Regulations on the Creation and Organization of the Work of the Examination (Attestation) Commission

Regulations on the Creation and Organization
of the Work of the Examination (Attestation) Commission
at the National Aerospace University
«Kharkiv Aviation Institute»

Approved:
by the Academic Council
of the National Aerospace University
«Kharkiv Aviation Institute»
Minutes No. 1 dated August 27, 2025

Enacted: Order No. 391 dated August 28, 2025

QMS KhAI-AA-R/002:2025

Date of Introduction August 28, 2025

Edition No. 5

1. General Provisions

1.1. The Regulations on the Creation and Organization of the Work of the Examination (Attestation) Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Regulations) at the National Aerospace University «Kharkiv Aviation Institute» (hereinafter referred to as the University) have been developed in accordance with the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated 19.05.2021 No. 497 «On Attestation of Higher Vocational Education Degree Applicants and Higher Education Degree Applicants at the First (Bachelor's) and Second (Master's) Levels in the Form of a Unified State Qualification Examination» (as amended), the University Charter (hereinafter referred to as the Charter) and regulates the tasks, procedures for creation and organization of the work of examination (attestation) commissions regarding the attestation of persons obtaining the degree of Junior Bachelor, Bachelor or Master at the University in accordance with the Higher Education Standards.

1.2. Attestation of higher education applicants is carried out in accordance with the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», state and sectoral Standards of Education and other regulatory acts of Ukraine on educational issues, the Charter and regulations of the University.

1.3. Attestation of applicants at the University is conducted in order to determine the conformity of the learning outcomes (scientific work) of higher education applicants with the requirements of the educational (scientific) program and/or the requirements of the program of the unified state qualification examination. The attestation concludes with the announcement of the decision of the examination commission, on the basis of which the University awards the applicant who has successfully completed the educational program at a certain level of higher education the corresponding higher education degree and grants the relevant qualification.

1.4. Attestation of higher education applicants is carried out openly and publicly. Higher education applicants and other persons present at the attestation may freely perform audio and/or video recording of the attestation process.

2. Terms and Definitions

2.1. In these Regulations, the terms are used in the following meaning.

Attestation of higher education applicants – establishing the conformity of the learning outcomes (scientific work) of higher education applicants with the requirements of the educational (scientific) program and/or the requirements of the program of the unified state qualification examination.

Examination (Attestation) Commission (hereinafter – EC) – a commission created to conduct the attestation of higher education applicants.

Unified State Qualification Examination (hereinafter – USQE) – a standardized form of monitoring the achievement of learning outcomes by the education applicant, defined by the Higher Education Standard, and evaluating such learning outcomes.

3. Attestation of Higher Education Applicants

3.1. Attestation of higher education applicants obtaining the degree of Junior Bachelor, Bachelor or Master is carried out by the EC, which may include representatives of employers and their associations, in accordance with these Regulations.

3.2. Attestation is undergone by every higher education applicant who has fulfilled all requirements of the corresponding educational program after full mastery of all its components and fulfillment of the corresponding curriculum or in accordance with the USQE schedule approved by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (MES of Ukraine).

3.3. Attestation of higher education applicants is conducted in the form of a USQE and/or an attestation (qualification) examination (hereinafter – attestation examination) and/or defense of a qualification work (diploma work/project, innovative project, thesis, etc.).

3.4. The explanatory note to the qualification work is formatted in accordance with the university-wide requirements and the requirements of the graduating department, defined in the relevant regulation and methodological publications or recommendations.

3.5. The structure and requirements for the content of the qualification work are determined by the guarantor of the educational program, who prepares the relevant methodological recommendations (methodological guide) and posts the information on the webpage of the department/University and/or in the Mentor distance learning system.

3.6. The form of conducting the attestation of higher education applicants is determined by the relevant Higher Education Standard.

3.7. The dates of the attestation are determined by the schedule of the educational process or in accordance with the USQE schedule approved by the MES of Ukraine.

3.8. On the basis of the decision of the EC, the University awards the applicant who has successfully completed the educational program at a certain level of higher education the corresponding higher education degree and grants the relevant qualification.

3.9. The procedure for the preparation and conduct of the attestation of higher education applicants is determined by these Regulations.

3.10. The USQE and/or attestation examinations in the specialty precede the defense of the qualification work.

3.11. The content of the tasks submitted for the attestation examination is regulated by the Higher Education Standards and the corresponding educational program.

3.12. The program, methodology, and form of conducting the attestation examination (oral, written, testing, computer testing, etc.) are developed by the department and approved by the educational-methodological commission.

3.13. The programs of attestation examinations, if such are provided for by the Higher Education Standard, are posted on the University website no later than two months before the attestation.

3.14. The USQE programs are approved by the responsible state authorities and published on the official websites of the state authority and the University no later than six months before the USQE.

3.15. Topics of qualification works, supervisors, consultants, reviewers are approved no later than three months before the attestation. The decision is issued by an order of the University.

