On measures to improve the system of organizing the educational process in higher educational institutions (824-son)
31.12.2020
Resolution
of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan
In order to ensure the execution of the tasks set in the Decrees of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. DP-5847 dated October 8, 2019, "On the approval of the Concept for the Development of the Higher Education System of the Republic of Uzbekistan until 2030," and No. DP-5953 dated March 2, 2020, "On the State Program for the implementation of the Action Strategy on five priority areas of development of the Republic of Uzbekistan in 2017 — 2021 in the 'Year of Development of Science, Enlightenment and the Digital Economy'," the Cabinet of Ministers resolves:
1. Starting from the 2020/2021 academic year, to introduce the procedure for a step-by-step transition of the educational process to a credit-module system in higher educational institutions of the republic.
2. To approve the Regulation on the procedure for introducing a credit-module system in the educational process in higher educational institutions in accordance with Annex 1.
3. The Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan:
together with ministries and agencies that have higher educational institutions in their system, within a month, ensure the improvement of qualification requirements, curricula, and syllabuses for bachelor's degree fields and master's degree specialties in which the credit-module system has been introduced into the educational process;
together with the Republican Council of Higher Education, within two weeks, develop and approve document templates related to organizational issues of introducing the credit-module system in the educational process in higher educational institutions.
4. In order to increase the scientific potential of higher educational institutions and provide them with highly qualified professors and teachers, to approve the proposals of the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republican Council of Higher Education on implementing the following measures using extra-budgetary funds received from fee-based contract education remaining after primary expenses have been covered:
a) on the basis of a decision by the council of the higher educational institution: internship and advanced training of professors and teachers in prestigious foreign higher educational organizations and scientific institutions, formalizing a contract stipulating an obligation to work for 3 years in the higher educational institution; covering expenses related to the training of teachers based on doctoral programs of prestigious foreign higher educational organizations and scientific institutions, formalizing a contract stipulating an obligation to work for 5 years in the higher educational institution;
b) allocating necessary funds to strengthen the material and technical base, construct, currently and capitally repair, reconstruct, and equip state educational and scientific research institutions operating under the higher educational institution.
5. To establish that, in order to further expand the academic independence of higher educational institutions, starting from January 1, 2021:
the hourly remuneration of labor for professors and teachers of higher educational institutions who conduct classes in technical colleges under higher educational institutions shall be paid in the amounts established for hourly remuneration of labor for conducting classes for students of higher educational institutions;
the weekly study days in organizing the educational process shall be determined independently by higher educational institutions;
the chairpersons of the final state attestation commissions established in higher educational institutions shall be approved by the order of the rector (branch director) of the respective higher educational institution.
6. To introduce additions to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 967 dated December 3, 2019, "On the step-by-step transition of higher educational institutions to a self-financing system" in accordance with Annex 2*.
7. The Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan, together with interested ministries and agencies, shall bring their adopted regulatory legal acts into compliance with this resolution within a month.
8. Control over the execution of this resolution shall be assigned to the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Social Development B.A. Musayev and the Minister of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan I.U. Madjidov.
Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan A. ARIPOV
Tashkent,
December 31, 2020,
No. 824
ANNEX 1 to the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 824 dated December 31, 2020
REGULATION
on the procedure for introducing a credit-module system in the educational process in higher educational institutions
Chapter 1. General Provisions
1. This Regulation determines the procedure for introducing a credit-module system of education in the educational process in higher educational institutions based on the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS).
This Regulation shall not apply to higher educational institutions under the system of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Ministry of Health, higher military educational institutions, Al-Khwarizmi University, and non-governmental and foreign higher educational organizations operating in the territory of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
2. The step-by-step introduction of a credit-module system into the educational process in higher educational institutions shall be carried out in accordance with the scheme provided in the annex* to this Regulation.
* The text of Annex to Regulation is given in uzbek.
3. Information regarding organizational issues of introducing the credit-module system into the educational process, including templates of documents relating to the educational program, course catalog, ensuring academic mobility, recognizing and transferring credits, and the form of the diploma supplement, as well as indicators for determining the level of a student's knowledge during academic mobility and other necessary documents, shall be developed and approved by the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan together with the Republican Council of Higher Education.
