Nazwa imprezy / Gorzów Wlkp. Poland’s higher education Reforms in brief

Some statistics 38.5 million – population of Poland 5.47 billion USD – higher education and research investment from 2004 till – 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 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 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 imprezy / Gorzów Wlkp. Thank you for your attention