National standards of pharmaceutical education in the context of reforming legislation of higher education

Abstract

Socially significant steps of Ukraine in issue of European integration are measures to reform legislation on higher education in context of Bologna process, namely: adoption of National Qualifications Framework and new edition of Law of Ukraine On Higher Education. The National Qualifications Framework (NQF, 2011) provides for the introduction of European standards and principles to ensure quality of education, taking into account requirements of labor market to competence of specialists. According to formal characteristics, NQF is a matrix with static support elements – descriptors, which determine vector of movement to a specific goal. The legal basis for modernization of educational activities and standards of higher education was new edition of Law of Ukraine On Higher (2014).The purpose of article is a scientific and analytical study of process of forming national standards for higher education, in particular, standards of pharmaceutical higher education.Materials and methods. The study was based on analysis of normative and legal and other normative acts on higher education, issues of standardization of higher education and systematization of qualifications, as well as scientific developments on this issue.Methods of research – bibliographic, linguistic, contextual, substantive-legal, comparative-legal, generalization, description of results.Results. Updating wording of Law of Ukraine On Higher Education, which is basic normative legal act of higher legal action in higher education, adjustment of its basic principles, concepts and approaches, objectively entailed renewal of entire regulatory and legal framework regulating organization of higher education. Equally, this also affected standards of higher education. This issue in Act is reserved Section III: Standards of educational activity and higher education, where terminological concept and general algorithm for formation of standard of higher education is precisely fixed. The draft standard of higher education in specialty 226 Pharmacy (master's degree) is developed as a result of intellectual cooperation of team of high-ranking scientists and teachers of pharmaceutical higher school. It forms basis for modernization of higher professional education on way of integration into European educational space.Conclusions: The draft standard of higher education developed by academic community on specialty 226 Pharmacy (master's degree) is based on relevant provisions of Law of Ukraine On Higher and Methodological Recommendations for its development and creates a basis for modernization of higher professional education on path of integration into European educational space . The question on urgent proper actions of National Agency for Quality Assurance of Higher Education and MES of Ukraine, for its implementation as a legitimate standard of higher education in relevant specialty. The existing draft standard of higher education in specialty 226 Pharmacy has potential for improvement.