Russian Federation

The first higher educational institution in Russia was the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy reformed in the early eighteenth century by Peter the Great. The Moscow University founded in 1755 on the initiative of Lomonosov gradually became one of the leading educational establishments in Europe. The system of higher learning, which developed in the first half of the nineteenth century, was administered by the Ministry of Public Education and included universities, privileged lyceums, and specialized institutes. At the end of the nineteenth century there were 63 higher educational institutions with 30,000 students. By 1914 the number of the students grew fourfold and reached 120,000.

After the Revolution of 1917, preference in access to higher education was given to workers and members of the Communist party. In the 1921-1933 period "institutes of red professorship" trained students to become lecturers on Marxism-Leninism, History, Political Economy, and other social sciences. In spite of the dramatic losses during the Second World War, the network of higher educational institutions was preserved. The postwar period was marked by a strict unification of curricula and priority given to engineering education, often at the expense of other areas, for the sake of training specialists for the defense complex. Though the number of graduating students was steadily growing, the level of education did not adequately meet the demands of the country and its regions. Absence of choice within the programs and prevalence of courses indoctrinating Communist ideology in the curricula resulted in low motivation, inability to make independent decisions, and social apathy.

The reform of higher education, which started in the USSR in the late 1980s, continued in the Russian Federation after it had become an independent state in 1991. It was aimed at the development of a uniform federal policy in higher education, democratization, establishment of self-government, and diversification of curricula. The Federal Law on Higher and Post-Graduate Professional Education of 1996 outlined the structure of the educational system and defined its priorities. Though the period of transition to a market economy caused a number of serious problems for professors and graduates (insufficient financing, low salaries, problems with finding jobs), the popularity of higher education continued to grow. By 1998-1999 there were 584 state higher educational institutions with more than 3,300,000 students and 334 non-state institutions with 250,700 students.

The generic term VUZ (Russian acronym for "higher educational institution") is used to denote all types of higher schools, including: Universities (which provide graduate and post-graduate education in a wide variety of specialties, carry out fundamental and applied research in different areas of knowledge, are leading scholarly and methodological centers in the spheres of their activities); Academies (which also give graduate and post-graduate degrees, but in a particular area of knowledge); and Institutes (which are similar to academies, but do not necessarily have post-graduate programs; they can function either independently or as part of a university).

VUZs are administered by the Academic Council, an elected organ, which makes fundamental decisions about the institution's policy, teaching process, and future development. The Rector, chief administrative officer and head of the Council, is elected by secret ballot at a general meeting or conference for a period of five years and approved by a supervising administrative organ. The Rector must be under sixty-five years of age at the time of the election, and the period of the work in this position can be legally extended until the age of seventy. Heads of higher educational institutions are members of the Union of Rectors of the Russian Federation. Prorectors who are responsible for particular areas (academic affairs, research, international contacts) are not elected, but have contract positions.

Approximately the same structure is repeated on the level of faculties, or schools (facul'tety), organized in accordance with areas of knowledge and including both professors and students. Each facul'tet is headed by a Dean (dekan), head of the faculty council on which students are also represented. The Dean, together with Associate Deans, is in charge of academic work, student and faculty research, curricula, schedule, and extracurricular activities. Professors are organized in departments (kafedry) according to the discipline they are teaching. There is no tenure, and they have to be reelected every five years by the faculty council. The procedure of reelection or election to a higher position requires the proof of active academic activities, research, publications, and extracurricular work.

Since specialization in Russian VUZs starts at the freshmen level, applicants must make an early decision about the major area of study and their future profession. A prerequisite for admission is the Certificate of Secondary Education. Students are selected on the basis of entrance examinations. Educational institutions have the right to decide which examinations to offer, but they have to choose the subjects from the list worked out on the federal level: Russian language (mandatory for all in the form of an essay), literature, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, geography, history of Russia, social science, and a foreign language. The would-be students have the right to answer the exam in Russian or a titular language of a republic. Theoretically, the examinations have to be based on the material covered in secondary school, but due to keen competition to particular VUZs, there is a gap between the school and university entrance requirements. In order to enter a university that is much sought after young people have to study with individual tutors for a year or two before they apply. There was a time when the average secondary school grade was taken into account during the entry procedures, but in 1984 this practice was relinquished.

