Bosnia and Herzegovina

Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of Bosnia and Herzegovina (HEA)

Contact Information

Street name: Akademika Jovana Surutke 13
Postal code and City: 78000 Banja Luka
Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Phone/Fax: + 387 51 430 510/ + 387 51 462 302
E-mail:  info@hea.gov.ba
Website: www.hea.gov.ba
Introductory Presentations:
HEA
HEA Update
Contact person: Enes Hasic, PhD
Function of contact person: Director
Founding year: 2008
Legal status: Public organization
International links and membership: INQAAHE; Affiliate member of ENQA

The Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been established by the Framework Law on Higher Education in BiH (FLHE), Official Gazette of BH No. 59/07, as an independent public organization. Everyday work of the Agency is organized in compliance with the principles stipulated in Article 2 of the Rulebook on Internal Organization, and those are the principles of legality, transparency, openness, accountability, efficiency and effectiveness, and professional impartiality.

The Agency is managed by a Director and governed by a Steering Board (SB), comprising of 10 members. Management of the Agency (director and 2 deputies) is appointed by the Council of Ministers of BiH (CoMBiH) following a public competition, on a period of 4 years. For its work and the work of the Agency the Director is responsible to the CoM BiH and the SB of the Agency elected by the Parliament Assembly BiH.

The Agency has the Professional board, established for consideration of strategic, principled, and other matters within the competence of the Agency, especially in the area of accreditations, and provision of opinions and proposals to the Director and SB of the Agency. The Professional board is composed of the Director, Deputy Directors and heads of basic organizational units of the Agency.

The work of the Agency is organized under four main organizational sectors: Management Cabinet, Sector for Development of Higher Education, Sector for Quality Assurance and Sector for Legal, Personnel, Financial and General Affairs. In the Agency are systematized 35 jobs, but currently there are 17 employed, out of which three appointees (Director and two Deputies) and 14 staff members (8 civil servants and 6 employees). More information on the organigram of the agency can be found here.

The Agency has an internal Committee for Quality Assurance, which carries out the Agency’s internal quality assurance activities and prepares the Agency’s SER annually in line with II and III ESG.

The Agency’s activities are to set quality standards, criteria for accreditation HEIs and SPs and minimum norms in the field of higher education in BIH; Represent BiH in international organisations for quality in higher education; Set quality analyses, give recommendations for removal of shortcomings in the quality of studies and HEIs; to provide advice on work and development policy to the competent education authorities (CEAs), provide advice and information within its competence to other stakeholders, collect data, analyse, promote and monitor the implementation of the Agency’s implementing regulations, conduct thematic analysis, organize numerous thematic meetings, workshops, conferences with stakeholders, and more.

In the field of accreditation, in accordance with the FLHE the Agency is responsible for:

  • appointment of the Committee of experts based on the CEAs’ proposal from the Agency’s list of experts; Selection of experts for accreditation HEIs and SPs; Training of experts for accreditation HEIs and SPs;
  • giving recommendations to accreditation of HEIs and study programmes, based on the opinion of the Committee of experts,
  • assessing compliance of decisions on accreditation with established standards and criteria,
  • keeping the State Register of accredited HEIs in BiH, permanent availability on the website of the List of accredited HEIs and its publication at least once a year in the “Official Gazette of BiH” and at least twice a year in three widely circulated daily newspapers in BiH.

Agency for Higher Education of Republika Srpska (AVORS)

Contact Information

Street name: Kralja Petra I Karadjordjevica 78
Postal code and City: 78 000 Banja Luka
Country: Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Phone/Fax: +387 51 922 081, +387 51 922 080
E-mail: info@avors.org
Website: https://www.avors.org/index.php/en/
Introductory Presentation:
HEAARS_2020-11-17
Contact person: Biljana Vojvodic, PhD
Function of contact Person: Director
Founding year: 2011
international links and membership:
INQAAHE, affiliate member of ENQA

The Agency for Higher Education of The Republic of Srpska (AHERS) is a public institution that has the status of a legal entity with rights and obligations determined by the Law on Higher Education of the Republic of Srpska, standards and instructions for quality assurance. It is an independent, non-profit organization established by the decision of the Government of the Republic of Srpska number: 04 / 1-012-2-273 / 11 from February 24, 2011.

The main activity of the Agency is the accreditation of higher education institutions and study programs that are conducted at higher education institutions in The Republic of Srpska in accordance with applicable standards and criteria. The task and goal of the Agency is to nurture the culture of quality in higher education in The Republic of Srpska, and in that sense, quality is a process focused on dialogue and development. We are committed to the principles of the European Higher Education Area and actively participate in European and global quality assurance networks. Our primary task is continuous monitoring and analysis of trends and scientific research in higher education with application in our own processes and creating a holistic approach to improving the quality of higher education institutions and study programs as a single unit.

In the accreditation procedure, we apply verification methods based on modern quality assurance methodologies and, accordingly, we pay special attention to the independence of the accreditation process and the objectivity of the decision on the outcome of accreditation. We are committed to partnering with higher education institutions through professional support to quality improvement in science and education, as well as through joint projects. We are also committed to partnering with students, stimulating them to be actively involved in creating the process of learning, teaching and testing student-centered knowledge. Our goal is to affirm behavior based on professionalism and respect, both among our employees and other participants in quality assurance processes. We base our activities on reliability and openness and make all information from the scope of our work that is important for the higher education system publicly available.