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The Panel for assessment, revision and provision of recommendation on accreditation of higher education institution and study programs has visited Banja Luka College from 22^nd to 23^rd April 2019. Members of the Panel talked to representatives of the management of Banja Luka College, representatives of College departments, representatives of the quality and self-evaluation team, teaching staff and students of candidated study programs, the international cooperation team, representatives of the alumni association, and representatives of the labour market and visited the physical resources of the higher education institution.

Upon the completion of the visit, the Panel presented preliminary findings to the management of the institution and made recommendations for improvements. All details shall be in the final report on the external evaluation of the higher education institution and study programs.

As a part of the preparation of the Higher Education Accreditation Agency of Republika Srpska (Agency) for full membership of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) a day long supervisory visit took place on the 31^st May 2019. This was the monitoring visit with regards to the implementation of recommendations made in the 2017 report of the panel of experts.

The supervisory visit was conducted by Stephen Jackson and Djurdjica Dragojevic, two of four members of the panel of experts who visited the Agency in 2017 and wrote a report on the Agency's compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG). This report also contains recommendations for improvement.

During their visit, Jackson and Dragojevic toured the new premises of the Agency, and spoke with members of the Agency’s Steering Board of, as well as with management and employees of the Agency on the accreditation of study programs, student involvement in quality assurance, complaints procedures, independence of the Agency's work, thematic analyses of accreditation processes and higher education systems, resources, internal quality assurance and other topics relevant for the work of the Agency.

The overall impression of the supervisory visit is that significant progress has been made in the meantime and that, within a relatively short period of time, almost all the recommendations of the ENQA Panel of Experts have been implemented.

The monitoring visit aims to help the Agency to present the activities started and implemented in order to fully harmonize its activities with the ESG, thus creating the preconditions for the successful achievement of full membership in ENQA.

The director of the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance continues to obstruct the entry of the Srpska universities into the BiH Register. All of this is a result of disordered relations at the BiH level, since there is no willingness in the Council of Ministers, which is in its technical mandate, to solve the problem, says Minister Srdjan Rajcevic.

More about current developments in the process of accreditation of higher education institutions in Republic of Srpska can be learned here.

Source: Alternativna TV

At the annual meeting of the Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (CEENQA), held in late April 2019 in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus, Head of Department for Quality Assurance and International Cooperation, Duska Radmanovic was elected as a member of the Network's Executive Board.

Radmanovic was elected to be a member of the Executive Board for the second time after her first term of two years expired. She has also served as Vice President of CEENQA and is responsible for the implementation of staff exchange program between member agencies for over two years within the Executive Board.

The Higher Education Accreditation Agency of Republika Srpska puts significant efforts in professional development of its employees, which is recognized by partner agencies from international networks.

Currently, there are 35 member agencies in CEENQA from more than 20 countries in Europe.