Book Description

The quality of teaching in higher education has been widely discussed for years, in Poland and abroad alike. As regards our domestic situation, the problem has been intensifying since our transformation in 1989 due to the increase in the number of private universities, experiencing difficulties in providing adequate academic staff for didactic purposes. These types of problems are also noticeable abroad; especially in the context of the requirements imposed by the Bologna Process and the recommendations of the European Union. That is why an international research project came into being. The project was financed by the Department of Applied Economics of the Jagiellonian University and it was joined by universities from the USA, Ukraine, Russia, Algeria, Germany and Poland. The results of the research carried out under the auspices of Professor Tadeusz Wawak have been presented in the present monograph. It can be noticed that the problems which particular universities are struggling with are similar. It is also important to say that the completion of the tasks in the scope of pro quality management restructuring at the university demands the implementation of the principles of Total Quality Management. Excerpt from the review by Professor Stanisław Tkaczyk The book focuses on the problems of university management. The authors of individual chapters are educational researchers from the USA, Russia, Algeria, the Ukraine and Poland. Each of them presents problems existing in their own academic environment, on the basis of their personal experience. Thus the reader is presented with a full range of currently discussed topics by the institutions responsible for the functioning of the system of education. They comprise, among others, New Economy promoting New University, the process of globalization and integration, the Bologna Process with adjustment to its recommendations and the internationalization of higher education. A comprehensive analysis of the condition of the Ukrainian academic education deserves special attention. Not only does it describe its present state but it also contains its critical assessment and a series of proposals including the need to implement the necessary structural changes in this area and to create a comprehensive system improving the quality of university management. Additionally, the book contains descriptions of new technologies and concepts of education which have emerged recently in the context of the required procedural reform, as well as interesting research findings carried out among students in Algeria. Excerpt from the review by Professor Tadeusz Grabiński