Poland

Poland

Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres making it the 69th largest country in the world and 9th in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 33rd most populous country in the world.

The establishment of a Polish state is often identified with the adoption of Christianity by its ruler Mieszko I in 966, when the state covered territory similar to that of present-day Poland. Poland became a kingdom in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a long association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by uniting to form the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Commonwealth collapsed in 1795, and its territory was partitioned among Prussia, Russia, and Austria. Poland regained its independence in 1918 after World War I but lost it again in World War II, occupied by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. Poland lost over six million citizens in World War II, and emerged several years later as a socialist republic within the Eastern Bloc under strong Soviet influence. In 1989 communist rule was overthrown and Poland became what is constitutionally known as the "Third Polish Republic". Poland is a unitary state made up of sixteen voivodeships. Poland is also a member of the European Union, NATO and OECD.

Educational system in Poland

The Polish education system seems to be very complicated. Children started their education at the age of seven and the compulsory age lasts to sixteen. Polish schools are usually public. They are also co-educational. At first, children are sent to the primary school. It lasts six years. They are learnt such subjects as: languages, math, music, art, history and physical education. After graduating the sixth class they are supposed to take the first serious exam, but the results of this exam don't determine what type of junior high schools the students will attend to. Then children chose the junior high school and they attend there for three years. At this school there are a lot of additional subjects such as chemistry, social studies, biology and geography. Before they graduate they have to pass the final exams which is consisted of two sections: a humanistic one and a science one. At the age of sixteen they leave this school and if they would like to educate further they take the exam to the secondary school.

They chose among high school, technical school or vocational school. If they are going to study at the university, they start a high school or a technical school. If they don't want to study, they choose the vocational. After three or four year of attending to the secondary school, most of students take Matura-exam. Before they start to study, they have to pass the entrance exam. To study at the university you are required to get the good results of Matura-exam. You will receive the Bachelor's Degree after three years of studing and present your thesis. After next two years of complementary Master-level courses you will get the Master's Degree. Of course the Master thesis is necessary. You can also choose the five-year-study, but in this case you receive only the Master Degree, you don't get the Bachelor's Degree. complementary Master-level courses - studia magisterskie uzupełniające

Higher education

Polish Higher Education System

The institutions of higher education in Poland operate the following types of courses of study:

• professional higher studies (3-4 years): the graduates obtain a professional degree of licentiate or engineer; (BA)
• master’s studies (5-6 years); the graduate obtains, depending on the study course profile, a professional master’s degree [magister] or an equivalent degree; (MA)
• postgraduate master’s studies (2-2.5 years) for graduates of professional higher studies; the graduate obtains a professional master’s degree or an equivalent degree; (PhD)
• doctoral studies (3-4 years): eligible candidates will be graduates of higher studies with a professional master’s degree, working for an academic degree of doctor;
• postgraduate studies (1-2 years) – for graduates of all types of HEI.

Institutions of higher education run full-time courses, extramural courses, evening courses and extern courses. The full-time mode is the basic system of studies.

There are two types of higher education institution:

• university-type HEIs offering studies in the humanities, sciences, medical sciences, economics, pedagogy, the arts, and military studies;
• professional HEIs which educate students in specific professional areas and prepare them for practicing a profession.

Professional Degrees Awarded to HEI Graduates in Poland

In Poland the graduates of institutions of higher education receive following degrees:

• licentiate [licencjat] – a degree obtained on completion of a professional higher education course lasting 3-3.5 years;
• engineer [inżynier] - a degree obtained on completion of a professional higher education course in a field of engineering, agriculture or economics, lasting 3.5 – 4 years;
• master [magister] and equivalent degrees: master of arts, master of engineering, master of engineering – architect, physician, dentist-physician, veterinary physician – awarded on completion of 5-6 years’ continuous master’s studies. Another way? to obtain a master’s degree is to complete a 2-2.5- year postgraduate master’s course for holders of a higher professional education diploma.

To obtain these professional degrees a student must pass performance assessment for each of the subjects and practical training assignments on his or her curriculum, present and defend his or her diploma dissertation and pass the diploma examination.

A HEI graduate receives a diploma of completion of studies in a given field of study, three copies of the diploma and – at his or her request – a copy of the diploma translated into a foreign language.

Graduates who continue education at doctoral courses or pursue research can work for the following academic degrees:

• doctor [doktor] : a degree awarded to one who passed doctoral examinations and proposed and successfully defended a doctoral dissertation [project?]. Those wishing to work for the academic degree of doctor must hold a professional degree of master or an equivalent degree;
• habilitated doctor [doktor habiliowany]: this degree is awarded to candidates who hold a doctor's degree, have important academic or artistic achievements, have proposed a habilitation dissertation and successfully completed the habilitation procedure.

