TEMPLATE FOR
NATIONAL REPORTS: 2005-2007
Final: 9
May 2006
Notes:
The deadline for submitting National Reports is
BFUG members are encouraged to consult other stakeholders
about the contents of their National Report.
Please complete your National Report in English using this
template and return it to the Secretariat by email. Your report should not exceed 20 pages in length, using Times New
Roman font size 12. Where appropriate, please include precise
web references to legislation or other documentation. For any topic where there has been no change
since 2005, please refer to your National Report for the
Please attach your country’s action plan to improve the
quality of the process associated with the recognition of foreign
qualifications.
National Reports will be posted on the
Information from National Reports will form the basis of the
Stocktaking Report to be presented to Ministers when they meet in
This template has three sections:
A. Background information on your Higher Education system
B. Main stocktaking questions, including scorecard elements
C. Current issues in Higher Education.
Elements that will inform the scorecard element of
stocktaking are clearly indicated in the template.
Information for the stocktaking, including the scorecard
element, will also be drawn from the Eurydice survey “Focus on the Structure of
Higher Education in
A. Background
information on your Higher Education system
Details
Country |
|
Date |
|
BFUG member
(one name only) Position |
Heli Aru |
Email
address |
Heli.Aru@hm.ee |
Contributors
to the report |
Gunnar Vaht,
Eve Tõnisson |
Main
achievements since
1. Describe the important developments
relating to the Bologna Process, including legislative reforms, since |
On the national level the most important developments have
been: ·
Adopting the new higher education
strategy paper for 2006-2016 by the Parliament, ·
Preparation of the
internationalization strategy document for higher education 2006-2015; ·
The
Government Regulation “The assessment and academic recognition of foreign
qualifications” (2006) - as the main instrument in the regulation of
recognition criteria and procedures. ·
The
complex survey on students’ socio-economic conditions and attitudes towards
study organisation. The study was carried out first time in ·
Preparation of legislation for joint
degrees and program development (adopting learning outcomes approach). This
work is ongoing. A very crucial
process has been started by 15 partner-organisations with the support of EU
structural funds for the ·
development
of study programmes and training methods, ·
general
improvement of the quality of studies, ·
development
of a support system for students and study support counselling, ·
development
of support systems for internship and the taking into account of
previous study and work experience. The development of
study activities also includes assistance to improve the social and economic
situation of the students. |
National
organisation
2. Describe any changes since Please
include: ·
whether higher education institutions
(HEIs) report to /are overseen by different ministries ·
how funds are allocated to HEIs ·
areas for which HEIs are autonomous
and self governing. |
There are no changes in regards to the
management of the higher education sector since From 1999 the state finances
HEI-s through a system called state-commissioned education. The planning for
the state commissioning is done in cooperation with partners such as the line
ministries, Estonian Employers’ Confederation, Statistical Office,
Qualification Authority, Rectors’ Council, Rectors’ Council of Institutions
of Professional Higher Education, Rectors’ Council of Private Universities,
and the Federation of Estonian Student Unions. Funding is allocated to HEI-s
as a lump sum. The final amount of funding is calculated based on a number of
graduates in the broader study field, the cost for the program type (BA; MA;
PhD, PHEI) and various factors of a certain field. Both the costs for the
program types as well as the factors are regulated on the level of the
Cabinet. Funding is allocated for universities after the Minister and Rector
have signed the contract for the state commission. Funding for PHEI-s is
allocated based on a Ministerial decree. For both, universities as well as
PHEI-s, there are separate contracts signed for special projects (i.e. extra
funding for students with special needs). Public
universities have broad autonomy, which is expressed in their right to
possess assets and buildings, to contract a loan, to freely use their budgets
with a view to fulfilling their statutory objectives, to develop an
appropriate organisational structure and a content of instruction, to employ
and terminate staff, to determine the wage level of employees, to decide upon
the total number of students admitted and to specify the rate of tuition fees
for fee-based study places. A university has the right to establish legal
persons in private law. This possibility is used for services supporting the
university’s statutory activities (publishing, bookshops, rental of premises,
etc.), as well as for businesses (e.g. pharmacies). In addition, a university
may provide services related to the main activities of the university for a
charge (continuing education for a charge, in-service training for a charge,
contractual research, professional consultations, etc.) and any revenue
received thereby accrues to the budget of the university. Pursuant to law, a
university does not have the right to sponsor support, grant loans or credit
or make donations to foundations or to secure the obligations of other
persons with its assets. Founding private schools and research and
development institutions in private law through legal persons in private law
founded by the university is also prohibited. Although universities have
extensive rights in using their property and in entrepreneurship, such
activities must be related to the main activities of the university and be
necessary for achieving its teaching and research goals. The powers of
the state institutions of professional higher education and the vocational
educational institutions providing higher educational curricula are more
limited. Unlike public universities they are state authorities, which are
subordinated to the Minister using public service procedure. For example,
their statutes are established by the Government or the Minister, their
development plans are approved by the Minister; unlike public universities,
the minimum tuition fee for a non-state commissioned student place is
