University of Zadar, Croatia

1
University of Zadar, Croatia
2
University of Zadar

• The University of Zadar is the youngest Croatian
  university in organisational sense (it was
  established in 2003) but it has a long university
  tradition (the first University of Zadar was
  founded in 1396).
• Like other Croatian universities, it is a
  state-funded university under the direct
  authority of the Ministry of Science, Education
  and Sports.

3
University of Zadar

• It is the smallest university in Croatia and it
  is a departmentally organised institution.
  Therefore, in contrast to the complex
  organisational structures of the universities of
  Zagreb and Rijeka which are associations of
  strong faculties, this type of organisation
  should enable better integration of its functions
  and organisational units.

4
University of Zadar

• The University of Zadar consists of 16
  departments which offer programmes oriented
  toward social sciences and humanities.
• The total number of students at the University of
  Zadar in the academic year 2003/2004 was almost
  6000 (graduate and postgraduate students).
• The University employs approximately 204
  full-time teachers and 81 technical and
  administrative staff.

5
University of Zadar

• The University authorities consist of the
  University Senate and the Rector. Assisting the
  Rector are the Vice-Rectors for research and
  finances, for teaching and students affairs and
  for international co-operation.
• The General Management Board headed by the Rector
  supervises the Universitys technical and
  administrative services.

6
University of Zadar

• Since it was established, University of Zadar has
  joined the process towards the harmonisation of
  the European Higher Education Area.
• It is a member of several international
  associations (European University Association,
  Danube Rectors' Conference, UniAdrion Network,
  Alps-Adria Rectors' Conference).
• The University of Zadar signed the declaration
  Magna Charta Universitatum in Bologna, Italy on
  September 18, 2004.

7
University of Zadar

• As a consequence of the Bologna Declaration
  and the law reforming the Croatian University
  system, the University of Zadar is in the process
  of a huge reform which includes the following
  activities
  
  - adoption of the education
  system based on two main cycles (undergraduate
  and postgraduate studies),
• - new curriculum development,
• - implementation of the ECTS credit system
  and of the Diploma Supplement,
• - internal quality assessment and
• - development of transparent quality
  assurance system.

8
University of Zadar

• In accordance with this, The International
  Relations Office and The Quality Assurance Office
  were established at the University of Zadar in
  2004.
• The International Relations Office coordinates
  international academic co-operation activities at
  the University. As a result of such activities
  the University of Zadar has signed bilateral
  agreements with the following foreign
  universities
• University of Teramo (Italy)
• University of Pécs (Hungary)
• University of Punta Arenas (Chile)
• University of Florida (USA)
• University of Udine (Italy)
• University of Rzeszów (Poland).

9
University of Zadar

• In addition, the University of Zadar
  participates in international projects in the
  framework of the TEMPUS III.
• I. JOINT EUROPEAN PROJECTS
• 1. European Studies Languages and Cultures in
  Contact
• 2. Grundstudium für Ubersetzen/Dolmetschen in
  Kroatien
• 3. Champion of Entrepreneurship
• 4. Moving Ahead With the Bologna Process in
  Croatia
• II. STRUCTURAL AND COMPLEMENTARY MEASURES
• 1. Virtual Academic Information Service
  Scholarships. Info
• 2. Strategic Management of Staff Development at
  
• University

10
University of Zadar

• The main purpose of the quality assurance office
  is to ensure that university provides higher
  education, awards and qualifications of both an
  acceptable quality and appropriate academic
  standard.
• Unfortunately, this new office at the university
  of Zadar does not have any strategic programme of
  how to ensure this. Attempts to create an
  internal system of quality assesment are
  individual and sporadic rather than general and
  systematic.

11
University of Zadar

• In this way, each department is responsible for
  ensuring that appropriate standards are achieved
  and good quality education is offered. However,
  there has been no formal request for internal or
  external assessment of this quality yet.
• The building of university quality culture across
  all its levels becomes impossible without a good
  staff development strategy.

12
University of Zadar

• For this reason, in order to further extent the
  process of the reform, University of Zadar has to
  focus its efforts on the development of the
  coherent quality assurance system.
• It seems that the conceptualisation of staff
  development strategy is the main prerequisite for
  these efforts.

13
University of Zadar

• What have we done
• about the reform so far?
• we intensely work on the development of a new
  curriculum
• the system of ECTS credits should be introduced
  by the end of 2004.
• we try to provide technical support for a new
  educational system
• some attempts towards the modernisation of The
  University Library have been done
• we try to find a financial support for the
  employment of new academic and administrative
  staff
• we try to improve students services

14
University of Zadar

• Since a S.W.O.T. analysis is a simple tool for
  understanding our current position and making the
  best use of the opportunities, we have made
  attempt to do some kind of this analysis (only
  scanning of strenghts and weaknesses as well as
  opportunities and threats).

15
University of Zadar

• STRENGHTS
• The University of Zadar is not organised as a
  loose association of strong constituents like
  other Croatian universities, and consequently it
  should be easier to organise and ensure
  continuous development of its staff.
• It is a new university and it has more
  opportunity to develop its own specific strategy
  of development than the older universities which
  are constrained by the traditional view on this
  development.
• The current problem of lack of academic and
  administrative staff could be in some way an
  advantage because in the process of selection of
  staff at all levels we can set higher standards.

16
University of Zadar

• WEAKNESSES
• too global strategy of development (without
  setting specific goals and priorities)
• the management of University is primarily
  directed towards the organisational and financial
  problems it seems that they are not fully aware
  of the necessity of staff development strategy as
  part of a quality assurance system
• traditional structure of administrative sector
• traditional view on teaching (there is no
  obligation for the academic staff to improve
  their teaching skills and methods)
• inappropriate infrastructure
• inappropriate employment politics

17
University of Zadar

• OPPORTUNITIES
• cooperation with other Croatian universities
• learning from good practice
• facilitating students and academic staff
  mobility
• cooperation with labour market (to promote the
  employability)

18
University of Zadar

• THREATS
• no supportive regulatory frameworks (e.g. quality
  is not obligatory in any way)
• insufficient financial support for the
  modernisation efforts of the university
• weak availability of funding for staff and
  student mobility
• too many new study programmes the accent is on
  the quantity not quality
• too short periods for the preparation and
  realization of a new higher education system in
  Croatia (educational reform should start in the
  academic year 2005/2006)