Students with gold and silver medals are exempt from all the entrance examinations, except the profile one (English for the School of Foreign Languages) and are admitted if they receive an excellent grade. Among all those who have successfully passed the exams, preference is given to orphans, individuals left without proper parental care, physically handicapped, people demobilized from the army service, and war participants. Other benefits exist for the winners of national and international Olympiads (competitions) in school subjects. A certain number of places can be allotted to rural school graduates, whose level of training does not allow them to compete with their urban peers, due to the rural/city divide in the quality of secondary school training. The total number of male and female applicants is about equal. Women usually predominate in humanitarian departments, whereas men are more numerous in technical schools. Since VUZs have acquired more freedom, they are trying to regulate the stream of applicants and search for ways to control their enrollment. If competitive schools offer highly demanding entrance tests, in less popular schools examinations can be substituted by an interview.

Final examinations in secondary school followed by entrance exams to a VUZ are a double stress for the young people. VUZs do not trust the school transcripts, because they fear that teachers can give their students good grades under the parents' pressure. On the other hand, bribery and nepotism in admissions to higher educational institutions have soared to an unprecedented level. In order to solve the problem, the Ministry of Education has come up with the idea of introducing a national examination (analogous to the SAT in the United States). It has set up a special council, headed by the Minister of Education, to supervise the project. The system of centralized testing has existed since the mid-1990s, but it is voluntary for the applicants as well as VUZs, the latter can decide whether to accept the results or not. Therefore this form of testing embraces only a limited number of students. During the first stage of the project the system will be tried out in several provincial towns. The tests will be then sent to Moscow to be graded by independent specialists.

The project managers will also have to deal with emerging problems, such as non-sanctioned teachers' assistance at schools, informational security, and imbalance in enrollment between different VUZs, organization, and curricula. Upon entrance, freshmen are divided into permanent groups of 20 to 25 people and stay as a group until they graduate. In regards to foreign language classes and other subjects, which require more individualized approach, they are further distributed into subgroups of about ten people.

The academic year lasts from September 1 until the middle or end of June (depending on the year of study) and is divided into two semesters. There are two weeks of vacations in late January, early February and two months in the summer. Classes take place five or six days a week in the form of lectures (for 50 to 100 students), seminars (20 to 30 students), and practical or laboratory work (10 to 12 students). The period lasts from 80 to 90 minutes. The schedule is made for the whole group. Elective and optional courses are usually scheduled at the same time, and students can choose a subject as a group or individually.

The principles of the curricula organization are similar to those used at the secondary school level. All the disciplines are divided into several categories: general humanitarian and socioeconomic subjects, mathematics and sciences, general professional subjects, and specialized subjects. Each of the categories includes the federal component (70 percent of the curriculum), that is defined by the central authorities; a national and regional component reflecting the needs and peculiarities of a particular territory or ethnic group; and a VUZ component established by a particular institution. This arrangement ensures uniform requirements on the national scale and at the same time allows for innovative approaches and diversification of the VUZ programs. Legally students can study as many subjects offered by the institution as they wish, but because of the heavy workload they seldom attend classes outside their main curriculum. In order to graduate, students have to write and defend a thesis and take final state examinations. Most of them are oral and taken in front of a panel, which consists of university professors and is headed by a colleague invited from a different institution.

Students who graduate with honors receive a red certificate. Most of the higher educational institutions are concentrated in big cities, whereas suburban campuses are uncommon. In 1998, a total of 63.4 percent students studied full-time, 6.9 percent in part-time night, and 29.7 percent in extension-correspondence divisions. Other forms of education offered by VUZs comprise training and retraining programs, short-term courses, and professional development seminars. A form gaining popularity is second higher education, when part of the subjects studied previously is counted towards the second degree.

Current assessment of the students work is done throughout the semester. Unlike in secondary schools, numerical grades are seldom used. Examinations sessions take place at the end of each semester, and the grades are verbal: excellent, good, satisfactory, and unsatisfactory (failure) or pass/fail. All the examination grades are recorded in the students credit book colloquially called zachotka. Some VUZs are developing assessment approaches for example rating systems, which employ percentage or cumulative grades. Evaluation is done openly, and public opinion is supposed to stimulate the students' performance. Full-time students who successfully fulfill all the requirements receive a small stipend.

