2021
The Ministry of Education published on the website the guides for organising and carrying out the activities in school education establishments in the 2020/2021 academic year, in the context of the COVID-19 epidemics.
The ROSE Project concerning the secondary education
In the framework of the ROSE programme – Grant Schemes for Universities, 49 grants under the competitive grant scheme Support for University Students have been signed and received the first tranche of funds – this is the maximum number of grants for universities under implementation.
There are 393 grants for faculties/ universities and which support activities designed to meet the needs of students at risk of drop out in the first academic year, through remedial activities, tutoring, counselling and career guidance, support services, as well as the establishment of and equipping learning centres to support students at risk. Moreover, summer bridge programmes are financed for high school students, through which they may attend courses, seminars, counselling activities, sports or socio-cultural activities on university campuses.
Within the ROSE Project - University Grant Schemes, 201 grants are in the implementation phase under the Non-competitive University Grant Scheme (60 in Round I and 141 in Round II), 49 Grants in the Student Support Competitive Grant Scheme and 38 grants in the Learning Centres Grant Scheme (13 in Round I, 12 in Round II and 13 in Round III). An uninterrupted and smooth implementation of the concluded grants is conditioned by the allocation of budget credits for 2021.
In addition, under the ROSE project, 105 grants were implemented within the Scholarship Scheme for universities – Summer programmes, i.e. the maximum possible number of grants of this type. In order to continue the smooth implementation of the concluded grants (for high schools and universities) the allocation of budget credits for 2021 is needed.
Equal access and participation
In order to support university students from rural areas, disadvantaged groups and non-traditional university students to participate in tertiary education, ME has continued to implement social programmes:
special places for graduates from rural areas,
scholarships,
subsidies for accommodation and meals,
partial reimbursement of transportation costs.
Thus, in October 2020, a number of 6,670 university students were enrolled for special places, and among them 3,932 had graduated from high-schools in rural areas and 917 were Roma ethnics.
For the 2020/2021 academic year, distinct dedicated places have been allocated for graduates of high-schools in rural areas (2,000 places), for the priority development fields of Romania (5,000 places – bachelor programmes, 4,500 – master programmes, 300 – doctorate programmes), as well as 400 places for the initial teacher training of prospective teachers (a teaching master programme).
Following a call for projects organized by the National Council for Financing Higher Education (CNFIS) and funded by ME, the Institutional Development Fund (IDF) 2020 funded 41 institutional projects submitted by public universities in the Domain 1 (D1) - Equity & Access, which aims to increase social equity, to ensure social inclusion and increase access to higher education, matching the educational supply to labour market needs (including counselling and career guidance).
For 2021, the call for projects was closed at the beginning of May, for D1 funding area on equity and access to higher education, and 44 institutional projects on equity and social access, will be implemented by the end of this year. Moreover, for 2021, the key directions are financed to stimulate universities to take measures to increase access to higher education for people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, through additional funding (as a result of the application of the quality indicator (QI) 4.1 - Capability to integrate people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds in educational programmes).
The universities’ internationalization
In 2020, the consolidation of the institutional and national strategy on the internationalisation of higher education through support for the promotion of the educational provision of Romanian universities has been achieved by actions to update and improve the platform Study in Romania – SiR, and the development of support materials for a better understanding of the internationalisation of higher education; at present, policy briefs are in course of development.
In 2020, the institutional initiatives on the internationalization of higher education by supporting the promotion of the educational offer of Romanian universities consisted in updating and improving the Study in Romania - SiR platform, preparation of support materials for a better understanding of the internationalization of higher education, and the elaboration of policy briefs. A videoclip was made to promote Romanian higher education and attract foreign students to come in Romania and study for a full study cycle. During 2021, two more videoclips will be developed to promote Romanian higher education, of which one conceived to attracting students from disadvantaged groups/ backgrounds, and another to attract French-speaking foreign students.
In 2021, there are also being supported key-directions for financing as incentives for the universities to implement measures in order to increase the degree of internationalization of higher education. This is achieved both by financing the institutional development projects to strengthen the capacity of universities on the internationalization component (through the IDS 2021 call for projects, on the financing domain D2-Internationalization there will be implemented 45 institutional projects), as well as through additional funding.
The quality of higher education and matching with the labour market needs
In order to increase the quality of higher education and matching it with the labour market requirements, the Human Capital Operational Programme project entitled Improving public policies in higher education and increasing the quality of regulations by updating quality standards - QAFIN is being implemented.
