Yerevan State University of Architetcure and Construction (YSUAC)

1. Yerevan State University of Architetcure and Construction (YSUAC) Varazdat HOVHANNISYAN, Armenia RIGA - 2010

2. Education Reforms in Armenia Territory - 29 743 km2 Population - 3 million* *(2 995,9 - United Nations Statistics Division, 2008). Armenia is a presidential Republic. Legislative body - National Assembly Executive body - Council of Ministers The capital city - Yerevan Currency - Armenian Dram (AMD). Official language - Armenian Main confession belongs to Armenian Apostolic Church since 301 A.D. Armenia is a mono-ethnic country, 97,8 % of population are Armenians. Main national minorities are Yezids, Kurds, Assyrians, Greeks, Russians, Ukrainians, etc. Source: http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/armenia.pdf

3. OUT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION SPECIAL GENERAL EDUCATION Education reforms in Armenia

4. PRESCHOOL EDUCATION The main role in pre-primary education the government prescribes to the family, and takes up the obligation for ensuring adequate conditions in the family for providing child comprehensive development and care. The state establishes preschool institutions: day care (for children from 2 to 3); kindergartens (for children from 3 to 6); or the combination of the above two.

5. GENERAL EDUCATION The secondary (complete) general education is implemented in a threefold secondary 12 years general school including the following levels: primary school (grades 1-4), basic school (grades 5-9), high school (grades 10-12).

6. PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION The main professional education programmers implemented in Armenia are: 1. preliminary professional education (or preliminary vocational education), 2. middle level professional vocational education, 3. higher professional education, 4. post graduate education.

7. PRELIMINARY PROFESSIONAL (OR VOCATIONAL) EDUCATION Aim: train the students for jobs demanding primary professional qualification, on the basis of general education. The technical professional education is provided on the basis of basic or secondary general education in technical colleges. The education period is from 1 or 3 year accordingly.

8. MIDDLE LEVEL PROFESSIONAL (OR VOCATIONAL) EDUCATION Aim: train the students with middle professional qualification, on the basis of general secondary education, also to provide deeper and expanded professional knowledge. Middle professional education is performed in middle professional education institutions: college and vocational schools. Education in the middle professional education institutions is implemented on the basis of secondary general education in both ways – stationary and distant education. The length of education depending on the level of basic education of the students and the chosen profession is from 1 year and 10 months up to 4 years and 10 months. The graduates are granted the qualification of junior specialist.

9. HIGHER AND POSTGRADUATE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION Higher and postgraduate professional education has following levels: 1st level: lasts 4 years - bachelor’s degree, 2nd level: lasts 2 years - master’s degree, 3rd level: called aspirantura (post-graduate studies), requires students to carry out scientific research work for 3 years. After successfully preparing and defending a thesis, students are awarded the Candidate of Science. After aspirantura, students can engage in doctoral studies (leading to a Doctor of Science degree) at one of the research institutes of the Armenian Academy of Science.

10. HIGHER AND POSTGRADUATE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION There are: state and non-state education institutions, stationary and distant education forms, paid and non-paid education.

11. REFORMS IN GENERAL EDUCATION Reforms in general education can be provisionally divided into two stages: Years 1998-2002 - fundamental structural reforms and creation of basis for content reforms in education After 2003 – continuation of structural reforms and education content reforms. Structural reforms in education were directed to decentralization of the education and increase of the schools’ autonomy, including: granting schools status of independent legal entity, introducing new system of school financing and management, increasing the management capacity of school administration, increasing the efficiency of the schools.

12. REFORMS IN HIGHER AND POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION The initiated reforms in higher and postgraduate education include its structure, management and content. The main activities declared in the Law on Higher and Postgraduate Professional Education and approved by the National Assembly in December 2004 are the followings: Developing quality assurance mechanism; Establishing a platform for recognition of Armenian HE degrees and cycles by European area for HE, facilitate the mutual recognition of qualifications; Developing standards in HE aligning to international ones; Promoting a system of credits (such as ECTS); Setting up a national ECTS office to develop guidelines on credit transfer system; Setting up a national office for foreign degrees recognition; Promoting Armenian involvement into ENIC and NARIC network and implement Lisbon convention statements; Harmonizing Armenian Diploma Supplement to European standards; Developing students’ scholarship system; Establishing links between HE sector and labor market; Improving efficiency of HE sector; Setting up career centers at universities, etc.

13. REFORMS IN HIGHER AND POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION A new impetus for developments was given by the Bologna Declaration, which Armenia signed in 2005. In November 2006 five Bologna groups were established by order of the Ministry of Education and Science. Each group composing from representatives of different universities is responsible for areas as the follows: Three level system, ECTS, Quality Assurance, Mobility and Finance. By the state action plan, Armenian universities started a pilot phase of a system of credits in 2007. The system of credits will be introduced from September 2010. A National Quality Framework is on a way of discussions.

14. Difficulties and problems in the Higher Education Sector • Armenian universities are at present overstaffed and under-funded. • Salaries of teachers are low, • The equipment is poor and maintenance of buildings is problematic. • Therefore, state institutions of the higher education try to compensate these shortcomings through private tuition fees, accepting “fee paying” students alongside with “state-ordered” students. • About 70-80% of students in state universities are fee-paying.

