Responsible bodies

Quality assurance of higher education is regulated by the Law on Higher Education and the relevant by-laws. Pursuant to the Law, the tasks of quality assurance in higher education are performed by the Agency for Control and Quality Assurance of Higher Education (hereinafter the Agency). Prior to the establishment of the Agency, quality assurance activities were performed by the Council for Higher Education. The aim of establishing the Agency, according to the EU recommendations, was to improve the quality assurance system in accordance with European standards and guidelines in the European Higher Education Area (hereinafter ESG).

The Agency is responsible for the following activities:

1. conducts the procedure of accreditation of the study program and issues a certificate of accreditation of the study program;
2. conducts the procedure of re-accreditation of the higher education institution and issues a certificate on re-accreditation of the higher education institution on the basis of the re-accreditation report;
3. adopts standards for evaluation in accordance with the standards in the European Higher Education Area;
4. conducts periodic assessment of the quality of work of licensed higher education institutions at the request of the authorized body of the institution or the Ministry;
5. determines the list of experts for accreditation of study programs, ie re-accreditation of institutions on the basis of a public invitation;
6. cooperates with higher education institutions in ensuring and improving quality;
7. analyze reports on self-evaluation of institutions and reports on external evaluation of institutions;
8. propose measures for improving the quality of higher education on the basis of recommendations from the report on re-accreditation of higher education institutions and submit them to the Ministry and the Government;
9. keep a register of accredited study programs and re-accredited institutions.

Mission: The Agency contributes to improving the quality of higher education in Montenegro by applying European standards and guidelines in the evaluation of higher education institutions, their study programs and lifelong learning programs to ensure the integration of Montenegrin into the European quality assurance system.

Objectives: The primary objective of the Agency is to improve the quality of higher education institutions in Montenegro and their study programs and to guarantee the fulfillment of basic standards and criteria for their public validity. The Agency fulfills this goal through external evaluation (accreditation of study programs, lifelong learning programs and re-accreditation of higher education institutions), and institutions through internal quality assurance.

The bodies of the Agency are:The Board of Directors, which consists of the president and two members, two of whom are representatives of the founders, and one representative of the university. The Steering Board is responsible for adopting the acts of the Agency, and appointed by the Government of Montenegro, at the proposal of the Ministry. The Director is the legal representative of the Agency, responsible for conducting external evaluation procedures from the selection of experts in expert commissions to making decisions on accreditation, ie re-accreditation based on the evaluation report. Also, the director is responsible for the organization of work, employees and reporting to the Government and the Ministry, execution of decisions of the Management Board, etc. The Director is proposed by the Ministry on the basis of a public competition, and is appointed by the Government of Montenegro. The Ministry in charge of education supervises the work of the Agency. The Agency employs 15 people and has 21 systematized jobs.

The agency has two sectors:The Sector for Quality Control conducts accreditation procedures for study programs and lifelong learning programs, re-accreditation of higher education institutions as well as periodic and follow-up controls, cooperating with institutions in all phases of the accreditation or re-accreditation period and proposes measures to improve quality. The Sector for Quality Assurance and Research takes care of the application of European standards and guidelines and accordingly cooperates with international organizations and associations in the field of quality assurance, coordinates projects, manages databases on higher education and quality assurance, conducts research on quality assurance policies and proposes measures to improve quality. Coordinators for evaluation procedures are employed by both sectors.

Approaches and methods for quality assurance

The Agency conducts external evaluation procedures in accordance with the bylaws issued by the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports in accordance with the Law and the ESG, i.e. the Agency:

• Standards and guidelines for accreditation of study programs (prepared and adopted by the Agency);
• Standards and guidelines for re-accreditation of higher education institutions (prepared and adopted by the Agency);
• Standards and guidelines for quality assurance of the agency (prepared and adopted by the Agency);
• Rulebook on accreditation of study programs (prepared by the Agency, adopted by the Ministry);
• Rules on re-accreditation of higher education institutions (prepared and adopted by the Agency);
• Rules of Procedure of expert commissions for accreditation of study programs (prepared and adopted by the Agency);
• Rules on accreditation of lifelong learning programs in higher education.

Quality assurance is done through self-evaluation of institutions and through external evaluation in accordance with the Law on Higher Education. External quality assurance procedures are:

1. Accreditation of study programs;
2. Reaccreditation of higher education institutions;
3. Periodic control of the implementation of study programs or the work of institutions;
4. Accreditation of lifelong learning programs.  

Accreditation of study programs 

The accreditation procedure is the responsibility of the Agency. The institution is obliged to submit an application for accreditation of the study program to the Agency, at least six months before submitting the application for licensing. In the process of accreditation of the study program, the quality of the study program and its compliance with standards and criteria is assessed. Accreditation of the study program is issued for a maximum period of five years. Exceptionally, accreditation for study programs lasting more than five years is issued for the period of that study program.

The accreditation procedure is realized through the following phases:

1. The institution submits a request for accreditation of the study program with a report on the fulfillment of standards with criteria and other documents.
2. The Agency shall delegate the coordinator for the procedure from among the employees of the Agency.
3. The coordinator shall verify the formal fulfillment and timeliness of the accreditation application and supporting documents.
4. After it is determined that the material is complete, the Director of the Agency shall form an expert commission for accreditation from the list of experts, with at least three members, one of whom is foreign.
5. The Commission, based on standards and criteria, documentation and visits to the institution, evaluates the request for accreditation, sends the Agency a report with an accreditation position.
6. The Agency sends the report to the institution for opinion;
7. The Commission is obliged to, in accordance with the justification of the opinion of the institution, improve and submit to the Agency the final re-accreditation report with the re-accreditation position.
8. The Director shall make a decision on the request for re-accreditation of the institution on the basis of the re-accreditation report.
9. The Agency shall submit the decision and the re-accreditation report to the institution and publish them on the website.
10. The Agency shall issue a certificate of reaccreditation to the institution.

The Agency forms a commission for the accreditation of study programs. A commission of at least three members is formed from independent experts from Montenegro and at least one from abroad from the list of experts. The list of experts is determined by the Agency after a public call. Based on the fulfillment of standards and criteria for accreditation of study programs, the Expert Commission prepares a report with an accreditation position and recommendations for improving the fulfillment of individual standards. Prior to the final report, the institution shall comment on its content. Based on the final Report on the accreditation of the study program, the Agency (Director) issues a Certificate of Accreditation of the study program, ie. makes a decision to reject the request for accreditation. The costs of accreditation of study programs are financed by the institution itself by paying an administrative fee. During the period of validity of accreditation, ie re-accreditation, a licensed institution may make changes to the study program in undergraduate studies up to a maximum of 30 ECTS credits without conducting the accreditation and licensing procedure. By the end of 2021, the Agency has accredited 72 study programs. Until the end of 2021, 286 study programs were conducted at higher education institutions in Montenegro according to the new model of study 3 + 2 + 3.  

Self-evaluation

The institution conducts a procedure of self-evaluation of the quality of study programs, teaching and working conditions at the end of each study year, in accordance with the statute of the institution. In the process of self-evaluation, students are surveyed at all levels, at least once a year about study programs, classes, conditions and work of academic staff. Student participation in the survey is mandatory. The poll is anonymous. Reports on the self-evaluation of the institution are adopted by the governing body of the institution.

The self-evaluation of the institution is performed continuously and is carried out by the institution of higher education in accordance with its statute (internal evaluation). Also, the institution is obliged to conduct research on the applicability of acquired knowledge and competencies on the labor market at least once every five years, and the findings are considered when compiling a self-evaluation report in the re-accreditation process and published on the institution's website.

Reaccreditation of Higher Education Institutions

Reaccreditation of the institution is performed by the Agency. Reaccreditation of the institution is carried out every five years. The Agency evaluates the institution in accordance with the standards and criteria for the evaluation of institutions, in accordance with the Law. In the process of re-accreditation, the institution prepares a self-evaluation report for a maximum period of five years.

The re-accreditation procedure is realized through the following stages:

1. The institution submits a request for re-accreditation of the institution with a report on self-evaluation and other documents.
2. The Agency delegates the coordinator for the procedure from among the employees of the Agency.
3. The coordinator shall verify the formal fulfillment and timeliness of the re-accreditation request and supporting documents.
4. After it is determined that the material is complete, the director of the Agency forms an expert commission for re-accreditation of institutions with at least five members, which includes the student as a mandatory and the representative of the economy as a required member.
5. The Commission, based on the standards and criteria for the evaluation of the self-evaluation report of the institution, documentation and visits to the institution, evaluates the request for re-accreditation, sends to the Agency a report with a re-accreditation position.
6. The Agency sends the report to the institution for opinion;
7. The Commission is obliged to, in accordance with the justification of the opinion of the institution, improve and submit to the Agency the final re-accreditation report with the re-accreditation position.
8. The director makes a decision regarding the request for re-accreditation of the institution on the basis of the re-accreditation report.
9. The Agency shall submit the decision and the re-accreditation report to the institution and publish them on the website.
10. The Agency shall issue a certificate of reaccreditation to the institution.

