Current state and prospects of distance format of business education in the healthcare

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Current state and prospects of distance format of business education in the healthcare

Gela V. Karalidze, Olga M. Zaluchyonova, Saltanat A. Mamyrbekova, Ani S. Babkova

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study on the development of business education, including in a distance format, discusses the issues of the regulatory framework for the use of this format for the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan and their differences, its pros and cons. Special attention is paid to the tools for implementing the educational process in a distance format for postgraduate business education programs. The main results of the study are the following. The distance learning format is becoming the highest priority for business education, since it allows you to study without interrupting professional activities. The offer of postgraduate business education programs (MBA and DBA) on the market is heterogeneous, but constantly evolving. The legislation of the Russian Federation is more loyal to the distance format, and for Kazakhstan it is necessary to revise regulatory legal acts to ensure a full transition to the distance format of education for postgraduate business education programs.

Keywords: business education, business administration, benchmarking, postgraduate education, distance technologies, distance format, scaffolding strategy.

Аннотация

ТЕКУЩЕЕ СОСТОЯНИЕ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ ДИСТАНЦИОННОГО ФОРМАТА БИЗНЕС-ОБРАЗОВАНИЯ В ЗДРАВООХРАНЕНИИ

Гела Владиславович Каралидзе, Ольга Михайловна Залучёнова, Салтанат Апбасовна Мамыроекова, Ани Серобовна Бабкова

Казахский национальный университет имени аль-Фараби г. Алматы, Республика Казахстан

Приводятся результаты исследования по развитию бизнес-образования, в том числе в дистанционном формате, рассматриваются вопросы нормативно-правовых основ применения данного формата для Российской Федерации и Республики Казахстан и их отличия, его плюсы и минусы. Отдельное внимание уделено инструментам реализации образовательного процесса в дистанционном формате для программ послевузовского бизнес-образования. Основные результаты исследования: дистанционный формат обучения становится наиболее приоритетным для бизнес-образования, поскольку позволяет обучаться без отрыва от профессиональной деятельности. Предложение на рынке программ послевузовского бизнес-образования (MBA и DBA) неоднородно, но постоянно развивается. Законодательство Российской Федерации более лояльно к дистанционному формату, а для Казахстана необходимо пересмотреть нормативно-правовые акты, для обеспечения полноценного перехода к дистанционному формату образования для программ послевузовского бизнес-образования.

Ключевые слова: бизнес-образование, деловое администрирование, бенчмаркинг, послевузовское образование, дистанционные технологии, дистанционный формат, стратегия скаффолдинга.

Introduction

The current situation in the healthcare system is characterized by one important feature: the lack of highly qualified personnel with systemic managerial competencies.

The reason for this situation is that there are no disciplines in classical medical education designed to form these competencies, which we consider a reasonable decision, but nevertheless leads to the fact that middle and higher management in the field of healthcare is experiencing a shortage of managerial skills and knowledge, which is eliminated by studying literature, courses and the method of “trial and error” within the entrusted departments and organizations. Unfortunately, we consider these measures to be not the most effective since they allow us to close specific gaps without forming an integral system of managerial competencies.

It should also be borne in mind that after the transition to a market economy, the healthcare sector became available to private capital: every year in the countries of the post-Soviet space, the number of private clinics is growing (table no. 1), which, in turn, do not live at the expense of the state order and, accordingly, are forced to ensure the quality of not only the services provided, but also the management, which will allow attracting and retaining not only consumers of services, but also highly skilled workers.

To eliminate these problems a number of organizations of higher and postgraduate education (onward -- OH&PE; educational organizations) have launched the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program in Healthcare / Medicine. There are also offers for the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program in healthcare on the market of Kazakhstan and Russia.

Materials and methods of research

The research in this article is based on the application of general scientific methods, methods of comparison, observation and statistical analysis of data, as well as legislative regulations.

The analysis of the regulatory framework for the use of the remote format for the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan is carried out, their differences, pros and cons are revealed.

Federal Law No. 273-ФЗ of December 29, 2012 “On Education in the Russian Federation” (with amendments and additions) was used as sources; The procedure for the use of e-learning, distance learning technologies by organizations engaged in educational activities in the implementation of educational programs (approved by Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation No. 816 of August 23, 2017); Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 27, 2007 No. 319-III “On Education” (with amendments and additions as of 07.07.2020); Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 20, 2015 No. 137 “On approval of the rules for the organization of the educational process on distance learning technologies” (with amendments and additions as of 04/13/2020); The state mandatory standard of postgraduate education, approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated October 31, 2018 No. 604 (with amendments and additions as of 01.09.2020); as well as the works of foreign and domestic scientists on the issues of distance education format.

