scholarly journals “Diploma mill” issues in the higher education system: the case of the United Kingdom

Author(s):  
A.N. Ospanova ◽  
◽  
Z.M. Sabitov ◽  
Z.E. Nurbayev ◽  
◽  
...  

In the article, the authors explore the evolution of the formation of higher education institutions in the UK, analyze the formation of the education system as a whole. In the course of the study, the authors concluded that the reforms that were carried out in the 1960s in the UK higher education system led to accessibility among the general population and massification. And this, in turn, affected the quality of the educational services provided. An important fact in the reforms of higher education in the UK, was the lack of opportunities to compete with the “old”universities in terms of basic research and social prestige, “universities without pedigree”chose a different development strategy, in which the main role was given to the internationalization of learning. In order to avoid the emergence of “diploma mills”, the requirements for the activities of universities are being strengthened, and a number of measures are being taken. The external examination of the university is carried out by the State Council for the Financing of Higher Education. Experts check universities once every five years, conduct surveys of students and teachers according to a formalized methodology, as well as check the specific results of educational and scientific work and make their recommendations. Expert advice from employers is also a form of external expertise. One of the most important aspects of assessing the quality of a university is accreditation. Obtaining accreditation by the university is a prerequisite for the employment of its graduates. All the above-mentioned bodies conduct strict control and it is not profitable for universities to violate the requirements. All of the above measures have practically eliminated the problem of “diploma mills”.

Author(s):  
Ирина Ивановна Широкорад ◽  
Олеся Михайловна Фадеева ◽  
Елена Геннадьевна Пафнутова

Система высшего образования развивается не в изоляции. Она находится в непосредственной зависимости от школьной системы и от рынка труда. С одной стороны, образовательные результаты, полученные в университете, зависят от уровня знаний и навыков, которые получили студенты на предыдущем этапе образования, с другой стороны, ожидаемое высокое качество жизни, которое является ключевой мотивацией для поступления в вуз для большинства населения, определяется состоянием и структурой рынка труда. Именно наличие спроса на продуктивную рабочую силу определяет результативность системы высшего образования. The higher education system does not develop in isolation. It is directly dependent on the school system and the labor market. On the one hand, the educational results obtained at the University depend on the level of knowledge and skills that students received at the previous stage of education, on the other hand, the expected high quality of life, which is a key motivation for entering the University for the majority of the population, is determined by the state and structure of the labor market. It is the demand for productive labor that determines the effectiveness of the higher education system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-15
Author(s):  
Natalia Metelenkog/https://orcid.org/0000-0002- ◽  
Olena Trokhymets

The study is based on the realities of the state and prospects for the development of the national higher education system during the period of active integration processes into the European Higher Education Space and the European Research Space. The analysis of the following aspects is carried out: the current state of the Ukrainian education system, the actions of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine to develop cooperation with international organizations in various areas, in particular, to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in Ukraine, which is especially relevant for the industrial region - Zaporizhzhia region, which concentrates such strategic sectors of the Ukrainian economy as metallurgy, mechanical engineering, electricity. It is emphasized that the legislation of Ukraine on education sets such a goal - development, effective functioning of the education quality assurance system in Ukraine, implementation of a constant and consistent process of improving the quality of education and it is noted that the development strategy of Zaporizhzhia National University (hereinafter ZNU) is to develop and consolidate leading positions aimed at training highly qualified specialists, development of scientific research, increasing the role of the innovative component in the activities of ZNU and its integration into the European and world educational space. It is proved that the restructuring of higher education institutions in Ukraine helps to increase the efficiency of their operation. The changes that took place in the process of joining the Zaporizhzhia State Academy of Engineering (hereinafter ZSIA) to ZNU and as a result of the creation of a structural unit - Engineering Educational and Scientific Institute (hereinafter EESI), which has a non-faculty structure and consists of fifteen departments of different areas of training, are analyzed. The article substantiates the strategic advantages of the project of joining ZSIA to ZNU, which made it possible to diversify the educational programs of Bachelors and Masters educational levels in economics and management with the aim of curricula modern updating and further training of highly qualified specialists for industrial regions, in particular for industrial enterprises, in the fields of mechanical engineering, electric power and small and medium-sized businesses serving "large" industrial enterprises in the region. The results of work on improving the quality of higher education in EESI ZNU in the areas of non-formal and informal education, academic mobility, dual education, creating unique learning conditions for privileged categories of students and students with special needs, further integration of economic and managerial education in engineering education are analyzed.


