The Faculty of Service Business (FABUS) in Sremska Kamenica was not accredited at the time when the current Minister of Finance Novica Vuković graduated there, but at that moment it did not have to be, because the legal deadline for obtaining accreditation for higher education institutions that already had a license to operate was still in effect.
Vuković graduated in 2007, and the three-year deadline for accrediting faculties in Serbia, established by the 2005 Law on Higher Education, began in 2006.
FABUS was founded in 2001 as an independent faculty, and seven years later it joined the Educons University. According to the documentation, the faculty received a permit to operate from the competent Ministry of Education and Sports in April 2002 for the first year of undergraduate studies. A year later, the educational authorities approved the operation of second, third, as well as specialist and master's studies.
In Serbia, the Law on Higher Education was passed in 2005, which, in order to ensure development and quality improvement, prescribed the obligation of accreditation of all higher education institutions in that country. FABUS was accredited in accordance with these rules at the end of December 2009.
The accreditation process was carried out by the Commission for Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Higher Education Institutions and Units within them and Evaluation of Study Programmes. This body began its work in June 2006.
The Law on Higher Education, in Article 116, paragraph 1, stipulates that the procedure for accreditation and obtaining a license for the operation of higher education institutions that were legally operating before the adoption of this regulation, will be carried out within three years from the date of establishment of the Accreditation Commission.
"Universities and faculties, or academies that have received a decision on the fulfillment of the conditions for starting work and performing activities before the entry into force of this law, shall be considered to have a permit to operate until the completion of the procedure referred to in paragraph 1," the article states, among other things.
BIRN Montenegro recently published an investigation, which was reported by "Vijesti", claiming that FABUS was not accredited at the time Vuković graduated from the institution. The portal also reported that media in the region in the previous decade had written about allegedly dubiously obtained degrees at the faculty from 2002 to 2006, that some officials from Republika Srpska had degrees from FABUS, and that the faculty's branch office was registered in Grude at the address of the "Otok" wedding salon and in a hotel in Kupres.
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Started studies at the Faculty of Law
BIRN reported that Vuković transferred to FABUS from the Faculty of Law of the University of Montenegro, which he enrolled in 1996/1997 and passed five exams, which were recognized by his new faculty. He enrolled in the second year of studies at FABUS after passing five more of the nine exams from the first year, and graduated in October 2007.
The Minister of Finance confirmed to "Vijesti" that he transferred to FABUS from the Podgorica State Faculty of Law, and that part of his exam from the Montenegrin institution was recognized, so after taking the difference in subjects, he began his second year at FABUS.
Asked if he was interested at the time whether FABUS had the necessary permits to operate, Vuković said that at the time, the institution provided "exceptional education" for his profession.
"Certainly, as a student deciding to retrain from law to economics, I chose a prestigious faculty at the time, which provided an exceptional education for my primary profession - Finance and Banking. The state of Serbia and Montenegro dealt with the remaining details at that time and everything was absolutely in accordance with the law," he said.
BIRN reported that Vuković does not list the name of the faculty he graduated from in his biographies, including the one on the Montenegrin government website. Instead, it states that he "graduated from the Faculty of Economics with a major in Finance and Banking, and completed his postgraduate studies with a major in Organizational Management."
When asked whether he was a full-time or part-time student at that faculty, Vuković said that "I carried out my study activities by regularly attending exam periods, with the maximum support of my employer at the time - NLB Bank."
"Then I enrolled in postgraduate studies in Podgorica at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Montenegro. Of course, the faculty checked all the documentation, and I received student status for the 2007/2008 academic year. During 2008, I took all the exams for postgraduate studies on time. The Faculty of Economics has never questioned any document, and I certainly believe that professional services fully check every student," Vuković replied.
The Faculty of Economics did not check diplomas from Serbia until 2008.
The Faculty of Economics had neither the right nor the obligation to verify and recognize diplomas acquired in Serbia until the first Montenegrin Law on Recognition and Evaluation of Educational Documents came into force in January 2008, the Faculty told "Vijesti".
When asked about Vuković's enrollment in master's studies in 2007, the answer was that "the candidate was enrolled in accordance with the then applicable legal regulations, which stipulated that for enrollment in postgraduate academic master's studies, a bachelor's degree with the professional title of graduate economist was required, and therefore no irregularities were found during his enrollment."
"... Therefore, at the time of enrollment, candidate Novica Vuković, with a diploma from the appropriate academic study program, fulfilled the required enrollment requirements, thus ensuring that the entire procedure was conducted in a legal and correct manner."
The Faculty of Economics also responded that in 2007, no equivalence and validation of diplomas acquired in the Republic of Serbia was carried out.
"In the practice at the time, during enrollment, and in accordance with the then applicable rules, the Faculty of Economics did not check diplomas or passed exams at the Faculty of Service Business in Sremska Kamenica - nor for any other faculty accredited in the Republic of Serbia in accordance with their regulations. Anything to the contrary would be contrary to the then applicable laws in Montenegro."
The responses also point out that "immediately after the media's interest in the enrollment of Minister Novica Vuković in postgraduate studies at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Montenegro, they sent a letter to the Educons University in Sremska Kamenica regarding the diplomas obtained at the Faculty of Service Business". "...Among other things, we received a response that 'the Faculty of Service Business... was founded according to principles that did not recognize the burden in ECTS credits, and students acquired higher education with the professional title of graduate economist - higher professional qualification, according to previous regulations VII - 1 level of professional qualification'".
They state that Vuković currently has the status of a student in postgraduate academic master's studies, and that in 2008 he passed all the exams stipulated in the curriculum.
"Novica Vuković is currently in the final phase of defending his master's thesis. Vuković was enrolled in postgraduate studies based on the original certificate of higher education obtained at the Faculty of Service Business in Sremska Kamenica and this certificate is in his personal file. For other details and answers, the address is not the Faculty of Economics."
They also remind that all candidates have the right to enroll in master's and doctoral studies, regardless of whether they graduated from a state or private higher education institution.
"In that sense, the Faculty of Economics has not raised, nor should it raise, the issue of the quality of previously acquired education. This is not the responsibility of the Faculty of Economics, nor of any other faculty, but of the institution for quality control of higher education. The faculty's obligation is to conduct enrollment and organize teaching in the study program," they explained.
Vuković said that he expects that, as before, the Faculty of Economics will ensure that all students enroll and complete their studies in accordance with strict rules - both in undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
"Also, I expect the media to report truthfully and objectively on all facts. In my case, on this issue - that has not been the case in the past few days."
Different rules apply today
Upon "Vijesti"'s request to specify the procedure in accordance with current regulations, the Faculty of Economics responded that "a student with a bachelor's degree in economics from Educons University or similar private institutions from the region or abroad, if he or she would like to enroll in postgraduate master's studies at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Montenegro, would have to initiate the procedure for nostrification of the diploma at the Faculty of Economics, solely for the purpose of continuing studies and determining the equivalence of the degree."
"The requirement for enrollment in academic and applied master's studies is a successfully passed entrance exam. Candidates are ranked based on the average achieved in undergraduate studies and the points achieved in the entrance exam."
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