The following project comes as a result of the initiated reform of the Bulgarian higher education - a reform which aims above all to integrate Bulgarian higher education into European structures. One of the reform's major tasks is to introduce into the present system of higher education an academic degree system with the levels of bachelor, master, and doctor. This task reflects the attempt to synchronize Bulgarian higher education with other more open and efficient international educational models; it also aims to promote future co-operation between Bulgarian and foreign universities. The establishment of the new degree system represents a fundamental change in the traditional conception of Bulgarian higher education; it is expected to affect not only the internal institutional structures but also the educational content and the roles of all constituent members of the university community.

The direction of this reform has been outlined in general terms in the 1995 Law on Higher Education; state requirements for bachelor degrees in some specialties have been issued. However, no specific conception of the structures and the content of each different degree level in the Bulgarian context has been articulated. Actual interpretation and implementation of the future degrees have been left to individual institutions. Moreover, whereas the Law on Higher Education states that the deadline for implementation expires within a year of its enactment (Transitional and Final Regulations, article 12), many university faculties are still in the initial stages of the degree institutionalization.

In the project, I will analyze the way the academic administration of state universities is addressing the need for change in order to synchronize university structures and content with the new degree system and assess the institutional effectivity of instituting reform. More specifically, I will focus on developments in the academic policy area where institutions of higher education have been granted autonomy. Thus, by reviewing issues such as the construction of academic programs, curricular adaptation, flexibility and choice on the part of both faculty and students, evaluation, teaching methods and research, faculty development, curricular initiatives, related decisions, etc., the study will examine the way individual institutions reshape their governing structures and educational contents in order to successfully implement the different degree level system.

A number of reasons justify the need for a study of this kind. On the one hand, for forty-five years, the Bulgarian socialist government, through political control and central planning of goals, structure, and content of higher education, imposed principles of university administration and operation that had profound effects not only on the institutional structures, but on the individuals working and studying in them. In this connection, it is widely believed that academic institutions are resistant to change; according to some (Burgen 1996, Popov 1994), stabilizing measures have not been achieved yet within the Bulgarian higher education system. In this context, it will be important to assess the institutional effectivity in implementing change.

On the other hand, it is indisputable that universities have a critical role to play in the development of the Bulgarian civil society through the provision of higher levels of skills and knowledge that will assist the transition to a market economy, the production and dissemination of scientific knowledge and innovation, and the presenting of a forum for debating ideas and promoting social and cultural values which are particularly important in the context of countries undergoing fundamental change (Barr 1994). As history shows, calls for the transformation of education have always been a part of a profound social change. However, institutions of higher education can be instrumental in transforming society only if they reform themselves. The initiated reform is a part of the transformation towards more democratic models of education and it is important to analyze the institutional reform achievements.

Any interest in theoretical problems of higher education and science always presupposes empirical research of identified single academic institutions as a way to develop new ideas, to find solutions to more universal concerns, and to involve those related to the problem in the process of its solution (Bogdanov 1993). Accordingly, I have selected to conduct the study focusing on three large Bulgarian state universityies:  the "St. Kl. Ohridski" Sofia University, the "P. Hilendarski" Plovdiv University, and the "St. Cyril and Methodii" University of Veliko Turnovo. These institutions have been sampled according to: type ("The university is a school of higher education which 1) offers a large number of specialties at least in three of the four major scientific fields - humanities, natural sciences, social sciences, and technical sciences; 2) provides master and doctoral degrees in a significant number of specialties; and 3) does its own research" (article 17, section 2, paragraphs 1-3, Law on Higher Education), size (have large academic communities with which high percentages of Bulgarian higher education graduates identify), age (have experienced the centralized type of governance), geographicallocation (represent different Bulgarian regions), and public status (receive funds from the government).

As the oldest Bulgarian institution of higher education, Sofia University not only exhibits features that are characteristic to many Bulgarian universities but also often serves as an example for other Bulgarian institutions. All three sampled institutions, with their large communities and different faculties, face many of the reform problems. At the same time, each of them is attempting to define its individual character in teaching and learning, student populations, degrees offered, resource-allocation options, and governance structures. Thus, although research on these universities will point to their individual attempts to institutionalize change, general conclusions concerning all public universities will be made.

