New challenges – new solutions
According to the federal project "Russia is a country attractive for study and work", by 2030, the number of foreign students should increase by 1.5 times compared to 2021.1
The attraction of foreign students in recent years has faced serious challenges: the pandemic and quarantine restrictions (2020–2021), the forced transition of universities to distance learning (2020–2022), the transformation of the geopolitical situation, the allocation of the category of unfriendly countries, the rejection of the Bologna format of the organization of the educational process have also left their mark on the admission campaign of the 2022–2023 academic year, and on the international activities of universities in general.
Despite the difficult geopolitical situation, on September 5, 2022, the President of Russia approved The concept of the humanitarian policy of the Russian Federation abroad2. Obviously, the appearance of this important strategic document is explained by the aggravated phase of the "war of values", which can be traced by the example of the entire history of human development. The concept of humanitarian policy clearly outlines the circle of values of the Russian Federation that the country carries to the global world for its better understanding and perception.
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1 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2816 dated 06.10.2021. // Corpus of Legislation of the Russian Federation. 2021. Issue No. 41, art. 7051.
2 Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 611 dated 05.09.2022 "On Approval of the Concept of Humanitarian Policy of the Russian Federation Abroad. // Corpus of Legislation of the Russian Federation. 2022. No. 37. Art. 6315.
The attraction of foreign students in recent years has faced serious challenges: the pandemic and quarantine restrictions (2020–2021), the forced transition of universities to distance learning (2020–2022), the transformation of the geopolitical situation, the allocation of the category of unfriendly countries, the rejection of the Bologna format of the organization of the educational process have also left their mark on the admission campaign of the 2022–2023 academic year, and on the international activities of universities in general.
Despite the difficult geopolitical situation, on September 5, 2022, the President of Russia approved The concept of the humanitarian policy of the Russian Federation abroad2. Obviously, the appearance of this important strategic document is explained by the aggravated phase of the "war of values", which can be traced by the example of the entire history of human development. The concept of humanitarian policy clearly outlines the circle of values of the Russian Federation that the country carries to the global world for its better understanding and perception.
____________________________________________________
1 Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 2816 dated 06.10.2021. // Corpus of Legislation of the Russian Federation. 2021. Issue No. 41, art. 7051.
2 Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 611 dated 05.09.2022 "On Approval of the Concept of Humanitarian Policy of the Russian Federation Abroad. // Corpus of Legislation of the Russian Federation. 2022. No. 37. Art. 6315.
As the main directions of humanitarian policy abroad, the Concept defines the support and promotion of the Russian language as the language of international communication abroad, the promotion of Russian culture, science and education abroad, defining mechanisms and geopolitical priorities.
As priorities in the field of science and education outlined in the Concept, there are as follows:
Despite Russia's success in exporting education, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has had a significant impact on attracting foreign students. This was reflected in the rupture of humanitarian ties on the part of unfriendly countries, transport problems due to the cancellation of flights, financial difficulties in transferring money, blocking of popular transnational social networks, a powerful information campaign in the eyes of the world community, third countries. Thus, according to the annual rating of the Global Soft Power Index, compared with the perception reflected in the study conducted for the Global Soft Power Index 2022 before the conflict, Russia's reputation in the world fell by 19% as a result of its actions towards Ukraine. Loyalty to Russia declined even in China (4%) and India (5%), although, in general, respondents from India and China still support Russia's position more [2].
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3 Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 611 dated 05.09.2022 "On Approval of the Concept of Humanitarian Policy of the Russian Federation Abroad. // Corpus of Legislation of the Russian Federation. 2022. No. 37. Art. 6315
As priorities in the field of science and education outlined in the Concept, there are as follows:
- improving the competitiveness of Russian education;
- strengthening the role of Russian higher education institutions in the framework of network education projects (CIS Network University, BRICS Network University, SCO University, etc.)
- increasing the academic mobility of students, researchers and teaching staff;
- grant provision, development and implementation of appropriate educational programs to attract foreign youth to receive education in Russia;
- creation of a system for organizing information and analytical support for the promotion of Russian educational services and research programs abroad;
- interaction with graduates of Russian higher education institutions — foreign citizens who make up the political and intellectual elite of these states;
- various mechanisms of so-called cross-border education: the creation of branches in foreign educational organizations licensed abroad, where training is carried out in Russian and according to Russian standards of higher education; scaling up the practice of implementing double degree programs, the creation of joint educational organizations of higher education with foreign countries in their territories, the organization of joint foundation courses, the opening of branches Russian educational institutions of higher education abroad3.