regulated by the requirement to keep it at least at the level of the price
payable for a student place by MoER (in contrast to public universities, some
of whom charge fees that are lower than the commission paid by the state for
a study place); in opening curricula, a relevant decision by the Minister is
needed; the Minister also establishes the procedure for the admission and the
expulsion of students. Nevertheless, they are free to decide upon their
structure, content of studies, employees to be employed and their wage
levels. They have the right to provide services related to their main
activities for a charge (continuing education for a charge, in-service
training for a charge, contractual research, professional consultations,
etc.). The autonomy of the institutions of professional higher education has
been increased in the field of teaching activities – e.g. the Minister no
longer decides upon the broad fields and forms of in-service training
organised by institutions of professional higher education and this freedom
is planned to be increased, e.g. they are planned to be granted broader
freedom in organising the election of teachers, which is strictly regulated
by the Minister at the moment. In the conduct of professional higher
educational studies and in the organisation of its activities, the situation
of a vocational educational institution is similar to that of an institution
of professional higher education as there are no differences on regulation on
study process. As regards the use of assets, institutions of professional
higher education and vocational educational institutions are the users of
state assets, which they use and govern with the Minister’s authorisation and
under his or her supervision. Although
institutions have an extensive autonomy in recent years there are few changes
introduced that may limit institutional autonomy – i.e. with the purpose of
defending students’ rights HEI-s are limited to increase the tuition level
more than 10% per year. |
3. Describe any changes since Please
include: ·
the number of public/private HEIs ·
are there different types of
institutions delivering higher education (i.e. academic/professional,
university/non-university etc.) ·
the number/percentage of students
admitted in academic session 2006-2007 to each type of institution ·
the extent to which different types
institutions are covered by the same regulations. |
HEI-s are covered by the same legislation – there
are no differences for study organisation dependent on legal status of HEI.
Some differences are applied regarding the management and registration of
programs with Ministry of Education and Research. 2006/07 the total number of institutions is 35,
division by legal status is following: ·
public
universities – 6 ·
private
universities – 5 ·
state
professional higher education institutions – 9 ·
private
professional higher education institutions – 11 ·
state
vocation education institutions with the authority to provide HE programs –
3, ·
private
vocation education institutions with the authority to provide HE programs – 1. Students on
the higher educational level during the academic year of 1995-2005, by type
of institution
Source:
Statistical Office, 2006. Due to several reasons the number of HEI-s has
started to decrease considerably. By 2006/07 the number is down to 35
institutions (the highest number of
institutions the country has had was in 2001/02 and 2002/03 when the
respective figure was 49). The reasons for downsizing have been: amendments to the Private
Schools Act in 2004 establishing more transparent requirements for running
private institutions, including establishing the minimum amount of the share
capital for the owner of a private institution. In addition there have been
negative accreditation results of programs in small private education
institutions that have caused the closing of HEI-s. A major change was approved by the Parliament in
2006 when the new higher education strategy was adopted with the new policy
direction to upgrade state VET institutions providing HE programs on HE level
(based on the results of institutional accreditation). |
|
Partnership
4. Describe the structure which oversees the implementation of the Bologna Process in your country. Please
include: ·
the membership and role of any
national ·
the membership and role of students,
staff trade unions, business and social partners in any national Bologna
Group. |
In 2005 |
5. Describe the arrangements for involving students
and staff trade union/representative bodies in the governance of HEIs. Please
include: ·
precise references (preferably with
web links) to any legislation (or equivalent) in place to ensure students and
staff are represented on HEI governing bodies ·
the role of students in the
governance of HEIs ·
the role of staff trade
union/representative bodies in the governance of HEIs. |
According to
legislation students have to make up at least one-fifth of the membership of
the highest decision making body of a HEI – either a council of a university
or a PHEI. The relevant legislation is available - http://www.legaltext.ee/ after typing the
name of the relevant act – either University Act or Professional Higher
Education Institution Act. The actual
impact of students on the decision-making process on an institutional level
varies across institutions. Several activists from the national level student
federation have admitted that the student impact is of less importance on the
subunit level of HEI where the most practical decisions affecting student academic
life are made. At the same time, students may have very influential or even a
decisive voice on an institution’s highest ranking body – the council –
regarding the approval of institutional developmental plans or the election
of the rector. Councils of
institutions usually have a member that at the same time also has trade union
affiliation but there are no national level regulations for this. Council
membership consists of representatives of the teaching staff and
the research staff, students, rector and vice-rectors, which means that staff
opinions are always considered. The voice of society at large is represented
in the kuratoorium (Board), but
these bodies do not have a clear mandate for decision-making since they are
of a consultative nature. |
6. Describe the measures in place to ensure
the co-operation of business and social partners within the Bologna Process. |
The cooperation
and coordination mechanisms are in place as part of the consultative nature
