1. This Regulation establishes the basic concepts, principles, and defines the stages of development and approval of educational programs (hereinafter referred to as EPs) at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (hereinafter referred to as the University) in the Republic of Kazakhstan.
2. This Regulation has been developed in accordance with the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, normative legal acts of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (hereinafter referred to as the MSHE RK), and internal documents of the University.
3. EPs are developed for fields of study for which the University holds licenses for educational activities, within the framework of groups of educational programs according to the Classifier of fields of training of higher and postgraduate education.
4. EPs are developed in accordance with the requirements of Article 43-1, Section 4 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Education," the National Qualifications Framework (hereinafter referred to as the NQF), sectoral qualifications frameworks (hereinafter referred to as the SQF), and professional standards (hereinafter referred to as the PS).
5. This Regulation is intended for students, faculty members, heads and staff of structural units of the University, as well as other interested parties."

1. Academic Committee for Training Personnel (Academic Committee) is an entity formed to develop and update educational programs in accordance with the requirements of Article 43-1, Point 4 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan "On Education," the National Qualifications Framework, industry frameworks, and professional standards. The Academic Committee comprises academic staff, employers, and students of the University.
2. University Component (UC) is a list of subjects and corresponding minimum academic credit volumes determined independently by the Educational Organization for the implementation of the educational program.
3. Higher Education (HE) and Postgraduate Education (PHE) refer to higher and postgraduate education levels, respectively.
4. State Educational Standards for Higher Education (HESES) and Postgraduate Education (PHESES) are the compulsory state standards for higher education and postgraduate education, respectively.
5. Additional Educational Program (Minor) is a set of disciplines and/or modules and other types of educational work that a student chooses to study to acquire additional competencies.
6. Competencies are the ability to practically apply acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities in professional activities.
7. Elective Component (EC) is a list of subjects and corresponding minimum academic credit volumes offered by the Educational Organization and chosen independently by students at any academic period, taking into account their prerequisites and postrequisites.
8. National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is a structured description of qualification levels recognized in the labor market.
9. Educational Program (EP) is a comprehensive set of key characteristics of education, including goals, learning outcomes, content, organization of the educational process, methods of implementation, and criteria for assessing learning outcomes.
10. Mandatory Component is a list of subjects and corresponding minimum academic credit volumes established by HESES and PHESES, which students must study as part of the educational program.
11. Educational Organization for Higher and Postgraduate Education (EOHPHE) refers to higher and postgraduate educational institutions.
12. Major Educational Program (Major) is an educational program chosen by a student to study and acquire core competencies.
13. Industry Qualifications Framework (IQF) is a structured description of qualification levels recognized in a specific industry.
14. EP Passport is a brief description of an educational program, including its goals, workload in academic credits, EP learning outcomes, modules, and disciplines, as well as their connections to the professional field, including NQF, IQF, and professional standards, where applicable.
15. Postrequisites are disciplines and/or modules and other types of educational work that require knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies acquired upon completing the respective disciplines and/or modules.
16. Prerequisites are disciplines and/or modules and other types of educational work that contain the knowledge, skills, abilities, and competencies necessary for the study of the respective disciplines and/or modules.
17. Professional Standard (PS) is a standard defining requirements for the qualification level and competence, content, quality, and working conditions in a specific professional field.
18. Profession is a type of labor activity that requires possession of a set of specialized theoretical knowledge and practical skills acquired through specific training and work experience.
19. EP Development is the development of EP components, specifying EP learning outcomes, and corresponding workload in academic credits, types of educational activities, teaching methods, and assessment procedures/criteria.
20. Registry of Higher and Postgraduate Education Programs (hereinafter referred to as the Registry) is an information system of the Center for the Bologna Process and Academic Mobility of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan that includes a list of EPs developed by EOHPHE.
21. Learning Outcomes (LO) are confirmed measures of knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies acquired, values, and attitudes demonstrated by students during the EP implementation.
22. Work Function is an integral part of a type of labor activity representing an integrated and relatively autonomous set of labor actions determined by business processes and requiring the necessary competencies for their execution.
23. Qualification Level is a generalized requirement for knowledge, skills, and broad competencies of workers, differentiated by parameters such as the complexity, non-standard nature of labor actions, responsibility, and autonomy.
24. Curriculum is a document that regulates the list, sequence, volume (workload) of subjects and/or modules, professional practice, and other types of student activities corresponding to the respective level and form of education.

