"Everything Must Change": Reinventing University Reforms in Poland and Ukraine, between International Constraints and Path Dependency

This contribution will highlight the different political contexts of major Higher Education (HE) Reforms in Poland and Ukraine over recent decades. Since the launch of the Bologna Process, there have been several major attempts to radically transform HE governance in these new EU member states and neighboring countries. Whether they were adopted in the name of international competitiveness and attractiveness, of enhanced autonomy or quality of teaching and learning, these reforms invariably announced revolutionary changes and a new model of university. My contribution will focus on the main reform moments and the political conditions that made them possible (e.g. adapting to the Bologna Process or to global rankings, government change, Maïdan revolution). I will identify the groups that managed to position themselves as leading reform supporters and tried to shape them. The examination of specific cases of implementation (the attempt to create elite universities, quality assurance schemes) shows that while discourses may have been radical, resources could be limited and path dependent patterns watered down the reforms. Behind its irony, a quote from Lampedusa’s Leopard (“For things to remain the same, everything must change”) reflects both the political attempts to revolutionize HEI and the pressures to limit their impact.