public sector management is certainly something which can be considered as most promising market niche for farther development of the school educational and research activities. It needs only to decide to take frankly this option and to change some dominating till now mental habits. The most important one is to stop consider PA programmes as less noble field of activity then Business Management or Law. PA programmes should not be considered instrumentally useful only or mainly as one of the easy source of revenue, which should be invested in the quality of the School flagship programmes. The authorities should be convinced that PA programmes can also become one if not main flagship programme and continue to earn money because there is a big demand for high competences in this field. They should also know, that with growing inflation of much cheaper low quality PA programmes the School has no chances to confront successfully its competitors. The only realistic prospects for PA programmes is to aim high quality, modern and really corresponding to European standards complementary master degree programmes based on

19 selective recruitments of the best candidates coming from numerous schools running bachelor degree programmes. It does not means to abandon the PA bachelor programme but rather to transform it on high quality reference model for other programmes, proving that graduates of these programmes can meet requirements of modern public administration and represents more than half product of educational system. The first step to achievement of these objectives should be a frank adoption of the Bologna strategy, introduction of the ECTS system and intensive preparation to obtain rapidly the EAPAA accreditation for all PA programmes. Also more selective recruitment, especially for master degree programme and its European or International specialisation, and progressive introduction of lectures given in foreign languages should decisively contribute to the implementation of this strategy. Another important step should be development in partnership with some foreign partner (or partners) of a modern, high quality MPA postgraduate programme. 5.2 Some improvements and conditions for implementation of proposed strategy for farther development of LKAEM PA programmes a) Clarification of the missions and professional profiles of different programs and their graduates It would be good to formulate more precisely and concretely the mission of each programme indicating professional profiles of program graduates. It could facilitate to improve programmes curricula, specialisation and teaching methods adapting them to their missions and objectives. One of these objectives should be the promotion of PA undergraduate programs and the competences of its graduates. It requires development and implementation of specific marketing programme, active development of closer relations with potential employers, follow up and well maintained contacts with programmes graduates, who should be first interested and involved in these activities. However, for long term, the most effective promotion will be granted through the quality of programmes graduates proving the adequacy of their education to the needs of modern democratic public administration in their role of efficient public servant or interaction managers working in other sectors. b) Development of the Faculty organisation, its human resource and programs management Farther successful development of the LKAEM PA programmes, or at least their survival in more and more competitive market of higher education services, will need reinforcement of their institutional framework built on an institutionalised and participatory system of regular self-assessment and constant improvement, modernisation and innovation of programs curricula. Some sort of programmes council should systematically analyse the curricula in view to ensure their coherence with programmes missions and objectives, the logic of the sequence and internal economy of their components. Closer analyses of contains of different subjects could help to avoid frequent overlaps and/or omission of important problems and clarify their interdependence. It could permit to diminish their number (merging together some of them or eliminate if considered overlapping or unnecessary) and/or number of hours of lectures. This could give more time to the students for their individual work, to permit them to read and

20 write more and more actively participate in learning process under the control and advise of more available academic staff. The Faculty program council should be composed of the academic staff representing all core components and specialities of the programmes, really involved in teaching. The opinions and recommendations of the council concerning important changes in program curricula could be submitted to Senate for approval. But, also any opinion, proposal or recommendation concerning program curriculum, should not be submitted to the Senate, before former discussion by this council. The council could work on plenary sessions and in working groups formed to examine problems concerning a group of interrelated subjects or other particular problems of program delivery (teaching methods, internships organisation, etc.) c) Rationalisation and modernisation of curricula, their components and contains, reinforcement and real implementation of specialisations; The programmes curricula need a modernisation in their form and their contains and better adequacy to the needs of modern public administration and to the common practice in higher education in other European countries. Modernise programmes curricula should give more place to the subjects, important for improvement of democratic governance and efficiency of public administration, like Public Management, Public Sector Economy, Public Policy and Public Finance and less to the formal legal aspects of public activity (particularly private Law components). Reduced number of curricula components (regrouping, merging and/or eliminating certain subjects) and reduced number of classroom contact hours, should permit to reserve more time for individual and team- work and contacts with academic staff out of classrooms. More flexible programmes, should give more possibility to adopt curriculum to the students specific needs and interest and give them opportunity to deepen their specialisation. Individualisation of curricula should include more possibility to take credits from programmes of other disciplines or developing certain number of interdisciplinary courses common for programmes of different disciplines. The reduction of programme components and classroom contact hours for full-time students, would permit to ensure more rationality and justice eliminating unjustified differences between full-time and part-time students. If we consider that the number of classroom contacts hours of present part-time students is sufficient to learn the same programme and obtain the same diploma as full-time students, that means that the last should be able to learn the same things with reduced number of hours too having much more time for individual work. d) Modernisation and rationalisation of the organisation of learning and teaching processes: Workload of the students should contain less classroom contact hours and passive reception of knowledge and leave them more active and participatory learning. More importance should be given to the personal research based on more comprehensive readings of Polish and foreign literature, preparation and presentation of working papers, case studies analyses, etc. and other forms of students active, continuous, systematic personal involvement in the learning process.