Analytics and statistics
Quality assurance systems and evaluation procedures at all levels require relevant objective statistical indicators and analyses. Statistical overviews and analyses also present necessary bases for scientific research included in the numerous projects which study Croatian higher education and science, and are required for assessment of the present situation and development of strategies and development measures.
According to the Act on Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education, ASHE collects and analyses the data on science and higher education and related systems, primarily on:
– resources available to science and higher education and their aptness for fulfilling societal needs,
– quality and efficiency of science and higher education,
– developmental tendencies of science and higher education systems and their components.
The data is a basis for analyses necessary to determine standards and criteria for evaluations performed by ASHE, perform assessments and produce relevant information on the condition and efficiency of the whole science and higher education system, which professional bodies and competent public authorities require in order to make strategic decisions. ASHE delivers the collected information to the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports upon request, and harmonises its data with the registers administered by the Ministry within its legal competences. Besides quality assurance and evaluation procedures, statistical overviews and analyses are necessary starting points for scientific research included in the numerous projects which study Croatian higher education and science, and are required for assessment of the present situation and development of strategies and development measures. Furthermore, higher education institutions and scientific organisations also require statistical overviews to determine their development priorities and compare themselves with other institutions and organisations.
MOZVAG is the ASHE IT support system. It is used in evaluations of study programmes proposed by higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia, it serves as a database of all accredited study programmes currently performed in the Republic of Croatia, and it will also incorporate modules to support audits of scientific organisations and higher education institutions in the Republic of Croatia.
Within the CARDS 2003 project „Furtherance of ASHE in its Quality Assurance role and the development of a supporting Information System” it was established that the existing Support module for study programme evaluation procedures - MOZVAG - needs to be reconstructed and incorporated into a wider project of creating the national IT system for higher education and science - NISVOZ – which would incorporate a much larger number of parameters for generating statistics and analyses of science and higher education.
NISVOZ is a project of creating a comprehensive national information system aimed at producing complete and reliable statistics and reports on the science and higher education systems, supporting the QA, evaluation and accreditation procedures performed by ASHE in line with the Act on Quality Assurance in Science and Higher Education. In 2009 ASHE completed the preparations for development of the National Information System for Higher Education and Science (NISVOZ) which would simultaneously serve as:
a) IT support to the key processes in higher education and science systems
b) Source of data used not only for IT support to business processes, but also for the needs of national and international statistics and decision-making
The main features of the project include:
1. analysis of business process of ASHE (procedures, rules for decision-making, participants) and relevant stakeholders,2. creation of a model application network for implementation and digital control of the mentioned processes, enabling permanent improvements,
3. creation of a database model which would enable creation of statistical analyses necessary to support the aforementioned processes and generate national statistics on science and higher education
4. creation of the terms of use and data protection and business process security within a user network, as well as the rules governing data access.
Directory of Study Programmes, published in July 2009 at the ASHE website, was created with an aim to provide a one-stop-shop for information on study programmes available in the Republic of Croatia. It includes all study programmes accredited in line with the Act on Scientific Activity and Higher Education, which required a permit by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports issued on the basis of the recommendation by the National Council for Higher Education.
