Quality Assurance System in Croatia

1
Quality Assurance System in Croatia National
Council for Higher Education

• Aleksa Bjeliš
  
• Zagreb, 29 May 2004

2
Historical background

• National Council for Higher Education (NCHE)
  established in early nineties
• Strategic and expert body, nominated by the
  Parliament (Law ... expert and advisory body
  concerned with the development and quality of the
  whole system of higher education of the Republic
  of Croatia).
• From 2001 3rd four-year term (after an one-year
  inter-regnum in 2000-2001)
• 19 members university (predominantly) and high
  school professors

3
Strategic tasks

• Law
• - proposes and encourages taking measures for the
  development of higher education,
• - proposes the network scheme of public higher
  education institutions in the Republic of Croatia
• In practice usually limited to responses
  (expertises) to demands (initiatives) of
  political bodies (e.g. Government, Ministry, ...)
• Examples recent (2001-2003) founding of new
  universities (Zadar, Dubrovnik)

4
Quality assurance tasks

• Law
• approves the conditions of the Rectors
  Conference and the Council of Polytechnics and
  Colleges for obtaining academic-educational,
  artistic-educational and educational titles
• proposes to the Minister the rules on standards
  and criteria for the establishment and evaluation
  of new higher education institutions and programs
  of study
• appoints reviewers and give opinion on the
  establishment of new higher education
  institutions and programs of study
• evaluate higher education institutions and
  programs of study and propose to the Minister
  issuance of licenses

5

• In practice predominant activity in last ten
  years
• Evaluation and proposition for accrediation for
  new study programs (from 2001 not obligatory
  for postgraduate programs)
• Institutional evaluation usually of faculties
  and high schools through self-analyses,
  collection of relevant data, evaluation visits
  and reports, responses of institutions. Outcomes
  licences for work
• Rule each five years
• Until now (in last ten years) about 3/4 of
  institutions evaluated

6
Specific situations and cases ...

• Law ... performs other activities provided by
  this Act and other regulations
• Reality
• Tough, acute problems and cases which would
  result in grave consequences (mostly student
  protests or political confrontations)
• Specials decisions of Government or
  Parliament Committee for Education ... with the
  demand to NCHE to procure a quick (usually ad
  hoc) report
• Result NCHE usually absorbs a great part of
  tensions ...

7
Characteristic (sometimes permanent) problems

• unresolved questions on the relations with the
  Ministry (status of administrative support,
  budget ...)
• Sometimes (particularly in sensitive cases)
  minister makes decisions without (or with a
  posteriori) consultations with NCHE,
• or
• Formal rules (silence of administrations) applied
  in order to set some steps (new institutions,
  programs) particularly in the interregnum
  period 2000-2001

8
Needs and strategic approaches

• The self-regulatory system of RD and HE
  corresponding national councils have a central
  role in the dialogue with the government (and
  stakeholders in general) at the national level
  (strategic planning, budget planning,
  establishment of criteria, etc)
• Also
• NCHE - top of the national system of quality
  assurance, focal point of the corresponding
  network (institutional centers for QA, etc)

9
New legislation

• NCHE and National Council for Science (NCS)
• 13 members each
• NCHE
• 7 university professors,
• 2 high school professors
• 2 representatives of research
  institutes,
• 2 representatives of the
  environment
• NCS
• 4 representatives of research institutes
• 6 university professors
• 3 representatives of the environment

10
Strategic tasks of NCS

• Law
• expert and advisory body concerned with the
  development and quality of the whole scientific
  activity and the system of science in the
  Republic of Croatia

11
Tasks of NCS in quality assurance (excerpts)

• supervises the quality of scientific
  organizations and evaluates them
• specifically determines conditions for obtaining
  scientific titles
• proposes to the minister the rules for evaluation
  of research projects, collaborative research
  programs and scientific organizations
• evaluates scientific projects, collaborative
  scientific programs, applications for the
  purchase of scientific equipment and
  infrastructure as well as associate positions and
  proposes to the Minister their financing
  (abandoned in the actual proposed chnges of the
  Law),

12
Common tasks of NCS and NCHE

• discuss issues connected with the polycentric
  system of science and higher education in the
  Republic of Croatia and propose and stimulate
  measures for its development,
• propose and stimulate measures for the
  participation of other subjects ... in the system
  of science and higher education
• propose to the Government allocation of financial
  resources provided for science and higher
  education by the state budget (mostly abandoned
  in the actual proposed chnges of theLaw)

13
Foreseen trends

• The nomination of new national councils -
  expected this year
• According to the Law the councils will have more
  tasks, more space (independence and autonomy),
  and more responsibilities
• The councils will have better professional and
  administrative support (? AGENCY)
• The councils will be more open to the
  environment (in contrast to the previous
  practice)

14
Agency for Science and Higher Education

• Law
• specialized institution established by the decree
  of the Government in order to perform expert
  activities in the evaluation of scientific
  research and higher education and carry out
  activities connected with the recognition of
  diplomas and qualifications

15
Agency vs NCS and NCHE

• The Agency shall conduct evaluation according to
  the annual work schedule or at the special
  request of NCHE or NCS and the Minister
• Agency may also conduct evaluation at the request
  of a higher education institution or a public
  scientific institute itself
• The Agency shall report to the National Council
  for Science and the National Council for Higher
  Education on the actions performed and their
  results, and the Councils shall make appropriate
  decisions on the basis of the Agency reports

16
Tasks of the Agency (excerpts)

• To organize evaluations of
• - scientific organizations and higher education
  institutions,
• - scientific projects and collaborative
  scientific programs
• - the national scientific network, especially in
  relation to the rational and purposeful
  utilization of capital scientific equipment,
• - higher education programs of study in the
  process of their accreditation

17
Tasks (contd)

• To develop system of improvement and control of
  quality established in higher education
  institutions
• To collect and analyze at the national level
  data relevant to the system of science and higher
  education.

18

• Agency
• shall provide the Croatian Information Center
  with data on academic mobility
• shall provide for the establishment of the
  national network of higher education quality
  assurance, included in the European network of
  quality assurance,
• shall provide for the establishment of the
  National Information Center and the national
  network of offices for the recognition of
  diplomas and qualifications obtained in the
  educational systems outside the Republic of
  Croatia, which are included in the European
  Network of Information Centers (ENIC).

19
Present state

• 2003 - NCHE submitted to former minister the
  proposal for the efoundation of the Agency
  composed of few departments
• Actual miniters team presently consider
  legislative and administrative details connected
  to the act of foundation
• Some open questions
• legal status
• ownership
• relation towards Mionistry, national councils, etc

20

• Very probably
• gradual establishment, starting with the
  departments for HE QA and the department for the
  diploma and degree recognition
• Present concerns- human acqusitions
• - education of future employees