European University Association Research Articles

KEY STEPPING STONES OF MODERN HIGHER EDUCATION: TRAPPED VALUES AND RESHAPING OF THE PARADIGM

The article is dedicated to reviewing the doctrinal foundations and values in the field of higher education considering the influence of social changes. To achieve the research goal, strategic documents of specialized institutions such as UNESCO, the Observatory of the Magna Charta, the International Association of Universities (IAU), the European University Association (EUA), the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), etc., were analyzed. It emphasizes that among the main doctrinal and value foundations of modern higher education, documents highlight academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and social responsibility; enhancing the role of higher education in achieving sustainable development goals; orienting education to the needs of the labor market and the development of soft skills, including critical thinking, decision-making skills, adaptability, and emotional intelligence. Important trends in higher education development also include digitization and the use of artificial intelligence. While digitization has become mandatory after the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic and the mass development of higher education in the conditions of globalization, attitudes towards the spread of artificial intelligence are quite ambiguous. Noting that the advantages of using artificial intelligence in higher education include its ability to adapt to individual learning styles and free up time from routine tasks, researchers warn that excessive use of this tool may hinder the development of such essential skills as teamwork, leadership, empathy, creativity, critical analysis, and independent thinking, which are crucial for future job markets.

INCREASING THE COMPETITIVENESS OF AN OPEN UNIVERSITY IN THE CONTEXT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Digital transformation and globalization processes require universities to adapt to new challenges and demands of society and integrate the principles of sustainable development into all areas of their activities. Under martial law, the issue of increasing the competitiveness of universities is particularly relevant. Each university seeks to attract the most talented students, teachers, and researchers. One of the tools for assessing the competitiveness of universities is international rankings, including those aimed at measuring the achievements of universities in the field of sustainable development and their contribution to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, which are an indicator of effective management and improvement of the quality of education for its sustainability. The key rankings that rank universities by their contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals are the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings, QS World University Rankings, and UI GreenMetric. Based on the analysis of the methodologies of these rankings, are identified the main criteria and indicators used in each of the rankings that have a significant impact on the competitiveness of the university in the context of sustainable development. The analysis made it possible to outline the guidelines for the university's activities to improve its ranking in the context of sustainable development, and the recommendations of the European Association of Universities prompted and became the basis for the development of the Roadmap (Policy) for Sustainable Development, which consolidates key strategic guidelines aimed at systematic integration of sustainable development principles in the areas of the university's activities: education for sustainable development, research and innovation, social impact, public engagement, partnership and cooperation, image and sustainable reputation, sustainable infrastructure. The Sustainable Development Roadmap (Policy) is aimed at systematically integrating sustainability principles into the educational process, research, and management processes of the university. The goals identified by the areas of activity will serve as indicators for the development of an internal sustainability rating of the university's structural units, which will improve the university's ranking in international sustainability rankings and ensure its competitiveness.

МЕТОДИ ТА ІНСТРУМЕНТИ ВИМІРЮВАННЯ АКАДЕМІЧНОЇ СВОБОДИ: СВІТОВА ПРАКТИКА, ОСОБЛИВОСТІ ЗАСТОСУВАННЯ В УКРАЇНІ

The article analyses world practices in assessing academic freedom as a set of the following elements: freedom of teaching, freedom of research, freedom of learning, free and unrestricted dissemination of knowledge and research results, institutional autonomy, employment security and financial security. It has been established that in some countries the concept of academic freedom is enshrined in the constitutions of the countries. Educational legislation in most of countries provides a predominantly declarative description of the concept of "academic freedom". Academic freedom has been shown to be under threat around the world. Methods and tools for assessing academic freedom include surveys of participants in the educational process, comparative analysis of the regulatory environment, receipt of reports of violations in the "Scholars at Risk" project, calculation of the European University Association's autonomy "Scorecard", determination of the Academic Freedom Index by the V-Dem project etc. The dynamics of the Academic Freedom Index are analysed based on data set indicators in 2023. Conclusions are drawn about the decline in the level of academic freedom in certain countries of the world and in Ukraine, and the need to measure its extent and the volume of violations in the field of higher education is substantiated. The results of the systematisation and analysis of the main approaches to assessing academic freedom are presented, their advantages, disadvantages, reliability, integrity, comparability, and frequency of data collection are specified. The requirements for the methodology for effective measurement of academic freedom are defined: complexity, systematicity, integration, flexibility, validity, adequacy, independence, and formability as the basis for development projects. The need to develop a domestic methodology for assessing academic freedom as a key criterion of academic reputation and quality of higher education institutions is emphasised.

