Administrative and Legal Foundations for The Higher Education Reform in Ukraine In the Context of European Integration

This article explicates relevance of the Eurointegration agenda for reforming higher education in Ukraine and characterizes key studies on administrative and legal aspects of Ukraine's integration to the European and global higher education areas. It emphasizes the importance of implementation of the Bologna process requirements in the higher education system to improve access to education for underrepresented and vulnerable groups, and it proposes to raise the mentioned direction to the level of the national issue of protecting rights and freedoms of participants of the educational process. The article points out the benefits of introduction of the institution of the educational ombudsman in the national system; offers steps to secure adherence to the gender equality principle in the educational system; acknowledges the issue of securing adequate quality of educational services as one of the most important factors in the government policy. The article also emphasizes the importance of deploying the National Higher Education Quality Assurance Agency, and the corresponding system of agencies, as provided by the legislation.The article explores the legal foundations for establishment of the National Higher Education Quality Assurance Agency, and emphasizes the progressive nature of the stipulated procedures to secure gender equality in this process. The article articulates the strategic goal and the guidelines for the Agency's activities, emphasizes the broad scale and constant progress in the educational sector, which calls for continuous academic research, whose practical implementation will help advance the national higher education and propel it towards the European standards.