Languages Used in Educational Establishments

In 2000/01 academic year, 70% of students attended Ukrainian-language schools (that is where Ukrainian is the primary language of instruction), while 29% were studying in Russian-language schools. There are schools with instruction in Romanian, Crimean Tatar, Hungarian, and Polish in regions populated by those groups. Historically, the language of instruction has often changed in Ukraine. When Ukraine was part of the Russian Empire, the Ukrainian language was proscribed, and Russian predominated among the elite, who had access to schools. The initial policies of the Bolsheviks were supportive of local languages, and many Ukrainian-language schools were opened, with the long-term goal of getting rid of illiteracy. From the mid-1930s to the mid-1980s, the Soviet government policies favoured Russification. In the 1970s and 1980s, the number of Russian-language schools constantly increased at the expense of Ukrainian-language schools. After Ukraine obtaining independence the trend was reversed. However, reintroduction of formal Ukrainian-language study has taken longer than expected. In some schools that has tried to switch to Ukrainian, part or most of the instruction is still given in Russian. In universities there are similar trends. In 1991/92 academic year, according to the Razumkov Centre, 49% of high school students were receiving their education in Ukrainian, and 50% in Russian.

Higher education in Ukraine

Higher education in Ukraine has a long and rich history. Its students, graduates and academics have long been known and appreciated worldwide. The pioneering research of scholars working in the country’s higher education institutions and academies, such as Dmytro Mendeleyev, Mykola Zhukovsky, and Yeugeny Paton, are part of the universal history of scientific progress.

The first higher education institutions (HEIs) emerged in Ukraine during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. The first Ukrainian higher education institution was the Ostrozka School, or Ostrozkiy Greek-Slavic-Latin Collegium, similar to Western European higher education institutions of the time. Established in 1576 in the town of Ostrog, the Collegium was the first higher education institution in the Eastern Slavic territories. The oldest university was the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, first established in 1632 and in 1694 officially recognized by the government of Imperial Russia as a higher education institution. Among the oldest is also the Lviv University, founded in 1661. More higher education institutions were set up in the 19th century, beginning with universities in Kharkiv (1805), Kyiv (1834), Odessa (1865), and Chernivtsi (1875) and a number of professional higher education institutions, e.g.: Nizhyn Historical and Philological Institute (originally established as the Gymnasium of Higher Sciences in 1805), a Veterinary Institute (1873) and a Technological Institute (1885) in Kharkiv, a Polytechnic Institute in Kyiv (1898) and a Higher Mining School (1899) in Katerynoslav. Rapid growth followed in the Soviet period. By 1988 a number of higher education institutions increased to 146 with over 850,000 students. Most HEIs established after 1990 are those owned by private organizations.

Higher education qualifications combine both academic and professional qualifications. This is a very important feature of Ukrainian higher education inherited from its Soviet past. The State Diploma serves as both an educational certificate and a professional licence. Employment is determined by a match between the state determination of the knowledge and skills required for different occupation levels and the state determination of levels of educational qualification. Hence is the correspondence between classification of educational qualification and that of the occupational structure, leading to the introduction of the term ‘educational-proficiency’ level.

The Law on Higher Education (2002) establishes the three-level structure of higher education: incomplete, basic, and complete educational levels with corresponding educational-proficiency levels of Junior Specialist, Bachelor, Specialist and Master.

Junior Specialist is an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who on the basis of complete secondary education has attained incomplete higher education, special skills and knowledge sufficient for discharging productive functions at a certain level of professional activity, stipulated for initial positions in a certain type of economic activity. The normative period of training makes 2,5-3 years.

Persons with basic secondary education may study in the educational and professional programs of junior specialist’s training, obtaining at the same time complete secondary education.

Bachelor is an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who on the basis of complete secondary education has attained basic higher education, fundamental and special skills and knowledge, sufficient to cope with tasks and duties (work) at a certain level of professional activity (in economy, science, engineering, culture, arts, etc.). The normative period of training makes 4 years (240 ECTS credits).

Training specialists of the educational-proficiency level of Bachelor may be carried out according to the shortened programme of studies on the basis of the educational- proficiency level of Junior Specialist.

Specialist is an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who on the basis of the educational-proficiency level of Bachelor has attained complete higher education, special skills and knowledge, sufficient to cope with tasks and duties (work) at a certain level of professional activity (in economy, science, engineering, culture, arts, etc.). The normative period of training makes 1 year (60 ECTS credits).

