Restructuring academic degree programs in Higher Education in Kazakhstan: adaptation to Western standards

Government efforts to reform higher education in Kazakhstan can be viewed as responses to globalisation challenges. From the early 1990s to the present, changes in higher education have focused on meeting these challenges by (a) restructuring the academic degree structure and making it similar to that in Western countries, (b) implementing the U.S. type of credit hour system in Kazakhstani universities and (c) joining the European Higher Education Area in the context of the Bologna process and introducing relevant tools and processes. While the government plays the leading role in both initiation and implementation of changes, the reforms appear largely contradictory, inconsistent and incomplete.The widespread practice of modifying or adjusting Western higher educational terminology, tools and processes according to perceived local needs contradicts the original government intent to integrate into the world educational community and come closer to recognised international standards.