The Polish Benchmark Paper

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The Polish Benchmark Paper

• Ryszard Naskrecki

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History of tertiary educationin Poland

• After regaining independence in 1919, Poland had
  five universities (Cracow, Lvov, Poznan, Warsaw,
  and Vilnius), two technical universities (Lvov,
  Warsaw) and the Academy of Veterinary and
  Medicine in Lvov, the Central School of
  Agriculture in Warsaw, and the Mining Academy in
  Cracow.
• All these institutions had the status of State
  universities, with extensive autonomy and
  self-government powers.
• There were also private tertiary education
  institutions the Catholic University of Lublin,
  the Academy of Fine Arts in Cracow and the High
  School of Commerce.
• In 1938 it was together 47,700 students in Poland.

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Tertiary education under socialist regime
(1945-1989)

• The number of TEIs grew from 54 (1946) to 97
  (1989), and the number of tertiary students grew
  from 86,500 to 378,000 respectively.
• After 1975, a record-breaking year when the
  number of students reached 468,100, including
  283,200 full-time students.
• Only long-cycle programmes, open to holders of
  the secondary school leaving certificate, which
  last between 9 and 12 semesters and lead
  directly to the Masters degree (magister).

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Today's numbers

• At present (2005), Poland has 130 public HEIs and
  315 non-public HEIs, with a total number of
  1,900,000 students, including 1,300,000 at public
  HEIs and 600,000 at non-public HEIs
• The total number of foreign students was only
  8,829
• The total number of doctoral students was 33,040

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Field of study vs. number of students

• Management and marketing 46 440 students
• Pedagogy 41 913 students
• Computer science 27 386 students
• Law 24 979 students
• Mathematics 14 532 students
• Biology 11 783 students
• Chemistry 9 408 students
• Biotechnology 7 712 students
• Psychology 7 001 students
• Physics 7 490 students
• Technical Physics 4 340 students
• Astronomy 494 students

ful-time programmes (daily)
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Definitions

• Tertiary (higher) education institution
  (TEI/HEI) a school providing degree programmes,
  established in accordance with the procedure laid
  down in the 2005 LoHE.
• Public tertiary (higher) education institution
  (established by the State)
• Non-public tertiary (higher) education
  institution (established by a natural person or a
  corporate body)
• University-type tertiary (higher) education
  institution (at least one organizational unit
  (Faculty) is authorized to confer the doctoral
  degree).
• Non-university tertiary (higher) education
  institution.

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Category of HEIs

• Universities
• Technical universities
• Pedagogical universities
• Economic universities
• Agricultural universities
• Medical universities
• Academies of physical education
• Artistic high schools
• Maritime and military higher schools
• State higher vocational schools

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The numbers of students enrolled in individual
types of HEIsNovember 2005

• Universities 563,100
• Technical universities 331,100
• Agricultural universities/academies 107,700
• Academies/universities of economics 407,800
• Teacher education universities/academies 111,800
• Medical universities/academies 48,800
• Physical education academies 28,200
• HEIs for art studies 15,400
• Theological HEIs 10,400
• Other HEIs 79,500
• Non-university HEIs 224,700

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International aspects of tertiary education

• At present, there are two main co-existing types
  of student mobility
• completing a full degree programme in another
  country or
• completing a period of study in one country and
  continuing studies in another country.
• After 1990, the first type of mobility is still
  common, but the second type is rapidly
  developing.
• In the academic year 2003/2004, over 8,100
  students were enrolled in full degree programmes,
  including mainly students from Ukraine, Belarus,
  Lithuania, Russia, as well as the USA, Canada and
  Germany.

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Non-nationals in tertiary education institutions
in Poland Full degree programmes

• Total 8 106 (students in 2003/2004)
• Belarus - 1171
• Lithuania 543
• Norway 451
• Ukraine 880
• USA 545
• Germany 182
• Canada 152
• ..
• France 32
• Laos 30

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Student and staff mobility in the framework of
the SOCRATES-Erasmus Programme
Academic year Number of outward student flows Number of inward student flows Number of outward/inward academic staff flows
1998/99 1426 220 -
1999/00 2813 466 -
2000/01 3691 614 678/488
2001/02 4322 750 800/573
2002/03 5419 996 947/749
2003/04 6278 1459 1394/1026
2004/05 8390 2332 1741/1440
2005/06 9974 gt 4000 -
Most Polish students go to study in Germany,
France, Spain, Italy and UK and students coming
to study in Poland are mostly form Germany,
France and Spain.
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• CONCLUSION
• The main features characterizing the past period
  of transformations are as follows
• High rate of growth in the number of students in
  degree programs 4.7 times increase in the number
  of Bachelors and Masters degree students and 12
  times increase in the number of doctoral
  students)
• Conflict between the quantitative development
  trend and the need to maintain quality standards
• Growing difficulties in the financing of public
  TEIs which have led to partial commercialization
  of educational services provided (the
  introduction of tuition fees for some forms of
  study)
• Development of the sector of non-public TEIs
  offering additional supply of places in first
  cycle programs (tuition fees are charged) in
  response to the growing demand.