Despite Russia's success in exporting education, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has had a significant impact on attracting foreign students. This was reflected in the rupture of humanitarian ties on the part of unfriendly countries, transport problems due to the cancellation of flights, financial difficulties in transferring money, blocking of popular transnational social networks, a powerful information campaign in the eyes of the world community, third countries. Thus, according to the annual rating of the Global Soft Power Index, compared with the perception reflected in the study conducted for the Global Soft Power Index 2022 before the conflict, Russia's reputation in the world fell by 19% as a result of its actions towards Ukraine. Loyalty to Russia declined even in China (4%) and India (5%), although, in general, respondents from India and China still support Russia's position more [2].
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3 Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 611 dated 05.09.2022 "On Approval of the Concept of Humanitarian Policy of the Russian Federation Abroad. // Corpus of Legislation of the Russian Federation. 2022. No. 37. Art. 6315
In this regard, in the conditions of actively fueled russophobia within the framework of the information war, fierce competition for the educational market, foreign students and graduates can solve a whole range of tasks in the field of domestic and foreign policy, the formation of a favorable image of the country, and therefore the state policy of attracting foreign students requires serious rethinking.
An important and long-awaited event was the adoption of Federal Law No. 357 of July 14, 2022. "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation" and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation"2, which establishes a special regime for foreign citizens and stateless persons studying intramurally in state educational or scientific Organizations in Russia — a temporary residence permit in Russia in simplified form. This permit for foreigners studying under state-accredited higher education programs or under a postgraduate program for scientific and scientific pedagogical personnel is issued for the entire period of study and one hundred and eighty calendar days after the end of the training period. Of course, this Federal Law eliminates the need for an annual extension of a visa for a foreign student in Russia, which will contribute to their further integration into Russian society, reduce the bureaucratic burden on both students and educational institutions of higher education. The law comes into force on January 4, 2023.
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4 Federal Law No. 357 of July 14, 2022 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation" and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation"// Corpus of legislation of the Russian Federation. 2022. Issue No. 29, article 5324
An important and long-awaited event was the adoption of Federal Law No. 357 of July 14, 2022. "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation" and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation"2, which establishes a special regime for foreign citizens and stateless persons studying intramurally in state educational or scientific Organizations in Russia — a temporary residence permit in Russia in simplified form. This permit for foreigners studying under state-accredited higher education programs or under a postgraduate program for scientific and scientific pedagogical personnel is issued for the entire period of study and one hundred and eighty calendar days after the end of the training period. Of course, this Federal Law eliminates the need for an annual extension of a visa for a foreign student in Russia, which will contribute to their further integration into Russian society, reduce the bureaucratic burden on both students and educational institutions of higher education. The law comes into force on January 4, 2023.
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4 Federal Law No. 357 of July 14, 2022 "On Amendments to the Federal Law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation" and Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation"// Corpus of legislation of the Russian Federation. 2022. Issue No. 29, article 5324
Placing high hopes on the abovementioned Federal Law, higher education institutions, however, single out interaction with migration services as the most problematic, time-consuming and complex. A large number of public administration bodies are involved in the process of educational migration, and their activities are not always coordinated, and sometimes even contradict each other. These are the Migration Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, the Ministry of Education and Science of Russia, the Federal Service for Supervision of Education and Science of Russia, the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, Rospotrebnadzor, Rosaviation. The subjects of migration policy can also include organizations of higher education, recruiting agencies, public organizations (Associations of graduates, foreign students, etc.).
In order to solve the political and economic problems of educational migration at a higher quality level, it is advisable to create a Coordinating Body or council to address both strategic and operational issues, and international education specialists do have such a need. The issue of organizing effective interaction of all subjects of educational migration is acute. In our opinion, it is advisable to consider singling out in a separate Legislative act the issues of legal migration regulation: entry, stay of foreign students, migration registration, administrative responsibility for violations.
