Teaching

Academic Calendar 2022/2023

The academic year at HSE is divided into four parts called 'modules'. Each module is followed by an examination period which usually lasts for one or two weeks. 

The dates of modules, holidays and exams for the 2022/2023 academic year are as follows:

Initially, it is essential to get information about a teaching schedule, the exact number of teaching hours and the length of courses in order to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding. This information can be obtained from your coordinator or the contact person on the faculty who will give you detailed information about your schedule.

Class schedule

Educational model at HSE

Every year, each educational programme approves its curriculum, which consists of compulsory (basic curriculum), elective and optional courses.

Students at HSE make their own Individual Study Plan based on the curriculum. A students' Individual Study Plan must contain:

• All core subjects from the basic curriculum;
• Elective courses.

Optional courses may be included in the plan at the discretion of students. If an optional course is included in a student’s plan, an “unsatisfactory” grade will be considered to be an academic failure.

For all courses from the Individual Study Plan, the student must earn at least 60 credits per year. Any credits earned for optional courses are above the basic 60 credits.

HSE’s flexible education system allows students to make their own plan and choose courses from different areas that they are interested in. According to the educational model accepted in the 2014-2015 academic year, undergraduate students should dedicate 20% of their study time to different projects (work in research groups, laboratories) and 10% to gaining an additional competence. Thus, except for the core and elective courses which make up the bulk of the chosen educational track, students should also choose elective courses for their minor speciality (minors). All the courses may be chosen from the Catalogue of HSE courses.  

It is important to note, that state-funded full-degree international students may join courses only in the second module. Due to peculiarities of nomination process as well as visa and migration procedures these students may arrive to Russia and start their studies later that the rest of the students - till the late October. 

Besides, unlike Russian and international full-degree students, exchange and visiting students are not assigned to any particular educational programme and have so-called “shopping period” of first two weeks at the beginning of academic year, when they are allowed to enroll to and drop the courses (even from basic curriculum of the programme) which give them an opportunity to make up their Individual Study Plan based on their academic needs and home institutions requirements. 

HSE courses

HSE provides great opportunities and a wide range of disciplines for a diverse audience and offers the following types of elective and optional courses:

MagoLegois an elective course from the “university pool”, which may be chosen by first-year master’s students from different educational programmes, but should be relevant to their main programme and form the basis of their educational track. MagoLego (major) courses must be included in the Individual plan and are worth 3 credits for each course. They last for two modules (3-4) and are conducted on a certain day of the week for all first-year students, so there is no conflict with timetables.

Minors are a series of interconnected elective courses (4 courses) from non-core educational programmes, which are taught sequentially and help students to get an additional competence in fields of knowledge different from their main area of study. Minor courses can be chosen by second and third-year undergraduate students. Each minor course lasts for two modules and is worth 5 credits.

Catalogue of HSE courses

Additional Open courses are elective training courses on various subjects ranging from those with a purely theoretical format to workshops of leading practitioners and specialists. Additional open courses are beyond the basic educational programme and are open to students of all courses, all specializations and even students from other universities.

Catalogue of Open Optional Courses

HSE offers a number of MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses)that may interest students who want to gain additional knowledge. MOOCs provide free training to all those who are interested. Our MOOC trainers are the best talents in their field. The best HSE open courses are available on Coursera, the most popular international free online education platform.

Regulations for planning and organizing elective and optional courses (PDF, 155 Kb)

Massive Open Courses Catalogue

The lecturer must take into account the specifics of optional courses, as the students attending these courses are from different educational programmes. We recommend you pay particular attention to the electronic forms in LMS so as not to be confused when carrying out the assessment.  

Course Syllabus

The first and the most important task of a lecturer before beginning studies is to work out the course syllabus.

The syllabus is the main agreement with students on the process and conditions of training, and the educational process is organized according to it. The syllabus should include the content of the course (its goals, topics, literature for further reading) and methods of work with students (types of work, assessment principles).

Although the requirements for course descriptions taught in English have been simplified at HSE, it still needs careful examination and compliance with all the rules and terms to schedule it. And you will also need to write a short description of the course in Russian, you will probably need some help from your department.

