News

On March 18, 2021 Duska Radmanovic, Head of the Department for Quality Assurance and International Cooperation, participated in the seminar "Protection and Promotion of Academic Integrity: How Quality Assurance Agencies Can Act" organized by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education- ENQA).

It was stated at the seminar that academic integrity is a key aspect that provides trust in high quality education systems. Quality assurance agencies are invited to be actively involved in taking action against breaches of academic integrity, which may include abuses in writing papers, plagiarism, as well as falsified certificates of qualifications. This webinar explored the practical steps that quality assurance agencies can take in protecting and promoting academic integrity. Presentations at the webinar were given by representatives of The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education of The United Kingdom (QAA), the Quality and Qualifications Agency of Ireland (QQI) and the Lithuanian Center for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC).

In order to prepare for the upcoming 5th meeting of the Subcommittee on Innovation, Information Society and Social Policy between the EU and B&H, a preparatory meeting was held on March 17, 2021, via a video link, attended by representatives of competent institutions of all levels of government in B&H who will take part in the subcommittee in question.

The representative of the Agency for Higher Education of Republic of Srpska at the preparatory meeting was the Head of the Department for Quality Assurance and International Cooperation Duska Radmanovic, who confirmed that the oral report on progress in the field of accreditation of higher education institutions and study programs will be at the 5th meeting of the Subcommittee on Innovation, Information Society and social policy between the EU and B&H on March 22, 2021, submitted by the Director of the Agency, Assoc. Prof. Biljana Vojvodić, PhD. The Council of Ministers of B&H adopted the Information on holding the meeting in question with the Discussion Document (March 11, 2021). Also, previously, the Government of the Republic of Srpska got acquainted with the information on holding the meeting in question and passed the Conclusion No. 04/1-012-2-614/21 dated March 4, 2021.

By the decision of the Government of The Republic of Srpska, The Commission for Combating negative occurrences in Higher Education in the Republic of Srpska ("Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska" No. 14/21) was formed, whose task is joint, continuous and coordinated action to combat negative phenomena in higher education, i.e. strengthening the integrated approach of all sectors involved in the process of higher education reform and quality assurance in higher education.

At the first session of The Commission for Combating negative occurrences in Higher Education in the Republic of Srpska (hereinafter: The Commission) held on February 17, 2021, the Agency for Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska was given a task of preparing a project proposal for the ranking of higher education institutions in the Republic of Srpska. The aim of this project is better information flow towards students and other stakeholders, measurable indicators for future strategies in higher education, encouraging higher education institutions to continuously develop and improve quality systems and increase scientific productivity in the context of international visibility and recognition. It was also concluded that the Commission is exploring the possibility of using this data in public sector employment.

Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education – (CEENQA) on March 17, 2021 held the fourth in a series of two-month online meetings of representatives of the member agencies of the network, which was dedicated to the topic of distance learning and combined teaching methods in higher education in the post-pandemic period.

The presentation on the support of distance learning and combined teaching methods in higher education in the post-pandemic period was given by the Deputy Head of the Quality Assurance Department of Lali Giorgidze from the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement of Georgia – (NCEQE).

Head of the Planning, Research and International Relations Department of NCEQE Katja Tsiramua presented the structure, competencies and most important activities of the Georgian agency, while Deputy Director of the Center for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC) Aurelia Valeikiene presented the Lithuanian agency.