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Governmental and academic institutions - national
level

• Ministry of Science and Higher Education
• General Council for Higher Education,
• State Accreditation Committee
• Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in
  Poland (CRASP),
• University Accreditation Commission
• Forum of Deans (Physics Faculties)
• 10 years of activity,
• not formal,
• opinions, criticism, studies, proposals of
  changes
• growing influence

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New system

• New ACT of 27 July 2005 Law on Higher
  Education and relevant implementing regulations
  to the Act, which are a legal basis in
  particular for
• the establishment of a three-cycle structure on a
  compulsory basis in all higher education
  institutions
• the issue of the Diploma Supplement
• the introduction of a credit transfer and
  accumulation system
• the provision of joint study programmes and the
  award of corresponding (double or joint)
  diplomas
• the provision of degree programmes in
  macro-fields of study and interdisciplinary
  programmes

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Implementation of the Bologna Declaration

• The process of introducing two-cycle programmes
  began in Poland in the mid-1990s.
• Two-cycle programmes must be introduced (from
  2007) in 100 of all 106 fields of study.
• In the remaining 6 fields (law, psychology,
  pharmacy, medicine and dentistry, medicine,
  veterinary medicine), only long-cycle Masters
  programmes may be offered.

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First-cycle

• The first level includes first-cycle programmes
  which are open for holders of the secondary
  school leaving certificate, and lead to the
  Bachelors degree (licencjat), lasting between 6
  and 8 semesters (for licencjat) or between 7 and
  8 semesters (for inzynier), depending on the
  field of study.

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Second-cycle

• long-cycle programmes, open to holders of the
  secondary school leaving certificate, which last
  between 9 and 12 semesters and lead to the
  Masters degree (magister),
• open to those who hold at least the Bachelors
  degree, lasting for 3 or 4 semesters, and leading
  to the Masters degree (magister). The total
  duration of the first-cycle followed by
  second-cycle programmes or of long-cycle
  programmes may not be shorter than 9 semesters.

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Structure of the study
field of study a distinct area of study student
declaration during 1st year of study.
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Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan

• Fields of study (gt 50)
• administration, acoustics, archaeology,
  astronomy, biology, biotechnology, chemistry,
  artistic education in the field of musical art,
  artistic education in the field of fine arts,
  ethnology, philology (languages Croatian,
  Serbian, Bulgarian, Danish, German, Korean,
  Lithuanian, Norwegian, Russian, Hungarian,
  Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Turkish,
  English, Spanish, French, Italian, Arabic),
  Russian-Ukrainian philology, New Greek philology,
  Classical philology, Slavonic philology, applied
  linguistics, linguistics and scientific
  information, European social communication,
  ethnolinguistics, Polish philology, philosophy,
  physics, geography, geology, spatial economics,
  history, history of art, computer science,
  cultural studies, mathematics, musicology,
  protection of goods of culture, environmental
  protection, pedagogy, special education,
  political science, law, psychology, sociology,
  international relations, theology, tourism and
  recreation, management and marketing.

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Field of study

• Degree programmes in a HEI shall be provided
  within fields of study
• a student shall be enrolled on a degree programme
  in a specific field of study not later than after
  the end of the first academic year,

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• The minister responsible for higher education
  shall specify by regulation
• the names of fields of study, including the names
  of fields of study for degree programmes while
  having regard to the existing fields of study and
  demands of the labour market
• the degree programme requirements for each field
  and level of study, including educational
  profiles of graduates, framework curriculum
  contents, duration of degree programmes and
  practical placements, requirements for each form
  of study,

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The benchmarking of academic standards

• Subject benchmark statements provide a means for
  the academic community to describe the nature and
  characteristics of programmes in a specific
  subject.
• They also represent general expectations about
  the standards for the award of qualifications at
  a given level and articulate the attributes and
  capabilities that those possessing such
  qualifications should be able to demonstrate.

