Development of Student Services in Kyrgyzstan

• In Event: Negotiating Educational Reforms: Faculty, Students, and Inclusion in Central Asian Higher Education

Proposal

The higher education institutions in Central Asian countries inherited the Soviet model of kurator with responsibilities limited to supervision of students to ensure an academic discipline and commitment to the Communist Party ideology. Now universities have shifted to a Western style model of student services by establishing academic advising, counseling, and career development centers to support students throughout their academic journey.
University student services play a crucial role in promoting peace, social justice, and well-being of students from diverse cultures and backgrounds through involving students in various extra-curricular activities, civic engagement initiatives, and using all available academic and non-academic resources. There are international students who are affected by conflicts, war and dislocation that need academic, social, psychological, and personal support in higher education institutions of Kyrgyzstan.
The paper will present the research findings on the impact of student services on students’ academic success and their well-being, and the factors that influence the quality of student services in higher education institutions in Kyrgyzstan.
This is a qualitative study and addresses the research questions:
1. How do institutional student services impact students’ academic success and their well-being?
2. What are the internal and external factors that influence the quality of student services?
The author uses Astin’s (1984) Student Involvement Theory to guide the study, which states that “The effectiveness of any educational policy or practice is directly related to the capacity of that policy or practice to increase student involvement” (p.519). She will review university policies on student services and interview up to 20 student affairs professionals and academic advisors at five public universities and three private universities. Using purposeful sampling will help the author reach people with particular experiences of developing institutional policies on student services who can provide useful insights on the effectiveness of the current student support services the universities provide.
The Law of the Kyrgyz Republic on Education (August 11, 2023, #179) defined support in the educational process as “creation of social, psychological and pedagogical conditions and services for the development of the student's personality and his successful learning…” (Article 3). However, due to insufficient funding and lack of trained academic advisors, mentors, and student affairs specialists, the student support services are underdeveloped. There is no study on development of student support services in Kyrgyz higher education system.
Key words: Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan, higher education, student support services

Author

• Chynarkul Ryskulova, American University of Central Asia