Lithuania

• Membership in EQAR
  Lithuania has been a Governmental Member of EQAR since March 2015.

  Read more: all Governmental Members of EQAR

• General information on higher education

  Higher education is offered in Lithuania by state or private universities (universitetas) and colleges (kolegija). All study programmes are listed in the register of the Ministry of Education and Science (ministry).

• National external quality assurance requirements

  Programmes and higher education institutions go through an evaluation every six or three years (see below). This cycle of evaluations is specified in the 2016 Law and the SKVC's methodologies.

  Lithuania is currently replacing the evaluation of individual programmes with the evaluations of study fields.

  • Institutional accreditation ( (effective as of 2021)
    Accreditation is awarded for 7 years in case of a positive evaluation. An interim evaluation of three years is carried out in cases when the requirements within one evaluation area are only satisfactorily met.

  • Evaluation of study fields (cluster programme evaluation)
    Accreditation is awarded for 7 years in case of a positive evaluation. A study field may also be accredited (with conditions) for three years, once.

• Cross-border quality assurance

  In Lithuania higher education institutions may choose a suitable EQAR-registered agency.

  Limited to cluster programme evaluations

  • Eligibility requirements for foreign agencies: EQAR registration

  • Conditions for the agencies’ work (e.g. criteria to be used): The evaluation of study fields has to be carried out using the national criteria (see links below).

  • Recognition of reviews carried out by foreign agencies: The accreditation decision (based on the external evaluation report) is taken by the Center for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC).

  Read more: countries where higher education institutions may choose a suitable EQAR-registered agency

• European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes

  In Lithuania the European Approach is available to higher education institutions.

  Read more: countries where the European Approach is available to higher education institutions

• Further information

  • Law on Higher Education and Research (effective as of 01.01.2017)

  • Ministry responsible for higher education

  • ENIC NARIC

  • Order of the Director of SKVC on Methodology for the Evaluation of New Study Programmes (including joint programmes)

  • Lithuania - European Higher Education Area

  • Order on the Approval of the Procedure for the External Review and Accreditation of Higher Education Institutions, Evaluation Areas and Indicators (2020-04-06)

  • Order on the Approval of the Procedure for the External Evaluation and Accreditation of Studies, Evaluation Areas and Indicators

Registered agencies operating in Lithuania