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Reforma hrvatskog visokog obrazovanja bila je inicirana nužnošću podizanja njegove kvalitete i konkurentnosti, stavljanja sveučilišta, veleučilišta i visokih škola u funkciju bržeg ekonomskog i društvenog razvoja, te integracije cjelokupnog sustava u međunarodni obrazovni prostor. Intencija ovog rada bila je utvrditi kakvi su, u kontekstu poduzetih reformi, stavovi veleučilišnih studenata informatike o sustavu visokog obrazovanja, upisanom studiju i uvjetima studiranja. Istraživanjem se nastojala stvoriti informacijska podloga koja je neophodna za objektivnu ocjenu i prosudbu promjena koje su nastupile kao rezultat implementacije bolonjskog procesa. U radu su također ispitane razlike u percepciji između studenata informatike i njihovih kolega upisanih na ostale studije. Dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da veleučilišni studenti ne percipiraju sustav visokog obrazovanja, upisani studij i uvjete studiranja u dovoljnoj mjeri pozitivno, što ukazuje na potrebu njihovog daljnjeg preoblikovanja. Posebno je upozoravajući nalaz da su ocjene studenata upisanih na studije iz područja informatike uglavnom niže od ocjena ostalih studenata. Važnost ove studije proizlazi iz činjenice da su mišljenja hrvatskih veleučilišnih studenata o analiziranim pitanjima bila do sada zanemarena., The reform of the Croatian higher education was initiated by the need to increase its quality and competitiveness, to harness universities, polytechnics and colleges for the purpose of economic and social development, as well as to integrate the system as a whole into the international education space. Considering the reforms undertaken so far, the paper aims to establish the attitudes of polytechnic students in informatics on higher education system, the chosen course of study and study conditions. The research attempted to create an information base that is required for an objective assessment and evaluation of the changes brought about by the Bologna process implementation. Furthermore, the paper surveyed the differences in perceptions between students in informatics and their peers enrolled in other courses of study. The obtained results show that polytechnic students’ perception of the higher education system, the chosen course of study and study conditions is not sufficiently positive, which indicates they need to be revised and upgraded. It was especially alarming to find that the assessments of students enrolled in informatics programmes were generally lower than those of other students. The relevance of this study lies in the fact that opinions of the Croatian polytechnic students on the analyzed issues have so far been disregarded.

This report provides an overview of higher education and research system in Croatia. It provides basic information on funding and quality assurance in higher education and research in Croatia. Finally, the report analyzes governance and policy structure in research and higher education in Croatia.

In current Croatian documents we envisaged the reform through all six aims of Bologna Declaration and now it is the question of coordinating the transformation of higher education with those aims. This transformation must not be too fast and not too radical, but according to our circumstances and respecting the specific qualities not only of the national system of higher education, but also those of each individual university. &middot ; Furthermore, we need to take into account that this reform should, first of all, be accepted by the university teachers themselves. They are the carriers of reform. And they are currently not in the mood for radical reforms. Resisting reform arises from the following reasons: &middot ; The lack of means for day to day operations is a sad reality of the educational system in Croatia. People working in education have been underpaid for many years and this has lead to negative selection and general loss of motivation. Any reform not changing the financing system will be received as yet another restriction. &middot ; The Croatian strategy of development does not give the priority to the development of the educational system and raising the quality of education. The priorities for the social development are determined in the other sectors and in such conditions the reform of educational system causes suspicion that it is a form of rationalization which is nothing but a restriction. &middot ; Improving the teaching process is linked to both renewal of teaching programmes and renewal and innovations in teaching equipment &middot ; Renewal and innovations in teaching equipment do not depend only on financial means which need to be insured for this purpose but also on the readiness of teaching staff to accept and implement radical changes in technology of the teaching process &middot ; Non-implementation and even non-existence of clear pedagogical standards created different practices. Therefore at the University of Zagreb, the teaching process is held in conditions which vary from faculty to faculty, mostly without adequate teaching equipment. All of the reforms so far have gradually lowered pedagogical standards by introducing more disarray than order. Due to this, most teachers believe that stability between reforms is much better than reforms themselves and each new reform is seen as a natural disaster. &middot ; Non-existence of a clear perspective of employment reflects itself on motivational elements of educational system. Pupils and students are much less motivated for reforming the educational system because it is hard for them to see a clear connection between education and employment, that is success in their jobs and careers. &middot ; Adjusting to the European educational system is seen by some teachers and students as abandoning the results achieved in developing their own area of education, as well as the need to give up on their on values and accept someone else&#8217 ; s and imposed ones. &middot ; In stead of seeing the adjustment to the European educational system as opening new possibilities for a more equal relationship with the educational systems of the EU countries. Most of the professors and students see it as a provincialization of our own educational system which gives up on its own values in the name of Globalisation.