of the policy-making, and not specifically related to the In 2005 when
doctoral schools were created by the financial support of MoER one important
criteria for applicants included cooperation with business. |
B. Main
stocktaking questions, including scorecard elements
Degree system
(Scorecard
and Eurydice) Stage of
implementation of the first and second cycle 7. Describe the progress made towards
introducing the first and second cycle. Please include: ·
the percentage of the total number of
students below doctoral level enrolled in the two cycle degree system in
2006/07. |
The share of students on a university track in two-stage
programs below doctoral level is 79%. 9%
of students on a university track study in integrated programs (mostly
regulated professions) that have been reformed under the |
(
Eurydice ) Stage of
implementation of the third cycle 8. Describe the progress made towards
implementing doctoral studies as the third Please
include: ·
the percentage of 3rd
cycle students following structured doctoral programmes ·
the normal length of full-time doctoral
studies ·
the elements that are included in
doctoral study programmes, e.g. do they include taught courses or independent
research only ·
the supervisory and assessment
procedures for doctoral studies ·
are doctoral studies included in your
country’s qualifications framework and are they linked to learning outcomes ·
are
interdisciplinary training and the development of transferable skills
integrated in doctoral studies are credit
points used in measuring workload in doctoral studies? |
According to the national
legislation the duration of PhD programs varies between 3-4 years, and
the length for each program is decided on a university level. However, the
vast majority of programs registered with MoER are with the length of 4
years. Usually, these programs include both independent research as well
taught courses but the volume of each component is decided on an
institutional level due to the high institutional autonomy (i.e. at Since institutions have such a large autonomy regarding
the programs’ structure we cannot report you the data on percentage of 3rd
cycle students following structured PhD programs. Very often doctoral studies take longer time than four
years. The study made in 2005 show that only about 13% of students defended
their degree during nominal period between 1991-1999. Only one third of PhD
students did defend their PhD during 7 years. Credit
points have been used for measuring the workload in programs for a number of
years since the mid 90-s. Some
universities require at the beginning of a first semester that each full-time
doctoral student submits an Individual Study Plan, which includes a plan of
research, studies, use of infrastructure and is approved by the supervisor.
Each doctoral student may also be asked to sign a study agreement which
outlines the topic and period of study and research, competences and expected
results, responsibilities of student and supervisor, etc. In addition to the
latter, all study programs are registered with the Ministry and need to meet
certain quality requirements. There is no explicit requirement in the
legislation at the moment concerning the learning outcomes on the doctoral
level. However, there a special working group dealing with this matter and
its report is due spring 2007.
Learning outcome based PhD studies will be part of the national
qualification structure in the future. Attestation or
progress review is carried out for all PhD students according to inner
regulations. The aspects assessed include subjects and credit points taken as part of the course work, (also,
separate subjects taken at other universities), research (incl.
research work, conference papers presented, work published, etc; volume and
results of the work done in credit points) and other tasks related to PhD
study (incl. information concerning
the carrying out of grants and research themes and any joint study projects). |
(Scorecard
and Eurydice ) Access[2]
to the next cycle 9. Describe the arrangements for access
between the first and second cycles and second and third cycles. Please
include: ·
the percentage of first cycle
qualifications that give access to the second cycle ·
if appropriate, the percentage of first
cycle qualifications that give access to the third cycle ·
the percentage of first cycle
qualifications that give access to both the second and third cycles ·
the percentage of second cycle
qualifications that give access to the third cycle ·
specify any first cycle
qualifications that do not give access to the second cycle ·
specify any second cycle
qualifications that do not give access to the third cycle. ·
specify any examples where bridging
courses are necessary to transfer between cycles in the same subject area ·
any measures planned to remove
obstacles between cycles. |
According to Estonian law all graduates
of first cycle programs are eligible to continue their studies in the second
cycle, and the same principle continues further – all graduates with master
level qualification can be considered for admission to the PhD level. Thus,
all first cycle qualifications give access to several second cycle programs
and all second cycle qualifications give access to at least one third cycle
programme without major transitional problems. Statistics shows that graduates from
professional higher education in state institutions are readily accepted for
further studies on the Master's level in public universities. In 2005/06, 7%
of the total intake to the second cycle in public universities were graduates
with professional higher education backgrounds. Considering that, there are no special
measures planned on the national level on this specific topic in |
(Scorecard
and Eurydice ) Implementation
of national qualifications framework 10. Describe the stage of implementation of the
national qualifications framework to align with the overarching Framework for
Qualifications of the EHEA[3]. Please include: ·
the stage of development of your
national qualifications framework (for example: has your national QF been
included in legislation or agreed between all relevant stakeholders; has a
working group been established; have national outcomes-based descriptors of
the main types of qualifications been
prepared; has a timetable for implementation been agreed?) ·
the extent to which your national
qualifications framework is in line with the Framework for Qualifications of
the EHEA ·
the role of stakeholders in the
development of your national qualifications framework.
