Development of Quality Assurance in BH HE

Quality Assurance in B&H One of the most significant progresses achieved since the Bergen Conference was the establishment of Quality Assurance centre at each University in B&H. 1.TEMPUS project „Strengthening Quality Assurance in B&H“ (JEP ) - SUS B&H and WUS Austria 2.“Structural Development of Quality Assurance in Higher Education”, funded by the Liechtenstein Government and Austrian Development Cooperation. Partners in both projects were all 8 public BH Universities. MAIN PROJECT AIMS: –institution building (equipment, publications) –capacity building (trainings, study trips, seminars) 3.International initiatives to strengthen QA in B&H: Council of Europe, OSCE, European Commission through TEMPUS

Continuous support to QA All project activities aimed at establishing operative QA Offices whose coordinators are in charge of developing and implementing QA processes at their home institutions As a follow up and further strengthening of above elaborated initiatives, the consortium proposed new action through the project “From Quality Assurance to Strategy Development” In such a way, all projects (ADA/Liechtenstein, TEMPUS) provide necessary preconditions for efficient QA development in BH HE

Project conception - Timeline Presentation of project idea to partners and collecting feedback Mid Nov Dec Collecting letters of Endorsement from all project partners Dec Submitting TEMPUS Application July 2007 Notification by EC of TEMPUS Approval

Project Profile Name: From Quality Assurance to Strategy Development Project number: JEP_41078_2006 Donor: European Commission – Directorate – General Education and Culture Budget: ,00 EUR Co financing: ,00 EUR

List of Consortium Members 1.University of Karl-Francenz Graz (Grant applicant) 2.WUS Austria (Grant coordinator) 3.University of Girona (EU partner) 4.University of Banja Luka 5.University of Bihać 6.University Džemal Bijedić in Mostar 7.University of East Sarajevo 8.University of Mostar 9.University of Tuzla 10.University of Zenica 11.University of Sarajevo * Individual expert: Oliver Vettori, Head of Office, Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration

Objectives SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: –To initiate, enable, support and implement internal quality control processes at each BH University by September 2008 –To plan, develop and formulate modern, student-oriented university strategies by June 2009 WIDER OBJECTIVE: –To contribute to a coherent and far-reaching reform of higher education in B&H in accordance with the Bologna Process and in accordance with the society and market needs

Outcomes and activities procurement of equipment for QA offices at BH universities (24.000,00 EUR) 3-day seminar at University of Girona “EU Experinece in University Self- Assessment”; 8 QA coordinators and 8 university (management) representatives; Experts from University of Girona and University of Graz 4 trainings in B&H on different roles of: –Students –Administrative staff –Teaching staff –Management In internal quality assurance processes; Outcome 1CAPACITY BUILDING FOR INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE Activities 1Procurement of Equipment for QA Offices 2Seminar at University of Girona – “EU Experience in University Self-assessment” 3Training “The Role of Students in Internal QA Processes” 4Training “The Role of Administrative Staff in Internal QA Processes” 5Training “The Role of Teaching Staff in Internal QA Processes” 6Training “The Role of Management in Internal QA Processes”

Outcome 2INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE AT BH UNIVERSITIES Activity1Implementation of Self-assessments at BH University Based on EU examples and student/academic feedback, each BH University will develop its own self-assessment procedures. This will involve the preparation of questionnaires, specific to each University, which will be distributed to all faculties and university institutions. => Each BH University will design its own mechanism of scanning the current situation in its academic community (assessment of its environment, operations, structure, and results) Involvement of QA offices, university and faculty management, administrative and teaching staff, student representatives! The aim of this activity is to allow each BH University to extract a very comprehensive, objective diagnosis of its overall system.

Autumn 2003, the European University Association (EUA) "The self-evaluation reports showed a reasonable level of sophistication in their analysis and presentation which would not have been possible even in However, despite these improvements, the fundamental issues facing higher education and universities in BiH remain the same and are largely unresolved…(A) lack of coherence between evaluation procedures and strategic planning was found by EUA to be generalized, to a greater or lesser extent, across all seven universities…Another weakness of the self- evaluation procedure across some of the BiH universities was that the self- evaluation reports, once written, were not widely distributed and discussed within the university…A third generalized weakness of the self- evaluation procedure across a number of universities was the relatively poor involvement of students and student organizations." pdf pdf

Outcome 3DEVELOPMENT OF UNIVERSITY STRATEGIES Activities 1Delegation of Strategy Development Teams 2Seminar at University of Graz “EU Experience in Development of University Strategies” 3Planning, Developing and Formulating University Strategies 4Conference in B&H “Development of Strategies at BH Universities” Each BH University will delegate 3 persons who will form the University Strategy Development Team (SDT). Each SDT will have a team leader. The SDT task will be to develop modern, student-oriented university strategies, based on the results of self-assessments. The SDTs will therefore work closely with university QA offices and university management. During a 3-day seminar, BH Strategy Development Teams (SDT) will be introduced to EU “best practice” examples of planning and developing modern university strategies. Training content will be delivered by relevant experts from EU partner institutions. The aim of the seminar is exchange of experiences and know-how between BH and EU experts.

OutcomeDISSEMINATION Activities 1Updating of web links 2Developing and Printing of Brochures for trainees 3Printing of Self-assessment Reports for each University 4Printing of Strategy Papers OutcomeSUSTAINABILITY Activity1Development and printing of Institutional Policies on QA Dissemination and sustainability measures - core activities right from the beginning of the project. Efficient internal evaluation and strategy development presupposes active involvement and contribution of all university stakeholders. Internal quality evaluation will not and cannot be the sole responsibility of a university QA Office but rather the responsibility and obligation of all of its members. Hence the more stakeholders understand the significance and instruments of self-assessment process, the more successful and rewarding will be the final result.

Assumptions and risks The wider university community will learn how to help in institution self – assessment and strategy development and will take active part in both processes Developed strategies will be apopted by university management as blueprint of future progress Resistance to change might appear on all university levels (management, administration, teaching staff) The wider academic community of each BH University will receive a comprehensive picture of the overall situation at its University. Lack of university autonomy might hinder system-wide analyses. Universities in B&H will recognize that well-defined, student-oriented strategies, in line with Bologna principles, are a precondition for integration into the European Higher Education Area.

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