4. Procedure for the Creation of the Examination Commission

4.1. The EC is created to conduct the attestation of higher education applicants for the corresponding educational-professional and educational-scientific programs at the initial (short cycle), first (Bachelor's) and second (Master's) levels of higher education. The EC is single for all forms of study (full-time, distance, and part-time).

4.2. The term of powers of the EC is one calendar year.

4.3. The formation, organization of work, and control over the activities of the EC are carried out by the Rector.

4.4. Functions and duties of the EC:

– comprehensive check and evaluation of the level and volume of knowledge, skills, abilities, and other competencies acquired by the applicants under the specialized profile educational-professional or educational-scientific training program for higher education applicants, theoretical and practical professional training in order to establish the conformity of the qualification with the requirements of the Higher Education Standards, recognition of the results of the attestation of applicants in the form of the USQE;

– making a decision on awarding the applicants the relevant higher education degree and qualification, and issuing a diploma of the established template;

– monitoring compliance with academic integrity, in particular the absence of academic plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification in the qualification work, in the manner established by the relevant regulation of the University;

– developing proposals for further improving the quality of specialist training in the relevant specialty at the University.

4.5. Depending on the number of applicants, it is possible to create several ECs for one specialty or a single EC for several related specialties within the relevant field of knowledge.

4.6. The Chair of the EC is appointed upon the submission of the deans of the faculties (Appendix A) from among specialists in the relevant field, or leading scientists in the relevant direction of scientific activity, or scientific and pedagogical staff who have the appropriate specialty and are not employees of the University.

The same person may serve as the Chair of the EC for no more than three consecutive years.

4.7. Members of the EC are appointed upon the submission of the deans of the faculties (Appendix A) from among the leading scientific and pedagogical staff of the graduating departments of the University or other higher education institutions (HEIs) that train specialists in the relevant or related specialty, as well as from among scientific researchers, specialists in the relevant fields of knowledge and types of economic and production activity, representatives of sectoral associations of employers, and employees of research institutes.

As a rule, it is not allowed to form the composition of the EC from specialists whose professional work experience is less than five years, or who do not possess qualifications corresponding to the profile of the EC.

4.8. The Secretary of the EC is appointed upon the submission of the dean of the faculty (Appendix A) from among the employees of the graduating department and is not a member of the EC.

4.9. The draft order on the personal composition of the EC, in accordance with the established form (Appendix B), is submitted for approval to the Rector of the University every year no later than December 31.

4.10. All forms of attestation are conducted in the presence of the Chair of the EC and the majority of its members.

4.11. In the event that the Chair of the EC is temporarily unable to perform their duties (due to illness, business trip, etc.), upon the submission of the dean of the faculty, the Rector of the University appoints an Acting Chair of the EC (Acting Chair of the EC) from among the members of the EC.

4.12. The EC meeting is recorded in the minutes according to the established form, which must reflect the results of the attestation (grades on the traditional scale and points), the decision of the commission on awarding the applicant a qualification in the relevant specialty (educational program) and educational degree, and on issuing a diploma of the established template, as well as recommendations regarding the participation of the qualification work in competitions or the implementation of its materials into production. The EC may provide a recommendation to the applicant to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at the third level of higher education.

4.13. Remuneration for the work of the Chair and members of the EC who are not employees of the University is carried out on an hourly basis in accordance with current legislation.

4.14. Participation in the work of the EC by members and the secretary of the EC who are employees of the University is planned as a pedagogical workload and is credited in the current academic year upon actual completion in accordance with the time norms for planning and recording the work of scientific and pedagogical staff.

5. Duties of the Chair and Members of the Examination Commission

5.1. The Chair of the EC is obliged to:

– familiarize themselves with the organization of the educational process at the graduating department and at the departments that ensure the teaching of academic disciplines in accordance with the educational program under which the attestation is carried out, the individual study plan, and the work programs/syllabi of academic disciplines;

– familiarize themselves with the report on the results of the EC's work from the previous year, as well as with the department's activities aimed at eliminating the deficiencies and implementing the proposals specified therein;

– familiarize themselves with the organization of educational work;

– familiarize themselves with the relevant Higher Education Standard and its updates, and give consent to the use of the diagnostic tools and evaluation criteria proposed for the attestation, or propose their own and familiarize the education applicants with them in advance, no later than one month before the start of the attestation;

– announce the obtained results of the applicants' attestation in the form of the USQE;

– approve the schedule of the EC's work no later than two weeks before the start of the attestation;

– familiarize all members of the commission with their duties;

– bring to the attention of the EC members the main tasks and requirements for the attestation of higher education applicants, relevant evaluation criteria, the EC work schedule, and the specific features of organizing and conducting examinations and/or the defense of qualification works;

– ensure the work of the EC in accordance with the approved schedule;

– ensure compliance by EC members and education applicants with the principles of academic integrity in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Academic Integrity, the Code of Ethics, the Regulation on Academic Integrity of the University, and the Laws of Ukraine "On Education" and "On Higher Education";

– be mandatory present during the attestation, at the commission meetings when discussing examination results and grading, as well as when resolving issues related to awarding the appropriate higher education degree and qualification, and making decisions on issuing diplomas or refusing to issue them (with the necessary arguments);

– distribute the examination papers of applicants among the EC members for marking in the event that the attestation examination is conducted in written form, as well as distribute the qualification works submitted for defense for the purpose of preparing specific questions;

– consider appeals from applicants regarding the defense of qualification works or passing examinations and make appropriate decisions;

– monitor the work of the EC secretary regarding the preparation of necessary documents before the start of the commission's work and the formatting of the minutes;

– draw up a report based on the results of the EC's work and, after discussing it at the final meeting, submit it to the dean of the relevant faculty.

