Polish Higher Education System University of Warsaw

Polish Higher Education System University of Warsaw

Changes in Polish HE after 1989 Rapid growth of HE sector q social and economic changes recognition of the impact of education on well-being and position in the society Act on Higher Education (1990) Act of 27 July 2005, Law on Higher Education q development of private HEIs q extension of educational offer by public HEIs • paid studies to counteract budget cuts • higher admission limits to non-paid studies new rules for financing HEIs: allocation of public funds strongly dependent on the number of students

Primary and secondary education in Poland HIGHER Post-secondary school EDUCATION 1 -2. 5 years Maturity examination – maturity certificate Complementary lyceum General lyceum 3 years Specializ. lyceum Technical school 3 years 4 years Gymnasium 3 years Primary school 6 years Complementary technical school Vocational school 2 -3 years

Higher education in Poland Ph. D studies 3 -5 years Post-diploma studies 1 -2 years Uniform Master level courses 5 -6 years Second cycle (MA -level courses) 2 years First cycle (BAlevel courses) 3 -4 years

Polish HEIs & number of students 1937 HEIs public 448 661 (34. 1%) private students [in thousands] 318 (71%) 112 106 404 1276 (65. 9%) 130 (29%) 1990/91 2007/08 source: Central Statistical Office, 2009

Autonomy of HEIs guaranteed by the Polish Constitution “Higher education institutions are provided with autonomy. . . ” • • • election of authorities (rectors, deans, . . . ) employment - policy & individual decisions enrolment limits & admission procedures curricula (must comply with „standards” set by ministry) allocation of funds received from ministry tuition fees for paid study programmes statutes organisational structure for „small” HEIs, study programmes* to be approved by ministry academic regulations *list of programme names (fields of study) is defined by ministry

2005 - Law on Higher Education (1) Bologna process in Poland basic form of studies: 2 -cycle system (from 2007) long Master programmes – only in a few selected fields q Ph. D-level education – 3 rd cycle q fewer restrictions in introducing interdisciplinary degree programmes and programmes in new fields q more flexibility in defining curricula more „output-oriented” and less restrictive „standards” credit transfer and accumulation – obligatory part of academic regulations at HEIs q obligatory ECTS & Diploma Supplement q

2005 - Law on Higher Education (2) INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION q degree programmes or individual courses can „normally” be taught in foreign languages q degree programmes can be offered jointly by two or more HEIs, including international HEIs joint diplomas – left for regulation by Minister q Polish HEIs can establish their units abroad & foreign HEIs can establish their units in Poland subject to approval by ministry q simplified procedures for hiring academic staff from abroad

Participation of students in decision-making process State level: Students Parliament • opinion on any state-level decision (incl. proposed legal acts) concerning students • representatives in Council for Higher Education • representative in Presidium of State Accreditation Committee HEI (faculty) level: students self-government • 20% of members of senate (faculty council) & rector (dean) election committees • opinion on any senate/rector (faculty council/dean) decision concerning students • should approve academic regulations adopted by senate • must approve a candidate for vice-rector (vice-dean) responsible for student affairs • allocation of financial aid: rules & individual decisions • participation in periodic evaluation of academic staff

Need for Lifelong Learning (LLL) q wrong distribution of graduates with regard to their field of study q „saturation” of HE system with traditional students q demographic changes focus on lifelong learning (non-traditional students) § § various age (mostly adult) different educational needs and capabilities

Participation of adults in LLL Percentage of population aged 25 -64 participating in education and training in the four weeks prior to the survey, 2000 -2006 Source: Delivering lifelong learning for knowledge, creativity and innovation, European Commission, COM(2007) 703, Nov. 2007

Status of non-formal / informal learning q dominant position of formal education q no legislative basis for recognition of non-formal / informal learning q pessimistic perspectives q need for legal changes that would allow for recognition of non-formal / informal learning q Survey by Conference of Rectors and Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP), November 2007: desirable, possible by 2010 31% desirable, unlikely in near future 31% undesirable no or opinion unrealistic 24% 14%

Conclusions Poland – doing quite well in many areas of the Bologna Process – needs to focus on LLL raising awareness of LLL importance and opportunities it offers among education professionals, politicians and society in general q development of a comprehensive vision and strategy of LLL, covering all levels of education and training, in dialogue with all stakeholders q breaking barriers hampering the recognition of non-formal / informal learning q securing appropriate financial resources q

Financing education in Poland

Budget of HEIs in 2007/08 - HEIs (PUBLIC & PRIVATE): research 12. 3% economic activity education 87. 1% 0. 6% - PUBLIC 85. 1% 14. 3% - PRIVATE 98. 1% source: Central Statistical Office, 2009 1. 5% 0, 7%

Financing education state budget 58. 4% tuition 35. 3% others 6. 3% PUBLIC 71. 2% others 6. 9% 21. 8% PRIVATE 97. 0% 0. 1% q 2. 9% State spending on HE: 2. 5 bn euros = 1. 00% GDP q 59% students pay tuition fee • > 95% at private HEIs • > 40% at public HEIs

Student population in Poland

Demography Expected demographic changes within the population aged 20 -29 over the period 2005 -2015

Structure of graduates small proportion of graduates in some areas § science – 3. 9% § engineering, manufacturing – 7. 5% high proportion of graduates in other areas § social sciences, business, law – 41. 4% § education – 11. 9% source: OECD Reviews of Tertiary Education – Poland, Sept. 2007 growing unemployment among HEI graduates

Student population Change in the number of students in tertiary education between 1995 & 2007 (%) The growth has reached its limits! In 2006/07, for the first time since 1990, the number of students has decreased

