Reaccreditation of the University of Banja Luka and accreditation of 16 study programs: The Commission has completed an external evaluation

On March 15, 2019, the commission comprised of experts for domestic and international quality assessment and accreditation completed the external evaluation of the University of Banja Luka (UBL) and 16 study programs, and gave recommendations for the improvement of work in the upcoming period.

The commission team who visited UBL had the opportunity to see the dedication to growth and development of the quality at the University and its study programs.

The External Evaluation Commission will announce the report in the coming days, and that is when the outcome of the external evaluation will be known. These activities mark the final stage of reaccreditation process of the UBL and the accreditation of study programs.

Duška Radmanović, MA, Head of the Quality Assurance and International Cooperation Department at the Agency for Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions in the Republic of Srpska states that the commission conducted interviews with over 150 representatives of the University of Banja Luka over the course of three days.

“The commission has reached an agreement on all the criteria and in the evaluation of all study programs, and we expect that the final report will be completed very soon”, said Radmanović, who was a coordinator in the work of the Commission in front of the Agency for Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions in the Republic of Srpska.

She explained that the Commission is not in charge for the final assessment, and it cannot predict the outcome of the final report, but a positive expectation prevails. According to her, the subject of the evaluation was the fulfillment of the high standards valid in the European area of higher education, both for institutions, as well as for study programs that passed the previous professional examination through the review process.

According to her, the focus of the assessment was the fulfillment of high standards defined by the higher education requirements in Europe, both for the institution, as well as for the study programs that previously passed professional examination through the process of evaluation.

Prof. Dr. Strain Posavljak, Vice-Rector for Teaching and Student Affairs at UBL, says that the University will construct a plan to implement recommendations taken from the report as soon as the final report is complete.

He added that a large number of people took part in implementation of activities in 2016 related to the process of accreditation of study programs and the reaccreditation of the University. Vice-Rector Posavljak pointed out that the University will continue preparations for accreditation of the remaining study programs of the first and second study cycle, concluding that it currently has 26 self-evaluation reports prepared.

Activities related to the process of evaluation

The External Evaluation Commission from visited UBL from March 13 to 15, 2019. The activities of the Commission comprised of international experts, representatives of the academic community, economy and students began on March 13, when they had a meeting with the management of the University, and moved on to separate meetings with the quality team and the team for the preparation of self-evaluation reports.

They then met with representatives of student departments, libraries, as well as representatives of the Secretariat and the Material and Financial Affairs Department of UBL. A meeting was also held with the representatives of the Office for International Cooperation, as well as representatives of the study programs in the field of social sciences and humanities. On the same day, the Commission had the opportunity to meet and talk with labor market representatives and alumni.

Activities continued in the next two days. On March 14, a meeting was held with representatives of study programs in the field of technical sciences, as well as biotechnical and medical sciences. On the second day the Commission visited the Dental Clinic in the Faculty of Medicine; Faculty of Law; Faculty of Economics and Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. On that occasion, the Commission met with the management of the aforementioned organizational units, the Chairs of study programs and laboratories, and all with the aim of evaluating the grounds and equipment at the organizational units where the process of accreditation of 16 study programs was carried out. On the last day, an oral report was presented to the management team of the University.

The External Evaluation Commission appointed by the Agency for Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions of the Republic of Srpska conducted an external evaluation of UBL in the process of reaccreditation of higher education institution. At the same time, external evaluation of the 16 study programs of the University that are in the process of accreditation was carried out. Let us recall that the University of Banja Luka is the first university in Bosnia and Herzegovina that entered the process of accreditation of 16 study programs on December 27, 2017. In April 2018, the University as an institution entered the process of reaccreditation.

You can view photos related to the activities of the Commission in the gallery following this link.