5.2. Members of the EC are obliged to:

– know the requirements of regulatory documents regarding the attestation of higher education applicants and the relevant evaluation criteria, and be guided by them;

– on the eve of the EC meeting, familiarize themselves, as instructed by the Chair of the EC, with the qualification works scheduled for defense;

– personally evaluate, in accordance with the defined criteria, the defense of qualification works (answers during an oral examination) of each higher education applicant;

– personally evaluate, in accordance with the defined criteria, the examination papers (in the case of a written form of attestation) that were assigned by the Chair of the EC for marking;

– be present during examinations or the defense of qualification works at EC meetings, during discussions of examination results or attestation results in the form of the USQE and grading, as well as when resolving issues related to awarding the appropriate higher education degree and qualification, and making decisions on issuing diplomas.

6. Duties of the Secretary of the Examination Commission

6.1. The Secretary of the EC ensures the correct and timely formatting of documents.

6.2. Before the start of the EC's work, the secretary must:

– familiarize themselves with these Regulations;

– familiarize themselves with the EC work schedule;

– undergo briefing at a meeting on the formatting of EC documentation conducted by the dean's office of the faculty or a representative of the educational and organizational department;

– obtain the supporting documents required to ensure the high-quality and qualified work of the EC (orders, directives, lists of education applicants referred for attestation, summary records of the applicants' fulfillment of the curriculum and grades obtained, individual study plans of applicants (gradebooks), packages of educational and methodological materials for conducting the attestation, explanatory notes to qualification works, conclusions of the graduating department, supervisors' feedback, conclusions of supervisors/reviewers regarding the absence/presence of academic integrity violations, reviews, etc.);

– prepare forms for the minutes of the EC meeting (Appendix C).

6.3. Before the EC meeting regarding the defense of qualification works, the secretary receives from the graduating department:

– qualification works;

– certificates from supervisors/reviewers regarding the absence of academic integrity violations on the part of applicants during the preparation and execution of qualification works;

– written conclusions, reviews of qualification works;

– certificates from enterprises, institutions, and organizations granting permission to use their materials when writing the qualification work (if such materials are present in the work);

– order letters from enterprises for the performance of a certain task that formed the basis of the qualification work (if any);

– other materials characterizing the educational and professional competence of applicants, as well as the scientific and practical value of qualification works: printed articles, patent applications, patents or their copies, certificates or acts on the implementation of qualification work results, material samples, mock-ups, products, mathematical models and programs, etc.

6.4. During the work of the EC, the commission secretary:

– brings to the attention of the Chair and members of the EC information relating to its work;

– prepares and submits the necessary documents to the EC;

– keeps the minutes of the EC meetings, makes entries in the individual study plans (gradebooks) of applicants about the results of the attestation, and provides them for signature to the Chair and members of the EC;

– prepares information on the hourly remuneration for the work of EC members who are not employees of the University for submission to the educational and organizational department of the University;

– provides assistance to the Chair of the EC in preparing and formatting the report.

6.5. After the EC meeting, the commission secretary:

– submits copies of the formatted minutes of EC decisions (Appendix D) to the dean's office of the faculty;

– returns explanatory notes to qualification works to the graduating department, with the grade indicated on the reverse side of the title page (signed by the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC), along with the received supporting documents.

6.6. Within three working days after the completion of the EC's work, the commission secretary submits:

– to the educational and organizational department of the University – one copy of the report of the Chair of the EC (Appendix E), minutes of meetings, and decisions of the EC;

– to the dean of the faculty – one copy of the report of the Chair of the EC;

– to the dean's office of the faculty – formatted individual study plans (gradebooks) and written answers of applicants (in the case of a written attestation), which must be sealed in envelopes certified by the signatures of all EC members.

7. Organization and Procedure of the EC Work

7.1. The EC work schedule (Appendix F) is formed taking into account the educational process schedule approved at the University for the current year and is approved by the dean. The EC work schedule is made public no later than one month before the start of the attestation.

7.2. The EC works in accordance with the approved schedule and according to the timetable (Appendix G) approved by the Chair of the EC. A copy of the timetable is transferred to the educational and organizational department of the University.

7.3. In the event of failing the USQE, the person is considered to have failed to fulfill the individual study plan and is expelled from the University in accordance with paragraph 4 of part 1 of Article 46 of the Law of Ukraine "On Higher Education". Such a person may be reinstated for study to obtain a higher education degree in the same specialty for a single retake of the USQE. The deadline by which education applicants can retake the USQE is determined by the responsible state authorities.