The authors conducted benchmarking of MBA and DBA educational programs in healthcare and medicine according to the following indicators: cost of training, duration, format of training, availability of accreditation, ratings of educational organizations.

It was revealed that the pricing policy for these programs differs by a fairly large spread (from $1300 to more than $12,000), which, in turn, is due to the prestige of the organization, the format of training, the availability of accreditation programs and places in the ratings and, of course, the availability of the offer.

When analyzing the training format, it was revealed that in all business schools it is convenient for combining main work and study. This is primarily due to the specifics of business programs, focusing on the practical application of knowledge and skills in daily practice.

The authors also summarized the accumulated experience of their own research on the problem of the distance format of business education (MBA and DBA) in the field of healthcare.

1. Benchmarking

We conducted benchmarking of MBA and DBA educational programs in healthcare and medicine according to the following indicators: the cost of training, duration, format of training, availability of accreditation, rating of the educational organization. The analysis is carried out in table no. 2.

A number of organizations offer MBA programs in healthcare / medicine in the markets of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan:

PwC Academy (Russia), MIRBIS (Moscow International Higher School of Business, Russia);

Moscow City University of Management (Russia);

EMAS Business School (Eurasian Management and Administration School, Russia);

HSB AlmaU (Higher School of Business Almaty Management University, Kazakhstan);

Al-Farabi bussines school (Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Kazakhstan).

As we can see from the analysis, training on these programs varies from 10 months to 2 years. This depends on the degree of readiness of students, in particular, the availability of managerial experience. The MBA programs are mainly taught by already established managers who systematize their accumulated experience and supplement their knowledge and skills. In MBA programs, disciplines are given in full, with the expectation that students do not yet have sufficient experience and knowledge in business administration and organization management. business education distance

When analyzing the training format, it was revealed that in all business schools it is convenient for combining main work and study. This is primarily due to the specifics of business programs, focusing on the practical application of knowledge and skills in daily practice. As a rule, business students with a certain status come to business education programs, who prefer to save time and get the maximum benefit for themselves. Table no. 2 shows data on the format of training: evening modular weekend, evening full-time remote, modular-distortion. The modular distance learning format proved to be advantageous during the pandemic, and it was business education that most quickly adapted to the new quarantine conditions.

The pricing policy for these programs differs by a fairly large spread (from $1,300 to more than $12,000), which is due to the prestige of the organization, the format of training, the availability of program accreditations and places in the ratings and, of course, the availability of the offer.

As can be seen from the table, not all business schools have accreditation of educational programs, but there is a positive trend in this issue. 2 business schools from Russia have the certificate of accreditation of the Russian Federation (NASDO- BR) and only one has the international accreditation of АМВА. In the Republic of Kazakhstan, the AlmaU Higher School of Business has achieved quite high results and has 2 certificates of international accreditation (АМВA, CEEMAN), which indicates the recognition of the quality of the business school as a whole. Al-Farabi business school is a fairly young school, but it is noteworthy that it was opened on the basis of a large multidisciplinary university and already has sufficient recognition in Kazakhstan. Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, on the basis of which this business school was opened, is among the top best universities in the world according to the QS World rating, namely, it occupies the 165th place.

After analyzing the DBA educational program in healthcare, we found that this program is presented only in two business schools: in a private institution of additional professional education “EMAS Business School” and Al-Farabi business school. Since the DBA program represents the highest level of business education, there is sufficient demand among TOP managers of the healthcare sector. Due to the growth of the state and non-state healthcare sector, the development of this program is obvious.

Since the target audience for business education is people who work and hold managerial positions, and the format of the educational process, which will be discussed below, is the key for these programs.

2. Remote format

The remote format in business education was not imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic, although it undoubtedly contributed to the acceleration of the development of this area.

Due to the fact that these programs are developed as postgraduate education programs, it is assumed that the majority of people studying on them are working and employed, respectively, attending classes every day is a serious problem for them. Therefore, these programs are mainly implemented in a modular (“week-end”, remote or combined) format. The modular format is fixed in the normative documents regulating the educational process. For example, in the Russian Federation, this issue is regulated primarily by Article 16 of the Federal Law” On Education in the Russian Federation “ No. 273-the federal law of December 29, 2012 (with amendments and additions), which defines the right of organizations engaged in educational activities to use distance learning technologies in accordance with the procedure established by the federal executive authority Federal Law No. 273 -- the federal law of December 29, 2012 “On Education in the Russian Federation” (with amendments and additions)..

