Lithuania

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

  Map: EHEA countries by governmental membership

• 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

  As of 2020, study programmes and higher education institutions go through an evaluation every seven or three years (see below).

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

  • 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.

  • 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.

• EHEA key commitment

  Fully aligned with the ESG

  A fully functioning quality assurance system is in operation nationwide, in which all higher education institutions are subject to regular external quality assurance by an agency that has successfully demonstrated compliance with the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the EHEA (ESG) through registration on EQAR

  Map: implementation of the EHEA key commitment

• Cross-border quality assurance

  Recognising EQAR-registered agencies as part of the national external QA requirements

  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).

  Map: recognition of cross-border quality assurance

• European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes

  European Approach available to all higher education institutions

  Map: availability of the European Approach for QA of Joint Programmes

• Permalink
  https://data.deqar.eu/country/100
• Further information

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

  • Ministry responsible for higher education

  • ENIC NARIC

  • 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

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

Registered agencies operating in Lithuania