Support of the introduction of Bachelor/ Master degree programmes/ case of Latvia

Transcription

1 Support of the introduction of Bachelor/ Master degree programmes/ case of Latvia Dr. Sandra Kraze BA School of Business and Finance Minsk( Belarus) June 2-3, 2016

2 Reforms before adoption of Bologna declaration The Law on Education (1991) Provided a legal background to radical changes; It was done without proper analysis; Autononomy of higher education institutions was declared without additional conditions; No responsibilities of HE institutions regulated, no real mechanisms foreseen; Reforms were based on premature decisions before properly discussed; Academic and higher professional education was distinguished; Each with different objectives: academic - to prepare for creative work in a branch of science), higher professional education- to prepare for a particular field of social science, national economy etc.

3 Awarded qualifications based on the new Law (1991) Professional qualification (a higher professional education programme); Bachelor or Master degree (academic programmes); The change of legislation led to a two tier higher education system: Bachelor and Master. HE diploma of 5 years was replaced by Bachelor and Master degrees.

4 Drawbacks of the change A radical change of the curricula followed, including modernization and excluding political and military subjects; The changes decreased the role of professional aspects in the Bachelor and Master degree programmes; Skill development was the role of professional higher education programmes; There were difficulties to provide placement places for students; It was easier to provide academic programmes.

5 Typical features Too strict division between academic and professional higher education was felt: in terms of specific objectives, curricula contents,selection of academic staff and students etc.; Shift from fully state funded HE to a mixed funding; The study fees were introduced that could be covered by students or legal entities; Some study fields became very popular such as economics, business administrations and some lack students: sciences and engineering; Opportunities for establishing private HE institutions emerged.

6 Law on Higher Education establishments (1995) The law was not on HE establishments as a positive aspect; It protected HE institutions from other compliance with legal regulations of any state institution; It established the status, objectives, functions of the Rectors Council which existed already; The law was important for organisational issues of HE rather than content.

7 New requirement for completion of study programmes Working out and defence of a Bachelor or a Master degree thesis as a compulsory element; For professioanal programmes- working out and a defence of a final thesis or project; 2000 the amendments on Law on HE establishment; It enhanced Bachelor- Master structure, but deepened the split between academic and professional programmes; Appeared 3 or 4 year Bachelor, in fact 3 year bachelor was not a complete higher education.

8 Bologna process The Law in 1995 paved the way to the ratification of Lisbon Convention; 1999 signing of a Bologna declaration; The recognition of foreign qualifications also was introduced in 1995 on the basis of Lisbon Convention; The system of QA in all Baltic countries was set up; Today a Comparative Study report on automatic recognition between Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania was carried out in 2015) containing information on national education systems, legislation, status of Bologna tools, recognition practices.

9 Current situation in Latvia Academic Bachelor and Master degrees; Professional Bachelor (at least 4 years of studies needed) and professional Master degrees (not less than 5 years of studies including Bachelor studies); Along with that professional programmes exist that do not lead to a degree.

10 Second level professional higher education programmes Lead to 5th level professional qualification (the highest qualification of a specialist in a field that enables the holder to plan and perform research and scientific work in the field) (In Latvia there are 5 levels). Professional Bachelor and professional Master degree holders get a Bachelor and a Master degree and the 5th level qualification.

11 Achievements in Bologna process in Latvia and the current activities Bachelor is a Bachelor, Master is a Master it does not discriminate for further access to the next level. Holders of both academic and professional Bachelor degree are eligible directly for access to a Master degree, but a Master degree holders to a Doctoral degree.

12 Diploma Supplement DS has been successfully introduced in all Higher Education institutions, it is issued automatically, free of charge in Latvian and in English to all graduates; Curriculum design is based on credit points, Latvian credit points and ECTS system exists coexist; By multiplying Latvian credit points with 1.5 we get ECTS; Student achievements are assessed according to 10 point grading scale; DS reflects the latest changes- Learning outcome based programmes, point.4.2 on DS stipulates programme requirements and learning outcomes; Latvian Qualification Framework and European QF is reflected on DS to indicate transparency of higher education programmes; It improves international comparability, learning outcomes linked with level descriptors inform all stakeholders, including employers about knowledge and competences of graduates.