Article 3 of the procedure for the use of e-learning, distance learning technologies by organizations engaged in educational activities in the implementation of educational programs defines:

“Organizations engaged in educational activities (hereinafter referred to as organizations) implement educational programs or parts thereof using e-learning, distance learning technologies in the forms of training provided for by the Federal Law of December 29, 2012 No. 273 -- the federal law “On Education in the Russian Federation” or in combination thereof, during training sessions, practices, ongoing monitoring of academic performance, intermediate, final and (or) state final certification of students.”

In article 5 -- “When implementing educational programs or their parts with the use of e-learning, distance learning technologies: ...

- organizations independently determine the procedure for providing educational and methodological assistance to students, including in the form of individual consultations provided remotely using information and telecommunications technologies;

- organizations independently determine the ratio of the volume of classes conducted through direct interaction of a teacher with a student, including with the use of e-learning, distance educational technologies;

- it is allowed that there are no training sessions conducted through direct interaction of the teacher with the student in the classroom”¹.

That is, we can say that in the Russian Federation, the entire process is left to organizations that provide training in a remote format.

In the Republic of Kazakhstan, this issue is somewhat different, since Article 37-2 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan” On Education “defines the form of education that:” 1. Distance learning is carried out in organizations of . higher and (or) postgraduate education in accordance with the procedure determined by the authorized body in the field of education. 2. In cases of the introduction of a state of emergency, restrictive measures, including quarantine, at the relevant administrative-territorial units (at individual facilities), declaring emergency situations, local executive bodies and educational organizations introduce distance learning for all students in the manner determined by the authorized body in the field of education” The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated July 27, 2007 No. 319-III “On Education” (with amendments and additions as of 07.07.2020). URL: https://online.zakon.kz.

These changes were made on 08.01.2021, which, it would seem, improves the possibility of using remote technologies in the educational process, since previously, according to the law, they could only be used for teaching people with special needs, but there is a very big “ but “ hidden in the same order determined by the authorized body: in 2015, the order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 137 “On approval of the rules for organizing the educational process on remote educational technologies” was issued, in accordance with paragraph 6 of which “ RET are applied to:

1) students enrolled in educational programs of additional education (in certain areas), secondary, technical and professional, post-secondary, higher education and MBA (EMBA) and DBA programs...”, according to this, the remote format for the MBA (EMBA) and DBA programs is acceptable, only the rules specify the conditions for the number of credits that can be held in the remote format: for an MBA, no more than 30 academic credits are allowed for the entire period of study Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 20, 2015 No. 137 “On approval of the rules for organizing the educational process on distance educational technologies” (with amendments and additions as of 13.04.2020). URL: https://online.zakon.kz (with a total load of at least 120 credits, of which at least 78 credits are allocated for the study of disciplines The state mandatory standard of postgraduate) and no more than 15 academic credits for the entire period of study under the EMBA and DBA programs⁴ (with a total load of at least 60 credits, of which at least 30 credits are allocated for the study of disciplines for EMBA programs, for DBA 180 and 25 credits, accordinglyeducation, approved by the Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated October 31, 2018 No. 604 (with amendments and additions as of 01.09.2020).) (Order of the Minister of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated March 20, 2015 No. 137 “On approval of the rules for organizing the educational process on distance educational technologies”).

That is, the allowed amount of credits for distance learning in the Republic of Kazakhstan does not allow all disciplines to be transferred to a distance format, which creates certain problems for obtaining postgraduate education for people who mostly hold managerial positions in organizations. At the same time, as can be seen from the benchmarking above, in Russia a fairly small number of educational organizations offer a distance learning format, and in Kazakhstan no one could actually offer this format. And here the pandemic is making its contribution, since the transition to a remote format of work required certain investments from organizations in infrastructure (portals, training courses, proctoring and antiplagiarism systems, monitoring the quality of the educational process, etc.), not to mention the automation of the organization's management systems (planning and monitoring activities, document management, etc.) and we believe that organizations are unlikely to be interested in these systems ceasing to be used after the end of the pandemic.

Expanding the scope of competition of OH&PE (training without the need to move to another city / country), taking into account the mutual recognition of documents within the EAEU, in accordance with Article 97 of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union, “In order for workers of the member states to work in the state of employment, educational documents issued by educational organizations (educational institutions, organizations in the field of education) of the member states are recognized, without carrying out the procedures established by the legislation of the state of employment for the recognition of educational documents” The Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union ratified in the Russian Federation by Federal Law No. 279-federal Law of 03.10.2014 “On Ratification of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union”, Law of the Republic of Belarus No. 193-Z of 09.10.2014 “On Ratification of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union”, Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 240-V of 14.10.2014 “On Ratification of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union”.. That is, due to the presence of this clause in the contract and those investments that educational organizations were forced to make in the development of the distance format in connection with the pandemic, lead to the fact that educational organizations now compete not only within settlements and regions, but also within EAEU zones.

