Chapter 1: Higher Education in the Former Soviet Union: Recommendations for Reform in 1990-Were They Right?

At the time of independence, the structure of higher education, curriculum content, governance, and admissions procedures were identical across the 15 republics of the former Soviet Union. Since independence there have been multiple changes, but often these have been quite similar in nature. There has been a move toward standardized testing as a criterion for admissions. There has been a restructuring away from sector ministerial control. There has been a diversification of provision and of sources of finance. There has been a decentralization of governance, salary, and tuition structures. Why have the changes to higher education been so similar? Is it because globalization is so powerful and the local institutions on the periphery are so weak? Is it because of the irresistible pressures from international agencies such as the World Bank? Or are the requirements for excellence in higher education in a market economy sufficiently similar to make these changes inevitable anywhere? This chapter will support the latter argument.