UNIVERSITY OF BIHAĆ Tempus Joint European Project Introduction of the ECTS at the B&H universities Banja Luka and 14 November, 2006 Dr. Nijaz Skender, docent

University of Bihać was established in 1997 University of Bihać consists of the following faculties and schools UNIVERZITY OF BIHAĆU TEHNICAL FACULTY DEPARTMANT ECONOMICS FACULTY 3 2 HIGH BUSSINES SCHOOL PEDAGOGICAL FACULTY DEPARTMANTS FACULTY OF LOW 4 1 BIOTEHNICAL FACULTY DEPARTMANTS SCHOLL OF MEDICAL ASSISTANTS 3 SCHOOL OF ISLAMIC STUDIE DEPARTMANTS

University of Bihać has 6500 students. The local government of Una-Sana kanton made Act amendments in May 2006 which enabled the application of Bologna principles in our university. In the academic year 2006/ students entered the University of Bihać. All the faculties have started with new curricula from this academic year. University of Bihać is not an integrated University and therefore all the faculties have independently decided on the system of education of their students

All the faculties have started with the new curricula which were adopted at the meeting held by board of University of Bihać. The curricula were modeled in way to meet the requirements of lectures and practical parts and the student workload. All the faculties have their new curricula in printed form and the majority of them have the curricula online on the official websites of the faculties. Although there were a few seminars on ECTS credit system and the transfer of the points the teaching staff and the students are not well-informed about it and we still have to work on that. The non-teaching staff is not skilled enough to start implementing ECTS.

University of Bihac does not have the information package, with all the necessary elements. The teaching units were cut (which then involves more independent work of students). One semester modules were developed (the courses within modules). Some of the existing courses were merged but some of dourses were split. Here is an example of the development of the curricula with the total student workload and the number of ECTS at the Pedagogical faculty.

The curriculum was developed for the individual course together with the number of lectures and seminars in a week, then the number of lectures, practice and seminars in a semester, the number of contact classes and the total of the student workload. The workload of the students in one academic year is about 1800 classes/hours. In average, there are 6 courses in a semester. All the courses were updated to the ECTS. In the first year there is one elective course. In the second there is one elective course. In the second and the third year there are 2 elective courses. Only the courses offered by the department are available to the students. The break-up between the lectures and the practical part is 50:50.

MATHEMATICS - INFORMATICS I semester R.b. COURSE /MODULE WEEKSEMESTARTOTAL ECTS PVSPVSCONTACTWORKLOAD 1Sociology Mathematical analysis I Linear algebra I Elementary mathematics I Basic physics I TOTAL R.b. COURS/MODUL WEEKSEMESTERTOTAL ECTS PVSPVSKONTAKTWORKLOAD 1Psychology Mathematical analysis II Linear algebra II Elementary mathematics II Basic physics II Facultative course I 3 total

Curricula consist of the details about the course and the exam Name of the course: Teacher: Number of classes: Seminar classes/practice: The number of classes scheduled for the written papers: The number of classes scheduled for other forms of student work: General content of course: Description of the general and specific competences (knowledge and skills) developed in this course: Forms of realization of lesson: Other obligations of student (if needed): Methodology of exams List of primary literature: List of additional literature: The points value ECTS-and: The ECTS breakup: Evaluation of the course

We find that that the curricula structured in this way should enable: We consider in order to like this organize curricula need make possible recognition and comparability of the programs and contents transfer and the accumulation of the ECTS and student mobility. As for the functioning in the first year we have some doubts in regard with the assessment of the student work and monitoring.

Problems: The lack of the teaching staff. The University employs just one international relation coordinator but we do not have the International Relation Office so that the communication of the university with outer world is made very difficult: the cooperation of the university with other universities is made difficult; there is no counseling for the ‘mobile’ students who transfer to and from the university; There is no accommodation and help to solve the problems of the ‘mobile’ students; We do not have an ECTS office and a University ECTS coordinator; We have not prepared the information package; The University does not have the (AGENCY FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE) Quality Agency as only few faculties have upgraded the quality of education at their institutions; We cannot establish the campus of the university as the faculties are in different locations and the most of them do not have their own premises

We have upgraded our courses to the ECTS; We have adopted other ECTS documents (the application, transcripts, and the learning agreement), but we have not started yet with the procedure;. The faculties have appointed the ECTS coordinators formally.

Thank you