|
There is a special working group with the mandate to
design national qualification framework (in line with QF for EHEA) since 2006
- established by Ministerial decree. Membership of WG extends to all major
stakeholders in the field: representatives of employers’ associations, trade
unions, qualification and recognition agencies, relevant ministries,
students, rectors’ conferences. The WG is expected to complete it’s work by autumn 2007. |
11. What measures are being taken to increase
the employability of graduates with bachelor qualifications? Please include where possible: ·
the percentage of first cycle
graduates who found employment after graduating in 2005/06 ·
the percentage of first cycle
graduates who continued into the second or third cycles in 2005/06 ·
the extent to which this is expected
to change in 2006/2007. |
Due to the
booming economy (economic growth rate for the third quarter of 2006 was
11.6%) and job opportunities in 47% of all first
cycle graduates on 2005/06 did continue their studies immediately in the
second cycle next academic year (2006/07). |
Quality
assurance
(Scorecard
and Eurydice) National
implementation of the Standards and Guidelines for QA in the EHEA[4] 12. To what extent is your national system of
QA already in line with the Standards and Guidelines for QA in the EHEA? Please
include: ·
the stage of implementation of the
national quality assurance system in line with the Standards and Guidelines
for QA in the EHEA ·
any action that has been taken to
ensure that the national quality assurance system is in line with the
Standards and Guidelines for QA in the EHEA ·
any deadlines set for taking action
to ensure that the national quality assurance system is in line with the
Standards and Guidelines for QA in the EHEA ·
any action planned to ensure that the
national quality assurance system is in line with the standards and
guidelines for QA in the EHEA. |
·
There is no formal requirement in
legislation that would state an obligation on an institutional level for the
continuous enhancement of quality. This is implicitly expected to be the task
of all HEI-s. However, many HEI-s have formalised their quality procedures,
and important support for these processes has been drawn from the structural
fund resources. ·
Although the Estonian Accreditation
Centre has the right for follow-up procedures after accreditation decisions
have been taken, these rights have never been executed. ·
Most institutions publish up to date,
impartial and objective qualitative and quantitative information about the
programmes they are offering; The listed requirements are under
public discussion in the context of the new higher education strategy paper,
which foresees the reform of the HE accreditation system. According to the
new HE strategy document (adopted in November 2006), in the future, external
QA procedures should be more quality improvement oriented and less focused on
the control of standards. The respective amendments to the law have been
prepared and are expected to be adopted after the national elections in
spring next year. Along with the changes in the external QA system, the
founding principles of the Accreditation Agency are under review. |
(Scorecard
and Eurydice) Stage of
development of external quality assurance system 13. Describe the quality assurance system
operating in your country. Please
include: ·
the stage of implementation of your
external quality assurance system ·
the scope of your external quality
assurance system: does it operate at a national level; does it cover all
higher education[5]
·
which of the following elements are
included in your external quality assurance system: o
internal assessment o
external review o
publication of results ·
whether procedures have been
established for the peer review of the national agency(ies) according to the
Standards and Guidelines for QA in the EHEA. |
The system of assessment of quality of
Estonian higher education constitutes a continuous process consisting of four
parts: 1.
self-analysis
of HEI-s (faculties or departments), 2.
a
foreign experts’ appraisal, 3.
a
decision regarding study programmes and the institutional accreditation of
educational institutions by an autonomous body called the Higher Education
Quality Assessment Council (HEQAC); 4.
a publication
of results on the Internet. Program accreditation as a main tool for QA and a
requirement for diploma recognition has been in place since 1996. There is
also a possibility for institutional accreditation, the logic of which
follows the same principles. There are no procedures in place for a peer review
of the national QA agency yet. However, in the strategy paper for HE
development is it clearly said that the national QA needs to pass an external
peer review. |
(Scorecard
and Eurydice) Level of
student participation 14. Describe the level of student participation
in your national quality assurance system. Please
include: ·
whether students are included in the
following aspects of quality assurance: o
the governance of national agencies
for QA o
as full members or observers in
external review teams o
as part of the decision making
process for external reviews o
in the consultation process during
external reviews (eg arrangements for external reviewers to consult with
students) o
in internal evaluations. |
Student
representatives are officially part of the Higher Education Quality
Assessment Council, the decision-making body for accreditations. They also
take part in external reviews (both for decision-making regarding external
reviews as well as during external reviews). One of the requirements in the
accreditation rules is to meet with students. Usually students’ work also
gets assessed during the peer review visits. Most HEI-s
collect feedback from students at the end of each semester (in written form)
as well as from graduates. |
(Scorecard
and Eurydice) Level of
international participation 15. Describe the level of international
participation in your national quality assurance system. Please
include: ·
whether there is international
participation in the following aspects of quality assurance o
the governance of national agencies
for quality assurance o
the external evaluation of national
quality assurance agencies o
teams for external review, either as
members or observers o
membership of ENQA o
membership of any other international
network. |
International participation is a very important
instrument in peer reviews for programme and institutional accreditation. The
