ABSTRACT

Throughout the last 20 years after the end of the so-called centrally planned economy in Poland, a series of signicant changes in the Polish system of higher education could be noticed. Just at the very beginning of the economic transformation (often referred to as “Balcerowicz Plan” or “shock therapy”), one could observe the tremendous impact that the new, market economy had on the academic sector. First, nonpublic schools were opened as early as in 1990, and state-owned universities started to offer commercial, paid courses as well. The number of schools increased from 112 in 1989 to 461 in 2010, and the number of students rose almost 5 times.