REGIONAL COOPERATION AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION

PART IV:
of involving Serbia in a unique European high education area, which creates conditions for
higher mobility of students.
As it is already mentioned, in Serbia standards for accreditation are adopted, too, in
order to improve quality of higher education institutions and programmes. Standards for
accreditation of higher education institutions comprise 13 standards. They are as follows:
basic tasks and aims of a higher education institution, planning and monitoring, organization
and management, studies, educational-scientific and artistic work, academic staff, nonacademic
staff, students, facilities and equipment, library, course books and information
technology, financial resources, inner mechanisms for quality assurance, public character
of their work. Twelve accreditation standards of the study programmes are: the structure,
purpose and objectives of the curricula; competences of the graduates; curriculum; quality
and international compliance of study program; enrolment of students, their grading and
promotion; the faculty staff; material resources; quality control; and distance learning.
Obviously, the purpose of Standards for accreditation of higher education institutions is
assuring the quality of their work by making it better. Namely, higher education institutions
are required to define clearly and in detail strategy of ensuring the quality of teaching
process, management of higher education institution, extracurricular activities, as well as
conditions of work and study. Higher education institutions are especially urged to monitor
the quality of teaching, conducting the exams, students’ efficacy during the course of their
studies in the whole as well as in specific subjects, the quality of the course books, and
taking actions for removing perceived faults. It is important to emphasize the active role
that students have in adopting and implementing the strategy of quality assurance. The
assessment of teaching process quality, established through a poll given to students, is
especially important.
The purpose of Standards for accreditation of study programmes is improving their quality,
which is a prerequisite in students’ obtaining competence and, consequently, creating highquality
and competent human resources. Study programme quality control implies constant
and systematic monitoring of its realization and taking actions for the improvement of the
quality regarding curriculum, teaching, professors, assessment of students’ course books
and required literature. These measures aim to ensure obtaining competence and academic
skills which are socially justified and useful. Attempts are made to achieve both development
of creative skills and acquiring specific practical skills needed for practicing a profession.
Specifically, the main aim of the Standards for accreditation of study programmes is
encouraging development of competences, namely general competences or transferable
competences and course-specific competences which serve the function of realizing
professional and scientific occupation at a high level of quality. Focus on the results of
study programmes expressed in competences is rather evident. Hence, competences, by
which we imply synthesis of theoretical and practical professional knowledge and skills,
are a global aim of education. (Devjak, 2008, pp. 2).
Implementation of quality of standards, established in the Law on Higher Education and
Bylaws on standards is of essential importance for the improvement of the quality of higher
education system and involvement of the Republic of Serbia in the unique European area
of higher education.
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