review teams are usually made up solely of foreign experts, for information
purposes there is also a
representative of the Higher Education Quality Assessment Council but
she/ he has observer status. There is no international involvement in the
governance of the Higher Education Quality Assessment Council. Estonian
Accreditation Centre has not been assessed officially by any foreign
accreditation agency, although, feedback has been asked from individual QA
specialists for the improvement of the agency’s work. The Estonian Accreditation Agency is a full member
of ENQA and INQA. |
Recognition of
degrees and study periods
(Scorecard
and Eurydice ) Stage of
implementation of Diploma Supplement 16. Describe the stage of implementation of the
Diploma Supplement in your country. Please
include: ·
the percentage of students graduating
in 2007 who will receive a Diploma Supplement ·
which of the following apply to
Diploma Supplements issued in your country: o
issued in a widely spoken European
language o
free of charge o
automatically o
correspond to the EU/CoE/UNESCO
Diploma Supplement format. |
According to
the regulation of the Government of the Republic of the The Diploma
Supplement in English and akadeemiline
õiend (the Diploma Supplement in Estonian) are automatically issued to
each graduate along with the diploma, except for those persons who graduate
with a bachelor degree and continue in Master’s level study at the same
university in the same year, and in this case they receive the Diploma
Supplement (akadeemiline õiend)
automatically in Estonian only, and the Diploma Supplement in English upon
request. The
Diploma Supplement is issued free of charge. |
(Scorecard) National
implementation of the principles of the Lisbon Recognition Convention 17. Describe the stage of implementation of the main principles and later supplementary documents[6] of the Lisbon Recognition Convention. Please
include: ·
whether your country has ratified the
convention (including depositing ratification instrument at either CoE or
UNESCO) ·
whether all appropriate legislation
complies with the legal framework of the Convention and the later
Supplementary Documents ·
which of the following principles are
applied in practice o
applicants’ right to fair assessment o
recognition if no substantial
differences can be proven o
demonstration of substantial
differences, where recognition is not granted o
provision of information about your
country’s HE programmes and institutions ·
whether you have a fully operational
ENIC ·
any action being taken to ratify or
fully implement the Convention and the later Supplementary Documents. |
The Convention
on the Recognition of Qualifications Concerning Higher Education in the
European Region (the Lisbon Recognition Convention) was ratified by the
Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu,
on 10 February 1998. Ratification instruments are deposited at the Council of
Europe. The assessment
and academic recognition together with the principles, criteria and
procedures in assessment and recognition of foreign qualifications are
regulated by Government Regulation No. 89 “The assessment and academic
recognition of foreign qualifications” (adopted on 06.04.2006). The
regulation is the national overarching legal instrument in the implementation
of the Lisbon Recognition Convention and it includes the nomination of
competent assessment and recognition authorities, the role of the Estonian
ENIC/NARIC office in assessment of foreign qualifications and information
provision, general principles of assessment and academic recognition. The
applicants’ right to fair assessment and recognition if no substantial
differences can be proven are also included in the Government Regulation. Government
Regulation No. 89 was developed to cover most of the issues stated in the
Lisbon Recognition Convention and its supplementary documents, such as
Recommendation on the Criteria and Procedures for the Assessment of Foreign
Qualifications and Periods of Study (2001); Recommendation on the Recognition
of Joint Degrees (2004), Code of Good Practice in the Provision of
Transnational Education (2001). The official translation of the Government
Regulation into English is on the agenda for 2007. National
legislation, including Government Regulation No. 89, that is relevant to the
recognition of foreign qualifications, is planned to be reviewed regularly
according to the amendments of recognition issues in the European Higher
Education Area, and development of supplementary recommendations under the
Lisbon Recognition Convention. The
Estonian ENIC/NARIC office was established as a structural unit of the
Archimedes Foundation in 1997. The office is functioning in accordance with
the principles of the Lisbon Recognition Convention. The main tasks and
activities of the Estonian ENIC/NARIC are regulated by the bilateral
agreement between the Ministry of Education and Research and the Archimedes
Foundation, signed on 20 November 2002. The main tasks and activities,
resources and expertise of the Estonian ENIC/NARIC office correspond to the
guidelines expressed in the Joint ENIC/NARIC Charter of Activities and
Services. |
(Scorecard
and Eurydice) Stage of
implementation of ECTS 18. Describe the credit and accumulation system
operating in your country. Please
include: ·
the stage of implementation of ECTS
in academic year 2006/2007 ·
the percentage of first and second
cycle programmes using ECTS in academic year 2006/2007 ·
how any other credit or accumulation
system in use relates to ECTS: is it compatible with ECTS; what is the ratio
between national and ECTS credits. |
There are no
changes regarding the credit and accumulation system used currently in HEI-s
since |
19. Has your country produced a national plan
to improve the quality of the process associated with the recognition of
foreign qualifications[7]?
If so, give a brief description of the plan and attach a copy. |
The Government
Regulation “The assessment and academic recognition of foreign
qualifications” (adopted on 06.04.2006) is the core legal instrument the
purpose of which is in plan to improve the quality of the process associated with
the recognition of foreign qualifications. The
Internationalisation Strategy for Higher Education (2006) includes a chapter
concerning the national plan for the improvement of the quality of the
assessment of foreign qualifications at higher education institutions.
