WESTERN BALKANS AGREEMENTON THE RECOGNITION OF HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS("Off. Herald of RS - Treaties", No. 3/2023) |
The representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia (hereinafter referred to as "Parties")
Taking into consideration the Western Balkans Leaders "Declaration on Common Regional Market - A catalyst for deeper regional economic integration and a stepping stone towards EU Single Market" adopted at the Summit of the Western Balkans leaders under the framework of the Berlin Process;
Considering higher education as a public good and a public responsibility, and being aware of the need to uphold and protect the principles of academic freedom and of the autonomy of higher-education institutions;
Desiring to promote and strengthen the close ties and to expand the foundations for co-operation in the Western Balkans, and to develop cooperation between higher education and research institutions of the Parties and to promote academic mobility;
Convinced that the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education will facilitate interdependent learning and knowledge development via the mobility of students, academics, researchers, and professionals and will enhance cooperation in higher education;
Desiring to respond to the need for a Global Convention on the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education to complement the regional agreements on the recognition of qualifications concerning higher education, and to enhance the cohesion between them;
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* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
Considering the Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education in the European Region, and the commitments of the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), including the implementation of the tools of the Bologna Process;
Having regard to the development of the external and internal quality assurance mechanisms based on the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in EHEA;
Convinced of the need to find common, practical and transparent solutions to improve recognition practices in higher education by establishing a standard and procedures for the recognition of higher education qualifications;
Convinced that this Agreement will promote academic mobility, as well as cooperation regarding fair and transparent procedures for recognition and quality assurance and academic integrity in higher education in the Western Balkans;
Have hereby agreed as follows:
Article 1
(I) This Agreement regulates the recognition of higher education qualifications, the continuation of studies and access to non-regulated labour market in each of the Parties.
(II) The present Agreement applies to the Higher Education (HE) qualifications obtained in the public accredited Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of the Parties, the list of which will be further specified by the Commission.
(III) The jurisdiction of the individual higher education institutions of the Parties is safeguarded for the purpose of access to higher education, the continuation of studies and the obtainment of higher education qualifications. They exercise this jurisdiction in the context of their autonomy and in accordance with their respective systems, taking into account the coordination framework that this Agreement establishes.
(IV) The correspondence between the higher education qualifications indicated in this Agreement does not imply exemption from other obligations connected with access to the HEIs of the Parties, enrolment in the study program.
(V) This agreement is without prejudice to and shall not derogate any previous arrangement, practices or agreement between two or more Parties that is more beneficial to natural persons/holders of higher education qualifications and does not provide an obstacle for the establishment of any such further arrangement or agreement.
RECOGNITION OF HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS
Article 2
(I) For the purpose of this Agreement the higher education qualification represents any degree, diploma or other certificate issued by a competent HE institution of one of the Parties attesting the successful completion of a study programme offered by an accredited institution.
(II) The recognition of the higher education qualifications issued by the HEIs of the Parties at the completion of the respective study program, in accordance with the legal framework in force in the respective Party, shall be realized in accordance with the correspondence, which also specifies recognition procedures and rules as follows:
- Qualifications will be evaluated and recognized in accordance with the right acquired by the qualification in the issuing Party;
- Parties shall recognize qualifications in a flexible manner and only substantial difference which should be elaborated, might lead to non-recognition. On the request of the other ENIC/NARIC centres, an ENIC/NARIC centre shall respond within a week or inform that an additional investigation is needed;
- For acquiring additional information, on the request of an ENIC/NARIC centre of that Party, every institution in the Party should respond within 7 days.
OTHER HIGHER EDUCATION STUDY PROGRAMMES
Article 3
Qualifications of shortened and other education courses offered by HEIs of the Parties may be evaluated and recognized as valid, as long as they provide the obtainment of high education achievement corresponding to ECTS or learning outcomes, as well as in respect to the corresponding level of the qualification framework and relevant regulations of the Parties.
RECOGNITION OF QUALIFICATIONS FOR ACCESS TO NEXT-LEVEL COURSES PURPOSES
Article 4
Enrolment in study programs is subject to compliance with the internal regulations of the HEIs in the receiving Party.
