Internal Structure of Higher Education Institution

The Law of Ukraine on Higher Education outlines the structure of higher education institutions in Ukraine. A higher education institution of the third and fourth accreditation level consists of schools or colleges, teaching departments, teaching and research institutes, branch subdivisions, libraries etc. It may also include research centres, innovation centres, and laboratories, which may operate under the aegis of a single department or several departments of a kindred academic profile.

An institute, as a subdivision of a larger higher education institution (usually a university) unites several kindred directions of training. By legal definition, an institute as a subdivision of a higher education institution is oriented towards either research only or research and teaching taken together.

Faculty (Fakultet) is the principal structural unit of a higher education institution at the third and fourth levels of accreditation. It includes at least three teaching departments and enrols no fewer than two hundred full-time students.

Teaching department (Kafedra) is responsible for teaching and research within a single academic field or several kindred fields. It may also be responsible for overall training in one or several related specialities.

Each higher education institution has a library available for its students.

The teaching and research staff consists of those who teach at higher education institutions of the third and fourth levels of accreditation. For the most part, they are higher education graduates with special pedagogical training. The main positions of teaching and research staff are assistant, lecturer, professor, dean, vice-rector, and rector. As a rule, academic staff members hold research degrees and/or academic titles. The elected rector, president, or director of a Ukrainian higher education institution fulfils the corresponding duties over a term of five to seven years.

The Rector of a higher education institution is accountable for the development of educational activities, financial management, and maintenance. In exercising these activities, the Rector relies on a Governing Board or an Academic Council, which consists of the heads of the institutional subdivisions, outstanding members of its teaching and research staff, and representatives of the student community.

The Academic Council elects the deans of each Faculty, and the chairs of each teaching department on a competitive basis, for a term of five to seven years. The elected person signs an employment contract in accordance with State legislation and internal institutional rules and regulations.

The dean of a Faculty is responsible for all its activities and the activities of all faculty members.