Competition is also increasing with educational organizations of countries outside the EAEU, since the procedure for nostrification of educational documents is not too problematic, but the role of the language of instruction is increasing here, that is, a sufficient level of knowledge, for example, English, allows you to study remotely in almost any country of the world without the need for physical presence.

The distance format shows certain advantages for employees and students, since:

1. There is no need to spend time on the way to classes and back, which is especially important for megacities where it could take several hours in one direction during the “rush hour”.

2. It eliminates the link to physical presence at work, opening up the opportunity to be not only at home, but also, in principle, anywhere in the world where there is an Internet, which allows such a class of people as “digital nomads” to develop, that is, those who want to work and travel around the world. Some countries, for example: Thailand, some Caribbean countries, Croatia, Estonia and others even introduce a special type of work visa for such persons.

3. Another plus is the cost of living. With distance education, employees and students from other localities do not have such items of expenditure as housing rent and transport costs (for example, on vacation), there is no increase in other costs, since usually the cost of living in megacities, where the largest educational organizations are usually located, is more expensive than in other localities.

4. There is no need to change jobs or educational institutions often, for example, for military families.

5. The possibilities of combining work with education, a second job (for teaching staff), or main work with teaching (for practitioners) are expanding due to saving time on the road and efficient use of time (convenient schedule, etc.).

6. The opportunity to spend more time with the family, if necessary, providing proper care for young children or elderly parents.

And if for the specialty and bachelor's programs there are questions about the organization of students and their competencies in the distribution of time and the ability to study in such a format, which undoubtedly affects the quality of the communication process, the assimilation of the material and the formation of the necessary competencies, then for postgraduate education, where most often students are working, this format is an undeniable plus.

Next, I would like to consider the specifics of the organization of the educational process for business education programs in the field of healthcare.

3. The specifics of the organization of the remote process of business education in the field of healthcare

The specifics of the organization of the educational process in the distance format begins at the stage of submitting documents: it is necessary to work out the mechanism for signing an application, contract and other documents (if necessary), if this process is carried out through an electronic portal, then the document must be signed by both parties using an electronic digital signature, then the document will be considered an electronic document. If you use a scanned version of the document, then its status will be an electronic copy, which actually has no force and there are risks of forgery and falsification. Originals of educational documents and other originals of documents can be sent to the educational organization by mail, and they must be received by the documentation support service (for example, the office), and not directly to the admissions committee, since this service performs the registration of correspondence entering the organization, and it already transmits a package of documents to the admissions committee. It is also necessary to determine the process of providing confirmation of receipt of documents and guarantees of their safety, since these documents contain personal data of students.

The organization and conduct of entrance, intermediate and final exams also differ from the traditional format by the need to ensure proctoring and prevent plagiarism.

In our opinion, the transition to a distance learning format contributes to improving the quality of the educational process.

First, the teacher is forced to revise and improve the materials of his classes, adapting them to the online format, while studying and applying various online tools in the educational process: creating virtual whiteboards in the programs Padlet, Google Jam- board, Miro, Google Documents, which provide an opportunity to introduce participants, add stickers, pictures, and other various elements, drawing with a marker, making lists and detailed formulations; conducting testing in Pruffme, Kahoot, Quizizz, Google Forms; conducting interactive classes in Quizlet, BranchTrack, OnlineTestPad [15].

Secondly, all types of classes and control are recorded and can be controlled by a supervisor of any level, starting from the direct supervisor -- the head of the department, to the head of the educational and methodological bureau of the faculty and the organization of education, the head of the educational and methodological department, the vice-rector and other interested parties, which, in turn, mobilizes the teacher to improve the quality of classes and conduct all types of control in accordance with the established requirements and with the use of proctoring technology as a tool that contributes to ensuring academic integrity by identifying the identity of the examinee, while excluding the possibility of using any materials, not intended for use in the exam.

Third, educational organizations themselves choose a platform for implementing the distance learning process: Platonus, Canvas, Adobe Connect, MOODLE, Univer, etc., but all of them contribute to the mobilization of both students and teachers, as well as ensuring academic integrity due to strictly set deadlines and the inability to correct the points awarded.

