1. The school-leaving exam for the general secondary (9-year) education level was conducted on a skill-based curriculum and a new assessment model for the first time in 2017.
2. Applicants are given a chance to retake the university admission exams for undergraduate degree programs within the same academic year starting from 2018. Candidates who participate in both stages have an opportunity to take the exam in the summer session in the same or a different group of degree programs. As a result, applicants are able to decide which score to use for the admission process.
3. In 2019, for the first time, the school-leaving exam for full secondary (11-year) education and the admission exam to higher education institutions were held on a skill-based curriculum and a new assessment model.
4. The school leaving exam results at the IX and IX grades level are kept valid and could be used for the admission process for two years.
5.For the first time, graduates of VET institutions were entitled to a "sub-bachelor" qualification degree, allowing them to participate in the admission process without taking university admission exams.
6. For the first time, graduates of the internationally accredited educational programs "International Baccalaureate Diploma Program", "Advanced Level of General Certificate of Education," and "Advanced Placement" were given a right to be admitted to higher education institutions in a separate admission process.
7.The SEC has started to conduct foreign language exams for the Ph.D. admission process since 2020 and the foreign language examinations for the current Ph.D. students within the period of their studies since 2021.
8.The admission for the master's degree used to be held in two stages. Currently, the procedure is simplified by administering the exam in one stage. Course-based knowledge examination (second stage) is canceled. Logical reasoning, foreign language, and computer science are checked through the paper-based test examination.