Re-accreditation procedure is carried out every five years in accordance with Article 22of the Act on Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education in order to obtain detailed insight in the quality of work of higher education institutions and determine whether or not an institution meets the criteria for the extension of its license for performing higher education activity. This way, the Agency for Science and Higher Education protects the public interest and ensures that accredited higher education is conducted only by institutions that meet the required criteria of quality.
The re-accreditation procedure itself usually takes approximately one year to complete (which was the duration of the procedure at Algebra University as well) and begins with the preparation of a self-analysis report which the Algebra University submitted to the Agency on January 21, 2012. Within the report, the University College presented detailed information on its work responding to more than one hundred detailed questions divided into seven chapters and enclosing the entire documentation related to its work (regulations, information about employees, premises, equipment, literature, international cooperation, scientific activity, etc.). The self-analysis report enabled the re-accreditation committee to prepare for its visit to the Algebra University which took place on May 22, 2012, and during which the committee verified data stated in the self-analysis report by examining college premises and documentation and interviewing teachers, staff and students. Upon completion of its visit to the institution, the committee prepared its report which included a detailed and reasoned assessment of the quality of the institution according to each of the seven basic criteria based on which the Accreditation Council adopted the Accreditation Recommendation.
Areas that are evaluated are: 1. Institutional management and quality assurance, 2. Study programmes, 3. Students, 4. Teachers, 5. Research and professional activity, 6. International cooperation and mobility and 7. Resources. Possible marks are divided in five categories, ranging from not implemented (1) to fully implemented (5). Depending on the results achieved, possible outcomes of the re-accreditation procedure are: denial of license for performing higher education activity, issuing of letters of expectation (with or without a ban on student enrolment) and issuing of certificates of compliance with the requirements for performing higher education activity (license extension). The Accreditation Recommendation describes a follow-up period during which the University College is obliged to notify the Accreditation Council on all measures taken to improve its quality based on recommendations contained in the committee’s report.
Algebra University received the highest marks according to four criteria (fully implemented – 5: Management, programmes, students and resources), and the three remaining criteria were evaluated as mostly implemented (4: teachers, professional activity and mobility) whereby the University College achieved 32 out of 35 possible points or 91.4%. Algebra University is currently rated as the best evaluated professional study programme in the Republic of Croatia.
An overview of re-accreditation results for all higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia that have completed the procedure is available on ASHE website:
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