The thesis reveals the theoretical and practical foundations of activity of the European University Association in the context of the regional educational area formation, namely: the state of elaboration of the problem of EUA activity as a complex multifaceted phenomenon and conceptual foundations of the regional educational area in the second half of the XX century – at the beginning of the XXI century. It is proved that conceptual foundations of the regional educational area formation have provisions of the functional, organizational and political approaches. The preconditions and stages of the European University Association development are defined. It is found out that creation of the EUA was preceded by a number of political events, including creation of national conferences of university leaders during the first half of the twentieth century in Switzerland, Austria and the United Kingdom; W. Churchill’s speech in Zurich on the United States of Europe; the Hague Congress on European Cooperation; signing of the Brussels Treaty on Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defense; creation of the Council of Europe; creation of the Western European Union; signing of the Treaty of Rome. The stages of the European University Association development are singled out, in particular: 1) initial (1959 – 1973); 2) unifying (1974 – 2000); 3) institutional (2001 – present).
The main directions of the European University Association activity in the context of the regional educational area formation are outlined, in particular: formation of the European educational policy; cooperation with other educational organizations of European and international level; ensuring higher education quality in the EHEA; doctoral education development. In each direction the EUA mission, priority tasks, functions and relevant structures are highlighted. It is proved that EUA is one of the powerful agents in forming educational policy in the European region. As an independent stakeholder, the European University Association represents the interests of higher education institutions by monitoring and influencing educational policy processes and decision-making at the European level. It is determined that the European University Association actively cooperates with both European and international partners. The study of the European University Association contribution to the quality assurance of higher education in the European Higher Education Area was carried out through the prism of an independent quality assurance agency – the Institutional Evaluation Program, which is part of the European Register of Higher Education Quality Assurance and is a full member of the European Association of Institutions in Higher Education. Based on the analysis of basic documents in the field of doctoral education, the role of the European University Association in the development of the studied phenomenon is determined. The evolution of EAU priorities in this direction is traced.
The current state and prospects of the University organizations activity development in the conditions of realization of the principles of the Bologna process in Ukraine are covered. In the context of determining the current state, the normative foundations and directions of activity of domestic public organizations – “Association of Universities of Ukraine” and “Union of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions of Ukraine” are characterized. A prognostic model has been developed, which outlines the factors that could potentially hinder the development of these organizations, and the sequence of steps, implementation of which will turn Ukrainian university organizations into active participants in the process of national education policy formation and partners of the European associations.
Key words: European University Association, activity, educational area, regional educational area, educational policy formation, higher education quality assurance, international cooperation, doctoral education, prognostic model.