Of course, like any methods and tools, the distance format of business education in the field of healthcare has its positive aspects and obstacles to the transition to online training.

First, lower costs, both for students and for educational organizations.

Secondly, distance education provides an opportunity to combine training with work, which allows you to study on-the-job and, no less importantly, family while receiving a postgraduate or second education, and when studying for a bachelor's degree, it gives you the opportunity to gain practical experience in your chosen specialty during your studies.

Thirdly, this educational format really expands the possibility of training for people who are difficult to move.

Fourth, distance education makes it possible to study both in Kazakhstan and abroad at the same time.

Fifth, the distance learning format allows you to improve your skills or acquire a new one [15].

The main obstacles to the transition to online training are the following:

The uncertainty of some teachers, and often insufficient qualifications for working with high-tech electronic equipment.

Negative perception of the distance learning format.

Problems with the Internet, limited access to equipment.

Insufficient qualification of the teaching staff.

Unwillingness of students to study remotely.

It is necessary to understand the difference between a conditionally classical education in the field of healthcare (bachelor's degree, residency, master's degree and PhD) and business education (MBA, EMBA and DBA):

Classical education in the field of healthcare in general has its own specifics: the presence of subjects that cannot be implemented in a distance format: Emergency surgery, Elective surgery, Simulation courses, Methods of examination of patients, etc.

But there are subjects that are easily implemented in a remote format: Health organization and public health, the legal system of public health protection, Management, economics and health planning,

Quality management of medical care, Medical statistics and the state of public health, etc.

As a result -- the use of mixed, even more correctly, hybrid training. Such training combines the best of two educational directions: traditional classroom training and high-tech e-learning.

Business education in the field of healthcare, as in any other field, is designed to train managers, not doctors, that is, it contributes to the acquisition of managerial knowledge and competencies to ensure the proper management of departments and organizations.

At the same time, it is necessary to switch to teaching planning, which is very important for this format of training. At the end of the 2019-2020 academic year, educational organizations were urgently forced to switch completely to the online format of work, that is, to replace all full-time lectures and seminars with online classes in real time, without adapting their classes to the new format of training. Teaching planning includes the revision and adaptation of lecture materials and practical / seminar / laboratory classes to a new format. To abandon the so-called “information delivery” to students in favor of the scaffolding strategy, as a special type of instructing process in the interaction of the teacher and the student in solving various problems and tasks, while the teacher should be more of a mentor who, using special cognitive or problem-searching tasks and instructions, based on the experience of the trainees, directs them and helps in the discovery of new knowledge. With this approach, students, as a rule, are focused on solving priority tasks of the future, and graduates are ready for the profession and life.

These approaches are implemented in business education programs, including in the field of healthcare, which ensures the growth of their popularity, since at the present stage of society's development, students and teachers have approximately equal access to information and, if desired, students can find and read what they need themselves, respectively, the role of the teacher changes to a consultant-mentor, whose function is to explain and teach how to adapt the information received in practice, maximize positive effects and neutralize negative ones. That is why at the MBA, EMBA and DBA, not theorists should be involved in teaching, but practitioners who have some experience in the field of the discipline being read and understand its specifics.

Conclusion

1. According to the results of the analysis, it is clear that this direction is at the beginning of its development, has quite extensive prospects for development, there is an increase in demand in this segment, which is decreasing due to the fact that the training format does not allow people to study effectively for whom these programs are focused.

2. There is a real need to improve the regulatory framework in order to ensure the legality of the distance learning format in postgraduate training programs in the post-pandemic period.

3. From all of the above, we can conclude that for higher education programs, the distance learning format in the period after the pandemic is a controversial issue, but for postgraduate education programs, short -- and medium-term programs, this format is most desirable, both for organizations and for students.

4. In our opinion, the distance education format used in postgraduate training programs contributes to increasing interest in this education and, at the same time, provides a high level of teaching quality, since audio and video recording of both classes and exams is carried out.

5. It is important to understand that new technologies should not be used simply to transmit information, the personality, skill, and professionalism of the teacher are more important here.

6. Business education in the field of healthcare, despite all the specificity of the industry, fits perfectly into the format of distance education and enjoys evergrowing popularity, since it comes closest to solving the real problems facing managers at the current stage of development.

References

1. Zaluchyonova OM. Online education: problems and prospects of development. Bulletin of the University “Turan”. Scientific journal KKSES MESRK. 2020;(3);276-279. (In Russ.).

Список источников

1. Залучёнова О. М. Онлайн-образование: проблемы и перспективы развития // Вестник университета «Туран». 2020. № 3 (87). С. 276-279.

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