Promotion of entrepreneurship education
Within the call for the Student Entrepreneur Scholarship programme, financing contracts were signed for 22 applications and the related projects are in implementation phase while under the call Measures for optimizing the study offers in higher education in support of employability, 11 applications were approved for financing being also in the implementation phase. Through these projects, as of end of December 2020, 9,007 people (pupils/ students, trainees) have benefited from support for participation in tertiary education and 1,680 teaching staff benefited from training programmes / exchange of good practices. In addition, 2,148 pupils and students, as well as 687 teachers have been certified following the support granted in the projects.
2020
The Ministry of Education and Research published on the website the guides for organising and carrying out the activities in school education establishments in the 2020/2021 academic year, in the context of the COVID-19 epidemics.
Implementation of the National Strategy for Tertiary Education 2015 – 2020
The Strategy intends to focus efforts so that Romania joins, by2030, the European states with competitive higher education insitutions, being structured on 3 pillars:
(1) Improving participation in tertiary education
(2) Flexible, relevant and high quality programmes
(3) Strategic commitment to the economic sector.
In 2019, the Strategy aims, among others, to develop the institutional strategies to draw underrepresented groups to tertiary education, to provide financial incentives to ensure that people from underrepresented groups are drawn to and kept in tertiary education and to encourage higher education institutions to strike a balance between the genders with regard to the number of students in each field of studies.
Phases for academic year 2020-2021:
Implementation of the Strategy Action Plan for 2020.
Completing the Monitoring Report for the measures in the 2019 Action Plan.
Equal access and participation
The social programmes of the Ministry of Education and Research continue to play an important role in ensuring access also to higher education.
Phases for academic year 2020-2021:
Continuing the implementation of the social programmes for university students: scholarships, subsidies for accommodation and meals, partial settlement of transportation (annual implementation).
Allocation of separate university places dedicated to graduates of high-schools from rural areas (2,000 places);
Implementing the projects contracted under the call for competitive projects funded by the Human Capital Operational Programme Integrated measures to increase participation of university students from vulnerable categories in entrepreneurial programmes. The projects aim to improve access and equity with financial support for students from vulnerable categories.
Implementing the projects contracted under the call for competitive projects funded by the Human Capital Operational Programme Measures to optimise the education provision in higher education so as to support employability. The projects aim to develop and pilot the provision of complementary courses with an applicative component addressed to students in the Bachelor cycle.
Providing the funding, through the Institutional Development Fund 2020, for the institutional projects submitted by public universities in the area of equity and social access, with a view to:
increase the capacity of the institution to include the university students at risk and in an academic dropout situation and to improve access to higher education;
provide support to university students, especially for those from disadvantaged backgrounds, so as to reduce academic dropout;
improve career counselling and guidance services.
Encouraging universities, through additional funding (IC4.1 – The capacity to integrate people from socioeconomic disadvantaged backgrounds in educational programmes), to take measures so as to increase access to higher education for people from socioeconomic disadvantaged backgrounds.
The ROSE Project concerning the secondary education
Continuing the implementation of the Grant Scheme for Universities within the project for secondary education ROSE.
Under the Non-Competitive Grant Scheme of the project ROSE, grants given are to faculties from the selected public universities taking into account the number of students at risk, as well as the dropout rate after the first year of studies or the fields of the Bachelor degree programmes. The beneficiaries of this scheme are university students at risk enrolled in their first year of a Bachelor programme, mainly those with a high dropout risk. A number of 201 non-competitive grants are under implementation, where 15,999 students benefitted, in their first two years, from remedial activities, counselling and personal development programmes, etc. The competitive grant scheme for universities Support for university students was launched in 2019. The objectives and activities of the Scheme are similar to those of the Scheme of Non-Competitive Grants. Under the Competitive Grant Scheme – Learning Centres of the project ROSE, fully equipped learning spaces are created, designed for individual or assisted study, primarily for students in their first year of a Bachelor programme, as an additional support mechanism for students at risk. A number of 38 grants are in course of implementation (13 as from 2017, 12 as from 2018, and13 as from 2019). Phases for academic year 2020-2021 in the ROSE project:
Continuing the implementation of the 201 projects under the Non-Competitive Grant Scheme for universities.
Continuing the implementation of the 38 projects under the Grant Scheme for universities Learning Centres.
Signing the grant agreements for 46 projects under the Competitive Grant Scheme Support for University Students, provided that the necessary commitment appropriations are received.
Giving the first tranche (advance) for projects signed under the Competitive Grant Scheme Support for University Students, provided that the necessary commitment appropriations are received.
The universities’ internationalization
Phases for academic year 2020-2021:
Conducting the competition for projects funded by the Institutional Development Fund dedicated to public universities for 2020 (IDF 2020).
