Igniting changes

In Chapter 2, our analysis shows that Slovakian universities are rather conservative. They resemble secret brotherhoods. From this perspective, their reluctance to changes is not surprising. As we have also shown, their conservativism is not exceptional and is quite typical for their partner institutions in Central and Eastern European region.

When one plans changes, he/she can hardly expect their sudden willingness to undergo transformation processes. A recent attempt of the Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic to launch a university reform can serve as a warning. The attempt meet with strong resistance of the academic community. As demonstrated in [14], its argumentation [22] was often baseless and irrational. The attempt failed and the minister was dismissed.

No next reform is on horizon.

All of it suggests us to be cautious. An effort to make a massive transformation faces a failure. Our analysis recommends using strategies based on a voluntary implementation of improvements individually selected by the bodies willing to change. Only such an approach may bring a stepwise transformation headed by progressive thinkers.

In any case, any transformation will require modifications in the Slovak legislation. It should reject the current “one size fits all” approach. Instead of it, it should offer alternatives which will lead to ruptures in the present uniformity. As the institutions will be permitted to implemented different elements of the transformation, the system will undergo a stepwise

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161 diversification. Each and every university will be permitted to choose the managerial structures and procedures it upgrades and which it leave unchanged. Different alterations done by different institutions will result in a diversified environment.

The voluntary innovations form a good strategy, but they themselves do not suffice. Costly changes would repel universities’ from their implementation, i.e. would hinder the process and slow down the transformation. For that reason, our presented solutions are

“inexpensive” meaning that they do not request any additional financial flows into the system. It is because we would like to underline that substantial reformation steps do not depend on money – they depend on the readiness of all stakeholders to accept the idea.

The modifications in the Slovak legislation should follow the following directions:

- To define the Accreditation Commission as an independent certification body in accordance with the ENQA standards. It would allow its succession to ENQA which is nowadays impossible.

- To cancel the prescribed uniform organizational structure of universities. All tertiary education bodies should be permitted to design and implement a different internal structure or to keep the current one – depending on their individual decision. Such a rule would also enhance their autonomy because the institution would become fully responsible not for its decisions but also for the processes which lead to them.

- To change the proportion between research funds allocated directly to institutions and those distributed in the form of research grants. In a stepwise manner (in the horizon of 5-7 years) to invert their portions. The majority of the research finance should go directly to the project coordinators. Their status should resemble that of entrepreneurs. The change would increase competitiveness among researchers and lead to the higher quality of their projects and results.

- To give the private universities access to all grant schemes. Opening up to all tertiary education institutions would remove existing discrimination and lead to fair accreditation criteria. As a side effect, it would build compatible research environments at different types of institutions.

- To stop requesting habilitations and inaugurations as a presumption to promotion to the top academic positions. This change would open room for a worldwide competition among educators and researchers for their appropriate academic functions in Slovakia. The selection of the best candidates would increase the prestige of the Slovak educational system and quickly incorporate it into the EHEA.

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-5. Conclusions

As our proposals presume their implementation on a voluntary basis, they might lead to stepwise changes in the organizational culture inside the system. The change will likely start from the “islands of positive deviation” – not-frequent-but-existing departments following international standards in both education and research and achieving corresponding results. They believe in the formation of an environment suitable for individual initiatives. Our proposed principles favor them, promote them and use them as accelerators of future positive development.

We do not expect that the implementation of the above proposals would solve all problems of the tertiary education system in the Slovak Republic. There are many more including a necessity of its better financing. Nevertheless, their implementation would introduce a spirit of change into the community and made the system more attractive for ambitious educators and researchers. They need a challenging environment in which they can demonstrate their personality. Their absence is likely the biggest barrier slowing down the progress of our higher education area.

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