Structure

A course syllabus must contain the following sections:

• Course Description

1. Course title
2. Pre-requisites
3. Course Type (compulsory, elective, optional)
4. Abstract

• Learning Objectives
• Learning Outcomes

• Reading List

1. Required
2. Optional

• Grading System
• Guidelines for Knowledge Assessment
• Methods of Instruction
• Special Equipment and Software Support (if required)

Approval and terms

When the syllabus is completed, it should be discussed and approved by the Academic Сouncil at your department. The approval procedure is shorter for elective and optional courses; for core subjects, it generally takes a little more time to receive approval. As the general requirement is to submit the syllabus to the commission before the beginning of the module, the lecturer is responsible for establishing the exact terms of its approval in advance.

Full-time foreign and exchange students coming from abroad choose their courses 6 months prior to the beginning of their study at HSE. Thus, if the course is taught in a foreign language, its synopsis (not necessarily the whole syllabus) should be presented to your department 6 months prior to the beginning of the semester when this course will be taught.

As soon as the syllabus is approved, the course is included in the curriculum and automatically appears in the database of the HSE courses and on the personal profile of the lecturer on the HSE website. A description is attached to the course’s profile by the website editor at the department.

The course syllabus must be placed on the website prior to September 1, regardless of the actual start date of the course. 

The lecturer is responsible for the availability and quality of the syllabus put into the database of courses. If necessary, the lecturer may make minor changes to assessment formulae or sequence of topics to be learned, on the condition that the students are informed of these alterations beforehand. It is best to inform students about any changes using the LMS or via email to protect oneself against possible student complaints concerning the violation of rules fixed in the syllabus.

 Procedures for development, revision and approval of course syllabuses (PDF, 281 Kb)

 Appendix 1 to Procedures for development, revision and approval of course syllabuses (PDF, 481 Kb)

 Appendix 2 to Procedures for development, revision and approval of course syllabuses (PDF, 49 Kb)

 Appendix 3 to Procedures for development, revision and approval of course syllabuses (PDF, 37 Kb)

Knowledge Assessment System

The assessment system at HSE is another significant thing to be aware of and again, needs to be included in the syllabus. During the first lesson, it is important to familiarize students with the different types of assessment that will be held throughout the academic year. There are three different types of assessment used at HSE: the routine, intermediate and final assessment.

Routine assessmentis carried out as part of the regular and systematic monitoring of students’ academic knowledge during lectures and seminars, including distance learning courses, and other forms of studies (internships, project work, scientific seminars etc.).

Routine assessment is conducted by the lecturer and can be organized:

• during an in-class work in the presence of the lecturer according to the schedule;
• during  independent work without the lecturer with the subsequent assessment of results by the lecturer or the assistant;
• by using the information environment for remote learning during both in-class work and independent work, with the possible automatic assessment of results. 

Routine assessment can be carried out in the following forms: homework assignments, tests, papers, essays, colloquiums, laboratory classes, course projects and other forms of routine assessment at the discretion of the lecturer responsible for teaching a particular academic subject.

The lecturer must inform the students of the results of routine assessments not later than 10 days after the event through various communication means, including electronic ones.

Intermediate assessmentis aimed at assessing part of an academic subject if it lasts longer that one period, and should be held upon the completion of the module or semester. Thus, some academic subjects may not require intermediate knowledge assessment.

The intermediate assessment may be summarised by using routine checking methods and/or by conducting an exam. It should be noted that an unsatisfactory result of the intermediate check is not a reason to deny a student access to a subsequent intermediate check or to the final test of knowledge on the subject.

It is important to know that the contents and procedures  pertaining to intermediate assessment  and routine checking must be specified in the syllabus of the subject and students must be informed of them during the first lesson on the given subject, and in addition, they must be repeatedly informed of the contents and procedures of exams at the last lesson before the corresponding exam on the given subject.

The final assessment which is primarily held in written form (test, essay, report, etc.) should be held upon the completion of an academic subject. The lecturer can choose the type of assessment without administering an exam. If holding an exam is not suitable for a subject, the final grade for the course coincides with the cumulative grade.

