In 2023, the Agency carried out the accreditation procedure and approved the issuance of certificates for five study programs, while one higher education institution was reaccredited. Three accredited programs in English language are proof that higher education institutions have realized the need to open up to the European area of higher education, to strengthen their teaching capacities, to create conditions for the improvement of teaching processes, but also to strengthen internationalization through the provision of teaching programs to students outside the country’s borders.
After the completion of the first cycle of institutional evaluations, we have revised and improved the acts for the implementation of the reaccreditation procedure of the higher education institution. Although the Montenegrin system of higher education is significantly smaller compared to the countries in the region, respecting the differences between the institutions themselves and at the same time keeping in mind the national regulations, the new acts will enable the institutions to further focus their capacities on quality improvement, but also to improve the evaluation process itself.
With the support of the Council of Europe office in Podgorica and in cooperation with the Ethics Committee, we organized two round tables and implemented a pilot evaluation of the supplementary standard on academic integrity. The pilot evaluation had multiple benefits – for the institutions, to get an assessment of the fulfillment of the supplementary standard that will be evaluated in the next institutional evaluation, and for the Agency, to get information on whether the standard and the necessary evidence are clear enough to the institutions when preparing evaluation materials.
We strengthened cooperation with international institutions and organizations, with the aim of exchanging experience, defining challenges and trends, but also creating common frameworks for improving quality in the field of higher education.
Summarizing the activities of the previous year, we have already made plans for the next year. In addition to regular evaluation procedures, one of the important goals of the Agency is to strengthen internationalization, through participation in projects, improvement of standards and procedures, as well as adaptation and application of European recommendations in the process of ensuring the quality of higher education. In addition, we plan to strengthen cooperation with our partners at higher education institutions, to work on greater involvement of stakeholders in procedures improvement processes, strengthening internal capacities and greater sharing of knowledge and experience in the field of quality assurance and improvement in higher education.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Goran Danilović
Director of the Agency for Control and
Quality Assurance of Higher Education