The sources of financing and the provision of infrastructure

7.7. The sources of financing and the provision of infrastructure

• 
  The state budget is the financing for full-time studies.There are 25 places in the study programme, which are financed from the state budget.
  

(the base costs of the study place * cost coefficient of the study thematic field * the coefficient of the study level) + social security costs of the study place, where the cost coefficient of the study thematic field in the teachers’ education is 1.1; the coefficient of the study level in undergraduate studies is 1.0, but other costs change every year and they have the tendency to increase according to the indicators of the development of national economy. The funding from the state budget for one student to provide the study process of one year in the teachers’ education has increased within the period of time since the previous accreditation from 650 to almost 900 LVL.

• 
  There are 5 places envisaged for the students of full-time studies paying partial tuition fee. The students of part-time studies must pay their tuition fee.
  

(the base costs of the study place * cost coefficient of the study thematic field * the coefficient of the study level), where the cost coefficient of the study thematic field in the teachers’ education is 0.55; the coefficient of the study level in undergraduate studies is 1.0 The study costs per one student of part-time studies per annum have increased within the period of time since the previous accreditation from 240 to almost 400 LVL. The tuition fee, determined by the decision of the Senate of the Latvia University of Agriculture, covers the study costs only partially.

Tuition fee in the study programme Home Environment and Information Technologies in Education, determined by the Latvia University of Agriculture

• 
  The deficit of finance is partially covered by the provision of studies received from different projects: the computer room, the library, the funding for the publishing of methodological materials, the field-research and participation of the teaching staff in conferences, using of grants, etc. (see 7.6. Project management).
  

• 
  The students may receive the study credit to cover pay their tuition fee.
  
• 
  The student’s credit is envisaged for the students’ daily needs. Only the students of full-time studies may receive this credit. The sum may be up to 120 LVL per month.
  
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  The students, whose studies are financed from the state budget and who have successfully and in due course the examinations provided by the study programme, may be granted a scholarship for 10 months a year (there is no scholarship granted for July and August) on the basis of the decision made by the Scholarship Committee of faculty.
  
• 
  The students may apply for and be granted different scholarships, for example, the scholarship of Janis Cakste; the scholarship of Janis and Millija Kavusi’s Educational and Culture Foundation, etc.
  
• 
  Undergraduate students, who study at the Latvia University of Agriculture and whose tuition fee is covered from the state budget, have an opportunity to receive the compensation to cover the transportation costs, when using public transport to go from and to the Latvia University of Agriculture from his/her place of residence.
  

Most of the study programme is implemented at the premises of the Institute of Education and Home Economics (with the area of 415.5 m²) and the Department of Computer Systems (area - 410 m²) and the Department of Control Systems (area - 210 m²) of the Faculty of Information Technologies.

The literature, necessary for the studies, and the suggested supplementary literature in English, German, Russian and Latvian is available at the Fundamental Library of the Latvia University of Agriculture and the library of the Institute of Education and Home Economics.

The library stock of the library of the Institute of Education and Home Economics every year is supplemented with the latest titles, necessary to the students for their studies. At the end of 2005 the library has been supplemented with 2000 sources of literature – the latest publications, issued in the Western countries, Latvia and Russia in the field of pedagogy, psychology, household and information technologies. The library stock was supplemented, using the funding from the project “Professional and further education for the rural areas of Latvia within the European Union context”, implemented by the Institute of Education and Home Economics and financed by the Ministry of Education and Science.

Since 2004 the Institute of Education and Home Economics has purchased 17 new computers. The computer room of the institute at present is equipped with 15 computers. At the end of 2005 there has been purchased additional multimedia equipment. At present two large lecture rooms (336 and 431) are equipped with a computer and a data projector.

All the computers in the computer room of the Institute of Education and Home Economics are connected to the INTERNET. The software is the following: Microsoft Windows XP Proffesional (sp2); Microsoft Office 2003 Pro; Tildes birojs 2002; CorelDraw 11; Adobe Photoshop 6.0; Adobe Illustrator; Norton Antivirus 2003; WinRar 3.2; Acrobat Reader; Pascal; Nero 6; Powersim Studio 2005; Grafis (modeling software). Powersim Studio 2005 is software, applied for the study or analysis of a situation (also in education), when designing mathematical models and performing the computer simlation. Such situation models can be used for making decisions at all the organizational levels of education. The students are envisaged to introduce to this software within the study course IT in Education, as well as within the elective course.

Table 17

Technical provision of the Institute of Education and Home Economics, used for the implementation of the study programme Home Environment and Information Technologies in Education

Technical provision of studies	Number
Graphoprojectors	8
Multimedia	2
Computers with the INTERNET connection (Including those in the computer room)	23 (15)
Printers	4
Scanner	1
Xerox	1
Video camera	1
TV set	1
Video-recorder	1

The studies of the study course block Information Technologies are ensured in collaboration with the Faculty of Information Technologies. The Faculty of Information Technologies is situated in the premises of Jelgava palace at Liela Street 2. There are 9 computer rooms with the total number of 150 computers are used to ensure the implementation of the study programme.

There are 8 agreements concluded with the schools of Jelgava city and district within the framework of the project “The innovative and traditional provision at the base schools of pedagogical practice for the qualitative professional education of future teachers of household and information technologies within the modern educational process”, carried out by the financial supply of ESF. There was implemented the students’ practical training at these schools regarding both subjects – household and information technologies during the academic year 2005/2006. There were 4 seminars organized within the project with the participation of the teachers of household and information technologies, who supervised students’ practical training, and the students, who performed the practical training at schools. The seminars included the presentations of reports by the teaching staff of the Institute of Education and Home Economics, the specialists of household and information technologies in the field of education, the teachers-supervisors of practical training and the defence of the reports on practical training by the students. There was the teaching aid “A school in culture and culture in a school” by Assistant Professor, Dr.paed. I.Katane published within the framework of the project, as well as there will be published methodological materials, developed by the participants of the project, which are envisaged as the auxiliary materials for the students during their pedagogical practice. The funding, received for the implementation of the project, is 8500 LVL.