15. Difficulties and problems in the Higher Education Sector • Economic and financial difficulties that Armenia experienced in the recent years inevitably had negative influence on the higher education. Among current problems of Armenian universities the following should be cited: • Insufficient state financing of the higher education; • Growing necessity to control the quality of education provided by • various state and non-state establishments; • Sharp drop in the university research financing; • Decrease of the traditional contacts of universities with enterprises • and slow creation of new university-industry links; • Need to improve the integration of the overall education system; • Absence of new teaching generation; • Lack of new teaching methods/IT; • Corruption at the system.

16. Donors Most active and large-scale donor programs in the higher education area, except TEMPUS, Erasmus Mundus External Cooperation Window, are OSIAF, DAAD, AED, IREX, British Council. Tempus in Armenia Armenia has been part of the Tempus program since 1995. Between 1995 and 2007, it participated in 32 big projects and 60 Individual mobility grants, corresponding to a total budget of just over € 5 million. A total of 96 institutions have participated in Pre-JEPs, JEPs, Compact projects and SCMs. Among them 70 EU universities, 2 universities from the US, one from Japan, 10 Armenian state universities, 10 non-academic organizations and six universities from the Caucasus region. In accordance with the priorities set by the European Commission and the national authorities, Tempus activities have been developed in university management reforms, curriculum development, and teacher training, covering spheres such as the social sciences, medicine, occupational therapy, engineering, IT in library and distance learning, auditing, the international banking system, air transportation, sustainable energy economics, and modern European languages.

17. Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction

18. Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction History The history of the Armenian school of Architecture and Construction started in 1921, with opening of a Technical School in the newly established Yerevan State University. The new specialties taught in the school included the specialties of Engineering and Architecture and Engineering and Hydro-technology. In July 1930, based on the Technical Department, the Armenian Construction Institute was founded, the organizer and the first director of which was a prominent architect MikayelMazmanyan. In February 1933, the Construction Institute was restructured into the Polytechnic Institute Pursuant to the Decree N339 of July 11, 1989 of the USSR Council of Ministers, on the basis of the related departments and chairs of the Yerevan Polytechnic Institute, the Architectural/Construction Institute was established which was renamed as the Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction and involves today more than 3500 students and more than 700 employees.

19. Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction Structure of the University The highest governance body of the university is the University Council consisting of 32 people, of whom 8 are elected from the university's faculty, 8 are students, 8 are appointed by the Government of Armenia, and 8 are appointed by the RA Ministry of Education and Science. The YSUAC Scientific council is the university's highest administrative-governance body, with the YSUAC Rector chairing. Members of the Scientific Council are deans, faculty members, students, and others elected by the entire university crew. The university is managed by the Rector who is elected by the University Council for a 5-year period.

20. Yerevan State University of Architecture and Construction The University consists of :- Management Council- Rector’s office- Departments - Faculties - Chairs - Research and academic laboratories acting within the chairs - Subdivisions- College of construction- Base Vocational School- Professional councils- Scientific-Research Sector- Scientific Library www.ysuac.am

21. Departments and Chairs of YSUAC Chairs of the Department of Architecture • Theory of Architecture and Reconstruction and History of Monuments • Architectural Planning and Design of Architectural Environment • Urban Development

22. Departments and Chairs of YSUAC Chairs of the Department of Computer Design and Information Technologies • Information Technologies and Industrial Electronics • Informatics • Drawing and Painting • Languages

23. Departments and Chairs of YSUAC Chairs of Departments of Industrial and Civil Construction • Building Structures • Engineering Geodesy • Construction Production and Technology Organization • Production Technology of Construction Materials and Items, Structures • Construction Mechanics • Resistance of Materials

24. Departments and Chairs of YSUAC Chairs of Department of Economics • Economics, Law, and Management • Higher Mathematics • Physical Culture and Sports

25. Departments and Chairs of YSUAC Chairs of Hydraulic Engineering, Environment, and Urban Facilities • Hydraulic Construction, Water Systems, and Hydraulic Power Stations • Heat - Gas Supply and Ventilation • Hydraulics • Chemistry and Binding Materials

26. Departments and Chairs of YSUAC Chairs of Department of Transport • Roads and Bridges • Construction Machinery and Traffic Organization • Theoretical Mechanics • Physics and Electrical Engineering

27. Education YSUACoffers a three-cycle educational system: - BA with duration of 4 years; - MA with duration of two years - PhD with duration of three years. PhD program PhD program offers admission in the all specialties. PhD program length is 3 years for full-time studies,and part-time learning offers4 years of study. PhD program applicant must pass foreign language, computer sciences and computer proficiency testsestablished by the order of RA Ministry of Education and Science. In case of positive results he/she passes entrance examinations in the specialty subject.

28. YSUAC students’ life and international projects

29. YSUAC students’ life and international projects ECOMA JEP (www.ecoma.am)

30. ECOMA JOINT EUROPEAN PROJECT Administrative visit to KTH (Sweden) January 2008

31. ECOMA JOINT EUROPEAN PROJECT Study visit to KTH (Sweden) May 2008

32. ECOMA JOINT EUROPEAN PROJECT Study visit to UEL (UK) October 2008

33. ECOMA JOINT EUROPEAN PROJECT Methodological visit to KTH (Sweden)

34. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION