Activity of Croatian Rector’s Conference Aleksa Bjeliš University of Zagreb 14 January 2005

Croatian Rector’s Conference (CRC) is the consultative body of Croatian universities Some duties: To establish, and control the implementation of common criteria for promotion of the staff, enrolment policy, introduction and realization of new study programmes, financing of HE institutions, etc. Presently, it is the central meeting point for representatives of Ministry of Education, Science and Sport and leaders of the universities.

September 2004: CRC discussed issues related to the implementsation of the new (ammended) Act on Science and Higher Education Circumstances: -One year remained until the deadline for the beginning of new Bologna scheme of study programmes, still with no common methodology (at the national level) in the process of formulating, evaluating and implementing of new programmes; -Universities at (mostly in front of) the beginning of the reform of curricula; -New National council for HE and Agency still not in function -Ministry still without transparent propostions about the future financing of studies

Decision: to form the Committee of CRC for the preparation and follow-up of the implementation of Bologna Declaration Composition: vicerectors of univeristies, few univeristy professors, representatives of Ministry (state secretary for HE, deputy minister for HE) Duties: to suggest to CRC measures and steps towards the implementation of BP, to prepare appropriate documents (plans, time-tables, manuals, analyses,reports, referential literature, etc), to participate in the coordination of activities of relevant actors (HE institutions, Ministry, National Council for HE, Agency, BP prmoting group, etc)

Until now – two documents: -Plan of activities in the realization of BP in the academic year 2004/2005; -Manual for the preparation of the bachelor and master study programmes In preparation: - Manual for the preparation of postgraduate (doctoral) study programmes

Plan of activities: detailed time-table with the list of deadlines for each actor; Presently actual deadlines: Until 15 January 2005: all HE institutions have to finish preliminary schemes of study programmes, with basic items defined (titles, duration, unit responsible for realization, means of quality assurance, scheme of student mobility between study cycles,...) [all proposals from faculties at UofZ are to be delivered until 17 January]

Until 15 January 2005: Ministry is obliged to submit to CRC the plan of financing of three study levels (bachelor, master, postgraduate), with the elements for the enrolment policy, starting from the academic year 2005/2006; Until 5 June 2005: study programmes would have to be evaluated by the National Council for HE and the Agency, and those acquiring positive opinion would have to be accredited by the Ministry until 15 June;

Manual for bachelor and master study programmes should contain in its introductory part: -reasons for establishing study; -estimation of its relevance with respct to the job market in the public and private sector; -its link to the contemporary scientific acheivements, or to the competencies based on them; -its comparison with the programmes with the rcognized equivalent programmes from abroad; -Openess of the programme to the student mobility; -Potential partners from the societal environment who have shoven or could show the interest for the study,

Further elements: - Competences and types of employability acquired at the end of the programme; -What studies the student can follow after finishing a given bachelor programme, which bachelor programmes are prerequisities for entering into a given master programme, etc; -If a compact (5 years) programme is proposed, it should be completed by arguments in favor of such study;

In addition to usual elements (courses, ECTS distribution, prerequsities for each cours, list of recommended courses from other programmes, etc), it has to be also included: Information on the conditions (facilities) in which the programme will be performed List of all lecturers with their CV Optimal number of students with respect to available facilities Estimation of the expenses per student

Additional questions on the postgraduate studies: -Doctoral studies vs. Studies for the professional specialization; -Engagment os students (full-time, part-time) -Sustainability of studies with respect to the number of students; -Perspectives for the participation in joint programmes;