Transformative, Interdisciplinary, and “Without Walls.” A Review of the European University Association’s Vision for 2030

“True to the Book” is the column where this journal’s editorial team introduces our readers to the latest publications on the topics of impact investing, social impact assessment, and the future of the humanity in general. The work presented in today’s issue is based on the education development strategy proposed by the European University Association. Fittingly called “Universities Without Walls,” the strategy presents a vision of the higher education system in the period between today and 2030. Let’s take a look into the future. What will universities be like, seven years from now? Continue reading to learn the key theses of the publication.

Distance education in the education system of European Union countries

The article describes the experience of distance education in the education system of the countries of the European Union for the introduction of a new innovative level of education quality in the European dimension. The main characteristics of distance education are highlighted: learning at an individual pace, in a convenient format, in any city, at a convenient time; flexible pedagogical and educational frameworks that respond sensitively to internal and external changes; consideration by education of students' ability levels, various learning styles, interests, needs, and experience. Various technological tools of modern distance education and the main possibilities of intensive development of distance education in the education system of the European Union countries are considered. The role of the European Association of Distance Learning Universities is shown. The requested educational projects within the framework of the Erasmus+ program was analyzed. The regimes in which distance education can be carried out in the education system of the countries of the European Union are listed.

The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education

The article analyses the theoretical foundations of using artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. It shows that the AI system as a strategic technology provides many benefits for the lives of people and society as a whole and also symbolises a new stage not only in the history of digital technologies but also on a global scale of development of modern civilisation. The article provides an overview of the policies of European and global organisations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the European Union, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European University Association, etc. on the effective use of AI in everyday life and, in particular, in education.
 Based on the analysis results, the article systematises ethical principles (human-centred values, governance, transparency, accountability, sustainability, proportionality, confidentiality, safety, security, and inclusiveness) that should be applied in using AI. The SWOT analysis helped identify strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and risks of using AI in higher education. The article examines the regulatory framework for the implementation of AI in the Ukrainian educational area and identifies the peculiarities of AI application in the educational process of higher education institutions. It analyses statistical data for identifying the risks and threats of using AI in HEIs under the Open Science, obtained in 2023 by researchers of the Institute of Higher Education of NAES of Ukraine in the all-Ukrainian survey “Open Science in Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine,” more than 1.5 thousand respondents participated. The article also substantiates practical recommendations for developing and implementing AI in higher education at the national, institutional and individual levels.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE OF TRAINING DOCTORS OF PHILOSOPHY IN SOCIAL WORK

The article analyzes the international experience of training doctors of philosophy in social work.The author analyzed the models of training and certification of scientific personnel in different countries of the world (Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Poland).The activity of international structures, professional communities on the popularization of scientific and methodical experience, theory and practice of doctoral education is characterized (European University Association, Council for Doctoral Education, Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education in Social Work, The International Association Of Schools Of Social Work, Realising the potential of researchers). Among the tasks of the activities of the above and other international structures, institutionalized global professional communities (associations, organizations, programs, etc.) is the coordination of activities related to the development of social work education: development of standards to improve the quality of education; organizing and holding forums for exchange of research; popularization of scientific and methodological experience, theory and practice of doctoral education in social work.An analysis of the state of using the experience of foreign programs in the training of doctors of philosophy in social work in Ukraine was carried out. In order to generalize the level of use of foreign experience in the training of doctors of philosophy in Ukraine, the state of taking into account the experience of foreign programs during the formulation of goals and program results of training in domestic educational and scientific programs in social work was analyzed. The main source is information on the self-assessment of the ONP from the specialty 231 Social work, formed by higher education institutions, by scientific institutions during the accreditation of educational and scientific programs by the National Agency for Quality Assurance of Higher Education.

