CHANGES IN FACULTY QUALIFICATIONS IN LATVIAS REGIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION

This article describes the results of a study on faculty qualification levels in Latvia's regional institutions of higher education and related changes during a 6-year period. The article presents the results of a study on changes in the number of professors in regional higher education institutions, changes in the size of the potential professorial pool - senior readers and persons with a doctorate - as well as the role of other academic and research personnel - lecturers, researchers and assistants - in regional higher education institutions. Regional higher education institutions in the Latgale Region, the Vidzeme Region and the Kurzeme Region are surveyed. The study led to the following conclusions: an increase in the number and percentage of full time professors and associate professors attests to a consistent and significant improvement in the qualification level of faculty in these regional institutions; the number of senior readers, who constitute the pool of potential professors, in regional institutions is considerably higher than the number of professors and associate professors; and changes in the composition of the faculty could lead to higher quality in education.