According to the Strategy the higher education institutions will take more
responsibility in assessment of foreign qualifications. In this connection
the higher education institutions will take measures to improve the capacity
building within the institution and their structural units. The Estonian
ENIC/NARIC office will create a system of regular training courses for the
administrative and academic staff of higher education institutions. |
(Scorecard) Recognition
of prior learning 20. Describe the measures in place to recognise
prior learning, including non-formal and informal learning. Please
include: ·
the stage of development of any
procedures or national guidelines to recognise prior learning ·
a description of any procedures or
national guidelines for assessing prior learning as a basis for access to HE ·
a description of any procedures or
national guidelines for allocating credits as a basis of exemption from some
programme requirements. |
Broad regulations for recognizing prior learning and work
experience were adopted in the University Act and Professional Higher
Education Institution Act in 2003. In 2006 there were some changes added that
make the application of APEL in BA programs more flexible. According to the
law each institution has to work out the practical guidelines as to how to
apply the APEL opportunities described in law. At the moment, the application
of APEL is permitted only for the allocation of credits towards
qualifications but not for access to programmes. In the future, more
flexibility will be allowed also in the latter case but that development
requires some structural reforms to be completed first in the Estonian higher
education system. With the purpose of unifying the basic principles, there
is a special developmental project initiated by the bigger HEI-s. The project
is a substantial investment in terms of time as well as money as it has
several purposes. For example, working with the academic staff and students
in order to acquaint them
with the concept of APEL, carrying out appropriate training, working out the
recommendations on regulations on the national level regarding general
guidance to assure the equal treatment of persons. The necessity of agreeing
on more detailed principles for admission comes from the fact that there are
several reforms being carried out in the higher education sector, especially
in the labour market focused part of it (professionally oriented shorter
programmes), and there have to be clear rules for the equal treatment of
persons (i.e. what diploma gives a person access to what kind of programmes).
The project team is expected to come up with an initial recommendation on the
national level by 2007. The preparatory work has been substantial as it has
involved the closer study of the experiences of other countries (i.e. |
21. Describe legislative and other measures
taken by your country to create opportunities for flexible learning paths in
higher education. Please include: ·
any flexibility in entry requirements ·
any flexible delivery methods ·
any modular structures of programmes. |
According to the law, universities and professional higher
education institutions have extensive autonomy in determining the content,
structure and delivery methods of studies. We believe that Estonian HEI-s
have done a lot in previous years for making study process more flexible by: ·
Designing first cycle programs with
broader focus and more narrow specialization only in the second cycle. ·
Creating e-learning structures for
program delivery (modules with E-support, accessibility of information, etc.) ·
Provision of programs in “open
university” structures. One third of all Estonian students are enrolled via
“open universities”, these are students that are more “mature” (in the age
group of 26+) and who need more flexibility in combining working, study and
family time., ·
Using credit point system in shorter
training courses (e.g. summer schools) that allows to consider these studies
as part of the formal study process for degree (under certain conditions). And although there have been discussions to unify the
volume of modules on a certain study level (i.e. in first cycle), these
agreements are mostly likely to have been formed directly between
institutions - not involving the state legislator. |
(Scorecard
and Eurydice) Establishment
and recognition of joint degrees 22. Describe the legislative position on joint
degrees in your country. Please
include: ·
the stage of implementation of any
legislation to establish joint programmes
·
whether joint[8]
degrees are allowed and encouraged in legislation ·
whether joint degrees are allowed and
encouraged in all three cycles ·
an indication of the percentage of
HEIs that have established joint programmes and are awarding nationally
recognised degrees jointly with HEIs of other countries ·
any action being taken to encourage
or allow joint programmes. |
The Estonian Ministry of Education and Research has put
together a working group of stakeholders with the mandate for legislative
amendments concerning joint degrees and programs (start of 2006). So far, the
working group has analysed the practice of other countries in regulating the
topic and agreed on a model, based on which the legislative amendments will
be carried out. The deadline for presenting the amendments to the Government
for official approval is spring 2007. Under the current legislation, issuing
joint diplomas as a single document is not possible. However, there are
cooperation projects where HEI-s have started joint efforts for joint
provision, awarding double diplomas. There is an understanding that the result of the working
group will be legislative changes that make it possible to issue a joint
diploma, as a single document, by Estonian HEI-s. The issuing of this joint
diploma has to follow the national regulations for the designation of degrees
and therefore, it is recognized automatically. As regards to the awarding of joint diplomas by
international consortia, however, we expect to see further developments on
international arena before taking any concrete actions. We see other
instruments than single document as being even more necessary for the
provision of joint programs. The internationalization strategy for higher
education (adopted in 2006) focuses strongly on the funding support for joint
programs. Also, other practical steps on the national level advance similar
goals, such as allocating state funding for student dormitories, etc. The recognition of double and multiple degrees
follows the general procedures for assessment of foreign qualifications and
diplomas. The respective governmental act was adopted in |
C. Current
issues in Higher Education
Higher
education and research
23. Describe the relationship between higher
education and research in your country - what percentage of research is
carried out in HEIs; are any steps being taken to improve the synergy between
HE and other research sectors. |
Universities play the key role in the Estonian R&D system – as
centres creating new knowledge. The share of the higher education sector in
all research and development activities’ (including private sector) funding
was approximately 41% in 2005 (Estonian Statistical Office 2006, http://pub.stat.ee/px-web.2001/I_Databas/Economy/Economy.asp,
look for “Research and development activities”). Higher education and R&D activities are concentrated, with a few
exceptions, in four public universities and related institutions. The private
universities’ main priority is to provide study on a specialist-level,
carried out mainly in so-called soft areas, so the extent of Doctoral study
and R&D is very limited. Pursuant to current legislation, the main objective of institutions of
professional higher education is teaching, and performing applied research is
secondary. There is no earmarked funding in the state budget for these
purposes, and PHEI-s need to compete for the R&D funding on an equal
footing with universities and institutes. Although the personnel of
institutions of professional higher education include research staff, the
requirements extend to them on a common basis with universities. Over the
past few years, institutions of professional higher education have started to
increase the extent of their development projects for business, but no
official statistics exist on the financial extent of these contracts. |
24.
