This publication is part of the OECD’s programme of work on higher education policy. It was prepared by the OECD as part of the project “Strengthening the system of evaluation and quality assurance of higher education and vocational education and training in Lithuania”, implemented in collaboration with the Lithuanian Ministry of Education, Science and Sports (ŠMSM) and the European Commission. The report was produced with financial assistance of the European Union via the Technical Support Instrument (TSI), managed by the European Commission.
The project was managed by François Staring (Analyst, Higher Education Policy Team) under the guidance of Simon Roy (Team Lead, Higher Education Policy Team), and implemented in collaboration with Stewart Butler (Analyst, VET Team) and Marieke Vandeweyer (Team Lead, VET Team). Research support was provided by Kristiana Egle (Research Assistant, Higher Education Policy Team) and Patricio Ruedi (Analyst, VET Team). Editorial and publication support were provided by Christie Morley, Jennifer Cannon, Hannah Whybrow and Rachel Linden. Overall guidance was provided by Paulo Santiago (Head of Policy Advice and Implementation Division, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills), El Iza Mohamedou (Head of OECD Centre for Skills) and Andreas Schleicher (Director, OECD Directorate for Education and Skills). Members of the OECD’s Group of National Experts on Higher Education (GNE-HE) and Group of National Experts on Vocational Education and Training (GNE-VET) provided feedback on the work.
Chapter 1 (Overview of assessment, recommendations and roadmap) was co-authored by François Staring and Stewart Butler. Chapter 2 (Report focus, analytical framework and methodology) and Chapter 3 (Regulation and external quality assurance of higher education in Lithuania) were written by François Staring. Chapter 4 (Regulation and external quality assurance of VET in Lithuania) was written by Stewart Butler. Chapter 5 (Institutional capacity and pedagogical supports for quality enhancement in VET and higher education in Lithuania) and Chapter 6 (Governance, funding and information systems of VET and higher education in Lithuania) were co-authored by François Staring and Stewart Butler.
The authors are grateful for the guidance provided by the members of the Project Advisory Group: Agnė Kudarauskienė and Julius Jakučinskas (Division for VET and Lifelong Learning, ŠMSM); Justas Nugaras and Giedrė Pačėsienė (Division of Higher Education, ŠMSM); and Alexandra Serafim-Soares (European Commission). Important contributions to the report were also made by Zinaida Manžuch, Almantas Šerpatauskas and Aurelija Valeikienė from the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education (SKVC), and by Tadas Tamošiūnas and Lina Vaitkutė from the Qualifications and Vocational Education and Training Development Centre (KPMPC). Eugenijus Stumbrys and Daiva Karužaitė from the Research Council of Lithuania (LMT), Asta Ranonytė from the National Agency of Education (NŠA), and Giedrė Beleckienė and Agnė Vilkončiūtė from the Government Strategic Analysis Centre (STRATA) also provided important inputs and support for the development of the report.
The authors would also like to thank all the experts who shared their expertise of the Lithuanian system with the OECD team as part of the project. Key experts include: Marius Ablačinskas (VET Expert), Gražina Droessiger (Vilnius Gediminas Technical University), Valdas Jaskūnas, Klaudijus Melys and Jurgita Petrauskiene (Vilnius University), Nora Pileičikienė (Karalius Mindaugas Vocational Training Centre), Ineta Rizgelė (Lithuanian Business Confederation), Nora Skaburskienė (Vilnius Gediminas Technical University), Lina Tamutienė (Šiauliai State College), Regina Valutytė (Mykolas Romeris University), Paulius Vaitiekus (Lithuanian National Union of Students), Regina Venckienė (Vilnius College of Higher Education), and Gintaras Vilda (Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists).
The project also benefited from international expert advice and contributions by Christopher Millward, Professor of Practice at the University of Birmingham (United Kingdom) and Simon Broek, International VET Expert and Director at Ockham IPS (Netherlands). It was also informed by interviews with, and expert presentations made by, quality assurance experts during an online international peer learning event, organised by the OECD on 20 June 2024 as part of the project. The international experts that contributed to this event are: Philipp Emanuel Friedrich (Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education), Marie Gould (Quality and Qualifications Ireland), Kirsi Hiltunen (Finnish Education Evaluation Centre), Tommy E. Hvidsten (Centre for Experiential Learning, Norway), Fenno Noij (Commission Macro-Efficiency Higher Education, Netherlands), Kathryn O’Loan (Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education, United Kingdom), Ognjen Piljek Žiljak (Agency for Vocational Education and Training and Adult Education, Croatia), Torben Schuster (Ministry of Children and Education, Denmark), and Reinout van Brakel and Nina de Winter (Universities of the Netherlands).
While the report draws on data and analysis from the OECD, information provided by Lithuanian stakeholders, and a range of other published sources, any errors or misinterpretations remain the responsibility of the OECD project team.