Despite the pandemic, the number of international students in 2021 actually increased. This was largely facilitated by the remote start of the academic year without passing the necessary migration procedures, professional development of more than 3,000 university employees within the framework of the federal project "Export of Education" (2019–2021) at the sites of RANEPA and RUDN, and, of course, the liberal regulatory and legal regulation of admission campaigns of the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 academic years, regulated by the relevant orders of the Ministry of Education and Science RF. In particular, the orders on the specifics of admission allowed educational organizations to enroll a foreign student, followed by the provision of an original document on education and a certificate of recognition of a foreign education5.
The admission campaign for the 2022–2023 academic year also took place in critical conditions of the information blockade, distance learning due to logistics problems, financial transfers, uncertainty of prospects for foreign applicants due to the rejection of the Bologna process, however, these problems were not reflected in the Admission Procedure6.
Paradoxical as it sounds, but the least flexible and conservative for solving modern challenges is the educational legislation in the international sphere. In order to implement the legal basis for the formation of a multilevel system of attracting foreign students within the framework of the export of education, "soft power", it is necessary to include concepts related to educational migration in the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation", for example,"export of education", "joint educational programs", "double degree programs", "transnational education", "network university", as well as expanding the existing concepts, for example, "academic mobility". For example, the implementation of various forms of cross-border education defined in the Concept of Humanitarian Education (see paragraph 7 above) is practically impossible with the current modern regulatory and legal regulation. The lack of representation of the necessary conceptual apparatus regulating the attraction and consolidation of foreign students in Russia in the main federal law "On Education in the Russian Federation" restricts further legal development in the form of subordinate regulations, which are in dire need of Russian educational organizations in connection with the implementation of a new stage of educational migration.
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5 The Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 1076 of August 21, 2020 On Approval of the Procedure for Admission to higher Education educational programs – Bachelor's degree programs, Specialist's programs, Master's degree programs"// URL: http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001... (accessed 01.06.2022)
In order to solve the political and economic problems of educational migration at a higher quality level, it is advisable to create a Coordinating Body or council to address both strategic and operational issues, and international education specialists do have such a need. The issue of organizing effective interaction of all subjects of educational migration is acute. In our opinion, it is advisable to consider singling out in a separate Legislative act the issues of legal migration regulation: entry, stay of foreign students, migration registration, administrative responsibility for violations.
Despite the pandemic, the number of international students in 2021 actually increased. This was largely facilitated by the remote start of the academic year without passing the necessary migration procedures, professional development of more than 3,000 university employees within the framework of the federal project "Export of Education" (2019–2021) at the sites of RANEPA and RUDN, and, of course, the liberal regulatory and legal regulation of admission campaigns of the 2020–2021 and 2021–2022 academic years, regulated by the relevant orders of the Ministry of Education and Science RF. In particular, the orders on the specifics of admission allowed educational organizations to enroll a foreign student, followed by the provision of an original document on education and a certificate of recognition of a foreign education5.
The admission campaign for the 2022–2023 academic year also took place in critical conditions of the information blockade, distance learning due to logistics problems, financial transfers, uncertainty of prospects for foreign applicants due to the rejection of the Bologna process, however, these problems were not reflected in the Admission Procedure6.
Paradoxical as it sounds, but the least flexible and conservative for solving modern challenges is the educational legislation in the international sphere. In order to implement the legal basis for the formation of a multilevel system of attracting foreign students within the framework of the export of education, "soft power", it is necessary to include concepts related to educational migration in the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation", for example,"export of education", "joint educational programs", "double degree programs", "transnational education", "network university", as well as expanding the existing concepts, for example, "academic mobility". For example, the implementation of various forms of cross-border education defined in the Concept of Humanitarian Education (see paragraph 7 above) is practically impossible with the current modern regulatory and legal regulation. The lack of representation of the necessary conceptual apparatus regulating the attraction and consolidation of foreign students in Russia in the main federal law "On Education in the Russian Federation" restricts further legal development in the form of subordinate regulations, which are in dire need of Russian educational organizations in connection with the implementation of a new stage of educational migration.