What percentage of doctoral candidates take up research careers; are
any measures being taken to increase the number of doctoral candidates taking
up research careers? |
There is no centrally run statistical surveys to answer
this question, however, we estimate that about half of all PhD graduates take
up research careers. We need to point out here that Several
mechanisms have been launched on the initiative of the Ministry of Education
and Research for increasing the number of PhD candidates. The measures
introduced are ·
an
increase in scholarships for PhD candidates since 2004, ·
launching
pilot projects for Doctoral schools, ·
mobility
support for various periods, preferably in Doctoral studies as of 2003/04 (to
a lesser extent also to young teachers and Master’s candidates), ·
assignment
of Doctoral candidates to foreign universities for full-time studies with an
obligation to defend a degree over there and return to ·
opening
state-commissioned education places for foreigners on equal conditions with
Estonian Doctoral candidates. |
The social
dimension
25. Describe any measures being taken in your
country to widen access to quality higher education. Please
include: ·
any financial or other measures to
widen access in higher education amongst socially disadvantaged groups ·
any measures in place to monitor the
impact of policies to widen access to higher education, including results if
possible ·
any further measures planned,
following evaluation of the widening access measures already in place. |
The most evident
policy for equal opportunities has been the provision of free education on a
higher education level, and this has been supported by all the recent
coalition governments. The policy goal has been to provide 50% of secondary
school graduates with the opportunity to free study during their nominal
study period. In order to support
young people in their pursuit of post-secondary education, there have been
intentions to offer certain social safeguards for students in need. The
system of social safeguards comprises ·
educational
assistance (provision of government guaranteed student loans and grants) and ·
tax concessions
on tuition fees. The integrated types
of assistance are the educational allowance and the government guaranteed
student loan, which are aimed at offering government aid for those pupils and
students who are capable of completing their studies within the nominal
duration. The student allowance is allocated to institutions that have
performance contracts with the Ministry of Education and Research but
payments to students are not dependent on whether one is studying in a
state-commissioned student place or is paying a tuition fee. The specific
conditions for distributing student allowance funds are approved on an
institutional level, but they need to follow the broad principles given by
the MoER. In
addition, for promoting accessibility to tertiary education for gifted
students who are unable, for substantial reasons, to meet all the
requirements provided by law, the educational institutions are free to award
within their discretion 5% of the basic allowance fund resources (before September
2005 it was 2%), by taking account of other relevant circumstances. Pupils
and students are entitled to apply for financial assistance if they are
enrolled in full-time or day study and their economic circumstances do not
allow for further study (persons in demonstrated financial need; or with
medium, moderate, severe or profound disability; persons who are orphans,
from large families, parents of under-age children or whose parents are
unemployed or retired, etc). For students coming from Russian language
background, the Ministry of Education and Research has funded the provision
of advanced Estonian language courses for new entrants. The language courses
are offered during one year for those students who have been admitted to a “free
study place” according to the entrance ranking, but whose Estonian language
proficiency is below the required level. In addition, HEI-s haves launched
special support programs for first year students with language problems. Special grants
have been provided to certain population groups under private initiative. For
example a well-known programme is the Arno Tali Scholarship awarded to gifted
young people in rural areas. But generally, there is no wide discussion in
society regarding the equity of outcomes in higher education. One reason for
this can be also the reluctance to review the concept of a limited state as
an income-contingent support structure implies considerable management costs
on the state level. Estonian
participation in the Eurostudent project in 2006 will for the first time
provide some information on the ethnic
background and socio-economic status of students. Also, there is survey
carried out first time to collection of information regarding how many
students work during their studies . |
26. Describe any measures to help students
complete their studies without obstacles related to their social or economic
background. Please
include: ·
any guidance or counselling services
and any other measures to improve retention ·
any measures in place to monitor the
impact of polices to improve retention, including results if possible ·
any further measures planned,
following evaluation of the retention measures already in place. |
In
2005, there was a survey carried out by Most of the HEI-s offer counselling services (tutorial, career,
psychological help) to their students. |
Mobility
27. Describe any measures being taken to remove
obstacles to student mobility and promote the full use of mobility
programmes. Please
include: ·
any measures to increase inward
student mobility ·
any measures to increase outward
student mobility. |
The “busiest”