Mobility

Erasmus student exchange (PL) 1998 -2007 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08

Erasmus mobility, Europe 2006/07 Poland 11, 219

Erasmus outgoing students (Polish HEIs, including University of Warsaw) 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08

Erasmus incoming students (Polish HEIs, including University of Warsaw) 98/99 99/00 00/01 01/02 02/03 03/04 04/05 05/06 06/07 07/08

Means to enhance mobility q providing adequate financial support for outgoing students 1998/99: 375 euro/month 2007/08: 347 euro/month (from Erasmus) + support from HEIs source: Erasmus National Agency q programmes & courses taught in foreign languages at Polish HEIs q overcoming legal obstacles in the development of joint degree programmes q promotion of the Polish system of HE and Polish HEIs

Doctoral degree studies

Two paths to doctoral degree Doctoral degrees awarded by eligible: § HEIs - individual faculties § research institutes of Polish Academy of Sciences and ‘branch’ R&D institutes q Until early 1990’s: unstructured training teaching or research assistant at a university or research institute • routine teaching and administrative duties • supervised research work q structured training Ph. D programme offered by a university (faculty) or research institute • coursework • supervised research work • limited teaching duties

Doctoral studies Rapid growth after 1990 source: Central Statistical Office 2009 32, 725 31, 814 2005/06 2006/07 25, 622 no. Ph. D students 10, 482 2, 695 1990/91 1995/96 2000/01

Ph. D students 31, 814 other institutions (Academy of Sciences, …) private 7. 7% 8. 5% 25, 622 parttime 30. 3% 92. 3% 91. 5% 10, 482 69. 7% 2, 695 HEIs 1990/91 1995/96 2000/01 2007/08 public fulltime source: Central Statistical Office 2009

Age of Ph. D recipients source: Central Statistical Office 2009 38. 6% 37. 3% 34. 2% 12. 8% 7. 0% 4. 0% 3. 4% 46 -50 51+ 1. 3% up to 26 27 -30 31 -35 36 -40 41 -45 age of Ph. D recipients

Problems and challenges (1) Traditional separation of MSc and Ph. D programmes until 2005: Doctoral studies regulated by the Act on Scientific Title and Degrees (not by the Act on Higher Education) Doctoral studies supervised by vice-rector/vice-dean responsible for research (not for education) § special course offer for Ph. D low number of courses – for economic reasons low flexibility and attractiveness of the curriculum § Ph. D research frequently unrelated to work done at Master’s level long time to degree Law on Higher Education (2005): doctoral studies (third-cycle studies) – part of higher education system

Problems and challenges (2) Unattractive financial status of students • • only 40% of doctoral students receive scholarships (from university or faculty budget) scholarships are low (300 -450 euro/months) new forms of financial aid (from university or faculty budget) available since 2006 – insufficient limited opportunities for extra support from research grants § little attractiveness of Ph. D studies for potentially best candidates § part-time or full-time employment outside university large number of dismissals slow progress in research (long time to degree)

Problems and challenges (3) Mismatch of training goals with needs of labour market • • ca. 5500 Ph. D degrees awarded each year limited opportunities for hiring at HEIs (saturation or decrease in the number of students predicted) professional careers outside of academia At most HEIs, no serious attempts to adapt doctoral training still, in principle, oriented towards future university employees

Expenditures on science in 2008

Structure of expenditures on R&D activity in Poland by fields of science in 2006 Total: 1 512 532 000 EUR = 5 892 826 000 PLN Average exchange rate PLN/EUR for 2006 according to the National Bank of Poland, 1 EUR = 3, 8960 PLN

Structure of R&D activity personnel by fields of science in 2006

Researchers in selected type of unit of R&D activity in 2006

Expenditures on research within competence of the ministry as planned for 2008 Research projects in the field of natural sciences 128 520 311 € Research projects in the field of technical sciences 160 555 951 € Research projects in the field of social sciences, humanities and exact sciences Statutory, investment activities and particular research 37 764 525 € 650 703 692 € Research-supporting activities 18 875 004 € Scientific and scientific-technological international cooperation 46 642 660 € Other activities 124 592 217 € TOTAL: 1 167 654 360 € * Budgetary Act for 2008 as of 23 January 2008 r. Average exchange rate PLN/EUR for 2008 according to the National Bank of Poland, 1 EUR = 3, 5129 PLN

Expenditures on UW research by type of activity

Publications of the teaching staff of the University of Warsaw

Number of participants in FP 6 projects by country (EU-25) Data source: National Contact Point for EU Research Programmes (http: //www. 6 pr. pl/statystyki/listopad 2006 ke. html#tab 1)

FP 6 projects by research discipline

Number of participants in FP 7 projects by country (EU-27) Data source: National Contact Point for EU Research Programmes (http: //pako 3. ippt. gov. pl/index. php/uczestnicyprojektow/51)

Number of projects being implemented under FP 7 by research discipline Data source: UW Research Services Office, own statistics.

Other exemplary sources of research projects external funding apart from EU programmes n n n COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) CULTURE Programme European Science Foundation (ESF) European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE Trust) International Visegrad Fund Norwegian Financial Mechanism and EEA Financial Mechanism Howard Hughes Medical Institute Swedish Environmental Protection Agency Welcome Trust Volkswagen Stiftung Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation (Taiwan)

Thank you for your attention! University of Warsaw International Relations Office www. bwz. uw. edu. pl ; www. iro. uw. edu. pl Presentation prepared by Laura Dryjańska, based on materials provided by: n n n Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland (CRASP) University of Warsaw Research Services Office National Statistical Office Foundation for the Development of the Education System OECD