Chapter 2. Basic Concepts
4. The following basic concepts are used in this Regulation:
GPA (Grade Point Average) — the average value of points earned by a learner under the program, which is calculated using the following formula:
where:
K — the amount of credits allocated for each subject/module;
U — the grade obtained by the student for each subject/module;
academic mobility — the process of students of a higher educational institution going to another higher educational institution within the territory of the republic or abroad for a certain period of time for the purpose of studying;
mobility program — an academic mobility program organized on the basis of a mutual education agreement between two or more higher educational institutions;
credit — a unit of measurement of the academic workload mastered by a student in a specific subject based on learning outcomes. As a rule, credits can be expressed in whole numbers or fractions;
higher educational institution — an institution issuing a document on education and qualification, taking into account the recognition of a specified amount of credits;
awarding of credits — the formal process of granting credits to a student or other learners based on achieved learning outcomes in accordance with the requirements for a qualification or its specific parts;
credit transfer — transferring and recognizing credits obtained under the educational program of one higher educational institution to another higher educational institution in order to ensure students' academic mobility;
credit accumulation — the accumulation of credit units awarded as a result of mastering educational elements and achieving other accomplishments;
student's personal educational trajectory — a route chosen by the student that allows them to sequentially accumulate knowledge and acquire a desired set of competencies. The educational trajectory may be drawn up using institutional documents and guidelines, and different educational trajectories may ultimately lead to obtaining the same qualification;
educational program — a set of the main features of education (volume, content, planned outcomes), organizational and pedagogical conditions, general requirements for subject syllabuses designed for implementing the educational process in a bachelor's degree field or a master's degree specialty, as well as an information-resource and teaching-methodological guidelines complex necessary for organizing and implementing education;
educational program catalog — information containing a description of the higher educational institution, an introduction to the credit-module system, existing bachelor's degree fields and master's degree specialties, services and resources, syllabuses of academic subjects, and a description of specific educational program elements;
learning outcomes — a description of the skills mastered by a student and their ability to apply them in practice upon successful completion of the educational process, which reflects the level of qualification mastered and confirmed by a grade;
academic workload — the volume of hours necessary to achieve expected learning outcomes based on the student's completion of all types of academic activities — lectures, practical classes, seminars, laboratory work, course projects (papers), internships, and independent study;
registration service — services that involve creating a database on the educational process concerning professors, teachers, staff, and students using information systems and software products for managing the educational process, as well as organizing the registration of all academic results of students, monitoring their knowledge, and organizing all types of calculations of their academic rating;
educational elements — a part of an educational program, a type of learning that helps achieve learning outcomes and master the knowledge specified in the educational program;
transcript — a document of an established form containing a list of subjects indicating the letter and numeric expression of credits and grades mastered during the relevant period of study.
Chapter 3. Structure of the Educational Program
5. The structure of the educational program for the academic year consists of educational elements comprising one or more modules and is approved by the council of the higher educational institution. An educational program may consist of classroom sessions, scientific projects, independent study, industrial internships, and other educational elements.
6. The structure of the educational program shall be developed taking into account that 60 credits correspond to one academic year, indicating the learning outcomes (at least 6 indicators) corresponding to each of its educational elements. The amount of credits in the educational program shall be indicated based on the academic workload.
7. The requirements for students to successfully master the educational program and obtain the required qualification are clearly defined. Mastering rules may be expressed in terms of the amount of credits or a range of credits established for various stages of training under the chosen educational program.
8. In order to assist the successful completion of the educational program by students, appropriate departments and staff of the higher educational institution, including the department or division responsible for managing the credit system of education, and the group tutor, provide consultations and explanations. Within the framework of the consultation, students are explained the achievements attained as a result of learning and the possibilities for recognizing experience.
9. A higher educational institution must post and publish detailed information regarding the educational program catalog and study conditions, as well as up-to-date information, on its webpage in an easily downloadable format at least one month before the beginning of the academic year.