The cumulative grade is calculated on the basis of routine assessment results (homework assignment, test, paper, essay, etc.), wherein each form has its own weight. The process of calculating the cumulative grade must be described in the course syllabus, as well as its weight in the resulting grade. In the course syllabus, the lecturer also specifies the weight of the exam, which may not be more than 80% or less than 20%. Generally, the weight of the exam is 20%, so that the students who work hard throughout the course have an advantage. This is why an unsatisfactory grade received at an exam does not mean the same overall grade: it may be higher if routine grades are high enough and the formula for calculating the overall grade allows for a significant weighting of the cumulative grade.

Thus, the overall grade for the course (or part of the course) is calculated from the cumulative grade and the grade received at the exam. The sum of these grades amounts to 100%.

overall grade = cumulative grade + grade for exam

If the academic subject lasts for more than one module and the lecturer holds more than one intermediate assessment, the procedure and the formula for calculating the overall grade must be specified in the course syllabus. 

Exams

Each module is followed by an examination period, which lasts one or two weeks. Students may have exams on consecutive days, but not more than one exam per day. The duration of the exam should not exceed 4 academic hours per student. It can be held between 9 a.m and 9 p.m.

Exams at HSE are generally held in written form, but in some cases may be oral at the discretion of the lecturer.

The exams schedule is always announced to lecturers and students at least one week before it begins. Information on this can be found on the website and information boards around the university.

Repeated exams

In case of a failed exam, students have the right to repeat the examination but not more than twice within one course. The first attempt is administered by the lecturers who led the initial examination and is similar to a regular exam; the second attempt must be administered in the presence of a committee composed of at least three lecturers, one of whom is appointed chairman of the committee. The examination committee may involve lecturers from other departments.

Repeated exams are allowed only after the second and the fourth modules. It is not permitted to take repeated exams in order to upgrade a positive result (above 4 on the 10 point grading scale).

Violations

At HSE there are requirements for written assignments or oral answers at exams. Their violation may bring students disciplinary penalties ranging from a reprimand and an unsatisfactory grade up to expulsion from the University.

The lecturer is responsible for elimination of the following violations of academic standards:

• Cheating,
• Repeated submission of the same written assignment,
• Plagiarism,
• Forgery,
• Fabrication of data and results.

To check the course and graduation papers written in English against plagiarism you may use the electronic system “Turnitin”.

Likewise, students may appeal against the results of intermediate and final controls for the following violations of their rights:

• Incorrect wording of questions, questions outside the scope of the curriculum, mistakes in the answer options in assignments and tests;
• Violation of the intermediate and final control procedures by the lecturer;
• Non-compliance with evaluation methods;
• Circumstances hindering an objective evaluation.

Plagiarism

HSE has internal regulations concerning plagiarism. If you come across an issue that can be characterized as plagiarism, please follow the guidelines described in Procedures for Applying Disciplinary Measures for the Violations of Academic Standards for Student Paper at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Grading System

HSE has a 10-point grading system, which corresponds to the 5-point scale officially used in many other Russian educational institutions and the European scale ECTS.

Unlike the 5-point grading system, in which 5 is excellent and 1 is poor, the 10-point scale makes assessment more nuanced. To facilitate the grading process, please use this simple scheme:

Pass-Fail Exam 

Numerically Graded Exam 

Grades for all the assessment types should be integers ranging from 0 to 10 points. The grade rounding rules must be described in the course syllabus.

During the course, the lecturer registers intermediate results in student performance record in the LMS.

Grades received at the exam and other tests must be also registered in the examination record sheet (printed or an electronic version) formed by the Programme Office before the exam. The cumulative,  exam and overall grades are put in the exam record in numerical form on a ten-point scale and in text form (“excellent”, “good”, “satisfactory”, “unsatisfactory”)  on a 5-point scale.

The exam record sheet must be signed by all lecturers carrying out the exam and submitted to the Programme Office (in original or scanned copy by email) within one working day. Students who are not present at the exam should be registered as “absent” on the examination record sheet.

