Szkolnictwo wyższe w Ukrainie

The learning process at Ukrainian universities is organized differently than at their western counterparts. In most institutions of higher learning the academic year has two semesters, though in certain higher educational establishments it is divided into trimesters. Whatever way the academic year is split, students are to take midterm examinations in order to have their ongoing progress assessed through tests, quizzes or papers. Course credits and exams are to be completed by the end of each term; they play a major role in course grading. Grades are assigned in numeric form ranging from "excellent" as the highest to "unsatisfactory", which is a failure. Popular formats for teaching the disciplines of the humanitarian cycle are lectures, seminars and practical classes, while in teaching natural sciences laboratory-based classes prevail. On average, Ukrainian students attend classes in ten to twelve subjects. In addition, the learning process requires extensive individual work, which is monitored during individual classes and tutorials. Students of the Department of English Philology at Kharkiv National University have practical classes in Text Interpretation, Home Reading, Speaking and Translation, lectures in World Culture, History of the English Language, Speech Communication Theory and Philosophical Problems of the Humanities as well as an optional course. Each class takes ninety minutes. Unfortunately, few electives are available for Ukrainian foreign language majors. The curriculum approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is obligatory for all students majoring in English and is tied up to a specific year of study. Changing one's major field of study or working toward degrees in a double major is uncommon for Ukraine. Students are divided into academic groups and usually remain in the same group for their entire undergraduate or graduate studies. In order to bridge the organizational gap between Ukrainian and western universities, Ukraine started the experiment of introducing the transfer credit system, which is the key requirement of the Bologna Declaration.