Higher education plays a vital role in OECD member and partner countries in educating learners, driving innovation and contributing to economic development. Higher education systems operate in a context of accelerating technological advancement, the growing imperative for sustainability, and continuously increasing societal expectations. Policy makers and institution leaders are faced with the need to adapt to the increasingly diverse needs of learners by developing more flexible, responsive programmes and learning pathways.

Croatia’s higher education system has been undergoing profound change in recent years. The government has proposed a comprehensive modernisation agenda, building on its 2020 National Reform Plan and supported by Croatia’s National Plan for Recovery and Resilience 2021-2026. A key part of the modernisation agenda relates to enhancing digitalisation in higher education, by improving digital infrastructure and widening access to high-quality digital education. Croatian public authorities requested assistance from the European Union’s Technical Support Instrument (TSI) for provision of support and advice, to enable public authorities and higher education institutions to successfully integrate digital technologies. The OECD was asked by the Croatian Ministry of Science and Education and the Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support of the European Commission to deliver the requested support.

This chapter describes the context, scope and methodology of the project, and outlines the structure of the remainder of the report. It also provides definitions for two of the key concepts used in the project activities – digital readiness and digital maturity.

This chapter provides an overview of the Croatian higher education system, including its main features, trends in learner enrolment and outcomes, and policy context. It then provides an assessment of digital readiness as it relates to the higher education system in Croatia, based on an examination of Croatia’s position in comparative indices of digitalisation, and a review of national policies, priorities and organisations supporting digitalisation in the higher education system.

This chapter proposes a framework for the assessment of digital maturity in Croatia’s higher education institutions, comprising three main elements – digital leadership, digital infrastructure and digital competence and culture. It then provides quantitative and qualitative assessment of each element, based on data from a survey of Croatian higher education institutions and interviews with institution leaders, staff and students.

This chapter contains a review of national and transnational standards that have been proposed or adopted across OECD and EU countries to assure the quality of digital education. It also analyses the different options available to public authorities to support improvements in the quality of digital higher education. Finally, the chapter provides principles for institutions to consider when developing strategies to improve the quality of digital education, and recommendations for Croatian public authorities to reflect on in their policy deliberations.

This chapter discusses the policy context and policy directions related to investment in digital infrastructure in higher education systems across the OECD and EU Member countries. It proposes general principles for maximising the benefits of investments in digital infrastructure within the Croatian higher education system. It also categorises digital infrastructure into different types and analyses each in turn, providing specific advice to be considered for each type of infrastructure.