The overall grades are put in electronic student’s grade books in their account in the LMS by the Programme Office manager.
Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Asse..f Students (approved June 2014).pdf
Appendix 1 to Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessment of Students.pdf
Appendix 2 Interim assessment record sheet.pdf
Appendix 3 Interim assessment record sheet research seminar.pdf
Appendix 4 Interim assessment record sheet term paper.pdf
Appendix 5 to Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessment of Students.pdf
Appendix 6 Individual curriculum.pdf
Appendix 7 to Regulations for Interim an..ing Assessment of Students ICEF.pdf
Appendix 8 to Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessment of Students NES.pdf

The new version of the Regulations for interim and ongoing assessment was approved by the HSE Academic Council at November 30, 2018. The latest version will be uploaded soon.

LMS

The Learning Management System (LMS), the HSE’s internal online platform for lecturers and students, was launched with the aim of making the study process more user-friendly for everyone involved. 

Each course has its own site in the system, and as soon as students have chosen the course for the current academic year they then have access to it. For every course a lecturer can:

• Place training materials (tasks, cases, presentations, reading literature, etc);
• Test knowledge (routine or final assessment);
• Maintain student performance records;
• Collect and store individual assignments of students (essays, course and graduate papers, projects etc.);
• Communicate with students and consult them.

To get access to the LMS an HSE lecturer should send a registration application with his or her name, email address, department and list of courses to the LMS support service: lms@hse.ru.

Teaching Assistants

HSE lecturers can apply for a teaching assistant from the body of HSE graduate or undergraduate students. These assistants are paid by the university for their work. 

Teaching assistants may be chosen from those students who do not have grades below 8 points on mid-term assessments in the academic subject they are recruited for, or those who have been recommended by the department responsible for teaching this subject, as well as post-graduate students recommended by the department responsible for the course.

It must be also taken into account that the teaching assistant should not:

• be studying at a course level in which the subject is taught;
• be recruited simultaneously by two or more lecturers;
• be recruited simultaneously in two different subjects;
• be recruited to conduct academic or research seminars, as well as to develop and implement subjects that are being included for the first time in a division’s curriculum;
• work at the University in a teaching position or provide teaching services to the university under a civil law contract (for students of Master’s programmes or postgraduate students)

Teaching assistants help lecturers in preparing for a lecture or a seminar, participate in conducting lessons, and engage in the preliminary evaluation of students’ work, but the final grades are to be determined by the lecturers. It is important to remember that teaching assistants must always operate under their mentor’s supervision and are not permitted to carry out teaching activities on their own. The lecturer is responsible for the quality of a teaching assistant’s work.

Applications can be submitted by a lecturer or by the head of the department twice a year. If a subject is continued in the next academic year, a new application for teaching assistant must be submitted. To clarify all the details on applications and terms, please contact the designated person at your Faculty. 

Practical recommendations

• Here are some practical tips that will help you fulfill your teaching duties at the University.
• Make sure your course syllabus contains complete/updated information about the assessment procedure, the methods of grades calculation, the timing and forms of written and other types of work. 
• Make sure your course syllabus is included in the HSE courses database and is available on your Profile Page.
• Update your Profile Page regularly. Make sure it contains all the necessary and current information.
• Create a profile of your course in the LMS.
• Prior to the beginning of studies, inform the Programme Office in the department of your preferences regarding the course schedule (preferred days of the week and hours) and your wishes will be taken into account as far as possible.
• Course schedules are placed on the Faculty bulletin boards not later than 3 days prior to the beginning of classes, and the exam schedule not later than 7 days.
• Inform students about types and features of assessment procedures and also of their achievements to date one week prior to assessment procedure.
• Register students’ achievements in the Student performance record. It's best to do it in LMS.

How to reserve a room and facilities for studies

When planning a course, if you have special requirements for the room (arrangement of tables and a board, the Internet, computers, an interactive whiteboard, etc.) for the duration of the whole course, it is necessary to inform the Programme Office in your department of your needs two weeks prior to the beginning of the module.

If you need a laptop, a projector, speakers or access to the Internet to conduct one or several lectures/seminars, please ask your coordinator to assist you with submitting an application to the appropriate department 3 days prior to the beginning of the event.