Initial accreditation
On 14 October 2015, the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports issued Bernays a Licence to conduct higher education activities and two study programmes: The Communication Management undergraduate professional study programme and the Public Relations Management specialised graduate professional study programme.
Thus, after two academic years of extremely successful cooperation with the University of Dubrovnik and conducting undergraduate and graduate study programmes at the Communication Department of its mentor institution, a new period began for Bernays, in which it began to conduct its own study programmes as an independent university.
After four years of successfully conducting communication programmes, Bernays took a strong step forward into the field of tourism. Thanks to the licences of the Ministry of Science and Education, as of the 2017/2018 academic year, Bernays started conducting the Tourist Destination Management and Marketing undergraduate study programme, while the Experience Management in Tourism graduate study programme began to be conducted in the 2020/2021 academic year.
Encouraged by the recommendations of the 2020 Tourism Development Strategy and the continuous demands of the market, Bernays developed new study programmes - the Tourist Destination Management and Marketing undergraduate study programme and the Experience Management in Tourism graduate study programme, providing students with applicable knowledge and skills for active and effective involvement in work and management processes in tourism.
Two new Bernays study programmes at the undergraduate and graduate level in the fields of psychology and business management are currently undergoing the initial accreditation process.
About the Initial Accreditation
The initial accreditation of study programmes consists of a process of external evaluation of the quality of new study programmes proposed by public and private universities of applied sciences, with the exception of study programmes at public universities. The goal of the initial accreditation procedure of study programmes is to check whether the proposed study programme meets the necessary quality standards. The purpose of the initial accreditation procedure is to ensure that the proposed study programme meets the necessary quality standards so that the higher education institution can begin its implementation and, at the same time, encourage the improvement of the new programme, which is monitored in the subsequent monitoring procedure.
Re-accreditation
In March 2020, Bernays successfully underwent the re-accreditation process conducted by the Agency for Science and Higher Education, and, on the basis of the expert committee’s final report and the higher education institution’s statement, AZVO’s Accreditation Council issued an Accreditation Recommendation, delivered to the competent minister for the issuance of a certificate for the performance of higher education activities.
After Bernays’ re-accreditation process, the expert committee highlighted the large number of partner companies for conducting professional work placements, the system of rewarding excellence, the support for teacher training, the obligatory professional work placements in all study programmes, the scientific activities and the high satisfaction of both employees and students.
About Re-accreditation
The re-accreditation of higher education institutions is an obligatory procedure of external evaluation of the quality of all higher education institutions, which is conducted in five-year cycles. The aim of the re-accreditation procedure is to check whether the higher education institution meets the necessary conditions (academic threshold) and to evaluate and assess the quality of the higher education institution according to the defined quality standards and to recommend further improvements. The purpose of the re-accreditation procedure is to encourage further development of quality in the main aspects of the higher education institution's work and to ensure that students study at higher education institutions/in study programmes that meet the necessary requirements.
