ZAGREB, 14 Dec 2021 - The Agency for Science and Higher Education on Tuesday held a closing conference for a project aimed at improving the quality of higher education, describing the project as an important step in developing the Croatian higher education system.

The value of the project, launched in 2016, was HRK 20 million, of which 85 percent was provided by the European Social Fund.

Project manager Ivan Bišćan said that 54 procedures for the re-accreditation of higher education institutions and 114 procedures for the re-accreditation of postgraduate university programs had been carried out in the four years. 

The Agency has also held over 100 workshops, seminars, and conferences for representatives of higher education institutions and students, which were attended by over 2,000 staff from higher education institutions.

Six surveys have been carried out covering the employability of graduates, student experience, aspirations of secondary school students to continue education, needs for information about higher education, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on classes, students, and teachers.

The Agency's director, Jasmina Havranek, expressed satisfaction with what has been done, saying that the project helped develop new and improve existing procedures for the external evaluation of Croatian higher education institutions and programs, improved the programs of study, and increased the competence of teachers.

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