The main principles of educational program development include:

• 1. Multidisciplinarity based on the existing potential of the University and collaboration with strategic Kazakhstan and international partners.
• 2. Student-oriented approach and focus on developing comprehensive competencies in graduates. In student-oriented learning, the student should be at the center of teaching/learning and actively participate in the learning process and decision-making.
• 3. Innovation and orientation towards fostering "disruptive thinking" among students (the ability to propose groundbreaking ideas).
• 4. Cultivating systems thinking and social communication skills.
• 5. Integration of education and research at all levels of education.
• 6. Internationalization and comparability with educational programs of other higher and postgraduate educational organizations (EOHPHE) listed in the top 300 international subject rankings.

1. The educational program (EP) is developed in the context of a competency model for graduates and consists of modules, the content of which depends on the objectives, competencies, and learning outcomes (LO) for each module. In EPs developed based on a professional standard, the main work functions are projected into professional modules. Each professional module aims to develop competencies related to performing the main work functions of the profession. A module can consist of two or more academic disciplines or a combination of one or more disciplines with other types of educational work. Professional practices, diploma projects, and master's/doctoral dissertations or projects are included in the corresponding EP modules. Each type of professional practice is related to different modules.
2. The stages of developing higher and postgraduate education programs (bachelor's, master's, and doctoral/PhD) include planning, designing, developing structural elements, and evaluation.
3. The EP is developed by the Academic Committee, which is formed for various directions of training personnel in higher and postgraduate education. The composition of the Academic Committee is approved by the order of the Chairman-Rector.

1. The planning of the educational program (EP) is carried out based on the analysis of current and prospective labor market needs and the employability prospects of graduates (whether there is a deficit or surplus) in various fields of study.
2. The analysis of personnel training includes the use of the Atlas of new professions and involves monitoring competitors in the field of personnel training at the national and regional levels. It also entails conducting a SWOT analysis of the development and further implementation of the EP.
3. During the planning process, the University assesses its capabilities for implementing the EP, including the availability of necessary human, informational, library, material-technical, informational, and financial resources. The EP's implementation capabilities are also evaluated in accordance with the requirements of Part 1 of the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance (ESG) and accreditation standards.
4. If the analysis conducted during the planning phase yields a positive result, a decision is made to proceed with the development of the EP.

The Academic Committee conducts an analysis of professional spheres and reviews the following documents to form the initial list of graduate competencies for the educational program (EP):

1. International Standard Classification of Education (ISC ED).
2. European Qualifications Framework (EQF).
3. National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
4. Industry Qualifications Frameworks (IQF).
5. Professional Standards (PS).
6. Atlas of new professions.
7. State General Educational Standard for Higher and Postgraduate Education (HESES/PHESES).
8. Job position qualification requirements.

The results of the labor market analysis, including knowledge, skills, behavior standards, equipment, and tools used in performing the main work functions, are translated into professionally relevant competencies and EP learning outcomes (LO).

A preliminary list of competencies for each field of study in a given professional sphere is formed in the following manner:

a) General competencies of graduates: behavioral skills and personal qualities.
b) Basic and professional competencies of graduates: theoretical and practical skills and abilities.

The EP competencies should correspond to the Dublin Descriptors, HESES/PHESES, NQF, IQF, and professional standards. The Academic Committee may conduct surveys of employers to refine and prioritize the preliminary list of competencies based on labor market analysis, IQF, and PS. For the survey, an employer questionnaire is developed using the initial competencies. Participants for the survey are selected from the studied professional sphere in which the EP graduates will work. The participants assess the importance of each competency in the workplace and the level of proficiency expected from graduates upon completing their studies at the University.

EP learning outcomes (LO) are formulated depending on the competencies focused on the level of education, professional standards, and/or employer requirements/expectations, as well as the University's Development Program. The LO serves as the basis for determining the workload volume in academic credits allocated to the EP. The overall workload of the EP must meet the specified HESES/PHESES requirements for the corresponding level.

In the EP, the interrelation between disciplines and LO must be defined. During EP design, the following relationship between LO and assessment criteria is determined:

1. Each graduate competency is decomposed into several learning outcomes.
2. Several assessment criteria are developed for each learning outcome.
3. Each assessment criterion for a learning outcome must describe a "completed action."

Assessment criteria for learning outcomes are formulated in the categories "knows," "can," and "masters":

- "Knows": Reproduces and explains the study material with the required degree of scientific accuracy and completeness.
- "Can": Solves typical tasks based on reproducing standard algorithms for solving them.
- "Masters": Solves complex tasks based on acquired knowledge, skills, and abilities, applying them in atypical situations.

During the design of assessment methods and tools to assess the achievement of LO, the following conditions are taken into account:

1. Description: Methods and tools are described in the course syllabus and briefly in the EP passport.
2. Measurement: The use of measurable assessment methods based on specific criteria.
3. Alignment: Assessment methods are aligned with the assessed learning outcomes.
4. Reflection: Obtained assessments reflect the level of student mastery of the learning outcomes.

