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2. T HE M AIN C HALLENGES AND P OSSIBILITIES OF M ATCHING THE H IGHER E DUCATION S ECTOR WITH THE L ABOR M ARKET Aleksandr Hakobyan, AIPRG, YSU and TEMPUS National Experts Team on Higher Education AIPRG Annual Conference Looking forward : The Gl օ bal Competitiveness of the Armenian Economy The World Bank, Washington DC, May 17-18, 2008 alexander@aiprg.net

3. I. I NTRODUCTION On May 19, 2005 Minister of Education and Science of Armenia signed the Bergen Communiqué of the Ministers of Education from the Bologna participating countries; thus Armenia officially joined the Bologna process committing itself to completing the implementation of main principles of the Bologna process by its specific action lines by 2010 and becoming part of the emerging European Higher Education Area (EHEA).

4. In 2007 the Government of the Republic of Armenia approved State Program of the Development of Education for 2008-2015 containing the following reform directions in the higher education: Provision of the growth of internal and external efficiency of the system; Strengthening of the connection with the labor market; Provision of the accessibility of the system for all the layers of the population; Reforming of administration and state financing system; Integration of the system into the European Higher Education Area.

5. Bologna reforms Bologna reforms assume about ten main directions: Adoption of easily readable and comparable degrees (qualifications); Adoption of a system based initially on 2 and now on 3 main cycles; Establishment of a system of credits; Promotion of mobility of students and academic/administrative staff; Promotion of European cooperation in quality assurance; Promoting European dimension in higher education; Life-Long Learning (LLL); Increasing attractiveness of the European Higher Education Area; Doctoral studies and synergy between European Higher Education Area and European Research Area.

6. II. L IFE - LONG L EARNING (LLL): P ROVISION OF A F IRM G ROUND FOR THE D EVELOPMENT OF HE IN CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE D EMANDS OF THE L ABOR M ARKET. In Soviet times in Armenia there was an extensive network of institutes of retraining and professional development for different disciplinary areas as well as a network of continuing education courses within and outside HEIs to which a great importance was ascribed in the planned economy system in terms of efficient use of professional workforce. During the transition period, these structures lost gradually their importance as such and stopped functioning, being unable to adapt to changes and respond accordingly to the new requirements and challenges of market economy.

7. A LTERNATIVE R ECOMMENDATION Establishment of a close cooperation between the HEIs and RA Employment Service Agencies of the Ministry of Labor and Social Issues.

8. Armenia has practiced LLL during 1990s!

9. III. T HREE -C YCLE S YSTEM OF HE: F ROM AND FOR L ABOR M ARKET BA MA ( PhD)

10. IV. P OPULARIZATION OF HE IN A RMENIA

11. V. N OT D EMANDED S PECIALTIES Remove not demanded specialties? (extremal utilitaristic approach) Involve them into the market for research workforce? Recommendations: 1. Specialty scope extension 2. LLL 3. Major and Minor system /External Curricula Courses/

12. MINI S URVEY : I NTEGRATION OF ECTS AND THE L ATTER S C ONNECTION WITH L ABOR M ARKET -HE M ATCHING I SSUE The Main Goals: To reveal the awareness of the students on ECTS. To compare the levels of awareness on ECTS between experimental and control groups. To reveal the level of understanding and the main aims of ECTS by students To find out how the students perceive their readiness for entering the labor market.

13. MINI S URVEY ON ECTS Sample: Experimental Group 1 st Year MA Students Control Group 2 nd Year MA Students

14. MINI S URVEY ON ECTS 1. Awareness about the ECTS (European Credit Transfer System (which is being implemented now in YSU) ) 74.1% of the respondents are aware about ECTS out of which 52.5% (which is 38.9% of the whole sample) is directly engaged in the system (according to the responses). Interesting note: 11.5% of the Experimental group (1 st year master) students are not aware about ECTS system, despite the fact that they study according to ECTS. REMINDER: All 1 st Year Master Students are engaged in ECTS (EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS). 2 nd Year Master Students study according to the traditional evaluation system (CONTROL GROUPS). REMINDER: All 1 st Year Master Students are engaged in ECTS (EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS). 2 nd Year Master Students study according to the traditional evaluation system (CONTROL GROUPS).

15. MINI S URVEY ON ECTS 2. Benefits from ECTS for 38.9% of students who are directly engaged in the system 81% - No Benefits (this number might also be justified with the fact that ECTS has been practiced for less than a year in YSU).

16. MINI S URVEY ON ECTS ECTS Advantages In %

17. MINI S URVEY ON ECTS ECTS Disadvantages In %

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