Master is an educational-proficiency level of higher education of a person who has attained complete higher education, special skills and knowledge, sufficient to cope with professional tasks and duties (work) of innovative character at a certain level of professional activity (in engineering, busyness administration, pedagogics, arts, etc.).

Training specialists of the educational-proficiency level of Master may also be carried out on the basis of the educational-proficiency level of Specialist. The period of training makes typically 1-1.5 year (60-90 ECTS credits).

During his/her studies at the Master’s level, a student is required to write his/her final work on a selected subject and make its presentation, to be able to collect, analyse and summarize, synthesize and to communicate study and practical material; often knowledge of a foreign language is required.

Training specialists of the educational-proficiency level of Specialist and Master in such fields as medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, teaching is carried out on the basis of complete secondary education within the period of 5-6 years (300-360 ECTS credits) (as is common in Western Europe for state registered professions).

Higher education graduates are awarded qualifications of the appropriate educational-proficiency levels and they are granted diplomas of the state format.

The national system of quality assurance (QA) in Ukraine is realized by means of licensing and accreditation procedures carried out by the Department for Licensing, Accreditation and Nostrification of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, through the State Accreditation Commission, the State Inspectorate of HEIs, and the Higher (Supreme) Attestation Board.

The Law on Higher Education (2002) stipulates that educational establishments in Ukraine including those owned privately must be licensed before they can offer tertiary level educational programmes. To be granted a licence a HEI must meet the required standards set by the Ministry of Education and Science for higher education status at a certain level. These standards refer to: physical infrastructure, equipment and facilities, the learning resources (library and other media materials), the logistical, scientific-methodological and information base, and the number and qualification level of its staff, appropriate to the area of education and research in which it intends to offer programmes of study. The licence process assesses the list of subjects, the content of the educational programme of these subjects and the assessment tools used to examine students.

The Law of Ukraine On Higher Education (2002) establishes four levels of accreditation of higher education institutions.

Higher education institutions of the first accreditation level train Junior specialists;

Higher education institutions of the second accreditation level train Junior specialists and/or Bachelors;

Higher education institutions of the third accreditation level train Bachelors, Specialists and, in certain professions (specialities), Masters;

Higher education institutions of the fourth accreditation level train Bachelors, Masters and Specialists. Additional criteria for the institutions of the fourth accreditation level include postgraduate and Doctoral courses, high-level research and publications activities.

There are six types of higher education institutions in Ukraine:

Universities: have fourth level of accreditation and may be multi-disciplinary establishments (follow a classical university model) or ‘branch’ (mono-disciplinary/specialist) establishments (focuse on some particular professional field (Technical, Medical, Agricultural, Pedagogical, Economics, etc.)). They act as leading research and methodological centres in both fundamental and applied research.

Academies: have fourth level of accreditation. Their educational provision is concentrated in a specific branch of knowledge in which they also act as leading research and methodological centres in both fundamental and applied research fields;

Institutes: have third and fourth level of accreditation. Their educational provision is concentrated in a specific branch of knowledge in which they also conduct research and methodological research in both fundamental and applied fields. They may be independent or a sub-unit of a university or academy;

Conservatoires: have third and fourth level of accreditation. Their educational provision is concentrated in culture and the arts, specifically music. They also conduct research and act as leading centres in the areas of their activity;

Colleges: have second level of accreditation largely related to the provision of training leading to the acquisition of specific higher education qualifications. They may also constitute sub-units within higher education establishments with third and fourth level accreditation;

Technical Schools: have first level of accreditation. They carry out educational activity leading to specialist areas of knowledge and skills related to specific occupations. They may also constitute sub-units within higher education establishments with third and fourth level accreditation.

Higher education institutions with 4th accreditation level may be bestowed the status of ‘National’ for outstanding performance in research and scientific activity. This status brings with it added powers in relation to immovable property, facilities, enterprises, institutions and other structural sub-units of the HEI; the award of professorial status; and ‘symbiotic’ and material incentives and rewards for employees of the HEI. In addition, it also accrues an additional budget for research activities.

Postgraduate Education

In Ukraine Postgraduate education is regarded as specialist education and professional training commencing after the Specialist, Master phase. The Law of Higher Education (Article 10) and the Law on Education (Article 47) regard Post-Graduate education as specialised education and professional training on the basis of the previously obtained educational-proficiency level and experience of the practical work. It is defined as retraining, specialisation within a profession; expansion of the professional profile; probation within a profession, i.e. post-qualifying education or continuous professional development. The system of Postgraduate training serves as a ground for lifelong learning.