Strategy adaptation for sustainable quality management in universities: a systematic literature review

Despite its roots in environmental discussions, sustainability has become a critical term influencing every aspect of organisations. As human-oriented institutions, universities have also embraced the ‘sustainable development’ concept on the quality of their internal and external services. Two overarching questions are most important for university managers to strategically guide sustainable quality development in their institutions: Which strategies do university managers adapt to construct a “sustainable quality management” structure in their universities? and how are these adapted strategies related to different aspects/components of universities? In response, we employed a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) protocol to analyse the existing studies in the related literature. During the systematic review, we followed five steps sequentially: i) defining the research question(s), ii) setting inclusion–exclusion criteria, iii) recording eligible studies, iv) quality overview of selected studies, and v) discussing prominent results. To integrate the results, we benefitted from five enablers in the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model and the sub-sections given in the European University Association’s (EUA) institutional evaluation reports. The results revealed that the initial steps for university leadership to establish a ‘Sustainable Quality Management’ system are integrating a sustainable quality approach to the main strategy document, and then motivating their staff to participate in and enrich the reform-level cultural changes in their universities. This study also discusses the strategies adapted to sustain quality development in universities’ teaching, research, societal services, and internationalisation practices.

THE FINANCIAL AUTONOMY OF GREEK UNIVERSITIES: AN ATTEMPT AT QUANTIFICATION

<p>This study aims to assess the degree of financial autonomy of Greek universities, from a qualitative and quantitative perspective. The recent European University Association (EUA) research relating to University Autonomy did not include Greece since no input was provided for a series of years. Therefore, a thorough attempt to produce the necessary data, with special reference to the implementation period of Law 4009/11, will contribute to filling in the gap and provide useful country-specific outcomes. The methodology to be employed in our study complies with the one used by the EUA complemented with our own produced outcomes by studying the relevant literature together with the applicable legislation for the period in question. Thereby, the relevant outcomes produced (as numerical scores) allow for the ranking of Greek Universities as compared with their European counterparts. In specific, they level at a medium position in terms of financial autonomy. Having achieved that, proposals are offered for both the improvement of the EUA methodology for measuring financial autonomy as well as for changes in the Greek legislation and Greek University practices in order to increase their performance and competitiveness in a continually changing and dynamic environment.</p><p><strong>JEL:</strong> H52; H83; I22; I23; I28; P43</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0532/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Contributions to the interpretation of the concept of autonomy in the light of the model change in Hungary

The notion of university autonomy is a principle that is often invoked in higher education discourse, despite the fact that its precise content needs clarification. Although there is a rich domestic and international literature on the autonomy of higher education over the historical period, the principles set out therein cannot provide the necessary starting point, since the concept of autonomy varies from one historical period to another and cannot be regulated definitively. Due to the model changes in Hungary, the concept of autonomy has come to the fore again, so it is necessary to examine what is generally understood by the concept in the Hungarian literature and to what extent it is in line with international terminology. To this end, this study reviews the domestic constitutional court case law on the concept of autonomy and its changes, and then discusses the international standards of university autonomy, as defined by the European University Association, its components and the aspects of international comparative studies. It then discusses the position of Hungarian higher education institutions among European universities and, points to possible changes.

