Shunkeyev, expert of 1st category of IAAR,
Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor
Niyazova, project manager of rating research of IAAR
National rating of demand of higher educational institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan - 2019
Ratings and their recognition are of particular importance in our country, both in terms of the development of the education system and improvement of the competitiveness of educational programs, as well as population employment growth, the level of employment of graduates of educational institutions, business development and the national economy as a whole.
The university rating allows to determine the competitive advantages of a higher educational institution, increase its authority and raise its image on the national and international educational services markets.
Rating is the degree of popularity of universities, an indicator of trust from stakeholders and the effectiveness of implemented educational programs in the context of global development of world educational space.
The national rating allows HEIs to inform society, promote their educational programs, attract more students, and most importantly, improve the quality of educational services. The rating of universities is becoming a significant tool of the education system and is always of great interest among the public of the Republic.
Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating (IAAR) conducts the “National rating of demand of higher educational institutions ” of the Republic. The rating of universities is based on adherence to Berlin principles such as transparency, objectivity, verifiability and availability of information sources. IAAR Rating is focused on determining the quality of educational programs in areas of staff training. Since 2018, taking into account requests from universities, General rating of HEIs in Kazakhstan "TOP-20" has been carried out, based on quantitative methods of calculation, which allows universities to demonstrate the diversity of educational programs.
Modern trends in the development of Kazakhstani society (digitalization and acceleration of technological changes) lead to the emergence of new fields of activity and new professions, which creates serious challenges for the transformation of higher education. According to the amendments to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Education” made on July 4, 2018, improvement of the quality of education in terms of academic freedom and managerial independence is the main policy of the Republic's universities. Therefore, the demand and employment of graduates become the leading priority of higher education. In accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan, HEIs of the country are focused on updating educational programs taking into account the “professions of the future, meeting the diverse interests and abilities of students, increasing responsibility for the quality of the services provided. The implementation of joint educational programs, as indicated by the dynamics of their growth, is becoming an important area of activity of universities in the Republic.
"National rating of demand of higher educational institutions of Kazakhstan - 2019" takes into account the peculiarities of HEIs of the Republic, as well as their diversity. Rating research is an assessment of the quality of educational programs on the levels and areas of specialists’ training is conducted to improve quality, which contributes to the growth of competitiveness of educational services and provides Kazakhstani public with information on the degree of compliance of education quality with market requirements, professors’ recognition and the effectiveness of research activities of the university.
Higher education institutions are focused on promoting a culture of ensuring the quality of educational services and the development of transnational education. The quality of education, as a key indicator of a country's sustainable growth, requires constant evaluation. The rating conducted by IAAR as a measure of the level of quality assurance in education allows it to meet the requirements of OECD countries and contributes to the entry of universities into the international educational space. This is an important step towards the entry of our state among the 30 most developed countries in the world.
The top leaders in “National rating of demand of higher educational institutions of the Republic of Kazakhstan - 2019” have become Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Eurasian National University named after L.N. Gumilyov, Kazakh National Women's Teacher Training University, Kazakh AgroTechnical University named after S. Seifullin, West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov State Medical University.
Rating studies conducted annually by Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating (IAAR) are aimed at achieving the main objective of HEIs, which is improvement of the quality of training and competitiveness of graduates and the growth of the export potential of educational services. Monitoring of rating studies by IAAR from 2014 to 2018 notes a steady growth in the quality indicators of HEIs: improvement of educational programs, development of the potential capacity of teaching staff, expansion of internal and external academic mobility, and the responsibility of HEIs not only for training, but also for the demand of graduates in the labour market.
The rating of educational programs of IAAR is recognized by the IREG Observatory and is among the well-known technologies of determination of HEIs ratings. The main advantage of IAAR rating is the objectivity of the indicators that best reflects the university activities on quality training of specialists, which are analyzed in a computer program from the database of republican and international information resources where their paper accompaniment is not required.
In the context of integration into the world educational space, the transition of the Republic of Kazakhstan to a fundamentally new trajectory of development and use of digital technologies emphasizes the relevance and importance of digital technology of IAAR rating, which incorporates certain aspects of webometrics, eliminates expert judgments and presents an objective picture, which inspires public trust and educational organizations.
