Ukrainian Higher Education: European Integration Progress

Abstract

The integration of domestic higher education into the European educational space in modern conditions, in accordance with the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union, has become an important factor in the development of Ukrainian higher education as an organic component of the European Higher Education Area. From these positions, the article examines the process of implementing the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Higher Education" and sums up the modernization of domestic higher education through the convergence of educational legislation, harmonization of the National Qualifications Framework with the Qualifications Framework of the European Higher Education Area, the introduction of modern levels, degrees, a list of specialties of new standards and educational programs. The timeliness and completeness of the decisions made and the measures being implemented, their compliance with the provisions of the Law, European standards for organizing the educational process and quality criteria are assessed. The reasons for the slowdown of individual processes are determined and approaches to their elimination are proposed. The importance of creating a complete system of quality assurance of higher education is emphasized, its integration into the European and its compliance with the pan-European approaches is assessed. The state of cooperation between the systems and higher educational institutions of different countries, the participation of Ukrainian universities in European educational and scientific programs, mobility programs for participants in the educational process as important mechanisms for European integration are assessed. The features of the participation of the national higher education in the international market of educational services are analyzed. It is emphasized that these processes are carried out according to European practices and are consistent with the main goals defined by the Strategy for the Development of Higher Education in Ukraine for 2022-2032. The material is based on the results of the applied research work "Research on the modernization of the structure and content of higher education in the context of the implementation of the Law of Ukraine "On Higher Education"", which is carried out at the State Scientific Institution "Institute for the Modernization of the Content of Education" during 2016–2022.