After two years, the Agency performs the procedure of subsequent control of the fulfillment of the recommendations from the Reaccreditation Report. The form of the certificate is determined by the Ministry and published on its website. The costs of evaluation are financed by the institution, by paying an administrative fee to the Agency. If the institution does not receive a certificate of re-accreditation, the license is valid for a maximum period of one year, without the possibility of enrolling students in that year. If the institution does not receive a re-accreditation certificate after the expiration of this period, the Ministry shall revoke the institution's license by a decision. An administrative dispute may be initiated against the decision. The Agency re-accredited nine higher education institutions and re-accredited 65 study programs through re-accreditation procedures.  

Accreditation of the Lifelong Learning Program in Higher Education 

The Lifelong Learning Program is a part of the study program, ie a module, with a defined structure that provides learning outcomes for acquiring competencies and issuing certificates for performing related tasks in areas of higher education defined in the national qualifications framework. The procedure of accreditation of lifelong learning programs is realized through several phases, in accordance with a special act:

1. The higher education institution submits the Request for accreditation of the lifelong learning program with accompanying documentation
2. The Agency shall appoint a coordinator to verify the formal fulfillment of the request.
3. The coordinator shall verify the formal fulfillment and timeliness of re-accreditation requests and supporting documents.
4. After it is determined that the material is complete, the Director of the Agency shall form an expert commission for accreditation of lifelong learning programs with at least three members selected from a list of experts by the Agency.
5. The Commission has the task to prepare and submit to the Agency the Report on the accreditation of the special training program.
6. Based on the proposal of the expert Commission, the Agency shall, no later than three months from the day of submitting the valid application, make a decision on accreditation of a special training program based on which it issues a certificate or decision rejecting the application for accreditation.
7. The Agency shall submit the decision and the certificate of accreditation to the institution with the Report on the accreditation of the special training program.

By the end of 2021, the Agency had accredited only two lifelong learning programs.

Periodic control of the implementation of study programs or the work of institutions Periodic evaluation was performed in 2018, and six higher education institutions were included, which were the subject of evaluation during 2013/2014. years. Three initial individual institutional evaluations of higher education institutions were conducted, which were not included in the 2013/2014 evaluation. years. The evaluation was conducted in 2018 by the Institutional Evaluation Program (IEP), European University Association (EUA). The result of the post evaluation is individual reports of institutions, as well as an integrated report on the quality of the higher education system in Montenegro. Periodic control of the implementation of study programs and the work of higher education institutions is an ad hoc procedure that is carried out at the initiative of the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports or institutions.  

Licensing og Higher Education Institutions

The establishment of higher education institutions and the licensing process are regulated by the Law on Higher Education. An institution can perform its activity and admit students after the Ministry identifies that the institution has met the requirements prescribed by this Law and renders a decision on licensing. The license determines the type of institution, accredited study programmes, maximum number of students that can be admitted to certain study programmes, levels of education and degrees that can be obtained at the institution. The decision on licensing is passed by the Ministry and published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro. The Licensing procedure is performed in accordance with the Rulebook on more detailed Conditions for the Establishment, Performance of Activities, Licensing Procedure and the Manner of Keeping a Register of Higher Education Institutions. 

During the accreditation or re-accreditation validity period, a licensed institution can make changes to the study programmes of undergraduate studies up to 30 ECTS credits without undertaking the accreditation and licensing procedures.   Within the project "Higher Education and Research for Innovation and Competitiveness", financed from a World Bank loan, an external evaluation of higher education institutions was conducted in 2014 by experts from the European University Association - EUA. The results of the HEI's external evaluation are individual reports of institutions, already available to the public, and an integrated report on the quality of the higher education system in Montenegro. External evaluation reports are available on the official EUA IEP website.