measure is the mobility of Estonian students within the EU Erasmus programme,
where participation has grown dramatically in recent years. In terms of
geography, the countries preferred under the programme in the early 2000s
were Southern European countries, with which In order to
encourage the mobility of academic staff, Master’s and doctoral students, the
Kristjan Jaak national initiative has been launched, under which a short stay
abroad is supported – visits to libraries, working in laboratories and
attendance at conferences. No clear priorities as to the field of study have
been set for the allocation of scholarships under this programme – the
determining factor is the quality of the application. A scholarship
scheme for doctoral study at foreign universities is different by nature, for
the beneficiaries are viewed as the next generation of Estonian faculty. The
beneficiaries are given the opportunity to undertake full-time studies at a
foreign university and they are expected to return to For inward mobility in 2006 there were first steps made on the national
level in order to bring in third country nationals for PhD studies. Until
that time, these developments were taking place in an uncoordinated way,
based on the initiative of universities. In 2005/06, there were 56
PhD candidates whose country of residence was not Active
cooperation with Nordic and Baltic countries is proven by a range of
internationalisation initiatives launched by higher education institutions,
where the biggest sending countries are In
order to provide study opportunities for young people from outside |
28. Are portable loans and grants available in
your country? If not, describe any
measures being taken to increase the portability of grants and loans. |
Yes, it is possible for study loans.
Due to the particularities of operating the loans system, portability is not
possible. |
29. Describe any measures being taken to remove
obstacles to staff mobility and promote the full use of mobility
programmes. Please
include: ·
any measures to increase inward staff
mobility ·
any measures to increase outward
staff mobility. |
Based on the
law, members of the teaching staff (except staff holding an extraordinary
position) have the right to a sabbatical semester with maintained pay once
every five years in order to supplement their professional skills or for
other creative activity. Members of the academic staff are expected to cover
the costs for these self-developmental activities from their research grant
or otherwise. Usually, this opportunity is used for research or work in a
library abroad. For established
academic staff and researchers, a separate international exchange scheme is
administered through the For young
academic staff (not holding a research grant themselves) there is a
possibility to apply for special mobility scholarships on the national level. |
The
attractiveness of the EHEA and cooperation with other parts of the world
30. Describe any measures being taken in your
country to promote the attractiveness of the EHEA. |
Under the new
national higher education internationalization strategy, concrete measures
are foreseen for attractiveness purposes. Estonian
universities take part in three Erasmus Mundus Master’s program consortia. |
Future
challenges
31. Give an indication of the main challenges
ahead for your country. |
On November 8,
2006 the Estonian Parliament approved a new higher education strategy
document for 2006-2015. The strategy foresees three main challenges for the
sector in the coming years: o
To be prepared for a decrease in the
student population. Due to the downward demographic trend, the number of young
students starting their studies in higher education will diminish by almost
60% between 2004 and 2016 (in the age group 16-18). Due to LLL the decrease will not be as steap,
however, all institutions need to go through restructuring processes in
coming years; o
There
is a clear need to strengthen the international dimension of
HEI-s in many respects, including by recruiting academic staff
internationally and attracting students from abroad; o
Additional
funding is of vital importance for the sustainability of the sector in a
globalized world, either for infrastructure investment or competitive salary
levels for academic personnel. |
Completed National Reports should be sent to the Bologna
Secretariat by email no later than Friday
15 December 2006.
Please remember to attach a copy of your national action
plan to improve the quality of the process associated with the recognition of
foreign qualifications.
May 2006
[1] The name in English is somewhat misleading - this institution offers mostly professional higher education programs for specialities in the area of state internal security (police, prisons, border guard, rescue, etc).
[2] Access as defined in the Lisbon Recognition Convention. Access: the right of qualified candidates to apply and be considered for admission to higher education.
[3] A Framework for Qualifications of the EHEA: http://www.bologna-bergen2005.no/
[4] http://www.enqa.net/files/BergenReport210205.pdf
[5] higher education: all types of courses of study or sets of courses of study, training or training for research at the post secondary level which are recognised by the relevant authorities as belonging to a country’s higher education system.
[6] Recommendation on the Criteria and Procedures for Recognition (2001); Recommendation on the Recognition of Joint Degrees (2004); Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Transnational Education (2001)
[7] ENIC/NARIC has produced guidelines for National Action Plans for Recognition.
[8] a joint degree is a single degree certificate awarded by two or more institutions, and where the single degree certificate is valid without being supplemented by any additional national degree certificate.