10. Teachers responsible for implementing the educational program and its elements must ensure coherence between the learning outcomes specified in the educational program and the teaching and assessment process. This constructive connection between learning outcomes, teaching, and the assessment process is an important requirement for educational programs.
Professors and teachers responsible for implementing educational elements must ensure a balance between the outcomes specified in the educational program and the teaching and assessment processes.
Chapter 4. Planning the Educational Process, Monitoring, and Ensuring the Quality of Education
11. The educational process includes a set of educational and control measures. Educational measures entail the organization of all types of classroom sessions, practical training, and independent study. Control measures entail assessing the learners' mastery of knowledge in the relevant subjects of the curriculum and their results.
12. The educational process is planned on the basis of a student-centered approach in the form of open dialogue among students, employers, teachers, and the administration, taking educational standards into account. The requirements and wishes of employers and students are discussed in this process. All interested parties may be involved in discussions on the creation and mastery of the educational program. In such discussions, student representatives may participate through voting rights.
13. Planning the educational process consists of the following stages:
developing a standard curriculum and course catalog based on advanced foreign educational experience, taking into account the ongoing reforms in the sectors of the republic's economy, the demands of personnel consumers, and national values, as well as additionally forming an elective course catalog, and developing standard syllabuses for the course catalog relying on new generation local and foreign literature;
developing a working syllabus (syllabus) for the subjects;
forming a personal educational trajectory for each student corresponding to the curriculum and the list of elective courses, with the help of a group tutor, under the supervision of the educational-methodological department (division) and the faculty dean;
drawing up working curricula;
drawing up an educational process schedule;
drawing up a schedule of training sessions for academic groups.
14. The amount of credits that a student must accumulate during a semester includes compulsory and elective subjects specified in the curriculum. The composition of compulsory subjects and the amount of credits allocated for studying them are determined by the base higher educational institution. The composition of elective subjects and the amount of credits allocated for studying them are determined independently by the higher educational institution. A student may independently select subjects within the scope of the elective subjects specified in their personal educational trajectory.
15. The duration of the academic year is up to 36 weeks, of which 30 weeks are allocated for the academic period, 2 weeks for registering to select subjects, and 4 weeks for attestations. The duration of the academic year may be determined differently by the decision of the council of the higher educational institution in accordance with the schedule of the educational process.
In the credit-module system, 1 credit is equal on average to an academic workload of 25 — 30 academic hours. That is, a student must master a certain amount of academic workload to accumulate the respective credits in a specific subject. The academic workload is divided into 40 — 50% classroom hours and 50 — 60% independent study hours for a bachelor's degree, and 30% — 40% classroom hours and 60 — 70% independent study hours for a master's degree (excluding qualification internships and graduation qualification works). The amount of credit in hours and the amount of the academic workload are determined by the council of the higher educational institution and are posted transparently on the webpage of the higher educational institution.
In bachelor's degree fields and master's degree specialties, a student is generally required to accumulate 30 credits in one semester and 60 credits in one academic year. The volume of credits to be mastered by a student during a semester includes compulsory and elective subjects specified in the curriculum. In forming their personal educational trajectory, a student must foresee mastering subjects equivalent to a volume of 30 credits for each semester, which must include compulsory subjects from the standard curriculum.
A student must accumulate 180 credits when the period of study for a bachelor's degree is at least 3 years, and 240 credits when the period of study is at least 4 years. For a master's degree, accumulating 60 credits is required when the period of study is at least 1 year, and 120 credits when the period of study is at least 2 years.
16. Monitoring the educational process is conducted in order to achieve the established learning outcomes and to assess the nominal volume of labor, as well as their authenticity and compatibility.
17. Ensuring the effectiveness of the quality of education involves processes to ensure the conformity of the educational program of bachelor's degree fields and master's degree specialties implemented by the higher educational institution with the characteristics and requirements of authorized organizations.