In the case of a repeated failure of the USQE, the person may be reinstated for study for a higher education degree in the same specialty for repeat study for a period of at least two semesters. The decision on the reinstatement of a person obtaining a higher education degree, the results of control measures during repeat study, and granting admission to take the USQE is made by the University.

7.4. In the event of an applicant's failure to appear at the EC meeting for valid reasons (sudden illness of the applicant, accident, death of close relatives, etc.), confirmed by relevant documents, the attestation examination or defense of the qualification work is postponed to a later date, but within the schedule of the educational process. By decision of the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC, appropriate changes are made to the timetable of EC meetings. If circumstances do not allow compliance with the established EC work schedule and the educational process schedule, a decision may be made to extend the terms of study for this applicant, transfer them to an individual study schedule, grant academic leave, etc. The relevant decisions are processed according to established procedures.

7.5. For conducting oral attestation examinations and defenses of qualification works, usually no more than 12 persons are scheduled for one working day of the EC (examination group).

7.6. In the case of taking an attestation examination (fully or partially) in written form, it is permitted to combine no more than two examination groups into one stream.

7.7. The distribution of applicants referred for attestation into examination groups is carried out upon the submission of the head of the graduating department addressed to the dean and is issued in the form of a dean's directive (Appendix I).

7.8. The dean's office of the faculty, no later than one day before the start of attestation examinations or defenses of qualification works, transfers the following materials to the graduating departments or the EC:

– the order of the Rector of the University (an extract from the order) on the approval of the personal composition of the EC in the specialty;

– the EC work schedule;

– the directive of the dean of the faculty on the distribution of applicants referred for attestation into examination groups;

– individual study plans (gradebooks) of the applicants;

– the submission to the Chair of the EC regarding the referral of applicants for attestation, signed by the dean of the faculty (Appendix K);

– an academic record transcript regarding the fulfillment of the curriculum by the applicant and the grades obtained by them in all disciplines of the curriculum, term papers, internships, attestation examinations, etc., signed by the faculty secretary (Appendix L).

7.9. Before taking an attestation examination in individual disciplines, the graduating department provides the EC with:

– the examination program(s);

– a set of examination papers, including variants of comprehensive tasks, texts, etc.;

– technical facilities, laboratory equipment, demonstration and reference materials necessary for the applicants to use during preparation and answering the questions of the attestation examination.

7.10. The attestation examination program(s), examination papers, task variants, the list of visual aids and materials are compiled by the guarantor of the educational program and approved at the meetings of the sectoral educational-methodological commissions of the University.

7.11. Each examination paper shall bear the minutes number of the meeting of the corresponding educational-methodological commission and the date of approval. The paper is signed by the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC.

7.12. Before the defense of the qualification work, the graduating department submits to the EC:

– an explanatory note to the completed Bachelor's or Master's qualification work (in the absence of an explanatory note, the supervisor is obliged to provide a written explanation to the EC);

– a certificate of the education applicant's academic progress regarding their fulfillment of the curriculum and the grades obtained in all disciplines of the curriculum, term papers, internships, state examinations, etc.;

– the written feedback of the supervisor (Appendix M) with a brief characterization of the work and activities of the applicant during the execution of their qualification work (if applicable);

– the conclusion of the graduating department based on the results of the pre-defense regarding the quality of the qualification work and the evaluation of its results (Appendix N);

– a written review of the qualification work (Appendix P);

– a certificate from the supervisor/reviewer regarding the absence of academic integrity violations on the part of the applicant during the preparation and execution of the qualification work (Appendix R);

– a certificate from the institution (organization) on the use of its materials when writing the qualification work (if applicable);

– other materials characterizing the scientific and practical value of the completed qualification work: printed articles on the topic of the work, documents indicating its practical application, mock-ups, samples of materials, products, etc.

7.13. Reviewing of Bachelor's qualification works is assigned to highly qualified specialists (teachers and scientists) of related departments and scientific divisions of the University; Master's works – to leading specialists of production, scientific, and design organizations or universally recognized scientific and pedagogical staff in the relevant field who are not employees of the University.

7.14. The composition of reviewers is proposed by the head of the graduating department and approved by the dean of the faculty.

7.15. The review must include an evaluation of the qualification work according to the adopted scale for assessing knowledge.

7.16. Taking attestation examinations or defending a qualification work is conducted at an open meeting of the EC with the participation of more than half of its composition and the mandatory presence of the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC, usually on the premises of the University.

7.17. For the defense of qualification works executed on materials obtained during internships, it is permitted to hold the EC meeting at the enterprises, institutions, and organizations where the internship took place.

7.18. The EC meeting is recorded in the minutes.

7.19. The duration of the meeting shall not exceed six academic hours per day.

7.20. The duration of an oral attestation examination in each discipline, as well as the defense of a qualification work for one applicant, usually shall not exceed 30 minutes. In the case of a written attestation examination using a comprehensive test control task, no more than three hours are allocated per examination group.

