Raport România 2003

ROMANIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, RESEARCH AND YOUTH GENERAL DIVISION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION COUNTRY REPORT EUROPEAN CONFERENCE OF THE MINISTERS OF EDUCATION BERLIN, September 2003 Bucharest 2003  Dynamics of the higher education system After the fall of the totalitarian regime, Romania entered a complex transition to market economy and democracy. This process affected every domains from society to economy, culture and politics. Reform in the field of higher education began right after 1989 and aimed initially at eliminating courses that had become obsolete in view of the new option and, during a second more extensive phase, building a coherent legal frame that could ensure a more effective higher education. The Constitution of Romania, adopted in 1991, is the foundation of the entire legislation in the field. It is currently under debate by Parliament in order to make it better adapted to the new evolutions at national, European and world level. The specific legislation, regulating higher education in Romania is represented by three organic laws: the Law on Education (Law 84/1995), with its further modifications and supplements, the Statute of teaching staff (Law 28/1997), with its further modifications and supplements, as well as the Law of accreditation of higher education institutions and recognition of diplomas (Law 88/1993), with its further modifications and supplements. There is also the Law no. 60/2002 on the right of private higher education graduates to hold their graduation examinations at accredited state-owned higher education institutions, the Law no. 62/2002 for the approval of the Government Ordinance no. 60/1998 on the creation of Romanian university extensions abroad, Emergency Ordinances, Ordinances and Decisions of the Government of Romania, orders of the minister of education, research and youth. Pursuant to these legal documents, the activity of higher education has become more and more coherent, based upon the progressive increase of university autonomy and accountability, decentralization of activities, and support to research and technological innovation.. Recent changes that have occurred in the Romanian and European higher education system are grounded on the options of continental countries, expressed in the Bologna Declaration, to achieve a unique European space in this field by the year 2010. The implementation of these recommendations generated two ideas: one obvious up to the year 2000, which meant a sudden change and an immediate application of these recommendations and another starting in the year 2001, when it was decided to carry on a process based primarily on the participation of universities. The creation of a pro-Bologna attitude at the level of education institutions, through the organization of debates, workshops, the inclusion of universities in an experimental network, that began within the MATRA programme, financed by the Dutch Government, followed by the dissemination of the results obtained. Today, as a result of this strategy, resistance to such changes is quite moderate, the environment for a direct implementation of measures capable of consciously adapting the system to the mutations taking place at European level has already been created. Moreover, all actions carried on from 1999 to the present date aimed at the creation of a pro-quality culture and behaviour, in the spirit of the Bologna Declaration and of later documents, adopted at the level of the continent. In a synthetic overview, the main changes that have occurred in the higher education system are the following: - Definition of long-term and short-term programmes, at the same time, a clear distinction was made between Universities and University Colleges, the latter 2  having an independent functioning or, most of the time, being integrated to universities; - Making study programmes more flexible, by offering optional elective paths, and by gradually increasing the individual time of study; - Setting national standards for temporary authorization and institutional accreditation - Internal and external evaluation of study programmes in view of temporary authorization and accreditation by the National Council for Academic Evaluation and Accreditation (created in 1993 and subordinated to the Parliament of Romania), as well as periodical evaluation; - Introduction of the transferable credit system, evaluating students participation in education activities and encouraging their mobility; - Switch to global financing using the number of students as a main indicator ; the introduction of complex quality indicators leading to a ranking of universities according to their performance, encouraging through financing the most dynamic and effective higher education institutions; - The possibility for public universities to enroll students with tuition fees, public universities have an enrolment quota supported by budget and approved every year by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth (MECT); - Diversification of the scholarship system, supporting students with social problems but also eminent students; A draft for a first Law on higher education was elaborated in 2002 and presented to universities for debate. Its final form is due in 2003 and will be implemented after its approval by Government and Parliament. Changes that have occurred globally in the education system have been strongly influenced by the increasing number of public and private higher education institutions. In 2000- 2001, there were 133 civil universities and 8 military institution in the higher education institutions network in Romania, compared to the 30 higher education institutions existing in 1989. Out of the 133 civil higher education institutions, 49 (not counting military institutions) belong to public higher education, while the other 84 are private. According to their field, the public higher education institutions may be grouped as shown in the table below (Table 1). Table 1. Grouping universities according to their dominant field No. Field Number 1. Technical 7 2. Medical 6 3. Agronomic and veterinary medicine 4 4. Humanities 5 5. Artistic 7 6. Economic 1 7. Sport 1 8. Military 8 9. Combined 19 Private higher education institutions have generally a humanistic structure, with specializations mainly in the economic, legal, philological and theological fields. Through laws of individual creation, 20 private universities have been institutionally accredited in the years 2002 and 2003, in all the regions of the country, but mainly in Bucharest (9). The network of private higher education institutions has been strongly restructured after the 3 liquidation of 33 such institutions, due to the violation of quality standards of the education process, as well as to the defective mode of organization and organization of study programmes. As a result, the higher education network has today 100 civil institutions and 8 military institutions. In Romania, there is long-term and short-term higher education and this structure can be found in most fields (Table 2). Table 2. Types of higher education, duration and mode of finalization of studies No. Type Duration Field Finalization of studies 1. Short-term (university college) 3 years All Graduation examination Socio-humanistic Economic 4 years License examination Artistic Sportive 2. Long-term Technical 5 years Diploma examination Agricultural Medicine License examination 6 years Veterinary medicine Architecture Diploma examination The existence