The Verkhovna Rada adopted the Law on the development of individual educational trajectories: what will change for students

On April 23, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted in the second reading and in its entirety draft law No. 10177 “On Amendments to Some Laws of Ukraine Regarding the Development of Individual Educational Trajectories and Improvement of the Educational Process in Higher Education.” This law significantly changes the system of higher education in Ukraine, giving students more freedom and opportunities to personalize their studies.

About this write Ministry of Education and Science.

Here are some of the key changes the law provides:

For students:

• Students will be able to study in an interdisciplinary educational program, which involves choosing a specific specialty not immediately, but after one or one and a half years of study. This will give them more time to decide what they want to do. 
• Contract students will be able to independently determine the duration of their studies at the university. From now on, they will be able to complete a 4-year bachelor’s program in three years or combine studies with work and complete the required 240 ECTS credits in 6-8 years.
•  Learning outcomes from academic mobility programs and formal, non-formal or informal education will also be recognized. This is especially relevant for those students who combine studies at Ukrainian higher education institutions and abroad.

For institutions of higher education:

• Higher education institutions get more autonomy and the opportunity to independently determine the tools to achieve the competencies set by the standard in non-regulated specialties. There will be more elective disciplines.
•  Higher education standards will be updated in the coming months. They will have more selectivity, which will help increase competition in universities. For regulated specialties, such as law, medicine, law enforcement, etc., requirements for competencies and learning outcomes will be detailed.  State qualifying exams are provided for these specialties.

The law enters into force 6 months after its publication.