CREATING A COMMON GROUND FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSITY CHEMISTRY (STEM) LECTURERS IN EUROPE

Today, we are faced with immense global challenges in finding sustainable equilibria between socio-economic, political, and ecological concerns. The European Chemistry Thematic Network (ECTN), the European University Association (EUA) and the European Commission are committed to sustainable improvement of the quality of university chemistry education to cope with these challenges. In this position paper, we advocate the creation of the Eurolecturer Academy (ELA), an innovative, European state of the art higher education learning platform serving academics in their continuous professional development of teaching competences and thereby supporting academics to educate students to be successful in the changing world. Within this newly established educational entity, there will be two levels of membership, Associated membership and Full membership. The ELA will not only facilitate continuous professional development of university teaching staff but will at the same time create a structure to support recognition of teaching competences of lecturers within the European dimension in teaching and learning. The certification will profit from the new 5th European Qualification Framework for micro-credentials, providing a much needed “academic currency” for the purpose of recognition of academic credentials. The ELA micro-credentials will be issued by certifying the learning outcomes of short-term learning experiences in the field of teaching and learning in higher education. The ELA will provide a micro-credentials catalogue that will address the needs for professional development of lecturers and ensure the quality of the micro-credentials through close cooperation with the internationally operating accreditation organization ASIIN (https://www.asiin.de/en/) using quality standards and valid assessment according to international best practice. Keywords: continuous professional development, chemistry education, Eurolecturer Academy, university teaching staff

Pandemia a transformacja cyfrowa. Wyzwania dla szkolnictwa wyższego

The article considers the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for higher education in Ukraine and in the world. The results of research by the International Association of Universities, the European University Association, the European Association for International Education are analyzed. The impact of the pandemic on teaching and learning is determined. International academic mobility and cooperation, as well as the financial situation of higher education are described. In addition, diffculties, fears and challenges faced by higher education institutions around the world during the corona crisis, which require swift and adequate action, are presented. The main part of the article shows the results of a survey of teachers and students of higher education institutions of Ukraine, devoted to the analysis of problems and challenges faced by students in the transition to distance learning, as well as new productive opportunities created by the online format. The main problems faced by the main participants in the educational process include the quality of teaching and organization of the distance learning process, the growth of the workload of teachers and students, technical and fiancial problems. The results of the survey show both the assessment and satisfaction with the measures already taken by higher education institutions to ensure quality and effective distance learning, and help to understand the next productive steps to be taken to expand teaching and distance learning opportunities and access to learning opportunities during life. Educators’ assessment of the opportunities and benefis created by the distance learning format demonstrates the motivation of teachers to improve their own skills and abilities, mastering the new tools required by the distance learning format. In the case of students, such advantages become first of all economical ones, e.g. expansion of opportunities for a combination of study and work as well as economy of time and means.

THE STAFFING AUTONOMY OF GREEK UNIVERSITIES: AN ATTEMPT AT QUANTIFICATION

This study aims to assess the degree of staffing autonomy of Greek Universities, from a qualitative and quantitative perspective. The recent European University Association (EUA) research relating to University Autonomy did not include Greece since no input was provided for a series of years. Therefore, a thorough attempt to produce the necessary data (with special reference to the implementation period of Law 4009/11) will contribute to filling in the gap and providing useful country-specific outcomes. The methodology to be employed in this study complies with the one used by the EUA complemented with its own produced outcomes by studying the relevant literature together with the applicable legislation for the period in question. Thereby, the relevant outcomes produced (as numerical scores) allow for the ranking of Greek Universities as compared with their European counterparts. In specific, they level at a quite low position in terms of staffing autonomy. Having achieved that, proposals are offered for both the improvement of the EUA methodology for measuring staffing autonomy as well as for changes in the Greek legislation and Greek University practices to increase their performance and competitiveness in a continually changing and dynamic environment.<p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0939/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

ВИМІРЮВАННЯ ЯКОСТІ ОСВІТНЬОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ УНІВЕРСИТЕТІВ: УКРАЇНСЬКИЙ ДОСВІД

This article analyzes the experience of Ukrainian higher education institutions in measuring the quality of educational activities in the context of quality assurance. Based on the study, it is established that in developing regulatory provisions for quality assurance, higher education institutions are guided by regulations of Ukraine (Law of Ukraine "On Higher Education", "On Education") and other documents (Standards and recommendations for quality assurance in European Higher Education Area, ESG 2015, European Association for the Quality Assurance of Higher Education (ENQA), European University Association (EUA), European Association for Higher Education (EURASHE), international rankings indicators). Criteria for accreditation, framework procedures and rating assessment criteria are used to measure the quality of educational activities in Ukrainian higher education institutions. It is determined that the use of ranking is not a popular component of the group of criteria for assessing the quality of higher education, although this indicator provides an opportunity to classify according to various criteria and is more indicative for determining the competitiveness of higher education. After all, the prospects of using rankings as a criterion for measuring the quality of educational activities is the possibility of ranking higher education institutions by competitive quality, analysis of the functioning of higher education institutions, which provides opportunities to improve the quality of educational services.

