Russia

The Ministry of Education plans to introduce a single, nationwide secondary-school graduate exam and university entrance exam sometime in 2001. In the past, all of the country’s institutions of higher education held their examinations at the same time, which meant students only had one chance to obtain entrance to a university. The purpose of the new exam is to simplify admissions and to benefit students who live in remote areas and cannot travel to their university of choice to take the entrance exam.

A pilot plan is scheduled for 2001. One of the options currently being considered is an online exam. But officials say even an electronic exam would be difficult because of the considerable increase in human resources needed to administer such a test. Several other options are also under consideration.

— The Times Higher Education Supplement
Sept. 15, 2000