CCAP Ukraine


Overview

Santa Fe College hosted two delegations of higher education administrators from Ukraine as part of the Community College Administrator Program (CCAP) funded by the United States Department of State. Both CCAPs with Ukraine were administered by Florida State University and Santa Fe College. The first Ukrainian delegation came to SF May 2-13, 2016. The second delegation visited our college May 17-28, 2018. In total, these two programs allowed our college administrators, faculty and students to dialogue and share experiences with 28 Ukrainian college presidents.

Since declaring independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) August 24, 1991, Ukraine has experienced significant economic and political reform. These reforms have accelerated since the 2014 Maiden Revolution, particularly in the realm of education.

A new Law on Higher Education was passed at the end of 2014 just a few months after the Revolution of Dignity. It represented the first legislation of its kind in twelve years. The law created the National Agency for Quality Assurance, a new independent body charged with monitoring the quality of education in higher education institutions. The law also introduced the concept of inclusive education. A broader Law on Education was approved at the end of 2017. These and other recent pieces of legislation represent a major reform of Ukraine’s education system in order to align it more with world standards and produce the types of educated and skilled graduates the country needs to fuel economic growth.

Ukraine currently has approximately 800 technical colleges throughout the country, which serve students 15-19 years of age. Each technical college averages in size from 1000–1500 students. Directors from 28 of Ukraine's top performing technical colleges as well as representatives from the country's Ministry of Education and Science participated in the 2016 and 2018 CCAP in order to learn more about the U.S. community college system and help inform the ongoing dialogue and process of education reform in their country. The video below captures some of what these visitors experienced and learned.

 

Program Overview

The Community College Administrator Program with Ukraine will be a six-week program of study for Ukrainian officials with higher education planning responsibilities and administrators from post-secondary vocational and technical institutions in Ukraine. Conducted by the Florida State University and Santa Fe College, the exchange will consist of a one-week Executive Dialogue and a five-week Community College Seminar.

Executive Dialogue

The Executive Dialogue is designed to provide an overview of the U.S. community college system and explore Ukraine’s development of community colleges. Ukrainian higher education officials and administrators will meet with legislative leaders and senior policy-makers of the Florida Community College System to provide a comprehensive understanding of the development, organization and administration of a U.S. community college system integrally linked to secondary education, higher education and the workforce training needs of business and industry. In addition to the 14 administrators, the program will support four high-level Ukrainian higher education officials to participate in the Executive Dialogue.

Five-week Community College Seminar

The Seminar is designed to train 14 administrators from Ukrainian post-secondary vocational and technical institutions or officials with higher education planning responsibilities in key elements of community college leadership, to provide direct exposure to the day-to-day administrative responsibilities and challenges of a U.S. community college, and investigate specific community college academic and vocational programs relevant to the needs of Ukraine and/or participants’ home institutions.

Objectives

As a result of participating in this program, participants will:

  • Demonstrate enhanced ability to effectively address governance and policy questions integral to the establishment of a community college system relevant to the Ukrainian context;
  • Contribute to the present and future demands for policy formulation, continuous planning, program management decision making and day-to-day administration of community academies in Ukraine;
  • Explore aspects the U.S. higher education system and provide a more comprehensive understanding of the U.S. community college administration;
  • Articulate the unique and important opportunities created through merging academic, business and management skills through the community college system; and
  • Encourage on-going collaboration between Ukrainian and U.S. counterparts involved in community college administration.

Topics of Study

  • Governance
  • Finance
  • Student Affairs/Student Services
  • Program Assessment
  • Leadership
  • Technology
  • Workforce Development
  • Community Engagement
  • Private Sector Partnerships
  • Distance Learning

Format

  • Classroom Instruction. 20 hours per week of intensive instruction by graduate faculty of the Florida State University College of Education, former officers of the State of Florida Community College System, and current Santa Fe College administrators.
  • Job Shadowing/Mentoring. One-on-one interaction with current community college administrators whose day-to-day responsibilities most closely match those of participants.
  • Site Visits. Targeted site visits to Florida community colleges to investigate academic/vocational programs or administrative practices of relevance to participants and their home institutions.

Audience

  • The program will fund the participation of four senior-level Ministry of Education officials to participate in the one-week Executive Dialogue with 14 administrators. The Executive Dialogue will be the first week of the Community College Administrator Program. Interpretation services will be made available for the Executive Dialogue if needed.
  • The program will fund the participation of 14 senior-level administrators from post-secondary vocational and technical institutions and policy makers with higher education planning responsibilities to participate in the one-week Executive Dialogue and the five-week Seminar.

Locations

  • Tallahassee, Florida, U.S.A.
  • Gainesville, Florida, U.S.A.

Duration

  • Six weeks total including a one-week Executive Dialogue and a five-week Seminar. Program dates will be determined in discussions with relevant Ukrainian and US Department of State officials.