Joint Study Programmes in the Educational Policy and Law of Eastern Partnership Countries

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This paper aims at analysing the policy and legal framework of joint study programmes in Eastern Partnership countries (EaP countries) in frames of the standards of the European Higher Education Area and providing the recommendations on its enhancement. It is concluded that the internationalization of higher education has been considered as one of the key priorities of the educational policy in EaP countries, however, more emphasis on the role of the joint study programmes is needed. The level of specification of legislative requirements on joint study programmes in EaP countries differs. The educational laws in Georgia, Moldova include special provisions devoted to joint study programmes, in Ukraine – basic framework, including the possibility to establish joint study programmes and awarding the joint degrees, while respective legislation in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Belarus – just general provisions regarding the international cooperation of higher educational institutions. It is suggested to implement the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes in national laws and regulations in EaP countries, first of all, in part of the definition of joint study programmes and the recognition of the accreditation decisions of foreign quality assurance agencies.