COLLABORATION BETWEEN ENIC/NARIC CENTERS
Article 5
In order to facilitate the evaluation of the HE qualifications issued by the respective HEIs and to increase evaluation skills of the foreign HE qualifications, presented also from third-party systems, the Parties undertake to encourage maximum collaboration between the respective domestic Recognition Centers (ENIC/NARIC Centers), including the exchange and the sharing of experiences, tools and databases, including cooperation through the Western Balkans Regional Recognition Database (RRD), as well as collaborating among themselves to implement projects related to the assessment of HE qualifications, transparency in the documentation to be presented for the recognition of foreign HE qualifications and to fight the phenomenon of forgery of documents awarded by HEIs.
To avoid the phenomenon of forgery from the previous paragraph, every HEI from the Parties is obliged to reply on the request of the ENIC/NARIC centres of Parties, free of charge and within 14 days after receiving the request for confirmation of an authenticity of qualification.
JOINT COMMISSION ON RECOGNITION OF HIGHER EDUCATION QUALIFICATIONS
Article 6
A Joint Commission on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications (the Commission) shall be established based on this Agreement tasked with organising, coordinating and monitoring activities related to the implementation of this Agreement.
Article 7
(I) The Commission shall be composed of three representatives of each Party.
(II) The work of the Commission shall be coordinated by the Regional Cooperation Council in cooperation with Education Reform Initiative of South-East Europe (ERI SEE).
Article 8
(I) Parties shall provide the Commission with their own list of accredited HEIs, subject to this Agreement, no later than 3 months after entry into force of this Agreement, which may be reviewed by the Commission if so requested by one of the Parties.
(II) The Commission shall meet at least twice a year, or upon request of a Party, and shall report annually to the Parties concerning the implementation and application of this Agreement.
(III) The Commission shall adopt its Rules and Procedures.
(IV) All the decisions of the Commission shall be made by consensus of all Parties.
Article 9
The Commission shall also focus on, but is not limited to:
a) Facilitate cooperation and communication among Quality Assurance Agencies, including visits to Accreditation Agencies, if applicable;
b) Facilitate smooth cooperation of relevant institutions through the RRD;
c) Address issues related to substantial difference in relation to recognition of qualifications;
d) Analyse various issues regarding recognition of qualifications, and propose joint actions.
Article 10
The Commission shall review and approve the updates of the lists provided by the Parties to reflect the changes in the accreditation status of the Higher Education Institutions in the Parties. Such updates shall respect the responsibility of the Parties for the organisation of the education systems.
TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 11
This Agreement may be amended only with the written consent of all Parties subject to the same procedure necessary to conclude this Agreement.
Article 12
The scope of this Agreement can be expanded to accredited private HEIs, with the written consent of all Parties.
Article 13
The Parties agree that any disputes arising from the implementation of this Agreement shall be discussed within the Commission established according to Article 8.
Article 14
(I) This Agreement is subject to ratification, acceptance, or approval in accordance with the requirements foreseen by the relevant legislation of the Parties. The formal notice of ratification, acceptance, or approval shall be deposited with the Depositary.
(II) This Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day upon the deposition of the third formal notice of ratification, acceptance, or approval for those Parties that have deposited their formal notice of ratification, acceptance, or approval.
(III) For each Party depositing its formal notice of ratification, acceptance, or approval after the date of the deposit of the third formal notice of ratification, acceptance or approval, this Agreement shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after the day on which that Party deposits its formal notice of ratification, acceptance, or approval.
(IV) North Macedonia shall act as Depositary and shall notify all Parties of any notification received in accordance with this Article and any other act or notification relating to this Agreement.
Article 15
If one Party withdraws from this Agreement, it shall cease to be effective only for that Party within 30 days from the date of delivery of the notification thereof to the Depository.
Article 16
This cease of this Agreement shall not have any impact with respect to:
(a) Recognition decisions taken previously under the provisions of this Agreement;
(b) The recognition assessments still in progress under this Agreement.
Article 17
The Agreement is drawn up in the English language in one original version, which will remain in the possession of the Depository. Each Party will receive one verified copy of the Agreement.
Done at Berlin on 3/11/2022