As the spring comes to Kyiv, parks with blooming chestnut trees and warm weather replace the bleak and cold winter, and Kyiv university students approach the deciding season of the school year, the season of exams. This period, usually lasting for several weeks, is known in Ukraine as the "sessia." The Ukrainian higher education system is different from the American system in many ways, including the ways in which students study and are tested.

Basically all universities in Ukraine with rare exception are state-sponsored institutions. Usually each university specializes in one particular area. The title of the university makes it clear what profession its students pursue. Among universities in Kyiv there are National Medical University, National Aviation University, Kyiv Polytechnic University, Kyiv National Economic University, and Kyiv National Linguistic University. Given that the majority of universities are state-governed, the schedule of studies and procedures used does not vary much from one university to the other.

First-year students are divided into groups of about 20 people. These are the groups that they will study in throughout the next five years. During one school semester, a student is required to take nine or ten classes. Some courses last throughout the whole school year, others last only one semester. A school semester contains a certain number of lectures and seminars that a student has to attend. Study material is explained to students during lectures, to which attendance is rarely required. Seminars, however, merit much more strict discipline. During the seminars, students are expected to prepare and present research papers, write tests, and answer their professors' questions.

By the end of the semester, each student's work is summarized by his or her professor. If the attendance is satisfactory and all the assignments have been turned in, a student may get an "avtomat." This means that a student will not be required to take an exam. "Avtomat" is the great hope of every Ukrainian student. If this does not happen, a student will need to take exams in five or six classes during the "sessia." Exams can be either oral or written, but in any case they are open-ended questions that require wide and detailed answers. Seventy to ninety potential exam questions are given to the students for preparation beforehand.

The month of June will soon bring a form of chaos into students' lives as the "sessia" begins. The UEC staff will gladly share this time of intense study and assist many Kyiv students who will come to the Center for help.

Posted on June 19, 2007