WENR

Bologna Country Update: Lithuania

Legal Framework

The 1992 Law on Research and Higher Education promoted autonomy, academic freedom and integration of research and higher education in Lithuania. The Law on Higher Education, passed in 2000, built on those principles and established a binary system in higher education. The Law on Higher Education determines the system of higher education, the principles for acquisition of academic and professional qualifications, qualification and research degrees, the scope of the autonomy of higher education establishments and control of their activities by the state. The law also defines the rights and responsibilities of the teaching staff, research workers and students, the legal grounds for the establishment, reorganization and liquidation of higher education institutions in the Republic of Lithuania, the basic requirements for higher education establishments and study programs, the principles of evaluation and registration of study programs as well as the principles of financing higher education establishments.

Establishment of the binary system of higher education provides for two types of higher education institutions: universities and colleges (mokykla). On Sept. 1, 2000, seven new colleges opened (four state-run and three private).

Requirements were developed for the university and non-university study programs, their registration, evaluation and accreditation.

Agencies were established for coordinating the activities of higher education institutions and their regulation by the state. These include the Higher Education Council of Lithuania, the Science Council of Lithuania [1], the Rectors Conference and the Lithuanian Center for Quality Assessment in Higher Education [2].

1. Easily Readable and Comparable Degrees

2. Degree Structure

3. Credit Transfer

Lithuanian Higher Education Grading Scale*
Pass/Fail KTU Grading Scale ECTS Grading Scale Knowledge Percentage Description
Pass 10 A 90-100 Excellent
9 B 80-89 Very Good
8 C 70-79 Good
7 D 60-69 Satisfactory
6 D 50-59 Satisfactory
5 E 40-49 Sufficient
Fail 4 FX 30-39 Fail
3 FX 20-29 Fail
2 F 19-Oct Fail
1 F 0-9 Fail

* Kaunas University of Technology [4] Grading Scale

4. Mobility

5. Quality Assurance

6. Promotion of European Dimensions in Higher Education


References