Medical informatics labor market analysis using web crawling, web scraping, and text mining

ObjectivesThe European University Association (EUA) defines “employability” as a major goal of higher education. Therefore, competence-based orientation is an important aspect of education. The representation of a standardized job profile in the field of medical informatics, which is based on the most common labor market requirements, is fundamental for identifying and conveying the learning goals corresponding to these competences. MethodsTo identify the most common requirements, we extracted 544 job advertisements from the German job portal, STEPSTONE. This process was conducted via a program we developed in R with the “rvest” library, utilizing web crawling, web extraction, and text mining. After removing duplicates and filtering for jobs that required a bachelor's degree, 147 job advertisements remained, from which we extracted qualification terms. We categorized the terms into six groups: professional expertise, soft skills, teamwork, processes, learning, and problem-solving abilities. ResultsThe results showed that only 45% of the terms are related to professional expertise, while 55% are related to soft skills. Studies of employee soft skills have shown similar results. The most prevalent terms were programming, experience, project, and server. Our second major finding is the importance of experience, further underlining how essential practical skills are. ConclusionsPrevious studies used surveys and narrative descriptions. This is the first study to use web crawling, web extraction, and text mining. Our research shows that soft skills and specialist knowledge carry equal weight. The insights gained from this study may be of assistance in developing curricula for medical informatics.

VIEW TO INCLUSIVE EDUCATION IN THE LIGHT OF SOCIOLOGY: THE EUROPEAN EXPERIENCE

The article presents an analysis of a sociological study in the field of inclusive education at European universities that was conducted as part of an international project led by the European Association of Universities. It provides an overview of the practices used by partners of Voronezh State University for adaptation and inclusion of people from various social groups into the educational process.

University Partnerships Management in Times of Pandemics – Mission (Im)Possible

Background. The main challenges, faced by the international departments of the European universities during the COVID-19 pandemic, result from the need for fast adaptation, entirely online interaction with national and international partners, the huge amount of work, the absence of established guidelines and information about the procedures for acting under the unknown circumstances. During the coronavirus crisis the university international departments adopted a key role of communication centres with the world outside and turned into hubs for information exchange. Aim. This article aims to present and analyse the communication at the beginning of the COVID – 19 pandemic between the academic partners of the Medical University of Varna at international level with a focus on the partners under „Erasmus+“ programme in the period March – September 2020. There are four main accents of the study: 1) information about the current conditions in the countries, from which the international partners come, about the stage and the course of the disease, the changes in the training process and the state of the mobility; 2) contact with the universities with which activities are planned in the framework of bilateral agreements for academic cooperation; 3) participation in online international events; and 4) training and exchange of good practices for university partnerships and mobility management in times of COVID-19. Material and methods. Based on written documantation, electronic and virtual communication as well as the reports and observations of the officers working at the Department of International Relations and the team of the „Erasmus+“ programme, an analysis was performed of the communication during the pandemic and the impact of the social distancing on the international partnerships of the Medical University of Varna, the changes in the channels used for communication and the overall process of communication and operational activities. Results. Due to the COVID-19 crisis, the summer internships and practices which became traditional for the last seven years with partner medical universities in Moscow and St. Petersburg (Russia) and Kharkiv (Ukraine) had to be cancelled. Two new agreements for academic cooperation were signed and one was resumed. Two international events were organized by Varna Medical University, in which the teams of the Department of International Relations and „Erasmus+“ programme took an active part. For the studied period of six months in the field of international cooperation, the Medical University participated in twenty online trainings, virtual meetings and conferences, organized by partner organisations, whose member Varna Medical University is. Some of them include the European University Association, the Black Sea Universities Network, the European Health Management Association and the World Health Organisation. Conclusions. The communication with the European partners proved crucial under pandemic conditions, characterized by unpredictability and uncertainty. The international communication and the teams working at the international relations departments, including that at the Medical University of Varna, consolidated and extended their role of university centres for communication with international partners and information exchange with them. This is most prominently reflected in the entirely changed range and type of communication, especially concerning the „Erasmus+“ mobility, in which the students’ and academic staff health protection and safety become key issues. A marked trend is observed of shifting toward online communication, in which the partners communicate from a distance in real time. The traditional fora with physical presence make room for the virtual events, the webinars and virtual conferences becoming a standard in international communication. The numerous unprecedented situations and cases with which the departments of international relations have to cope, can be successfully resolved with fast response, creative thinking in the very course of the pandemic. The unexpected and comprehensive extraordinary situation is a great challenge for the international partnerships but also a preparation for the future. It demonstrates the sustainability of communication, the constructive relations and the good results.

