Round Table on the topic: “Implementation of European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Higher Education of Montenegro” organized by the Agency for Control and Quality Assurance of Higher Education, was held today in Podgorica.
The speakers at the Round Table were the presidents of the leading European associations in the field of quality assurance of higher education Mr. Christoph Grolimund, the President of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) and Mr. Karl Dittrich, the President of the European Quality Assurance Register for the Higher Education (EQAR).
On this occasion, all the key stakeholders in the system of quality assurance for higher education, in Montenegro, as implementers of European standards and guidelines, gathered in one place.
By entering in the EU integration process and by joining the European Higher Education Area, new challenges have arisen. Therefore, the Government of Montenegro has established the Agency in order to apply European standards in higher education. Only after their full implementation, the Agency can become a member of associations such as ENQA and EQAR. This ensures enhancemnet in mobility of students and facilitates the recognition of Montenegrin diplomas.
Presidents of European associations in the field of higher education have suggested that ensuring the quality of higher education is a process that is continuing, evolving and changing, while external evaluation is an instrument for closing this circle. On this occasion they talked about the importance of applying the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG), but also about the need to adapt them to the specificities of the particular system.
The Director of the Agency, Prof. Dr. Srdja Popovic, opened the Round Table, stating that knowledge is the most valuable capital of one country and that investing in the quality of knowledge, especially in higher education, we contribute to the growth and development of the economy and the quality of life as a whole.
Ms. Mubera Kurpejovic, General Director of the Directorate for Higher Education at the Ministry of Education, pointed out that Montenegro has a good basis for membership in the aforementioned European associations, but also that one of the key ideas is the establishment of a similar Agency at the regional level.
Deputy Director of the Agency, Ms. Tijana Stankovic, informed the participants with the challenges that the Agency facess in it’s daily work, related to independent and transparent decision-making in the process of evaluation of study programs and institutions.
The Round Table participants agreed that the quality of higher education is primarily a matter of trust between the Agency, the Government, higher education institutions and students.