8. Examination Procedure

8.1. Examinations are conducted at an open meeting of the EC with the participation of at least half of its composition and the mandatory presence of the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC.

8.2. Each meeting of the EC is recorded in the minutes. The minutes are drawn up in a single copy.

Without the signatures of the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC and its members who were present at the meeting, the minutes are considered invalid.

8.3. The duration of an oral examination for one applicant shall not exceed 30 minutes, and a written one – 3 hours.

8.4. When conducting an examination in oral form, each member of the EC evaluates the applicant's answer to each question in points according to the evaluation criteria on the traditional scale: «excellent», «good», «satisfactory», «unsatisfactory».

8.5. The conversion of the grade into points is carried out based on the weight coefficient of a certain question. The quality of the applicant's answers to additional questions from the EC members shall be taken into account when evaluating the questions of the examination paper.

8.6. After the end of the examination, at a closed meeting of the EC, the average score of the grades of the EC members for each question is determined. The sum of these average scores, in accordance with the table (Appendix S), is converted into a grade on the traditional scale.

8.7. The results of the examination in oral form are announced to the applicants by the Chair of the EC on the day of the examination, both personally and by means of electronic communication.

8.8. When conducting an examination in written form, the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC must be present while the applicants perform the examination paper. After its completion, the Chair of the EC distributes the examination papers of the applicants among the EC members for marking. Each paper is checked by one member of the EC. Evaluation is performed according to the evaluation criteria. The Chair of the EC must check the examination papers that have been graded as «excellent», as well as selectively a few other examination papers of the applicants.

8.9. The results of the written examination are announced to the applicants by the Chair of the EC after marking the papers, but no later than the following day.

8.10. Detecting facts of academic integrity violations during the attestation examination by an applicant constitutes grounds for canceling the decision of the EC.

8.11. The provisions of this section apply subject to the specific features provided for in Section 10 of these Regulations.

9. Procedure for Conducting the Defense

9.1. The defense of qualification works is conducted at an open meeting of the EC with the participation of at least half of its composition and the mandatory presence of the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC.

9.2. Each meeting of the EC is recorded in the minutes. The minutes are drawn up in a single copy.

Without the signatures of the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC and its members who were present at the meeting, the minutes are considered invalid.

9.3. The defense of qualification works can be carried out both at the University and at enterprises, institutions, and organizations of various forms of ownership for which the topics of the qualification works submitted for defense hold scientific-theoretical or practical value. An off-site meeting of the EC is conducted in the same manner as a meeting at the University.

9.4. A negative review, department conclusion, or supervisor's feedback, as well as the absence of signatures of the supervisor and consultants on the assignment sheet form for the qualification work, do not constitute grounds for denying the applicant admission to the attestation.

9.5. The signatures of the supervisor and consultants of the qualification work on the assignment sheet form for the qualification work testify to the coordination and issuance of the assignment or its parts, and the fulfillment of the schedule by the applicant. In the event that a consultant does not agree that the task has been completed in full, they make a corresponding entry in the "assignment accepted" field and attach an explanatory note addressed to the head of the graduating department and the Chair of the EC. Failure to comply with the terms of this paragraph may, under certain conditions, become a basis for recalculating the consultant's teaching load.

9.6. Detecting facts of academic integrity violations in the qualification work of an applicant constitutes grounds for denying them admission to the attestation or canceling the decision of the EC.

9.7. At one meeting of the EC, it is usually planned to defend no more than twelve qualification works of applicants of the first (Bachelor's) level of higher education and no more than eight works of applicants of the second (Master's) level of higher education.

9.8. The duration of the defense of one qualification work shall not exceed 30 minutes.

9.9. The regulations for the defense of qualification works include:

– the announcement by the EC secretary of information regarding the qualification work submitted for defense, namely: the full name of the applicant, their achievements (scientific, creative, recommendations of the graduating department), and the topic of the qualification work;

– the applicant's presentation (10–15 minutes) in a free form on the essence of the qualification work, main technical (scientific) decisions, obtained results, and the degree of assignment completion; various forms of presentation visualization (mandatory graphic material of the project defined by the assignment) and technical means (slides, multimedia projectors, audio, video equipment, etc.) may be used;

– demonstration of an experiment (1–2 minutes); depending on the time required for a full demonstration of the experiment or the feasibility of placing experimental equipment, mock-ups, samples, etc., the demonstration may be conducted either directly at the EC meeting or on the eve of the defense in the laboratory where the experimental sample is located, in the presence of EC members instructed by the Chair of the EC to familiarize themselves with the experimental part of the qualification work;

– answers to questions from EC members; questions may relate both to the topic of the completed work and be of a general nature – within the disciplines of the specialty and the educational program mastered (studied) by the applicant at the University; with the permission of the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC, questions may be asked by all those present at the defense;

– the announcement by the EC secretary of the feedback from the supervisor (scientific supervisor) or a speech by the supervisor providing a brief characterization of the applicant's work in the process of preparing the qualification work (up to 2 minutes);

– the announcement by the EC secretary of the review of the qualification work;

– the applicant's answers to the comments of the supervisor (scientific supervisor) and the reviewer (3–5 minutes);

– the announcement by the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC on the conclusion of the defense.

