The Role of the Accreditation Process in Introducing Innovations Into Higher Education in Serbia

Abstract

The chapter explores the role of the accreditation process in introducing innovations into higher education. The chapter starts with the assumption that the accreditation process can have a positive role in introducing innovations into higher education. This is if the standards bring novelties into the structure and function of higher education and if these organizations accept and implement the said standards in the long-run. The research was conducted through the case study of the first accreditation in higher education in Serbia. The institutional theory was used as theoretical framework of the analysis since the accreditation is observed as the process of institutionalization of a specific higher education model. The research has shown that accreditation had a limited impact on innovations in higher education in Serbia. The most common reaction of higher education institutions in Serbia to accreditation standards was their modified and partial implementation.