The technology of IAAR universities’ rating is developed in the form of an innovative mechanism for quality assurance, bringing the system of training of specialists closer to the labor market, taking into account global rating trends, graduates’ requests, stakeholders’ requirements and public interests. Conducting the rating in 2019, Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating has improved the methodology of the digital university rating program based on the use of the modern version. Certain elements of Webometrics are included in the digital rating technology, which makes it possible to give an objective and transparent assessment, and accordingly this information disposes of trust from stakeholders and the academic community.
Digital technology of HEIs rating allows to automatically generate a final report on 456 educational programs, both in levels (bachelor degree - 165, master degree –159 and doctorate - 132), and in all 13 areas of staff training (education, humanities, law, art , social sciences, economics and business, natural sciences, technical sciences and technology, agricultural sciences, services, military and security, health and social services, veterinary medicine, computing technology).
The institutional rating of HEIs of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 13 areas of educational programs is carried out, both according to the final score obtained at three levels of training, and separately for each level of specialists’ training - bachelor, master and doctoral degrees.
The general rating of the HEIs of the Republic of Kazakhstan "TOP-20" is determined by the total score gained in all areas and levels (bachelor, master and doctoral degrees) of educational programs.
87 higher education institutions of the country took part in “National rating of higher education institutions - 2019”. At the same time, the obtaining and processing of relevant and, most importantly, reliable data required for the study caused a particular difficulty in the rating of universities. Therefore, in connection with the submission of incorrect information, 28 universities were rejected. For the selection of HEIs that have become participants in the rating qualification requirements were applied. Thus, 59 universities are included in the Rating, which fulfilled all the requirements for participation in the rating: national universities - 8, state - 21, joint-stock - 10 and private - 20.
The methodology for the rating of universities based on the main criteria:
First, information on institutional and specialized accreditation by levels of training: bachelor - master's and doctoral degrees. At present, in terms of entering the world educational space, the quality of higher education should be assessed taking into account the competitiveness of educational programs. International accreditation is a key tool for assessing the quality of education.
Secondly, the employment of graduates and their demand in the labor market. An important indicator of the effectiveness of a university is the recognition by stakeholders of the quality of educational programs and the competitiveness of educational services of the university to the needs and requirements of the labor market.
Thirdly, the level of development of human resources. The main indicators of the authority of the university are the presence of students-holders of "Altyn Belgi" and winners of competitions/Olympiads, highly qualified professors and active researchers; the qualitative composition of professors and scientists (their recognition and contribution to science), as well as quantitative indicators (state and nominal awards, scientific and educational scholarships, the title of "Best University Professor", scientific and international projects).
Fourth, the internationalization of education and the development of academic mobility. The exchange of students and professors, the availability of joint educational programs with the best international partner universities, scientific internships of teaching staff and young researchers, the involvement of foreign professors allow to evaluate the quality of education and the effectiveness of research at the university.
Fifth, the scientific publication activity of professors, undergraduates and doctoral students, which is a reflection of the effective scientific activity and potential of the university. Evaluation of research results is carried out taking into account the h-index (Hirsch index) of professors, undergraduates and doctoral students, based on the analysis and evaluation of Thomson Reuters, Scopus, ISI Web of Knowledge database. Conduct of rating studies shows the growth dynamics of scientific publications at international sites, which has a positive effect on the quality of educational programs.
Every year, the interest and trust of HEIs to participate in the ratings conducted by IAAR grows, and this is due to the fact that “National rating of demand of higher educational institutions” allows to assess the quality of education and demonstrate the dynamics of its development; improve the competitiveness of the HEI and ensure the growth of the export potential of the educational sector of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
Thus, the annual monitoring of higher education institutions conducted by IAAR contributes to the educational organizations of the Republic to ensure and improve the quality of educational services and to further enter the international level of educational space.
“National rating of demand of higher educational institutions - 2019”, which has been carried out, presents the results of digital rating on IAAR official website www.iaar.kz, in the media, as well as in the state electronic system egov.kz
The Independent Agency for Accreditation and Rating informs that the National Demand Rating of Higher Education Institutions in Kazakhstan by specialization areas and levels of specialists training in 2019 has been published. The ranking results are presented in the Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper, issue no. № 90 (28967) published on May 15.
Reference book "National demand rating of Higher Education Institutions in Kazakhstan - 2019"