There is a long tradition and pride in this kind of educational provision for ‘continuing education’ and for ‘social inclusion’, that continues today. Lifelong learning (LLL) is conceptualized on the one hand as the progression through academic qualifications: Bachelor, Specialist, Master, Candidate of Science, Doctor of Science. On the other hand it also covers a wide range of educational courses designed for: ‘second chance’ students; for those who wish to change occupations; for on-the-job training for citizens in employment; for updating professionals; for second diplomas where only the specialist part of the curriculum needs to be followed; and to provide secondary school certificate for those who left school without qualification.

At doctoral level Ukraine has a two-degree system. The first qualification is the Candidate of Sciences (scientific degree of Kandidat Nauk) which normally requires at least three years of study after the award of the Specialist or the Master diploma and is achieved by submitting and defending a thesis (dissertation), as well as following post-graduate studies (aspirantura) in the specialist field. The second qualification is the Doctor of Sciences (scientific degree of Doktor Nauk), the highest degree in Ukraine which is achieved by dissertation that must make an original contribution to a given field of learning, and after a period of further studies (doktorantura) following the award of Kandidat Nauk degree.

Doctoral study programmes (post-graduate course, aspirantura – for Kandidat Nauk degree and doctoral course, doktorantura – for Doktor Nauk degree) can be opened in higher education institutions of the third and fourth levels of accreditation or in research institutes and their branches.

The two doctoral degrees can be earned in two ways: as a result of studies in aspirantura and doktorantura or independently. The public defense of the dissertation is held in the form of a public presentation and scientific debates.

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY SYSTEM

According to UNESCO the US has the second largest number of higher education institutions in the world, with a total of 5,758, an average of more than 115 per state. The US also has the highest number of higher education students in the world, a figure of 14,261,778, or roughly 4.75% of the total population. The U.S. Department of Education shows 4,861 colleges and universities with 18,248,128 students in 2007.

The 2006 American Community Survey conducted by the United States Census Bureau found that 19.5 percent of the population had attended college but had no degree, 7.4 percent held an associate's degree, 17.1 percent held a bachelor's degree, and 9.9 percent held a graduate or professional degree. Only a small gender gap was present: 27 percent of the overall population held a bachelor's degree or higher, with a slightly larger percentage of men (27.9 percent) than women (26.2 percent). However, despite increasing economic incentives for people to obtain college degrees, the percentage of people graduating high school and college has been declining as of 2008.

The survey found that the area with the highest percentage of people 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree was the District of Columbia (45.9 percent), followed by the states of Massachusetts (37 percent), Maryland (35.1 percent), Colorado (34.3 percent), and Connecticut (33.7 percent). The state with the lowest percentage of people 25 years and over with a bachelor's degree was West Virginia (16.5 percent), finishing below Arkansas (18.2), Mississippi (18.8 percent), Kentucky (20 percent), and Louisiana (20.3 percent).

According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in 1995 alone, U.S. universities granted 2,142 licenses and options to license patented technology, most of them exclusive; 169 start-up companies were formed in 1995 (more than 1,100 from 1980-95), for which such exclusive patents were the key. The licensing of university-research spin-offs adds more than 150,000 jobs to the U.S. economy each year.

The American university system, like the primary and secondary education system, is largely decentralized, in large part because the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution reserves all powers not granted to the federal government or explicitly denied to the U.S. states “for the States respectively, or to the people.” Such a degree of autonomy in higher education is rare.

American universities have developed independent accreditation organizations to vouch for the quality of the degrees they offer. The accreditation agencies rate universities and colleges on criteria such as academic quality – the quality of their libraries, the publishing records of their faculty, and the degrees which their faculty hold. Nonaccredited institutions are perceived as lacking in quality and rigor, and may be termed diploma mills.

Colleges and universities in the U.S. vary in terms of goals: some may emphasize a vocational, business, engineering, or technical curriculum while others may emphasize a liberal arts curriculum. Many combine some or all of the above.

Two-year colleges (often but not always community colleges) usually offer the associate's degree such as an Associate of Arts (A.A.). Community colleges are often open admissions, with low tuition. Four-year colleges (which usually have a larger number of students and offer a greater range of studies than two-year colleges) offer the bachelor's degree, such as the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) or Bachelor of Science (B.S.). These are usually primarily undergraduate institutions, although some might have limited programs at the graduate level. Many students earn an associate's degree at a two-year institution before transferring to a four-year institution for another two years to earn a bachelor's degree.