2022 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Aljosa Sestanovic ◽  
Fayyaz Hussain Qureshi ◽  
Sarwar Khawaja

This paper analyses the role and significance of the endowments for the UK higher education system. We have systematised the metrics commonly used to measure the performance of the academic endowments. To collect the data about universities and colleges, we exploited the data provided by the HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) that collect and disseminate UK higher education data and the data provided by the Charity Commission for England and Wales. The size of the university and colleges endowments is valued using their respective financial statements, using endowment reserve account of the balance sheet.The academic endowments linked with the UK universities and colleges are estimated to be worth £15.8 billion in 2020. According to the number of the endowments linked with universities and colleges endowments, they play a significant role in the UK higher education system. However, there is a notable difference concerning endowment size between the few most reputable academic institutions and other universities and colleges. For example, the two largest endowments (the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge with accompanied colleges endowments) in 2020 had a share of 75% measured by the size of the endowment assets. Moreover, this 75% has been stable during the last several years.In addition, the UK academic endowments are much smaller than their US counterparts and thus generally have lesser significance for the UK higher education system, while they may play a significant role for particular institutions. The endowment size per student has also been much smaller in the UK than in the US. Except for the six universities and colleges, the share of the income coming from endowments and donations in the total income has been relatively low, 2% or less. Considering the long history and tradition of the endowments in England, their role in the UK higher education system is deeply rooted. However, with their historical performance and significance for some higher education providers, there is an opportunity for a more prominent role in the future.


Author(s):  
Kirsten Forkert ◽  
Ana Lopes

This article examines unwaged posts at UK universities, using recent examples of advertised job posts. While unpaid work is common in the UK higher education system, unwaged posts are not. The posts under scrutiny in this article differ from traditional honorary titles as they target early career academics, who are unlikely to have a paid position elsewhere, rather than established scholars. The article contextualizes the appearance of these posts in a climate of increasing marketization of higher education, entrenching managerialism in higher education institutions, and the casualization of academic work. We also discuss resistance to the posts, arguing that the controversy surrounding unpaid internships in the creative industries created a receptive environment for resisting unwaged posts in academia. We analyze the campaigns that were fought against the advertisement of the posts, mostly through social media and the University and College Union. We explore the tactics used and discuss the advantages and limitations of the use of social media, as well as the role of trade unions in the campaigns against these posts, and we reflect on what future campaigns can learn from these experiences.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-137
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Grzywacz ◽  
Grażyna Miłkowska ◽  
Magdalena Piorunek ◽  
Lech Sałaciński

This report is a part of the results of the international project entitled “Studium in Osteuropa: Ausgewählte Aspekte (Analysen, Befunde)” conducted in the years 2013-2015 under supervision of Prof. Wilfried Schubarth and Dr Andreas Seidl from the Potsdam University, Department of Education Science, and Prof. Karsten Speck from the University of Oldenburg, Germany. The project was conducted jointly by representatives of academic centres from Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia. Its general aim was a comparative analysis of the effects of implementation of Bologna Process directives into the higher education systems of the individual countries. The changes introduced into the higher education systems in the countries involved in the project were described and evaluated, discussed was in particular the problems of education of teachers at the university level. The following text is the result of the contribution of the Polish group participating in the project. The report will be presented in two parts. The first part is focused on the macro-societal context of transformations in the higher education system in Poland. The implementation of selected aspects of Bologna Process directives is described and supplemented by empirical comments. The second part deals with selected aspects of university level education of teachers, followed by a polemic against the assumptions and execution of the target transformations of higher education system.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 119
Author(s):  
Dora H. Ivanova ◽  
Olga V. Goray ◽  
Nadiia I. Horbachova ◽  
Iryna M. Krukovska ◽  
Svitlana D. Poplavska

Each country in the world has its own individual approaches to the quality assurance system of higher education, so the quality of educational services in each country is different. The developing countries should be guided by the standards and recommendations put forward by the world’s leading countries in the field of the assurance system of higher education in order to improve the quality of education services. The purpose of the scientific investigation is to formulate the objectives and analyze the practical aspects of functioning of the quality assurance system of higher education. In the study’s framework of the practical aspects of the higher education’s quality in European Union’s countries, the methods of general analysis have been used, including comparison and grouping; at the same time, the presentation of statistics is also demonstrated by graphical methods. The practical aspects of quality assurance of higher education in European Union’s countries have been analyzed, which is reflected in the dynamics of the number of students who have received higher education, the structure of higher education degree seeking applicants, the employment rate of graduates who have graduated from higher education institutions (Employment rates of recent graduates), the World University Rankings, the Europe Teaching Rankings, rating of the strength of the higher education system (the QS Higher Education System Strength Rankings). Proposals for ensuring the proper quality of higher education and a high level of educational services to educational institutions of the European Union have been presented.


2016 ◽  
pp. 27-28
Author(s):  
Gangolf Braband ◽  
Justin J.W. Powell

Luxembourg has an expanding higher education system, with one of the youngest European national research universities at its center. The University of Luxembourg was founded, against local resistance, as an elite institutional response to global norms and to the Europe-wide Bologna Process. 


Author(s):  
Paul Clark

The period since the election in May 2010 has seen a number of very far-reaching reforms enacted in the higher education system in the UK, and especially England. These have been driven in large measure by the economic situation, but also by the aim to introduce a more market-based approach into the sector. At the same time, the higher education system faces a number of long-term challenges, particularly in terms of how it can best contribute to much-needed regional and national economic growth. This article first summarises the reforms which have been put in place and some of the factors driving them; next goes on to set out the long-term challenges which the sector will need to address; and finally assesses whether the policy platform established through the government's reforms is likely to help or hinder the achievement of the sector's (and the country's) strategic aims.


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