9.10. The defense of a comprehensive qualification work is usually scheduled and conducted at a single meeting of the EC, whereby the applicant defending first is instructed to report both on the general part of the work and on the individual part, with an increase (if necessary) in the presentation time.

9.11. All applicants who have performed a comprehensive qualification work must be fully familiar with the general part of the work and ready for questions from EC members not only regarding the individual part but also the general part of the work.

9.12. The decision regarding the defense of a qualification work in a foreign language before the start of the EC's work is made by the Chair of the EC upon the applicant's application, provided that their language of instruction was a foreign language and a copy of the explanatory note to the qualification work with an equivalent translation into the state language is available.

9.13. The Chair of the EC, depending on the level of proficiency in the respective language by the EC members, determines the necessity of the presence of an interpreter at the defense. The interpreter may be teachers of the graduating department or senior students who are fluent in these languages, upon a corresponding invitation based on the request of the Chair of the EC to the heads of the relevant departments for language training. The person engaged as an interpreter is approved by an order of the Rector.

9.14. The interpreter must be familiarized in advance with the basic concepts and terminology relating to the topic of the qualification work.

9.15. In the event that a decision is made to conduct the defense in a foreign language, the questions of the EC members may be in any language (Ukrainian or foreign), and the applicant's answers, unless otherwise requested by the commission members, shall be in the foreign language.

9.16. The announcement of the qualification work supervisor's feedback and the review is carried out in the state language and the language of the originals of these documents, while the minutes of the EC meeting are formatted in the state language with an indication of the language of the defense therein.

9.17. When conducting the defense of a qualification work, each member of the EC evaluates the quality of this work and the quality of its defense on a 100-point scale according to the evaluation criteria.

9.18. After the end of the defense, at a closed meeting of the EC, the average score of the grades of the EC members is calculated, which is entered into the minutes and further, in accordance with the table (Appendix S), is converted into grades on the traditional scale, which are also entered into the minutes.

9.19. The decision of the EC on the evaluation of the results of the defense of qualification works, the awarding of the appropriate higher education degree, the acquisition of a certain qualification, and the issuance of a diploma of the established template is adopted at a closed meeting of the EC by open voting by a simple majority of votes of the EC members who participated in its meeting. In the event of an equal number of votes, the Chair of the EC / Acting Chair of the EC has a casting vote.

9.20. The decision of the EC on the evaluation of the results of the defense of qualification works, the awarding of the appropriate higher education degree, the acquisition of a certain qualification, and the issuance of a diploma of the established template is announced to the applicants by the Chair of the EC on the day of the defense.

9.21. The provisions of this section apply subject to the specific features provided for in Section 10 of these Regulations.

10. Specific Features of Conducting Attestation of Applicants Using Distance Learning Technologies

10.1. In connection with the military aggression of the russian federation against Ukraine, which became the ground for the introduction of martial law on February 24, 2022, in accordance with the Decree of the President of Ukraine dated 24.02.2022 No. 64/2022 "On the Introduction of Martial Law in Ukraine" (as amended), and the factual circumstances of conducting the educational process at the University in a distance form, within the scope of the University's autonomy determined by the Law of Ukraine "On Higher Education", taking into account the recommendations of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and in case of need (for reasons of safety of EC members and higher education applicants, or due to other circumstances preventing the meeting from being held in a regular mode), it is permitted at the University to conduct the attestation of higher education applicants remotely using information and communication technologies. A corresponding entry regarding the conduct of the attestation in a distance format is recorded in the EC minutes.

10.2. Higher education applicants, EC members, and other individuals directly involved in the applicant's attestation process, in the event of the circumstances defined in paragraph 10.1, have the right, instead of drawing up paper documents and signing them by hand, to prepare these documents in electronic form (in PDF format), apply their own qualified electronic digital signature (hereinafter referred to as QES) which is available or can be obtained from electronic trust service providers (including via the Diia service), and send such a signed file from their personal corporate address ([email protected], [email protected])* to the corresponding corporate address of another subject involved in the education applicant's attestation.

*For subjects of education applicant attestation who are not students or employees of the University and do not have corporate email, it is permitted to receive and send files from other addresses.

10.3. The education applicant undergoing attestation, after prior coordination with the supervisor and consultants, must send the qualification work executed personally on the basis of the approved assignment, signed with their own QES as an electronic file in PDF format, to the corporate address of their scientific supervisor and consultants.

After receiving the applicant's work and the conclusions from the consultants of individual sections of the qualification work signed with their personal QES, and after checking the entire qualification work, the scientific supervisor of the education applicant must draw up a conclusion regarding the quality of its execution in the form of an electronic file in PDF format, sign it with their own QES, and send it to the corporate address of the applicant's graduating department.