PhD student training: principles and implementation

The article deals with the problem of PhD student training. The Salzburg Principles about the improvement and quality assurance of doctoral programs at universities in every country from European University Association are analysed and materials of LERU on quality culture in Doctoral Education in Europe are used. The three focuses of the research component of doctoral program are proposed. The first focus relates to reproducible research principle. The second focus is related to the use of multivariate models of phenomena’s study and SEM methodology. The SEM methodology is mostly based on deductive logic, involves the preliminary construction of a structural model of the relationships between the variables in order to further check for consistency with the experimental data. The third focus combines qualitative and quantitative methods and the use of triangulation (data triangulation, investigation triangulation, theory triangulation etc.). The content of selected courses for doctorate students is proposed: Reproducible Research and Multivariate Methods in Scientific Research courses. The importance of courses related to the future career is demonstrated, in particular the career of academic researcher. Further development of our work is the creation of teaching and methodological support for selected course “Twitter for professional development of PhD students”.

EVALUATION OF EFFICIENCY OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS’ ACTIVITIES IN UKRAINE

The metrics of the European University Association and indicators of other organizations (UK Committee of University Chairs, Teaching Excellence Framework) have been analyzed in the article. Leading international rankings (Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), QS World University Rankings, THE Impact Rankings, THE Europe Teaching Rankings) have been investigated in order to determine the main indicators of higher education institutions. National metrics and indicators have been studied (rating “Top 200 Ukraine 2020”, the formula for the distribution of expenditures under the article “Training of freelancers and ensuring the activities of their bases of practice” for 2020). The approaches and views of domestic and foreign researchers on the problem of efficiency in the field of higher education have been clarified. As a result of the analysis, the urgency of the problem of finding adequate mechanisms for evaluating the effectiveness of higher education institutions in Ukraine have been proved. Based on the study, a system of indicators for assessing the effectiveness of higher education institutions in Ukraine in terms of organizational, academic, research and financial / economic components have been suggested.

THE STATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL AUTONOMY IN DOMESTIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER

The article considers the need for the introduction of university autonomy, which will allow higher education institutions to be independent, self-sufficient. The state and tools of introduction of organizational autonomy in higher education institutions of Ukraine are analyzed. It is established that higher education institutions have the right to: independently develop the procedure for electing the head, within the legislation; determine the academic structure (scientific, educational-scientific, research, research and production institutes, faculties, departments); to create legal entities (to form innovative structures that will ensure the implementation of its statutory tasks and the implementation of innovative projects); adjust the number of external representatives in supervisory and academic boards (including the involvement of potential employers in their governing bodies and in the development and modernization of educational programs). The article identifies measures to expand organizational autonomy in domestic higher education institutions: the spread of decentralization of higher education; development of normative legal acts to increase the legal field of practical activity of universities; termination of participation of representatives of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine in the election of the rector; weakening the procedure for participation in the governing bodies of representatives of civil society and commercial organizations. The state of implementation of organizational autonomy in Ukrainian higher education institutions is determined through the adaptation of the domestic legal framework on higher education to the indicators of its level assessment, defined by the Association of European Universities.