13 Latvian Qualification Framework (LQF) LQF changed the meaning of the term qualification- degree is also called qualification, plus professional qualification acquired in professional higher education programmes, e.g. finance analyst, manager of a company or an organization; LQF is compatible with EQF for lifelong learning; Latvian level descriptors are based on learning outcomes, reflect knowledge, skills, competences of all LQF; Bachelor degree corresponds to Level 6; Master degree corresponds to Level 7; Doctoral degree to Level 8( Latvia offers structured Doctoral programmes based on credit points and LO).

14 Short cycle programmes First level professional higher education programmes are offered by both colleges and Higher education institutions, the length is 2 or 3 years; On graduation Qualification Level 4 is awarded theoretical and practical background that enables the holder to perform complicated tasks as well as to organize and manage others in their work; Graduates of these programmes can enter the labour market or continue their studies at Bachelor degree programmes.

15 Accreditation Since July 1, 2015 the Quality Agency for HE was established It aims to ensure the implementation of external quality assurance system in the Latvian higher education according to the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance( new ESG 2015) in the European Higher Education Area as well as to promote improvements in the internal QA systems in the HEI, study directions, study programmes thus promoting the acknowledgement and recognition of Latvian higher education Academic Information Centre is an Affiliate member of ENQA (European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education) since April 2015 State recognized diplomas can be awarded only to graduates from accredited study programmes Direction accreditation was introduced- based on the accreditation of the direction, e.g. Economics and within that direction all the study programmes must undergo the evaluation and accreditation The team of accreditaion experts is international, includes students and employers as observers.

16 Current activities for further implementation of Bologna process Regular improvement of study programmes by applying new ESG (2015); By focusing on student centered learning and teaching by which it is understood that students are active participants and academic staff needs to modernize their teaching methods, improve assessment methods of LO, constantly monitor student progress and carry out self reflection; All study programmes have to be learning outcome based in order to get accreditation; Student workload, LO and ECTS is linked, but requires still further work; Recognition of Prior Learning has legal basis( 2012 Cabinet of Ministers, regulations Nr.36).Currently improvements and guidelines are being worked out by the working group under the Ministry of HE and Science to assist HE institutions with RPL. Various seminars on it have been arranged to share the best practices.

17 Study programmes offered by BA School of Business and Finance THE FIRST LEVEL BACHELOR S DEGREE BANKING OPERATIONS ACCOUNTING AND FINANCE MANAGEMENT MARKETING AND ADVERTISING MASTER'S DEGREE FINANCE FINANCE MANAGEMENT BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION INOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTERNATIONAL FINANCE AND BANKING (ENG; Dual diploma, with Swiss Business School) CREATIVE INDUSTRIES MANAGEMENT (ENG; MBA) CYBERSECURITY MANAGEMENT (LV and ENG; MBA) FINANCE (LV) FINANCE (ENG; Dual diploma, with Swiss Business School) BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (LV or ENG) RISK MANAGEMENT AND INSURANCE INOVATION AND PRODUCT MANAGEMENT DOCTOR S LEVEL A JOINT DOCTORAL PROGRAM IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (LV and ENG)

18 zglitiba-latvija/izglitibassistema

19 zglitiba-latvija/izglitibassistema

20 Conclusions In 1993 Latvia already had a two tier system: Bachelor and Master; Bologna process facilitated a faster development and modernization of HE; A new mind set- LO based programmes were developed; Joint international study programmes have been introduced; Double diploma programmes are being implemented; Bologna tools( DS, ECTS, Learning agreements for study mobility and placements introduced), ECTS Catalogue used, information is available on line to public in Latvian and English International mobility has been implemented; International students( exchange and full time) have become a norm; Internationalisation is not only mobility but refers to all activities that HE institutions do, it is the matter of each member of personnel.