Four-year institutions in the U.S. which emphasize the liberal arts are liberal arts colleges. These colleges traditionally emphasize interactive instruction (although research is still a component of these institutions). They are known for being residential and for having smaller enrollment, class size, and teacher-student ratios than universities. These colleges also encourage a high level of teacher-student interaction at the center of which are classes taught by full-time faculty rather than graduate student teaching assistants (TAs), who do teach classes at Research I and other universities. Most are private, although there are public liberal arts colleges. In addition, some offer experimental curricula, such as Hampshire College, Beloit College, Bard College at Simon's Rock, Pitzer College, Sarah Lawrence College, Grinnell College, Bennington College, New College of Florida, and Reed College.

Universities are research-oriented institutions which provide both undergraduate and graduate education. For historical reasons, some universities – such as Boston College, Dartmouth College, and the College of William & Mary – have retained the term "college," while some institutions granting few graduate degrees, such as Wesleyan University, use the term "university." Graduate programs grant a variety of master's degrees – such as the Master of Arts (M.A.), Master of Science (M.S.), Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), or Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) – in addition to doctorates such as the Ph.D. The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education distinguishes among institutions on the basis of the prevalence of degrees they grant and considers the granting of master's degrees necessary, though not sufficient, for an institution to be classified as a university.

Some universities have professional schools, which are attended primarily by those who plan to be practitioners instead of academics (scholars/researchers). Examples include journalism school, business school, medical schools (which award either the M.D. or D.O.), law schools (J.D.), veterinary schools (D.V.M.), and dental schools. A common practice is to refer to different units within universities as colleges or schools (what is referred to in other countries as faculties). Some colleges may be divided into departments – such as an anthropology department within a college of liberal arts and sciences within a larger university.

Except for the United States service academies and staff colleges, the federal government does not directly regulate universities, although it can give federal grants to them. The majority of public universities are operated by the states and territories, usually as part of a state university system. Each state supports at least one state university and several support many more. California, for example, has three public higher education systems: the 11-campus University of California, the 23-campus California State University, and the 109-campus California Community Colleges System. Public universities often have a large student body, with introductory classes numbering in the hundreds and some undergraduate classes taught by graduate students. Tribal colleges operated on Indian reservations by some federally recognized tribes are also public institutions.

Many private universities also exist. Among these, some are secular while others are involved in religious education. Some are non-denominational and some are affiliated with a certain sect or church, such as Roman Catholicism (with different institutions often sponsored by particular religious orders such as the Jesuits) or religions such as Lutheranism or Mormonism. Seminaries are private institutions for those preparing to become members of the clergy. Most private schools (like all public schools) are non-profit, although some are for-profit.

Tuition is charged at almost all American universities, except 1) the five federally-sponsored service academies, in which students attend free and with a stipend in exchange for a service commitment in the U.S. armed forces after graduation; and 2) a few institutions where offering tuition-free education is part of their mission, such as Cooper Union, Berea College and Olin College. Public universities often have much lower tuition than private universities because funds are provided by state governments and residents of the state that supports the university typically pay lower tuition than non-residents. Students often use scholarships, student loans, or grants, rather than paying all tuition out-of-pocket.

The majority of both liberal arts colleges and public universities are coeducational; the number of women's colleges and men's colleges has dwindled in past years and nearly all remaining single-sex institutions are private liberal arts colleges. There are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), both private (such as Morehouse College) and public (such as Florida A&M).

“College” Versus “University” Terminology

In the United States, the term college is frequently used to refer to stand-alone higher level education institutions that are not components of a university as well as to refer to components within a university. Stand-alone institutions that call themselves colleges are universities in the international sense of the term. Typically in the United States, a university is composed of an academically-diverse set of units called schools or colleges, whereas a college – whether it is a stand-alone institution of higher learning or a component within a university – typically focuses on one academic sector that is self-chosen by that institution, where that college is composed of departments within that sector. Note that the multiple colleges or schools comprising a university are typically collocated on the same university campus or near each other on adjacent campuses within the same metropolitan area. Unlike colleges versus universities in other portions of the world, a stand-alone college is truly stand-alone and is not part of a university is also not affiliated with an affiliating university.

Each institution may choose from several different schemes of organization using the terms, in most-macroscopic to most-microscopic order: university, college, school, division, department, and office. For instance, Brown University is composed of one college (The College, which is for undergraduates) and two schools (the Graduate School, which is for post-graduate students, and the Medical School, which is for the preparation of medical doctors). Dartmouth College is a stand-alone institution that names itself using the college term, but is organized similarly to Brown University with undergraduates enrolled in Dartmouth College (directly) and Dartmouth College containing three graduate schools that enroll the post-graduate students: the Tuck School of Business, the Thayer School of Engineering, and Dartmouth Medical School.