Quality assurance

By conducting scientific research of interest to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and education based on it throughout all three study cycles, the Faculty creates highly qualified and respected experts capable of responding to the demands of a dynamic environment and the needs of sustainable development of the community in which it operates.

Through study programs and cooperation with the economy, mobility within the international academic community, and additional extracurricular activities, the Faculty provides students with professional development with the goal of successful employment. It also takes care of the development of personnel potential, the constant growth of quality and the improvement of the international competitiveness of teaching and scientific activities.

Developing learning skills as well as general professional competences, which enable the continuation of education in the sense of training for scientific and research work in specialized fields.

The mission of the faculty is in accordance with the objectives of the program activities. The alignment of mission and goals is periodically reviewed, evaluating the complementarity of study programs with the planning and development needs of the local and wider social community.

Integration into the unique research area of ​​Europe and the European area of ​​higher education, by ensuring the competitiveness of study programs, establishing the exchange of students, academic staff, and through joint international study and research projects.

By devising socially useful educational programs and implementing joint projects with the economy through scientific and research work, encourage the creation of new solutions and ideas and become a pillar of knowledge-based sustainable development of BiH, and strengthen the recognition of PMF as a reliable and desirable institution in BiH and abroad.

Facilitating enrollment at European higher education institutions, in accordance with the reform of the education system with recommendations from the Bologna Declaration on Higher Education.

Promotion of the Quality System in higher education through cooperation with higher education institutions in the region and Europe, as well as the development of joint study programs and research programs in the field of natural and mathematical sciences.

Kvalitet je pojam koji se najčešće spominje u debatama o visokom obrazovanju u zadnjem desetljeću. Osiguranje kvaliteta, unapređenje procesa obrazovanja i istraživanja, te ishoda učenja je preliminarna obaveza obrazovnih i naučno-istraživačkih institucija. Pojam kvaliteta direktno zavisi od onih koji koriste taj termin, kao i od okolnosti u kojima se koristi.

Kvalitet je dinamična kategorija koja se mijenja od jedne do druge generacije i veza je između visokog obrazovanja i društva u kretanju. U tom kontekstu u sektoru visokog obrazovanja događaju se duboke promjene, glede novih sadržaja, studijskih programa i istraživačkih aktivnosti. Povećava se opseg rada nastavnika i studenata, raste broj visokoškolskih institucija, povećava se broj studenata. S druge strane smanjuju se resursi, povećavaju se zahtjevi za odgovornošću, raste interes država da zaštiti uloženo, kao i globalna briga za kvalitetu i standarde. Istovremeno se javlja problem povjerenja u sposobnost akademske zajednice da kritički ocijeni vlastite aktivnosti.Visokoškolske ustanove suočene su s potrebom da opravdaju, s jedne strane povjerenu im autonomiju, a s druge strane javna sredstva koja primaju.

U skladu sa članom 11. Svjetske deklaracije o visokom obrazovanju za 21. vijek traži se da obrazovna usluga zadovoljava potrebu, zahtjeve ili želje klijenata. Studenti, akademska zajednica, vlada i društvo u cjelini su klijenti ili korisnici visokog obrazovanja, a jedan od najvažnijih mehanizama za osiguranje kvaliteta je akreditacija.

Quality in higher education is a multidisciplinary concept that encompasses all its functions and activities: knowledge transfer, academic programs, research, staff, students, space, equipment, academic environment, services and community.

Quality assurance is a key element of the reform of higher education and is a condition for the creation of the European area of ​​higher education. Its creation and functioning is possible with a built-in quality assurance system, which will enable comparability of higher education institutions and their programs, and open the possibility of recognition of qualifications regardless of where they were obtained. The primary responsibility for quality assurance in higher education rests with each individual institution, which is also responsible for the quality of education it provides to students. Thus, quality assurance becomes the concern of all participants in the higher education process, but even more than that, continuous quality improvement requires a professional system of built mechanisms and processes.

These mechanisms include the development of a culture of quality, which implies a change in the attitudes and behavior of all participants involved in the work of higher education institutions, active action to improve all segments of the institution's work and its creative and innovative potential.

Quality is directly related to its users. For students and professors it is the process of education, while for financiers the priority is the result of higher education.

The concept of quality and the basic settings of certain concepts are mixed, interwoven and changed due to constant changes in the environment in which higher education institutions operate, as well as due to the increase in the level of knowledge within educational systems and institutions.

The management of PMF intends to gradually develop its own concept of quality and models of evaluation and quality management in accordance with the recommendations of the Agency for the Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance, which are visible in the document “Minimum standards and norms in higher education in BiH”, then with European standards for internal and external quality assurance in higher education. On that line, the Management brings the Quality Declaration as a public document, in which it addresses the users with promising attitudes related to the construction of the Quality System, as a guarantee of the fulfillment of the mission directions.

The management of the Faculty of Science and Mathematics will, by constantly improving the quality of services, meet the demands of eco-users and partners. Quality activities will be implemented through all organizational levels, based on quality documentation.

By building the Quality System, defining the documentation and implementing it, the Management will receive and analyze the achieved quality parameters, as well as the mechanisms for finding these solutions. Management guarantees quality assurance in close cooperation with state institutions and partners in the design of new educational content and scientific research projects.

