Inna Sovsun: Entrance examinations for Master’s degrees to use more technology to ensure transparency of the admissions process
The introduction of standardized testing to study at Master’s level will positively impact the quality of legal education and create objective conditions for all participants of the admissions process. Inna Sovsun, First Deputy Minister of Education and Science announced this during a press conference on the implementation of a pilot project for entrance examinations for aspiring Master’s students who wish to continue their studies in Law, which uses technology based on that for External Independent Testing (EIT), now used in schools.
"Legal education is a key element in the reform of the judicial and law enforcement systems, which will have effective results without a need to reform study in Law", said Inna Sovsun.
The First Deputy Minister stressed that testing using EIT technology will solve a number of problems. Firstly, the selection of students to continue their studies at a Master’s level will be using higher quality standards. Secondly, it will make the selection process transparent. "This second important element of transparency is ensure that those admitted to Master’s degrees study will be protected from corruption during this process", said the First Deputy Minister.
The third priority is to simplify entry procedures as for undergraduate higher education and for the applicants themselves. An applicant can simultaneously apply to study Law at a Master’s level at multiple universities, from those that have agreed to participate in the pilot project. There are nine such universities. And fourthly, standardized testing at university MA level can be piloted.
Inna Sovsun explained how this project to change admission to a master's law degree is one of the elements of the reform of legal education, being worked on by the Ministry, along with the development of standards for legal education and the Concept of Reforming Legal Education in Ukraine. This pilot project is the first step towards a unified examination, the successful piloting of which will serve as a platform for access to the profession.
The First Deputy Minister described how to participate in testing using EIT-style technology for master’s degrees; now entrants will need to submit their documents to the Admissions Board. The timing of submission of documents will be determined by the university. An applicant arriving at the Admissions Board will receive an examination paper and take the exam at a designated point. The examination will take place on 23 July at 10:00. This exam will consist of several sections, including Law and English Language. The Law section will include questions on a number of legal disciplines as well as general competencies in Law. If an applicant for health reasons cannot take the tests, they will have to take the entrance exams. "Applicants who have not studied English or other foreign languages, will need to take the entrance exams for that university", said Inna Sovsun.
Among those taking part in the pilot are: The Ukraine Open International University of Human Development, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Kyiv Polytechnic Institute National University of Technology of Ukraine, Kyiv-Mohyla Academy National University, Odessa Law Academy National University, Yaroslav Mudriy National University of Law, Odessa National Maritime University, and Yuriy Fedkovych National University of Chernivtsi.
The project is sponsored by the USAID Fair Justice Project and the OSCE Coordinator in Ukraine. These organizations help to coordinate the project, and organize training courses for testers of the members of the working group.