Report on the Excellence and Quality in Western Balkans
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Excellence and Quality in Western Balkans - A survey investigating the governance capacity of universities in the region
Antigoni Papadimitriou & Bjørn Stensaker
Abstract
As one of the activities within the project “European integration in higher education and research in the Western Balkans,” a survey has been conducted with the aim to provide a general overview of the governance capacity of institutions in the region. The survey included responses from 52 universities in the Western Balkans (out of 112 sampled) - 27 public, 24 private, and one that is both public and private - regarded by this report as public. The study operationalizes as quality management as the combined institutional capacity for strategic planning, stakeholder focus, performance management and benchmarking activities and identifies a number of strengths and weaknesses in governance capacity. Some variations have been identified With respect to country differences. The analysis of governance capacity between private and public universities indicates that average scores, especially in strategic planning, stakeholder focus, and results oriented management practices, are slightly higher in private than in public universities.