Encouraging universities, through additional funding (IC3.1 & IC3.2 – An international outlook), to take measures so as to raise the shares of:
student mobility under the ERASMUS programme and ERASMUS MUNDUS, and
foreign students enrolled in academic programmes.
Reinforcing the institutional and national strategy of internationalization by supporting the promotion of the educational provision of Romanian universities (participation in international fairs; updating and improving the platform Study in Romania - SiR).
Construction of 30 student hostels within the National Programme of Constructions of Public or Social Interest and the rehabilitation, modernization or construction of student canteens.
The quality of higher education and matching with the labour market needs
Phases for academic year 2020-2021:
Implementing the Administrative Capacity Operational Programme project Improving public policies in higher education and raising the quality of regulations through the update of quality standards – QAFIN.
Implementation of the projects submitted under the call for proposals Support for doctorate students and post-doctorate researchers. The projects provide funding for learning programmes with an applicative component and for the development of transversal and entrepreneurial skills to support research and innovation, especially in those economic sectors with a competitive potential.
Providing funding, through IDF 2020, for the institutional projects submitted by public universities to improve the quality of teaching activities and to correlate the educational provision with the demand on the labour market.
Promotion of entrepreneurship education
Phases for academic year 2020-2021:
Providing funding, through IDF 2020, for the projects submitted by public universities in the area of entrepreneurship education, with a view to:
establish student entrepreneurial companies (SEC), make operational and
extend the Career Counselling and Guidance Centres (CCGC) in universities.
So far, 40 higher education institutions have submitted projects to promote entrepreneurial education among university students.
2019
The quality of higher education and matching with the labour market needs
In order to increase the quality of higher education and matching with the labour market needs, the ACOP project Development of MEN capacity to monitor and forecast the evolution of higher education in relation to the labour market, a series of studies on the mechanism of monitoring the graduates' insertion on the labour market, analysis of the quality and relevance of study programmes offered by universities, the impact of the interventions developed for higher education on the offer of universities and employers, the quality and efficiency of universities were completed, and a Communication and Participation Mechanism in the Decision-making and a Regulation for the organization and operation of the Centre for the Professional Management of the University Management were carried out. More than 550 academics and 50 people from MEN were trained as part of this project’s target group.
In another ACOP funded project titled Improving public policies in higher education and enhancing the quality of regulations by updating quality standards (QAFIN), implemented by MEN in partnership with RAQAHE, there will be developed a methodology and guidelines on the external evaluation of the quality in higher education in Romania, a methodology for the evaluation of universities for the purpose of institutional classification and the hierarchy of academic study programs, a report on the classification of universities and academic study programmes, and a study on data and good practices at European level on quality assurance and classification in higher education, as well as a Procedures Manual on the role and powers of MENs and its subordinated entities (RAQAHE).
Promotion of entrepreneurship education
One of the most important measures regarding the matching of the university academic curricula with the requirements of the labour market is the promotion of entrepreneurial education.
In this respect, based on the provisions on the organization and operating of Student Entrepreneurial Businesses (SEBs) in Romania, all Romanian accredited higher education institutions have the obligation to set up SEBs.
Thus, 54 state universities and 34 private universities have established SEBs.
In 2018, 35 applications were submitted in this call - Supporting the activities of the university entrepreneurship companies, out of which 28 projects were funded.
In line with the 2019 Methodology for the allocation of FDI, public universities can benefit from funding to support the SEBs business activities in 2019.
The ROSE Project concerning the secondary education
Under the ROSE project, the non-competitive grant scheme is aimed at supporting public universities eligible to develop and implement programmes to improve students' academic performance, mentoring, career guidance and counselling, guidance and support services, coaching, the development of socio-emotional skills, workshops in specific areas as well as awareness raising campaigns targeting students facing high risk of academic dropout or other similar activities.
60 grants were awarded to 8,000 beneficiary students who were at risk of academic dropout and participated in remedial and counselling activities.
Other 11 new grant agreements were also concluded within the framework of the grant scheme dedicated to the Learning Centres universities.
The universities’ internationalization
To develop institutional capacity and increase the degree of internationalization of higher education and to increase its visibility and attract foreign students to study in Romania, under the call for projects funded by the Institutional Development Fund for State Universities (FDI 2018), 239 applications were submitted (44 for the internationalization of higher education in Romania), of which 181 applications were accepted and received financing (36 targeting for the internationalization of higher education in Romania).
The FDI Allocation Methodology for 2019 was approved, and the FDI 2019 call for projects - including the internationalization component - was launched.