Academic degrees were introduced in Russia in the nineteenth century. Beginning with 1803 it was decided to award three types of degrees in philosophical and law university departments: Kandidat, Master, and Doktor. The system developed mainly under the influence of European standards. After the Revolution of 1917 the degrees were eliminated. However, because of the necessity to differentiate between levels of qualification, the degrees of Kandidat and Doktor were restored correspondingly in 1934 and 1937 with a partially changed meaning. VAK (Supreme Attestation Commission) was instituted in 1934.

The state standard of professional higher education of the Russian Federation has stipulated three levels of study: Level 1 represents incomplete higher education, which is based on fundamental general subjects and lasts at least two years with the receipt of a corresponding certificate. Level 2 requires four years of study and leads to a Bachelor's degree. Level 3 is represented by two types of degrees: Certified Specialist earned upon completion of a five-year program, or Master, which entails six years of study. Individuals interested in advanced postgraduate research can enter aspirantura, leading to the degree of Kandidat nauk (literally Candidate of sciences), and subsequently doktorantura, culminating in the receipt of a Doktor's degree. Another track leading to advanced degrees is a part-time position of soiskatel (literally, seeker), which allows a scholar to do research without leaving the main job.

The degree of Kandidat nauk requires at least three years of study beyond the five- or six-year VUZ program, success in three Kandidat's examinations (major specialty, philosophy, and foreign language), and the defense of a dissertation. It is roughly equivalent to Ph.D. in the United States. Doktor nauk (Doctor of sciences) is the highest academic degree awarded in Russia and has no equivalent in the United States, as well as some other countries. The prerequisites comprise a well-established reputation in the chosen field, a considerable number of publications including a monograph, and experience in supervising undergraduate and graduate research. For the Doktorantura the main track leading to this degree is a three-year sabbatical with provision of a stipend and paid trips to conferences and central libraries.

Dissertation boards at VUZs are established by the Supreme Attestation Committee (VAK). In 1998 their total number was 1,868. According to the statute of 2000, VAK was formed of the leading specialists in science, technology, and culture. Its main functions encompassed attestation of scholars of the highest qualification; creation, coordination, and control of the activities of dissertation boards; and analysis of defended dissertations. Included in its competence were the decisions to confer the degree of a Doktor, approve the degree of a Kandidat, advance scholars to the rank of a Professor, and cancel academic degrees.

Contract faculty positions comprise (in order of importance): assistant, starshy prepodavatel (senior teacher), dotsent (usually for a holder of the Kandidat's degree), and professor (usually requiring the Doktor's degree). Academic ranks (zvaniya) are a form of expressing official appreciation of scholarly achievements and include Dotsent and Professor. The ranks are awarded to the scholars who have worked in the corresponding faculty position for at least a year, have post-defense publications, and who have answered a number of other criteria established by VAK. The highest honorable ranks conferred by Academies are Corresponding Academy Member and Full Academy Member. The four major research Academies in Russia are the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of Medical Sciences, the Academy of Agricultural Sciences, and the Academy of Education.

Higher education has been affected by the economic crisis of the 1990s, like the rest of Russian society. Deteriorating buildings, limited access to modern equipment, as well as the poor state of libraries, cafeterias, and sports facilities are only some of the problems facing higher educational institutions. Since 1990 the financing of research has decreased over thirty times in comparable prices. Low salaries and lack of social protection have significantly influenced the prestige of the teaching profession. Due to the "brain drain," many talented scholars and university professors have left the country. There is a steady tendency towards the aging of faculty, including holders of advanced degrees. The attempt to shift the financial burden from the budget to non-budget funds, which contradicts the law, has become a common practice. It disturbed the socioeconomic balance in higher education, making it inaccessible for young people from low-income families.

The emergence of paid institutions and departments has opened the doors of VUZs to applicants, whose level of knowledge would not allow them to compete in the entrance examinations for free education. As a result, the level of students paying fees is usually lower, as compared to those who study for free. A number of non-state VUZs cannot recruit qualified faculty and therefore are unable to ensure an adequate quality of education.

The governmental program of the development of higher school has formulated the following goals, which combine the interests of individuals, different social groups, and the state in the sphere of education: to enhance the academic independence of VUZs; to reinforce the institutions responsibility for the results of their work; to provide broader access to professional education at the expense of the federal budget; to ensure gradual transition to the university system with the preservation of the strong sector of specialized institutions; to create and develop regional systems of higher education; to support the practice of teaching Russian abroad as a language of the UNO and other international organizations; to advance distance education; and to develop computer networks.