The Agency for Science and Higher Education (ASHE) successfully underwent an international external review coordinated by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education(ENQA) thus proving its compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG) necessary for reconfirmation of ENQA membership.
According to the external review report, ASHE is: “A well-established and recognized national Agency in Croatia whose role in support to improve quality assurance in the country’s higher education institutions is to be emphasized. Its activity is legally established and the procedures and criteria are defined by the Agency.”
ASHE has been commended for the quality of the staff, its involvement in the activity of the Agency and the level of knowledge of the national and international practices in quality assurance. In the report, the panel strongly praises ASHE for its collaboration with different stakeholders involved in its activities and for the high participation of international experts in the panels of the different procedures. The panel furthermore commends ASHE for the role of the coordinator as a person who ensures consistency of the process and helps experts with interpretation the relevant criteria as consistently as possible and considers this to be one the examples of good practice.
International review panel chaired by Professor Jürgen Kohler, PhD, professor of law at Greifswald University, Germany, and a former president of the GermanAccreditationCouncil addressed the following ASHE activities during the external review: initial accreditation of higher education institutions and programme, re-accreditation of higher education institutions and study programmes, re-accreditation of doctoral study programmes and audit of higher education institutions. During a site-visit in October 2016 the panel held meetings with ASHE management and employees, representatives of higher education institutions, foreign and Croatian experts, students, as well as the representatives from the industry, Ministry of Science and Education and others.
Why is external review so important for ASHE?
- In order for the accreditation of Croatian higher education institutions to be valid in Europe and for Croatian degree certificates to be recognized abroad, an agency also has to be internationally accredited.
- ASHE’s full membership in ENQA and its inclusion on the EQAR register means that the diplomas issued by higher education institutions in Croatia are recognized throughout the European Union, which is important both for Croatian citizens and for foreign students who wish to study at Croatian higher education institutions.
- All external quality assuranceagencies must successfullyundergoan international external reviewonce every five years (ASHE underwent its first external review in 2011 when it was granted full membership of ENQA and was registered on the European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR) in the same year).