This study aims to assess the work of supervisory and control authorities in the field of education, as well as to create public control mechanisms for monitoring their activities and the quality of higher education. The research is based on the sociological data obtained by interviewing the members of civil society and the representatives of the…

Testing is a modern high-quality method of knowledge check. Informatization which began in the late XX-early XXI century contributed to the growth of various tests. However, the inclusion of tests in the educational process is at a slower pace. This is largely due to the lack of a methodological basis for test development. It is proved that the…

Employing the analytical framework of a discourse-driven social change, this paper unpacks the neoliberal concept of "educational quality" in the course of Russian education modernisation reform from 1991 to 2013. Since the early 1990s, the global neoliberal discourse has served as the backbone for post-Soviet educational ideology.…

The project of modernization of regional education systems is now in its second year, but by no means all schools in Russia currently meet modern requirements. The division between strong and weak schools is still preserved. Quality control is frequently regarded as a formality and the effectiveness of how a specific educational institution is run…

The relevance of the investigated problem is caused by the objective necessity of construction of the Russian examination practice, taking into account the leading trends in the education system development, where student-activity approach advocates the dominant, and insufficient development of this issue in both the theoretical and methodical…

The author analyses ESP teaching at the institutions of higher education in modern Russia, explains the main problems and suggests the ways of their solving, details the quality control system of the students' progress improvement, presents the complex approach to interactive ESP teaching and views it as an integral part of up-to-date…

This article considers the relevance and implementation of European approaches to quality assurance in the context of the Russian educational system. It covers the issues of transformation of the higher education system during the post-Soviet period, specific features of the state accreditation system, the impact of the European Standards and…

This article examines key lessons learned by Russia while developing national assessment system in education. It shows that reforms are more likely to succeed backed with sustained political support, clearly defined goals or priorities, gradual introduction, and open discussion with stakeholders. [This article was translated by Lucy Gunderson.]

The recent establishment of the European Higher Education Area and the ongoing monitoring carried out by the Bologna Follow-up Group raises the question: to what extent have the objectives of the Bologna Process been implemented in the varied higher education systems of the 47 signatory states, including the former Soviet Union states? This…

The intensive process observed in the past few years, in which higher professional education is coming to be included in the system of market relations, is setting new target guidelines of the activity of institutions of higher learning, as well as the management models of educational institutions. The marketing component is becoming more and more…

This study examines the strategies that Russian private colleges and universities use to navigate the legal and normative pressures of the state in the free market of educational services. The tension between state control and free enterprise is analyzed through the prism of legitimacy as it is produced and maintained by the system of quality…

In November 2005, UNESCO-CEPES organized a conference on Private Higher Education in Europe and Quality Assurance and Accreditation from the Perspective of the Bologna Process Objectives. Thirteen country reports and a comparative analysis study were commissioned for this specific initiative. The countries included in the project were: Albania,…

Prior to 1991, all higher education institutions in the Soviet Union were state institutions. There were some 900 higher educational institutions in 1990, including only 70 major universities, still referred to as VUZy, from the Russian "vysshee uchebnoe zavedenie". This acronym is popularly used to refer to all types of higher education…

This paper presents the main results of a recent survey of private higher education institutions from twelve selected European countries (Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine, Russia) [in the framework of the UNESCO-CEPES project on "Private Higher Education in Europe and Quality…

The main objective of this research is to analyze the current status, the existing mechanisms for the regulation and quality assurance, and the impact of transnational commercial provision on the higher education system in six developing countries and a country in transition. The case-study research: (1) analyzed the principal forms and…