Nazwa imprezy11.04.2008 / Gorzów Wlkp.

Poland’s higher educationReforms in brief

Some statistics

38.5 million – population of Poland

5.47 billion USD – higher education and research investment from 2004 till 2015

71 472 – number of researchers (FTE), 40% - women

6.0 – R&D personnel per 1000 employees

134 – public HEIs, 296 non-public ones

1.5 million – number of HE students

Students by sector (public/non-public)

HEIs by sector (public/non-public)

Higher education reform – the 2011 batch (1/4)

- researchers

- universities

- students

Higher education reform – the 2011 batch (2/4)

- a „Diamond grant” for the top 100 undergraduate students to conduct research leading directly to the doctoral degree

- scholarships for the best 30% of doctoral students increased by 50%

- more competitive staff policy

- open competitions for all academic openings

- vacancies published on-line

- nepotism curbed

Researchers

Higher education reform – the 2011 batch (3/4)

Universities

-greater autonomy in designing study programmes

-learning outcomes a defining feature of study programmes

-employers’ role in shaping curricula, in teaching and in assessing its outcomes

-rectors elected traditionally or by open competition

-emphasis on the commercialisation of research

-increased funding for research

-selection of Leading National Scientific Centres (KNOWs)

Higher education reform – the 2011 batch (4/4)

Students

Effective supportEffective support::

-wider access to tuition-free studies-a more inclusive system of state guarantees for student loans-more funding for means-tested scholarships-arbitrary fees banned-a 51% discount for train and bus travel, including for PhD students

More empowermentMore empowerment::

-obligatory agreements between HEIs and students, specifying the rights and obligations of both parties-students put front and centre: limits on academics’ multi-employment-enhanced role of students in evaluating their teachers’ performance

Higher education reform – the 2014 batch (1/4)

- validation of learning outcomes achieved in prior learning

- greater diversification of higher education

- new system for tracking graduates

Higher education reform – the 2014 batch (2/4)

Validation of learning outcomes achieved in prior learning

- new entry route to higher education for adult learners (lifelong learning)

- validation of learning outcomes achieved in non-formal and informal settings, especially for people with professional experience

- possibility of recognizing up to 50% of ECTS allocated to the programme –> shorter study period

- validation procedures to be assessed by the Polish Accreditation Committee as part of external quality assurance

Higher education reform – the 2014 batch (3/4)

Greater diversification of higher education

based on already implemented profiles: academic and professional (“practical”) ones

HEI departments not authorised to confer the doctoral degree obliged to offer only the professional (“practical”) profile

3-month obligatory traineeships for students of professional (“practical”) study programmes

possibility of dual study programmes

Higher education reform – the 2014 batch (4/4)

New system for tracking graduates

since 2011, HEIs have been tracking their graduates’ careers – important element of internal quality assurance

new central tracking system to get reliable data on graduates’ employment outcomes – important information for the public, especially for potential students (different goal than in tracking by HEIs)

based on administrative data: matching database of graduates with anonymized data from the Social Insurance Institution

Nazwa imprezy11.04.2008 / Gorzów Wlkp.

Thank you for your attention

www.mnisw.gov.pl