Professor [profesor] is an academic degree awarded by the President of the Republic of Poland.

Study Course Structure and the Academic Year

The academic year consists of thirty weeks of study, with about thirty hours of tuition per week, and is structured into two semesters:

• the winter semester (from October 1st to around February 15th of the next calendar year) covers fifteen weeks of study and the winter examination period;
• the summer semester (from around February 16th to September 30th) covers fifteen weeks of study and the summer examination period;
• as a rule, one month of the summer holidays is set aside for integrated student placements.

Each HEI sets its own schedule of academic year. Tuition is conducted in the form of lectures, classes, seminars, laboratory classes and roundtable sessions. The student’s rights and duties with regard to the course of study are laid down in a given HEI’s Study Rules.

Areas of Study

Every higher school publishes on its web site information about the areas of study in which it offers education..

Examinations

Students sit examinations separately in each subject. A performance assessment period covers either one semester or one academic year. To successfully complete a semester (or a year) a student must receive passing (i.e. at least “satisfactory”) marks for all assessments and examinations in the subjects covered by his or her curriculum and to obtain performance assessment credits for all integrated placements on his or her curriculum.

Each HEI identifies its grading scale in its Study Rules. The most common scale comprises the following marks:

• very good (5)
• good plus (4+ or 4.5)
• good (4)
• satisfactory plus (3+ or 3.5)
• satisfactory (3)
• failing (2).

In addition to this grading scale Polish HEIs have been phasing in the European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) under which a certain number of credits is allocated to a given subject, independently of marks awarded. Depending on a subject, passing a performance assessment can earn the student from 2 to 12-14 ECTS credits. On passing an examination the student should request that this be put on his or her record together with the credits awarded. To complete successfully a year or a semester a student must collect, respectively, 30 or 60 credits. With the ECTS system in place, more and more Polish students can do part of their studies at foreign higher education institutions. Also, ECTS credits allow foreign students’ periods of study at Polish HEIs to be recognized.

Diploma Projects and Diploma Examinations

To obtain a diploma of completion of higher education a student must:

• pass a performance assessment for all subjects, integrated placements and practical work sessions and pass all examinations covered by the study programme set for a given field of study;
• present, at an appointed date, a diploma project and obtain a passing mark for it;
• pass the diploma examination.

Present times in education

As of 2001 there were 1,224,600 students enrolled in the publicly funded universities and colleges. In the private universities and colleges there were 519,100 students. This number has quadrupled over previous enrollment figures. This rise in the rate of enrollment in higher education strongly influences the qualification level of the youngest age group making up the workforce.

Considering that an individual's active life lasts about forty years, more time is needed to raise the level of adult education. In a 1995 census 6.8% of the Polish population have higher education.

The impact of the Bologna Declaration on education in Poland made the diploma supplement mandatory for all diplomas in Poland. Polish universities then pushed for the European Credit Transfer System which was a quality assessment and accreditation program. There had been no official national system of credit transfer and accumulation in Poland previously. Therefore; a credit-point system was introduced for particular specialization.

The promotion of mobility had a goal to reach 10 percent. The obstacle in student mobility is differences in the organization of the academic year in European countries. The number of students coming to Poland is about 10 times lower than other countries and the need for other European languages was evident. Warsaw had 300 students in English and in Technical University of Lodz there were 500 students in English and French.

The European co-operation in quality assurance, Poland is trying to solve the problem of quality and accreditation in a highly professional way. The process of accreditation of study programs at Polish higher education institutions has been significantly accelerated. There are 2 faces: the state-controlled accreditation and the academic community-owned accreditation. For Poland, belonging to the European family is very important they do not want to be disseminated in Poland. For them, lifelong learning and promoting the European higher education area is their primary concern, they also believe that the European higher education area is best promoted by following the Bologna Declaration priorities and does not need any further comments.

Future of Poland Education system

By 2010 Poland is hoping that the number of people enrolled in higher education should rise 35-40% and 40-45% in 2020. These increases will raise new challenges for higher education in regards to its accessibility, particularly for the inhabitants of villages and small towns. Ideally Poland wants to decrease the differences in the level of civilization between the country regions and the various social groups. With the spreading effects of the metropolises, the situating of universities and colleges in the medium-sized cities offers a chance to establish education centers of high quality and the possibility of creating innovative processes. The large well-equipped private higher education institutions with increasingly stable staffs are expected to prosper.