During the design phase, the necessary and sufficient resources for the full implementation of the EP are determined. This includes human resources, informational, library, material-technical, informational, and financial resources.

1) Human and social resources. The implementation of the EP is provided by scientific and pedagogical personnel with the appropriate education and confirmed by official documents. Requirements for the qualification of scientific and pedagogical personnel are determined by the "Qualification requirements for educational activities", approved by order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 391 dated June 17, 2015.

2) Material and technical base. The material and technical base of the educational and scientific process must: comply with sanitary and fire safety rules and regulations, be provided with the required equipment for carrying out all types of educational, laboratory, practical and research work of students, provided for by the curriculum.

3) Information and library resources. The EP should be provided with educational and methodological resources for all training courses, disciplines / modules.

4) Social resources. The implementation of the EP also requires social resources: established partnerships between the University and enterprises and organizations of the real sector of the economy; interaction with the professional-pedagogical and business community, public associations, professional associations and non-profit organizations expressing the interests of employers in this segment of the labor market.

The title and objective of the educational program (EP) are formulated, the content of the EP is designed, and teaching strategies are determined.

The EP title should be concise, specific, informative, correspond to the field of study according to the Classifier, and reflect the content of the EP. The EP objective is formulated succinctly, combining the expected learning outcomes that students must achieve. It should meet criteria like relevance, specificity, and achievability.

The content of the EP is designed through defining modules/courses. The EP is developed in the context of professional functions and consists of a list of courses. In the brief description of each course, the objective and content must be reflected as indicators of achieving the EP's learning outcomes. Duplication of courses or having different courses with identical content is not allowed.

After determining the list of modules and courses in the context of competencies and learning outcomes, their workload in academic credits is established. Then, considering prerequisites and co-requisites, the curriculum for the EP is developed. This curriculum must comply with the requirements of State Educational Standards for Higher and Postgraduate Education regarding the number of academic credits based on the field and level of education (including cycles and components).

When developing the structural elements of the EP, special attention should be given to formulating the learning outcomes of modules/courses. The expected learning outcomes serve as the main guideline both in designing the EP and selecting teaching and assessment methods.

All learning outcomes of modules/courses should be assessable. Additionally, when formulating the learning outcomes of a course, it is essential to consider how the course fits into a module and, consequently, how the module fits into the EP as a whole.

After formulating the learning outcomes of the EP/modules/courses and determining their workload, teaching strategies are identified.

The University's teaching strategy should be oriented towards using innovative teaching methods and information technologies. When developing a course, it is necessary to determine which teaching and assessment methods best suit achieving the respective learning outcomes and ensuring fair and adequate assessment.

The structure of the EP for Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral programs is provided in the appendices to the State Educational Standards for Higher and Postgraduate Education. The content of higher education EPs consists of courses from three cycles: general education courses, basic courses, and specialized courses. As a university with a special status, the institution independently determines the content of higher and postgraduate education EPs, which must meet the requirements of the respective State Educational Standards. The general education cycle includes courses of a mandatory component, a university component (UC), and/or an elective component (EC). The basic and specialized cycles include UC and EC courses. The content of Master's and Doctoral programs includes basic and specialized UC and EC courses, determined by the institution, taking into account labor market demands, employer expectations, and individual student interests.

Within the elective component, students can choose courses related to their main EP (Major) or additional EP (Minor). The selection and completion of courses related to the main EP (Major) are carried out based on prerequisites. The selection and completion of courses related to the additional EP (Minor) are aimed at gaining additional competencies in related or specialized fields, as well as fulfilling personal student needs.

All EPs are developed with the involvement of the Academic Committee in three languages: Kazakh, Russian, and English. Based on the EP, study plans (curricula, individual study plans for students) and syllabi for courses are formed. The structure of the EP consists of a passport (Appendix 1), a catalog of courses (Appendix 2), and a study plan (Appendix 3).

1. All educational programs (EPs) follow a unified approval process:

- The developed/updated EP is coordinated with representatives of employers and the Office of Educational Program Design (hereinafter referred to as the Office).
- After approval by the Faculty Council, the EP is submitted to the University Council for final approval.
- The EP is approved in accordance with the current legislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, normative legal acts of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and internal documents of the University.

2. After coordination and approval, the EP is submitted online for inclusion in the "Registry of Higher and Postgraduate Education Programs."

3. The Office staff ensures the timely update of existing/new EPs and monitors the status of EPs of higher and postgraduate education registered in the Registry.

4. The Academic Committee develops a plan for the development of EPs to enhance their content in line with contemporary trends in science, technology, culture, economy, technology, and socio-cultural spheres.