In order to improve the quality of education and foster competition among professors and teachers, students are given the opportunity to choose professors and teachers within a subject based on a decision by the council of the higher educational institution. In this regard, students register online to attend the class of their chosen professor or teacher through the education management information system portal during a 1-week period at the beginning of the academic semester.
18. A summer semester is typically organized by the higher educational institution on a fee-paying basis during the vacation period at the initiative of students with academic debts in order to clear existing academic debts.
The duration of the summer semester is determined for bachelor's degree fields, master's degree specialties, and courses based on the academic calendar.
The summer semester is organized on the basis of the following regulations:
before the start of the summer semester, the student notifies the educational-methodological department (division) of the higher educational institution of their desire to study in the summer semester;
the higher educational institution draws up a class schedule for the summer semester for these students, and the student is admitted to classes after paying the tuition fee;
the summer semester is organized according to the principle of transparent assessment of students' knowledge based on the current assessment system.
Professors and teachers involved in the summer semester are paid on an hourly basis.
Chapter 5. Academic Mobility and Credit Recognition
19. The following documents are used in ensuring academic mobility and the recognition of a student's credits by a higher educational institution:
course catalog;
education agreement of an established form, certificate, and transcript.
These documents reflect the learning outcomes and serve as the basis for recognizing and transferring credits to the higher educational institution.
20. The amount of credits accumulated by a student under the educational program of a higher educational institution is considered equal to the amount of credits to be mastered in another higher educational institution in accordance with established learning outcomes.
21. Based on the recommendation of the sending higher educational institution, a student submits the necessary documents to the receiving higher educational institution to implement academic mobility. The sending higher educational institution provides the student with a transcript of an established form.
22. Educational elements designated to be mastered by a student during the academic mobility period cannot be changed without the consent and agreement of the sending higher educational institution. The learning outcomes established in the educational programs of partner foreign higher educational institutions, centers, and organizations must correspond to or supplement the learning outcomes under the educational program of the sending higher educational institution. During mobility, academic year indicators are analyzed, and credits are determined to be recognized in accordance with this Regulation.
23. The set of educational elements to be mastered by the student at the receiving higher educational institution and their integration into the educational program of the higher educational institution must be clearly indicated in the education agreement. The amount of credits to be mastered at the receiving higher educational institution must be proportionate to the period of study abroad (3 — 6 months or 1 — 3 years). The sending higher educational institution recognizes the credits (in full or in part) mastered by the student during the mobility period. Upon the student's return to the sending higher educational institution, transferring them to the next course level or keeping them in the current course level is determined based on existing procedures and the amount of credits accumulated during the mobility period.
24. To master the educational elements planned under the academic mobility program, the higher educational institution registers the student based on an established form and assumes the obligation to provide opportunities to master these elements during the mobility period.
25. It is not considered necessary to conclude education agreements for academic mobility within the framework of educational programs developed jointly with partner universities, centers, and organizations.
26. In accordance with the education agreement, the indicators determining the level of a student's knowledge during the academic mobility period are accepted on the basis of a table converting the assessment system of higher educational institutions to other assessment systems.
27. The internship agreement shall be signed on a tripartite basis by the student, the higher educational institution, and the host organization.
28. In order to ensure transparency and confirm the knowledge mastered by the student during the internship, the receiving institution issues a certificate of completion of the internship.
Chapter 6. Assessment and Credit Conversion
29. Students are assessed based on the assessment criteria established by the Ministry of Higher and Secondary Specialized Education of the Republic of Uzbekistan, regardless of the form of study within the educational program.
30. Credits are awarded to students assessed within the limits of positive grades and the assessment procedure established in the course syllabus (syllabus). If a student fails to achieve the established learning outcomes, credits are not awarded.
31. Assessment methods encompass types such as written, oral, practical work, projects, portfolios, and controls that reflect and confirm the student's achievements within the subject or module. The assessment criterion must reflect the achievement of the learning outcome.
32. Credit transfer is carried out by comparing the conversion table of the assessment system at the higher educational institution with other assessment systems against a similar table drawn up at another higher educational institution.
