CIQG Member Spotlight: Agency for Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Croatia

Since its establishment in 2004, the Agency for Science and Higher Education (ASHE) has been an active factor in the area of international higher education, and a member of numerous organizations that promote quality assurance in higher education on a global level and bring together agencies from different countries.

ASHE’s high quality and expertise has been recognized as an example of good practice in the European Higher Education Area, which is evident in ASHE's involvement in the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE), Network of Central and Eastern European Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (CEENQA) and other international organizations through participation in working groups, initiatives, joint projects and activities. ASHE has been a full member of ENQA and EQAR since 2011, and its membership was renewed twice, in 2017 and 2022. Having received high grades in the international ENQA review conducted in 2022, ASHE became one of the best-rated quality assurance agencies in the European Higher Education Area, which is the result of long-standing work and following of international trends. The Agency for Science and Higher Education is proud of its longstanding cooperation with U.S. institutions - for example, in 2016, ASHE signed a cooperation agreement with CHEA International Quality Group, and since 2012, ASHE has been a full member of CHEA/CIQG.

One of the important aspects of international engagement is ASHE's participation in the Education Reform Initiative of South Eastern Europe (ERI SEE). It is a regional platform for cooperation in the field of education and training, which supports national reforms in education and training through various regional activities and their connection with European frameworks for the development of education. Having been recognized as a regional leader with rich experience, ASHE uses its expertise to help neighbouring countries in establishing an effective quality assurance system and empowers them in terms of understanding and applying the ESG, implementing European practices and building a quality culture.  

In 2022, a new package of laws in the field of higher education and science was adopted in the Republic of Croatia. Their emphasis is on quality assurance in higher education and science, and improving the efficiency of the existing system at the national level, also taking into account today's global challenges and increased digital transformation. The new legal framework has brought numerous innovations and challenges before ASHE, some of which are the quality assurance of joint foreign and domestic programmes, which is conducted by directly applying the procedure and standards prescribed by the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes, as well as remote education, i.e. online studies.

The Agency also conducts cross-border evaluations of study programmes according to the programme evaluation model which it developed for this purpose in accordance with the European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG 2015).

Speaking about the ubiquitous digital transformation of society, we would like to point out that various forms of e-learning, including online studies, are present in the Croatian higher education area and are included in the strategic documents of Croatian universities and polytechnics. With a series of documents and guidelines, the European Commission encourages European countries to improve and modernize their educational systems and adapt them to the needs of the digital age. The Digital Education Action Plan (2021 – 2027) adopted by the European Commission in 2020 emphasizes the importance of adapting education to the digital age, which also determines strategic priorities: the first is the introduction of a wide range of digital technologies in order to improve and expand education and training, and the second is the need for all pupils and students to acquire digital competencies essential for life, work, learning and advancement in a world that is increasingly reliant on digital technologies.

In line with this, ASHE’s Accreditation Council adopted the new Quality Standards for Evaluations in the Procedure of Initial Accreditation of Undergraduate, Graduate, Integrated, Specialist and Short-Cycle Online Programmes, that apply to study programmes which are fully delivered by means of computer technologies and interactive teaching materials, thereby permitting access to learning in specific conditions when teacher and student are physically remote.

Moreover, it is necessary to emphasize the social dimension of higher education, which promotes the accessibility of study programmes without obstacles arising from the possible social and economic status of students. Higher education institutions should respect the needs of the community, so in this sense it is also their duty to consider new, innovative ways of providing their "services".

ASHE is currently involved as partner in several European projects and currently focused on the implementation of one of the largest projects in the history of Croatian education titled e-Universities. The goal of the project is the complete digital transformation of higher education in the Republic of Croatia, by improving the digital teaching infrastructure, introducing digital teaching tools and strengthening teachers’ digital competencies for teaching in a digital environment.

During its 20-year existence, the Agency for Science and Higher Education has advocated a partnership dialogue with the academic community. Owing to such an approach, by opening numerous topics of common interest through consultations with stakeholders and the interested public, and by fostering a constructive dialogue, in the past 20 years a stable and effective quality assurance system has been established in the Republic of Croatia, and ASHE’s first priority is its continuous improvement in cooperation with their international partners.

Director
Prof. Danijela Horvatek Tomic, PhD