________________________________________________________________________________
5 The Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 1076 of August 21, 2020 On Approval of the Procedure for Admission to higher Education educational programs – Bachelor's degree programs, Specialist's programs, Master's degree programs"// URL: http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/View/0001... (accessed 01.06.2022)
The admission campaign for the 2022–2023 academic year also took place in critical conditions of the information blockade, distance learning due to logistics problems, financial transfers, uncertainty of prospects for foreign applicants due to the rejection of the Bologna process, however, these problems were not reflected in the Admission Procedure6.
Paradoxical as it sounds, but the least flexible and conservative for solving modern challenges is the educational legislation in the international sphere. In order to implement the legal basis for the formation of a multilevel system of attracting foreign students within the framework of the export of education, "soft power", it is necessary to include concepts related to educational migration in the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation", for example,"export of education", "joint educational programs", "double degree programs", "transnational education", "network university", as well as expanding the existing concepts, for example, "academic mobility". For example, the implementation of various forms of cross-border education defined in the Concept of Humanitarian Education (see paragraph 7 above) is practically impossible with the current modern regulatory and legal regulation. The lack of representation of the necessary conceptual apparatus regulating the attraction and consolidation of foreign students in Russia in the main federal law "On Education in the Russian Federation" restricts further legal development in the form of subordinate regulations, which are in dire need of Russian educational organizations in connection with the implementation of a new stage of educational migration.
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6 The Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 726 of June 15, 2020 "On the features of admission to higher education educational programs — Bachelor's, Master's, Specialist's and Postgraduate training programs for the 2020/21 academic year", the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 226 of April 01, 2021 "On the features of admission to study under educational programs of higher education — Bachelor's, Master's, Specialist's degree programs, programs for training scientific and pedagogical personnel in postgraduate studies for the 2021/22 academic year" (expired)
Paradoxical as it sounds, but the least flexible and conservative for solving modern challenges is the educational legislation in the international sphere. In order to implement the legal basis for the formation of a multilevel system of attracting foreign students within the framework of the export of education, "soft power", it is necessary to include concepts related to educational migration in the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation", for example,"export of education", "joint educational programs", "double degree programs", "transnational education", "network university", as well as expanding the existing concepts, for example, "academic mobility". For example, the implementation of various forms of cross-border education defined in the Concept of Humanitarian Education (see paragraph 7 above) is practically impossible with the current modern regulatory and legal regulation. The lack of representation of the necessary conceptual apparatus regulating the attraction and consolidation of foreign students in Russia in the main federal law "On Education in the Russian Federation" restricts further legal development in the form of subordinate regulations, which are in dire need of Russian educational organizations in connection with the implementation of a new stage of educational migration.
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6 The Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 726 of June 15, 2020 "On the features of admission to higher education educational programs — Bachelor's, Master's, Specialist's and Postgraduate training programs for the 2020/21 academic year", the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 226 of April 01, 2021 "On the features of admission to study under educational programs of higher education — Bachelor's, Master's, Specialist's degree programs, programs for training scientific and pedagogical personnel in postgraduate studies for the 2021/22 academic year" (expired)
In conditions of fierce competition and the development of new markets, we're facing the issue of withdrawal from the centralized procedure of academic recognition through Rosobrnadzor and granting the right of independent recognition to all educational institutions of higher education. This norm requires amendments to the Federal Law "On Education in the Russian Federation", as well as the obsolete norm on the legalization of a document on education, which does not guarantee its authenticity, but significantly complicates admission to Russian universities.
Therefore, today it is extremely important to integrate the efforts of both the educational community and foreign students themselves, in order to adjust the regulatory framework not only on strategic global tracks, but also on the current topical permanent problems that international students of universities have to solve and which, taking into account modern tasks, sometimes look archaic and unfriendly.
Therefore, today it is extremely important to integrate the efforts of both the educational community and foreign students themselves, in order to adjust the regulatory framework not only on strategic global tracks, but also on the current topical permanent problems that international students of universities have to solve and which, taking into account modern tasks, sometimes look archaic and unfriendly.
Vera Skorobogatova
Executive Director of the Competence Center for International Services of Educational Organizations,
RANEPA. Leading federal expert on international education, international scientific cooperation and recognition of international education.
Executive Director of the Competence Center for International Services of Educational Organizations,
RANEPA. Leading federal expert on international education, international scientific cooperation and recognition of international education.