Chapter 7. Organization of Registration Services in the Credit-Module System
33. Registration services are established to separately manage the processes of education and student knowledge assessment, automatically and electronically manage academic data on students, and conduct final controls.
34. The registration service aims to assist the student in achieving high-level knowledge, skills, and competencies in their chosen specialty, and encompasses the following functions:
drawing up the schedule of the educational process and controlling its timely execution;
controlling the registration of students for subjects;
forming academic groups;
controlling the conduct of interim and final assessments and the final state attestation;
forming and regularly updating a database;
storing the data of currently studying students prior to archiving;
forming transcript forms and entering student data;
maintaining statistics regarding the student contingent.
35. Registration services are conducted within the educational-methodological department (division). Based on state budget funds or their financial capabilities, higher educational institutions may establish a credit system management division using extra-budgetary funds.
36. The registration service registers students for subjects in accordance with the established schedule and forms the student's personal educational trajectory. The student's personal educational trajectory is independently developed by them with the help of a group tutor based on the standard curriculum and the elective course catalog for the entire study period. Amendments or additions to the personal educational trajectory may be made before each academic year.
37. Based on the students' personal educational trajectories, the registration service forms academic groups and, if there are insufficient enrollments for a subject, notifies the students of the need to change their personal educational trajectory. After the student's personal educational trajectory has been formed, the registration service provides information about the academic groups to the educational-methodological department (division) of the higher educational institution to draw up the class schedule.
38. The registration service sets the date and time for registering each student (usually depending on the student accumulating sufficient GPA indicators and making contract payments). Registration of first-year students begins after academic and professional orientation events have been conducted with them.
39. Students may change their selected subjects within the first week of each semester.
40. The registration process for first-year students is carried out in the following procedure:
the group tutor receives the logins and passwords of the students of the assigned group from the registration service, explains the educational process to the student, introduces them to the educational program, provides the login and password, and teaches them to use the student portal;
the student attends introductory presentations conducted by professors and teachers on the subjects, becomes acquainted with the compulsory and elective subjects, and registers for the subjects via the student portal within the education management system;
the student determines the class schedule via their portal in the education management system and attends the classes.
Chapter 8. Mechanisms for Expulsion, Reinstatement, and Transfer of Students from Course to Course
41. A student who misses 25 percent or more of the classroom hours allocated to a subject without a valid reason is expelled from that subject, is not admitted to the final control, and is considered not to have mastered the relevant credits for the subject. A student who is not included or does not participate in the final control type, or who receives an unsatisfactory grade for this control type, is considered to have academic debt.
Students with academic debts shall have the right to re-take the unmastered subjects at their own expense after making a payment corresponding to the unmastered credits based on the basic fee-contract amount during the vacation period or in subsequent semesters.
42. The transfer of a learner from course to course is carried out taking into account their GPA value. A higher educational institution has the right to independently establish the GPA indicator for transferring students from course to course. Here, the GPA indicator is required to be between 2.4 — 3.0. A student who fails to accumulate the passing GPA score is kept in the relevant course to repeat the studies. Learners who have academic debts based on the results of the semester and the academic year are not expelled. Students remaining in the same course only master the subjects in which they have debts and pay the contract funds correspondingly. The number of times a student can repeat a course on a contract basis is not limited. The total period of study is established as up to 8 years for a bachelor's degree after admission to the 1st course, and up to 4 years for a master's degree after admission to the 1st course.
43. The learner has the right to reinstatement and transfer in accordance with the legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The amount of credits mastered by the learner prior to expulsion is fully taken into account by the higher educational institution.
Chapter 9. Final Provisions
44. The tuition fee for education at a higher educational institution is determined in accordance with the current legislative acts of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
45. The tuition fee for re-studying subjects is established by the higher educational institution based on the contract amount for the entire academic year. The payment mechanism for re-studying is established by the higher educational institution based on calculating the value of one credit. The value of one credit is determined by dividing the basic fee-contract amount to be paid for study during the academic year by the planned amount of credits.
46. In the event that a student successfully masters the educational program of the higher educational institution, they are issued a diploma confirming their academic degree.