QUALITY ASSURANCE (PRESCHOOL, PRIMARY, SECONDARY EDUCATION)

Quality assurance in early and school education is regulated by a combination of self-evaluation and external evaluation, which together form an integrated system for ensuring, determining and improving the quality of educational work. This framework was established by the General Law on Education further elaborated by the Rulebook on the content, forms and methods of determining the quality of educational work in institutions, and operationalized through the Methodology for ensuring and improving the quality of educational work in institutions.

The main objective of the policy is not only to assess compliance with standards, but also to support the continuous improvement of teaching and learning, management of institutions, school climate, student achievement and student support. The Methodology explicitly states that the purpose of the evaluation is to provide a clear picture of the institution, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and direct improvement measures to areas where quality needs to be further strengthened. It is also emphasized that the best effects are achieved by combining internal and external evaluation.

The system is therefore integrated in two ways. First, both internal and external evaluation are prescribed by law as complementary mechanisms. Second, the findings of the self-evaluation should be the basis for the external evaluation, while the results of the external evaluation are used to redefine the institution's development program and action plans for improvement.

During the past decade, the most important development steps emerging from the submitted documents were:
- changes to the General Law on Education from 2017, which form part of the valid consolidated legal framework that has undergone additional changes until 2025 that are not directly related to determining and ensuring quality.
- adoption of the Methodology from 2021, which introduced an updated framework based on standards, with defined key areas, standards, indicators, evaluation procedures and monitoring of improvement measures.

The External Quality Evaluation Methodology has been gradually revised over time, including earlier methodological frameworks adopted in 2010 and 2016, as well as a significantly improved Methodology adopted in 2021.

The system of determining, ensuring and improving the quality of educational work is based on a unique normative and methodological framework that is applied to preschool, primary and secondary education, while respecting the specificities of individual levels and types of institutions.

QUALITY ASSURANCE (HIGHER EDUCATION)

Quality assurance (QA) in higher education is regulated by the Law on Higher Education and relevant secondary legislation. In accordance with this framework, quality assurance activities are carried out by the Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (hereinafter: the Agency), which has been an affiliate member of the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA) since 2019.

Quality assurance in higher education in Montenegro is based on a combination of internal and external evaluation.

Internal quality assurance

Internal quality assurance in higher education is mandatory and is implemented through institutional self-evaluation processes. Higher education institutions are responsible for designing and implementing their internal quality assurance systems, in accordance with national legislation and standards adopted by the Agency, which are aligned with the European Standards and Guidelines (ESG).

Internal evaluation is carried out through regular self-evaluation of study programmes, teaching, research, governance and student services. These processes form the basis for continuous quality improvement and for external quality assurance procedures.

External quality assurance

External quality assurance is conducted by the Agency through accreditation of study programmes and re-accreditation of higher education institutions. For these procedures, the Agency appoints commissions composed of independent national and international experts selected from a public list. These commissions typically include representatives of academic staff, students and the labour market.

External evaluation ensures that higher education institutions and study programmes meet established standards, and contributes to transparency, accountability and continuous improvement. In line with ESG Standard 2.6 on reporting, all external evaluation reports and decisions are publicly available.

Accreditation of study programmes

includes the assessment of programme quality, its compliance with professional needs and adopted standards, its comparability with similar programmes abroad, as well as the inclusion and value of practical training expressed in ECTS credits. The accreditation is granted based on the evaluation carried out by an expert commission appointed by the Agency. The accreditation of a study programme is valid for a period corresponding to its duration, extended by two additional years.

Re-accreditation of higher education institutions

is carried out every seven years. It is based on the institution’s self-evaluation report and an external evaluation conducted by a commission appointed by the Agency. The commission prepares a report on the re-accreditation, while the final decision is taken by the Accreditation Board.

QUALITY ASSURANCE (ADULT EDUCATION)

The process of ensuring and improving quality is one of the main goals of the reform of the education system in Montenegro. The process is based on the General Law on Education, namely Article 17, which prescribes that the institution shall ensure and improve the quality of educational work every year in individual areas, and every two years as a whole (self-evaluation). Ensuring and improving the quality of the educational work of institutions, at least every four years, is performed by the Center for Vocational Education and the Bureau for Educational Services (external evaluation).