News

The European Quality Assurance Forum (EQAF) was held for the first time this year on the topic "Flexible Education: Implications for Quality Assurance".

The forum was held on November 12 and 13, and the introductory session was attended by more than 400 participants from institutions dealing with higher education, primarily from Europe, but also from the rest of the world.

On the first day of the Forum, several presentations were held regarding the flexible work of higher education institutions in the conditions caused by the Corona virus pandemic, while the second session dealt with issues of internal quality assurance in emergency situations.

The second half of the first day was dedicated to issues related to external quality assurance in emergency situations. The second day of the forum dealt with the issues of how to teach specific skills in the new conditions, as well as the involvement of students in the development of a culture of quality.

The representative of the Agency for Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska at the European Forum for Quality Assurance was the Head of the Department for Quality Assurance and International Cooperation, Duška Radmanović.

The Head of Quality Assurance and International Cooperation Department, Duska Radmanovic, attended on October 27th session of the Executive Board of the Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (CEENQA) as a member of the Board.

The Board discussed preparations for the second bimonthly meeting of all CEENQA agencies scheduled for November 17, 2020, at which coordinators on behalf of the Board, Martina Vidlakova and Duska Radmanovic, are scheduled to present a program to exchange agency staff in the new conditions of the declared Corona virus pandemic.

The organization, structure and competencies of the Higher Education Accreditation Agency of Republika Srpska will also be presented at the meeting, as well as the results of the thematic analysis on the quality of teaching at higher education institutions in Republika Srpska during the distance learning process.

The Executive Board discussed the topics for the upcoming General Assembly, and decided to postpone the Assembly for the fall of 2021, when, in accordance with the possibilities of travel, it will be decided whether the Assembly will be held online. It was decided to adjust the topics to the current situation faced by all agencies, and the assembly will have two working groups, the first dedicated to the way agencies work during the epidemic, and the second to the way higher education institutions work in these conditions.

The Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education of Central and Eastern Europe (Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education - CEENQA) held on November 17, 2020 the second in a series of two-month online meetings of representatives of network member agencies dedicated to the work of agencies and higher education institutions during the pandemic.

The presentation of the thematic analysis on the quality of work of higher education institutions during the online semester in the previous academic year at the start  of the pandemic was prepared by the Agency for Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska (AVORS). The thematic analysis was presented by Duška Radmanović, Head of the Department for Quality Assurance and International Cooperation, emphasizing that the sample of teachers and students who filled out the surveys prepared for the purpose of analysis is very high (419 teachers and 552 students). Presenting the analysis, she emphasized that it was determined that the institutions reacted very efficiently when switching to online classes, and that the vast majority of teachers (more than 99%) organized online classes. Radmanović also pointed out the differences in the realization of teaching related to the scientific field to which the study programs belong, and announced the recommendations that the Agency will send to the institutions on the basis of the prepared analysis.

Head of the Department for Quality Assurance and International Cooperation Duška Radmanović participated on October 23, 2020 in a seminar dedicated to the topic of indicators in the field of higher education, especially the use of indicators in the external evaluation of quality organized by the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA).

The seminar presented the results of research by the European University Association (EUA) on the use of indicators in higher education, presented by the Director of Institutional Development at the EUA, Tia Loukkola, and her associates.

The Executive Director of the Danish Accreditation Agency, Steffen Westergård Andersen, Director of Operations at Danish Accreditation Institution, presented the use of indicators in Nordic quality assurance agencies with special reference to the case study of the Danish Agency.

Ailsa Crum, Director of Membership, Quality Enhancement & Standards at QAA, presented the Scottish model of the quality improvement framework.

The seminar, which is an integral part of this year's General Assembly of ENQA, was held through an internet platform where the active participation of all participants, and the exchange of experiences and ideas.