www.hr - Croatian homepage since 1994.

Bologna Process

Croatia signed the Bologna Declaration in 2001 at the Ministerial Conference in Prague and so took on the obli- gation to harmonise her system of higher education with the Declaration’s requirements by 2010. The aim of the Bologna Process is to help Europe become the most ad- vanced knowledge-based society. The creation of a com- mon higher education area will assure the mobility and employability of European Union’s citizens.

The Republic of Croatia is currently working on the adjust- ment of university curricula, which is the first stage of a higher education reform in line with the Bologna Process principles.

Three priority goals for the period 2003 to 2005 have been achieved which are the prerequisites for the attainment of other goals aimed at the creation of The European Higher Education Area:

• establishment of a quality assurance system in higher education (the relevant law and subordinate legislation have been adopted, with the Agency for Science and Higher Education being in charge of their implementa- tion);
  
• adoption of a system based on two main cycles (first – undergraduate studies lasting at least three years /3+2 or 4+1/, second – leading to MA/MSc or PhD degrees);
  
• recognition of foreign diplomas (the new Act has been in force since July 2004, and it is harmonized with the European recommendations for the recognition of foreign educational qualifications) and
• establishment of a system of credits (ETCS) as a means of promoting student mobility