Higher Education in Former Yugoslav Countries: Impact of the Bologna Process

Abstract

The past ten years have seen unprecedented developments in higher education in all European countries. Student numbers have increased by an average of 25 per cent (Eurydice, 2009), while the range of societal demands has also broadened considerably. Higher education is now expected to meet a wide range of needs of evolving knowledge society and economies: educating ever larger numbers of the population, creating new opportunities for non-traditional students, developing research excellence and acting to improve quality and efficiency in all aspects of the higher education mission. While these trends certainly began before the turn of the twenty-first century — indeed they can be traced in a perspective of post—Second World War evolution — the speed of change has accelerated in recent years. This reality of a fast-moving landscape for higher education with ever-increasing demands is now coupled with the impact of the global financial and economic downturn. The result is a higher education landscape of considerable turbulence, with major challenges emerging for the future.