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Subject benchmark statementstime-sharing for 1st
level study
General contents Fundamentalcontents Field of study contents Specialized contents
10 20 15 55
common for all fields of studies common for the group fields of studies peculiar to the given field of study peculiar to the given specialization
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Subject benchmark statementstime-sharing for 2nd
level study
Fundamentalcontents Field of study contents Specialized contents
10 25 65
common for the group fields of studies peculiar to the given field of study peculiar to the given specialization
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Field of study Physics1st cycle

• The first cycle of study takes no less than 6
  semesters, the number of hours of lectures and
  classes should not be lower than 2000 (contact
  hours), while the ECTS score should not be lower
  than 180.
• Group of general contents (subjects), min. 180
  h, 14 ECTS
• IT, English, Humanistic contents, Protection of
  intellectual property
• Group of fundamental contents (subjects), 360 h,
  41 ECTS score
• Mathematics, 150 h
• Physics, 180 h
• Astronomy, 30 h
• Group of the field of study contents (subjects),
  300 h, 35 ECTS score
• Electrodynamics
• Fundamentals of quantum physics
• Physical Laboratory
• Classical and relativistic mechanics
• Thermodynamics and statistical physics
• Group of specialization contents (subjects), gt
  1160 h, 90 ECTS score

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Field of study Physics2nd cycle

• The second cycle ends with getting a degree of
  Master of Science (Magister). The second cycle of
  study takes no less than 4 semesters, the number
  of hours of lectures and classes should not be
  lower than 1000, while the ECTS score should not
  be lower than 120.
• Group of fundamental contents, 90 h, 10 ECTS
  score
• Physical Laboratory
• Group of the field of study contents, 240 h, 27
  ECTS score
• Theoretical physics
• Physics of condensed matter
• Quantum physics
• Group of specialization contents, gt 670 h, 83
  ECTS score

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The most popular specializations

• Experimental Physics
• Theoretical Physics
• Computational Physics
• Physics of materials
• .
• Teaching of physics

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The most promising specializations

• Nanoscience/Nanotechnology
• Molecular Biophysics
• Medical Physics
• Dispensing optics/Optometry
• Acoustic

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Future challenges

• New fields of study related to Physics
• Acoustic (only in Poznan)
• Sound Engineering
• Prosthetics of hearing
• Biophysics (only in Poznan and Cracow)
• Technical Physics
• Biomedical engineering
• Nanotechnology (only in Cracow)

Macro-field of study an area of study combining
fields of study which have similar degree
programme requirements Interdisciplinary
programme a degree programme provided jointly in
various fields of study by one or more higher
education institutions
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Faculty of PhysicsAdam Mickiewicz University
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(No Transcript)
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Field of study Acoustic1st cycle study
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Field of study Physics1st cycle study
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Field of study Physics2nd cycle study
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Graduates' numberfull time, long-cycle programmes

• Acoustic 50
• Astronomy 2
• Biophysics/ Dispensing optics/Optometry 25
• Biophysics/ Medical Physics 25
• Physics/Theoretical physics 3
• Physics/ Experimental physics 10
• Physics/ Teaching of physics 10
• Physics/ Nanotechnology 25
• Physics/ Applied Computer Science 75

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Conclusions

• Advantages
• Implementation of three-cycle degree system 324
  
• much less structural barriers between cycles.
• increasing the compatibility and comparability of
  our higher education system,
• students' better mobility (between fields of
  study and between different faculties and
  universities)
• qualifications better suited to the labour
  market, compulsory practice
• Progress towards the EHEA
• Disadvantages
• ???
• ???

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The strategy for increasing RDexpenditure to
achieve the Lisbon Strategy objectivesthe
Council of Ministers, March 2004

• The Polish priority for research and development
  activities include four groups of activity
• Info
• Techno (Nano)
• Bio
• and Basics.

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Form of study

• Full-time programmes a form of study in which
  the curriculum comprises courses requiring direct
  participation of academic staff and students,
  with the course load defined in the degree
  programme requirements for this form of study.
  Such programmes are free of charge (formerly used
  term regular or day-time programmes).
• Part-time programmes a form of study other than
  full-time programmes complying with the degree
  programme requirements defined for this form of
  study, and specified by the senate of a TEI
  (HEI). This form of study is paid it formerly
  covered evening, extramural and extension
  programmes.

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• In the entire period between 1990/91 2003/04,
  the number of students in Poland increased 4.7
  times, whereas the number of academic teachers by
  42.

Academic teachers account for 55.9 of all
employees in tertiary education 55 of all
employees in public TEIs and 60.9 in non-public
TEIs.
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Demography in Poland
Size of age group 19-24 years