About the project

Project title

“Towards Equitable and Transparent Access to Higher Education in Croatia” (ACCESS)

Main objective

Contribute to ensuring equitable and transparent access to higher education (HE) in Croatia by removing financial obstacles, improving data availability and building capacity for action

Specific objectives

1. Collect data on social status of students in Croatia to evaluate the effectiveness and of HE funding and student support policies and assess the capacity to enhance them
2. Establish a policy framework to enhance the equity-dimension and transparency of the HE funding and student support system in Croatia, which can be translated into amendments of laws and regulations
3. Establish a national coordination group to monitor measures for equitable and transparent access to HE

Expected results

The project will provide the basis for major national policy reforms in Croatia that will contribute to ensuring equitable and transparent access to higher education (HE) by removing financial obstacles to HE. The project will result in a policy framework that presents a concrete proposal of the new HE funding and student support system in Croatia which can be translated into concrete amendments of laws and regulations and which will be based on the principles of evidence-based policy making.

Main activities 

1. Data collection: three studies will collect data on the socio-economic structure and financial needs of the student body, and will assess the feasibility of implementation of different HE funding and student support models in Croatia. Concretely, the studies will be the following:

• EUROSTUDENT IV survey in Croatia on the social and economic conditions of student life inCroatia
• Comparative analysis of higher education funding policies in Croatia and selected European countries
• Comparative analysis of student financial support policies in Croatia and selected European countries

2. Training of stakeholders: representatives from universities, state institutions, student councils, institutes and NGOs will be trained on different policy models for HE funding and student support from 6 different EU countries.
3. Expert recommendations: national and international experts will draft policy recommendations for developing a HE funding and student support system adapted to the needs and capacities of Croatia.
4. Policy drafting by universities and experts: based on recommendations, decision-makers from universities together with key stakeholders will identify and draft a policy framework.
5. Stakeholder consultations: consultations will take place at universities with university staff, students and other stakeholders to discuss and legitimise the proposed policy framework.
6. National Coordination Group: the Group will be set up as an advisory body related to higher education funding, student financial support and equitable access to higher education, and will promote the sustainability of project objectives after the project’s end.

Funding of project

The ACCESS project is funded by the European Commission through the Tempus Programme (Structural Measures).

The project is co-funded by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports of the Republic of Croatia.