of the two distinct forms of education is an extremely favourable premise for the implementation of cycles stipulated in the Bologna Declaration. Short-term education, present in all the fields of university education, and which is destined to train graduates with a great capacity of insertion on the labour market, can easily be transformed into a first cycle, granting the graduates the title of Bachelor. Furthermore, this form is open, graduates from short-term education can carry on their studies in the long-term form after passing the examinations for the make-up programmes and the recognition of the credits obtained. In both forms of higher education, entrance is made either through an entrance contest consisting of two examinations, to which the average from the baccalaureate can be added with a variable weight, or based upon results from the pre-university education. The methodology of admission is set by each university, according to university autonomy, on the basis of general criteria elaborated by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth. Only secondary-school graduates with a baccalaureate diploma may contest admission. The finalization of studies can be organized only by accredited higher education institutions. The graduation, license or diploma examination consists of two examinations: • evaluation of fundamental and specialization knowledge; • presentation of the graduation paper, of the license paper or the diploma project. The content of each examination is set by the organizing institution. The main forms of postgraduate education are represented by DEA, master s, postgraduate academic studies, doctorate, postgraduate specialist courses, specific forms of postgraduate medical education. The policy of the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth in the field has aimed at reducing dramatically the accent put on DEA studies and an increase of the weight of master s, which has become the predominant form. At the same time, the focus on part-time doctorate has switched to a more significant enrolment quota for full-time doctoral studies. Globally, the forms of postgraduate education existent so far in universities are: • DEA aims at enriching the knowledge in the field of the long-term university field. Their duration is 2-3 semesters and they are finalized by a dissertation and granted a DEA diploma. 4 • Master s aims at extending competence to several fields of long-term university fields of specialization. This type of postgraduate courses can be attended by graduates with diplomas from long-term university studies, irrespective of profile or specialization. Their duration is 3- 4 semesters and they are finalized by a dissertation and granted a master s diploma. • Postgraduate academic studies are carried on in postgraduate institutions of academic studies, organized by independent institutions in Romania or abroad. Their purpose is to extent and improve the long-term university training. Postgraduate academic studies are finalized by a Dissertation and graduates receive a Diploma of Postgraduate Academic Studies. • Doctoral programmes constitutes a higher education and research form carried on in higher education institutions that organize doctorate studies. It is organized by Fields of Doctorate. The Doctorate is finalized by a Doctorate thesis and graduates receive the scientific title of Doctor, respectively, the Doctor Diploma. The doctorate is organized in higher education institutions and in scientific research institutions according to the law approved by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth, upon proposal by the National Council for the Attestation of Academic Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates (C.N.A.T.D.C.U.), on the basis of the accreditation criteria regulated for this purpose, named Institutions organizing Doctoral Studies (I.O.D.). Each I.O.D. elaborates its own Regulations for the organization and carrying on of doctorate studies, according to the law, which are approved by the university Senate/ I.O.D. Scientific Council. Tenure, associate or consulting professors or senior researchers of rank 1 with a doctor s degree may be Directors of doctoral programmes. The quality of Director of doctoral programmes is conferred by order of the Minister of Education and Research upon proposal by a I.O.D. and with the nominal approval by the C.N.A.T.D.C.U., based upon evaluation criteria elaborated to this effect. Other types of postgraduate studies are specialist courses or further training courses, specific forms of postgraduate medical education finalized, as the case may be, by diplomas or graduation certificates. The Bologna Declaration – the fundamental charter of change in Romanian higher education Changes occurring today in Romanian higher education aim at the creation of a pro- Bologna university environment, as well as at the implementation with maximum efficiency of recommendations issued from the Declaration signed in 1999 by the ministers of education from the European countries. The agreed objectives for the creation of a European space for higher education are also the objectives of today s university restructuring and modernization. Higher education structure by cycles. One of the main objectives is the structuring of higher education by cycles and its subsequent organization. Discussions that occurred within the National Council of Rectors, during various workshops have shown a general consensus regarding the switch to this structure, most probably starting with the academic year 2004/2005. Thus, are individualized: - the first cycle, amounting to 180-240 credit points, finalized by a title of Bachelor; - the second cycle, amounting to 120-60 credit points, finalized by a title of Master; Aside from the two cycles, we could note a third cycle, represented by doctoral studies and finalized by the granting of the title of doctor in science. All candidates for the title of doctor will be graduates of master s study programmes or its equivalent. 5  If it is almost unanimously considered that such a structure would not be beneficial for the medical field and for the field of architecture; in the case of engineering sciences, many of the actors in the field support the adoption of integrated study programmes, with o duration of 5 years and finalized by the title of master, with a total of at least 300 credits. At the level of higher education institutions there is debate with regard to the pertinence of the diploma obtained after the first cycle on the national and European labour market, and the possibility to introduce o professional master s or a one year professional specialization training in view of a rapid insertion on the labour field of the Bachelor degree holders. In the field of arts, there is great difficulty for holders of a title of Master in Arts to follow a doctoral programme. Opinions are quite divided, since the reality of the facts has shown that such programmes resulting in a title of doctor are possible in some artistic fields but quite difficult in other fields, dealing with performance, choreography, etc. For medical education, the first two integrated university cycles are followed by residency (with a maximum duration of 7 years), following which graduates obtain the attestation in view of carrying on the profession of medical doctor. Simultaneously or afterwards, these students may follow a doctoral programme finalized by the granting of the title of doctor in medical sciences, respectively, in dentistry. - the third cycle, the