10.4. The graduating department sends the applicant's qualification work to the addresses of other subjects of the education applicant's attestation, including to:

– specialists in checking the absence of academic integrity violations on the part of the applicant during the preparation and execution of the qualification work;

– specialists in checking compliance with standard control requirements (compliance verification) of the qualification work;

– reviewers;

– enterprises, institutions, and organizations regarding permission to use their materials when writing the qualification work (if such materials are present in the work);

– other subjects of the education applicant's attestation (if necessary).

10.5. The relevant conclusions, reviews, permissions, etc., from the subjects specified in paragraph 10.4 of these Regulations must be drawn up in the form of PDF files, signed with a personal QES, and sent within the established time limits to the corporate address of the graduating department.

10.6. Within the approved schedule of the educational process, the graduating department of the education applicant conducts the relevant measures provided for by the curriculum and the pre-defense procedure for qualification works, based on the results of which it draws up the conclusions of the graduating department in electronic form in PDF format and has them signed by the head of the department by applying a QES.

10.7. The dean's office prepares the documents specified in paragraph 7.7 of these Regulations in the form of an electronic file in PDF format with a personal QES and sends them to the corporate address of the graduating department.

10.8. Within the established time limits, all documents specified in paragraphs 10.3-10.7 of these Regulations must be sent to the Chair of the EC by the graduating department in the form of electronic files in PDF format with the QES of the signatories applied, including:

– the approved assignment of the education applicant for the execution of the qualification work;

– the qualification work of the education applicant undergoing attestation;

– the conclusion of the work supervisor regarding the quality of the qualification work execution;

– a certificate from the supervisor/reviewer regarding the absence of academic integrity violations on the part of the applicant during the preparation and execution of the qualification work;

– a certificate of compliance with the standard control requirements (compliance verification) of the qualification work;

– the conclusions of the graduating department and the review of the qualification work;

– certificates from enterprises, institutions, and organizations granting permission to use their materials when writing the qualification work (if such materials are present in the work);

– order letters from enterprises for the performance of a certain task that formed the basis of the qualification work (if any);

– other materials characterizing the educational and professional competence of the applicant, as well as the scientific and practical value of the qualification work: printed articles, patent applications, patents or their copies, certificates or acts on the implementation of qualification work results, material samples, mock-ups, products, mathematical models and programs, etc.;

– conclusions of the graduating department based on the results of the pre-defense of the qualification work at the department;

– the submission of the dean of the faculty to the Chair of the EC regarding the defense of the qualification work by the education applicant;

– an academic record transcript of the education applicant;

– the protocol of checking the application of QES onto the above-mentioned electronic documents.

10.9. The conduct of applicant attestation using distance technologies is ensured by the graduating department. The Head of the Department is the person responsible.

Before the defense, mandatory consultation is conducted for EC members and applicants regarding the specific features of using the selected communication system, as well as testing of the system by holding a trial video conference.

10.10. It is mandatory to make public the schedule of online EC meetings, IDs, and corresponding access codes to the communication system.

10.11. Video recording of online EC meetings is mandatory and shall be stored at the department for at least five years. The archive of correspondence shall be stored at the department.

10.12. The work of the appeals commission may be conducted in the same manner.

10.13. Documents on conducting the education applicant's attestation according to the established list in accordance with paragraph 10.8 of these Regulations are stored by the graduating department in the form of electronic files with the QES of the signatories applied in the Mentor system or on other media.

Minutes of the EC meetings, EC decisions, and reports of the EC Chairs are printed and transferred to the educational and organizational department.

11. Summarizing the Work of the EC

11.1. Based on the results of the EC's work, its Chair draws up a general report on the quality of the applicants' preparation and their theoretical training in general and special disciplines.

11.2. Regardless of the form of attestation of higher education applicants, the report must reflect its results with an analysis of the level of preparation of the applicants and its compliance with the requirements of Higher Education Standards. Deficiencies permitted in the preparation of applicants are to be indicated, and proposals for their elimination provided.

11.3. The relevance of the topics of qualification works and their compliance with the specialty profile (educational program) must be covered. The quality of execution of the qualification works, the compliance of the adopted decisions with the current state of science, technology, and production, the state and level of supervision, and the quality and completeness of feedback and reviews are to be evaluated.

11.4. Works that hold scientific and/or practical value for research institutes, enterprises, organizations, and higher education institutions (HEIs) are to be highlighted. Recommendations regarding further education of applicants (including abroad) or further professional activity are provided.

11.5. Positive and negative aspects in the organization of the EC's work, as well as the provision of the EC's activities with the necessary materials, etc., are covered.

11.6. The report provides proposals regarding:

– improving the quality of specialist training;

– eliminating deficiencies in the organization of conducting the defense of qualification works and examinations;

– the possibility of publishing the main provisions of qualification works, their use in the educational process, as well as at enterprises, institutions, and organizations;

– providing applicants with the appropriate higher education degree recommendation to continue studies at the next level of higher education.

11.7. The report on the work of the EC is discussed and approved at its final meeting and signed by the Chair of the EC.

11.8. After being discussed at the final meeting of the EC, the report on the work of the EC is submitted for review to the head of the graduating department and the dean of the faculty (or their deputy for educational and methodological work), and then transferred to the educational and organizational department of the University in two copies within a two-week period after the completion of the EC's work.