The most suitable research design is the case study as an approach that fosters an in-depth understanding of the situation and its meaning for those involved. Since literature on the governance of individual institutions of higher education in Bulgaria is scarce, exploration of the dynamics of daily practices will provide a way to heuristically look at current developments. At the institutions, the study will concentrate on one Faculty of three fields of science:  the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences. The principal research tools will include: review of primary and secondary materials; interviews with members of the academic community; observations of attended meetings, the physical setting, the social environment and human interactions. I will also interview government officials and review normative documentation. Since the results of this research will present the body of my doctoral thesis at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, I will receive constant guidance by my Dissertation Committee. Three members, Dr. Rossman, Dr. Burn, and Dr. Campbell, will be in contact with me via electronic mail. The forth member, Dr. Watkins, President of the American University in Bulgaria, will assist me throughout the research.

The study will contribute to the field by providing current research materials and analysis of recent developments in Bulgarian higher education. Initial steps in Bulgarian higher education reform have led to the determination of the principles of education in a democratic society. However, ten years after the political transformation, there is inadequate attention paid to developments within single institutions, to the inner dynamics of institutions. Meaningful change will come above all from the individual institutions themselves. Therefore, it is of great importance to assess how Bulgarian institutions of higher education, like Sofia University, Plovdiv University, and Veliko Turnovo University, address change and what implementation difficulties they face. Research on developments at the micro-level of academic governance will assist effective decision-making at the macro-level of governance; it will also stimulate open dialogue about the problems of Bulgarian higher education.

On a broader scale, paucity of institution-related research in most countries of the ex-socialist block was a point made at the Fulbright conference on Education and Civil Society in the Post-Totalitarian World in which I participated (May 14-17, Sofia, Bulgaria). Because many of the Eastern and Central European countries have been attempting to critically reconsider their systems of higher education, the study will provide a useful basis for comparative discussion.

Research Time Table:

December 15th, 1998 - February 1st, 1999:
- Literature review and formulation of the theoretical conceptual basis using the University of Massachusetts Amherst/Five-College System library resources and the available electronic data-base collection (ERIC);
- Analysis of the literature and documents related to the reform in Bulgaria;
- Discussions with my Dissertation Committee members as well as consultations with educational specialists in Bulgaria;
- Scheduling of the first stage of interviews at Sofia University.

February 1^st, 1999 - May 1^st, 1999
- Field research at Sofia University: data collection from available primary and secondary sources such as documentation from administrative and faculty meetings, university regulations, daily operational documentation, normative laws, statistical surveys, and educational publications; interviews with the Rector, faculty deans, department chairs, faculty and students both with and without administrative responsibilities, members of university governing bodies; observations of meetings, the physical setting, the environment, the implementation of planned and unplanned activities, and the formal and informal interactions; interviews with government officials.

May, 1999:
- Data processing and analysis of the results at this stage;
- Scheduling of the next stage of interviews at Plovdiv University and the University of Veliko Turnovo.

June, 1^st, 1999 - September 1^st, 1999:
Field research at the University of Plovdiv and the University of Veliko Turnovo.

September, 1^st, 1999 - December 15th, 1999:
Data analysis and writing of the final report.
 
 

References:
Barr, Nicholas, editor. Labor Markets and Social Policy in Central and Eastern Europe. Oxford University Press and the World Bank. 1994.
Bogdanov, B. Strategies for Policy in Science and Education. Ministry of Science, Education , and Technologies. Sofia: Institute in Education and Science. 3/1993.
Burgen, Arnold, editor. Goals and Purposes of Higher Education in the 21st Century. Bristol, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. 1996.
Crampton, R. J. A Concise History of Bulgaria. Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Law on Higher Education. State Newsletter of the Republic of Bulgaria. Sofia, special issue, N 112, December 27th, 1995.
Popov, Strategies for Policy in Science and Education. Ministry of Science, Education , and Technologies. Sofia: Institute in Education and Science. 4/1994.