The categorization of the concept of quality in higher education includes the following:

1. Quality as a threshold, whose definition for quality means setting certain norms, criteria, or standards. Any program, faculty or institution that meets the norms or criteria is declared to be of high quality. The advantage of this concept is objectivity and the possibility of certification, which is achieved by defining a threshold. However, such an approach leads to the uniformity of the educational system, which is negatively reflected if the principle is accepted: It only does what is sufficient to reach and accept the minimum.
2. Quality is the fulfillment of a set goal, where it is required that the educational service meets the needs, demands and wishes of the user, and quality is measured according to the degree of achievement of these goals. Users may have different views on both the purpose and the set goals. The advantage of this concept is its focus on the user, while the diversity of expressed needs, as well as their relevance, can be cited as a weakness.
3. Quality as an established upward spiral in improvement. This concept emphasizes the effort to continuously improve quality indicators and is based on the opinion that quality is of essential importance for the academic spirit and that the members of the academic community themselves know best what quality is in education and science. The disadvantage of this concept is that it is difficult to measure improvement, and that the evidence of the existence of improvement is often not clear and immediately noticeable.

The main determinants of this quality policy are:

1. Modern educational content at affordable prices;
2. Identification and understanding of current and future user needs;
3. Quality assurance by developing quality awareness at all levels;
4. By improving and developing educational content, building trust and increasing the number of service users;
5. Creation of conditions for increased effectiveness of teaching changes in the organization;
6. Developing partnership relations with government institutions and other higher education institutions due to the possibility of comparing results;
7. Continuous and professional education of the employed staff through seminars and participation in international gatherings on quality;
8. Representation and strengthening of the idea of the European Union in the field of education;
9. Improving the service quality management system in accordance with user requirements and international standards;
10. Quality planning with conception and design of new educational content.

In case of serious difficulties in achieving the planned levels of quality characteristics of education and research services, which could cause the need to recall those responsible, the Management will involve competent management bodies. The quality goals are:

• Improve the existing reputation and increase the number of users of our services;
• Improve the existing level of service quality characteristics;
• Strengthen the influence of the legislative and executive authorities in order to fulfill obligations;
• Train teaching and professional staff of the Faculty to provide services, while respecting the recommendations of the World Declaration on Higher Education.

Recommendations and measures to improve relations with the environment The existing state of relations with the environment in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be improved by defining appropriate measures and activities, which would be continuously implemented by administrative bodies at different levels, as well as institutions with different purposes. This applies to companies, educational institutions, as well as non-governmental organizations and citizens’ associations. The Umbrella Law on Environmental Protection establishes general goals and principles, basic principles of protection of environmental components, principles of information and education about the environment, methods of public participation and access to information on the state of the environment, competences of ministries, methods of environmental protection planning, elements of environmental impact assessment, method issuance of environmental permits and prevention of accidental situations, components and methods of voluntary access by companies, supervision and establishment of environmental quality standards, method of financing environmental protection, civil liability for protection, as well as penal provisions in accordance with this Law.

Special laws regulate issues of protection in individual spheres of the environment: nature, air, water, disposal of solid waste, use of space and construction. The implementation of these laws imposes the need for a serious approach in the timely adoption of not only all necessary supporting regulations for their operationalization and effective application, but also the adoption of rules of conduct at the level of institutions. The aforementioned laws also oblige educational institutions to investigate ways of ensuring their implementation in terms of refining program content, monitoring the application and monitoring of environmental quality parameters, and deviations from established standards. on environmental policy as an institutional determination according to the current requirements of environmental care.

The Faculty of Science and Mathematics of the University of Sarajevo is committed to contributing to the sustainable development of Bosnia and Herzegovina through research and educational activities. The essence of the research and educational processes at the Faculty are the disciplines of natural and mathematical sciences. We believe that this also gives us a great responsibility in terms of caring for nature and the environment.

Our determination to contribute to the preservation and improvement of the quality of certain spheres of the environment implies:

• Improving the culture of compliance with regulations and the implementation of legal regulations in the field of environmental protection, both in educational practice and in the institutional life of the Faculty; Integration of environmental knowledge and awareness in all aspects of education at the Faculty, especially through continuous innovation of teaching programs and content;
• Increasing the number of relevant teaching units in contents that include the aspect of relations with the environment and treat: Physico-chemical characteristics of the environment, preservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and geodiversity, protection of natural heritage, rational use of space, use and effects of hazardous substances and chemicals, and assessment of the capacity of our countries for the development of sustainable branches of the economy;
• Active participation in social processes that contribute to the collective development and application of environmental awareness;

The development of our own system of environmentally compatible management will be carried out through regular activities of the annual plan, activities of the plan for the implementation of the quality system, and activities of harmonizing internal contents with the requirements of the labor market and the local community.

The environmentally compatible management system has the following goals:

• Continuously develop and apply measures to increase environmental awareness;
• Create material and technical compliance of educational, research and institutional processes with the requirements of the current regulation;
• Use your own resources in an economical way;
• Monitor processes at the Faculty that may have negative impacts on the environment and reduce their impact;
• Promote and support initiatives, programs and projects for the preservation and protection of the environment, as well as the sustainable use of its components.

Create your own educational brand, recognizable by its attitude towards the environment. In order to achieve its environmental policy, the Faculty of Science is ready to cooperate with all members of the University of Sarajevo, as well as with all other local and international institutions, which recognize the importance of caring for the environment in the education process.