11.9. On the basis of the reports submitted to the educational and organizational department, a university-wide report is formed and provided to the Rector of the University.

11.10. The results of the work, proposals, and recommendations of the EC are discussed at meetings of graduating departments, academic councils of faculties, and the University.

12. Summarizing the Attestation Results

12.1. Applicants who have successfully passed the attestation are awarded the appropriate educational degree by decision of the EC, granted a qualification in accordance with the acquired specialty, and issued a diploma of the established template.

12.2. The decision of the EC on the results of the attestation, as well as on the issuance of diplomas to applicants, the awarding of the appropriate higher education degree, and the acquisition of a certain qualification, is adopted at a closed meeting of the EC by open voting by a simple majority of votes of its members who participated in its meeting. In the event of an equal number of votes, the Chair of the EC has a casting vote.

12.3. In the case of conducting attestation in the form of the USQE and/or an attestation examination and/or the defense of a qualification work, the decision on the issuance of diplomas to applicants, the acquisition of the appropriate higher education degree, and the acquisition of a certain qualification is adopted and announced to the applicants after passing all forms of attestation.

12.4. Retaking examinations in order to increase grades (final marks) or the grade point average (GPA) of the diploma supplement is allowed only as an exception upon the personal application of the applicant, exclusively by permission of the Rector or the Vice-Rector for Scientific and Pedagogical Work, subject to coordination with the dean of the respective faculty.

12.5. If the applicant's answer at the attestation examination or the defense of the qualification work does not meet the requirements of the attestation level, the EC decides that the applicant has not passed the attestation, and an "unsatisfactory" grade (0 – 59 points) is recorded in the minutes of the EC meeting.

12.6. In the event that an applicant fails to appear at the EC meeting for examinations or the defense of a qualification work, the minutes shall state that they are unattested due to non-appearance at the meeting.

12.7. An applicant who received an unsatisfactory grade during the attestation is expelled from the University as having completed the theoretical course of study and being unattested by the EC.

They are issued an academic record transcript of the established template.

12.8. In cases where the defense of a qualification work is recognized as unsatisfactory, the EC determines whether the applicant can resubmit the same qualification work for a repeated defense with revisions, or whether they are obliged to work on a new topic determined by the respective department.

12.9. Applicants who were not attested have the right to a repeated attestation within three years after expulsion from the University, during the period of operation of the EC in the relevant specialty according to the approved schedule.

Only those examinations for which an unsatisfactory grade was received are retaken.

13. Work of the Appeals Commission

13.1. The appeals commission is created to protect the rights of applicants and is authorized to ensure compliance with uniform requirements and the resolution of disputed issues.

13.2. A single commission is created at each faculty, composed of a chair and members of the appeals commission, covering all forms of study and specialties, regardless of the number of ECs in that specialty.

13.3. The commission carries out its work during the period of operation of the EC.

13.4. The dean of the faculty, their deputy, or a highly qualified scientific and pedagogical employee can be appointed as the chair of the commission.

13.5. The composition of the appeals commission is approved by the Rector of the University.

13.6. Highly qualified scientific and pedagogical staff of the faculty who are not members of any EC are involved in the work of the appeals commission.

13.7. The commission considers appeals from applicants regarding violations of the attestation procedure that could have negatively affected the EC evaluation.

13.8. The commission does not accept appeals regarding the content and structure of examination papers, comprehensive qualification tasks, as well as those related to the applicant's violation of the rules for conducting the attestation examination or defense of qualification works.

13.9. The appeal is submitted on the day of the announcement of the EC decision regarding the attestation results in the form of an applicant's application directly to the chair of the appeals commission (in their absence – to the deputy chair, or the dean of the faculty, or their deputy).

13.10. The appeal is drawn up in two copies: one is transferred to the commission, and the other, indicating the person who accepted the appeal for consideration by the commission, remains with the applicant.

13.11. The appeal is considered within three calendar days after its submission.

13.12. In the event of a delay in the consideration of the appeal, the chair of the appeals commission must inform the Chair of the EC about this.

13.13. The meeting of the appeals commission is recorded in the minutes. The decision of the appeals commission serves as the ground for reviewing or leaving unchanged the decisions of the EC regarding the attestation results.

14. Final Provisions

14.1. The Regulations are approved by the Academic Council of the University and enacted by the order of the Rector of the University.

14.2. Amendments and/or additions to the Regulations are introduced in the same manner established for their adoption.

14.3. Control over the implementation of the Regulations is exercised by the University officials within the scope of their powers established by job descriptions.

Appendix A

Form for the Faculty Dean's Submission on the Personal Composition of the Examination Committee

Appendix B

Form of the Order on the Creation of Examination Committees

Appendix C

Forms of Minutes of the Examination Committee Meeting

C.1 Minutes of the EC Meeting on the Consideration of the Qualification Work

C.2 Minutes of the EC Meeting on the Consideration of the Qualification Work (the applicant failed to appear for the defense of the qualification work)