Abstract:

The Law on Higher Education of Serbia, which had been adopted in 2005, provided for a legal framework needed to secure the entry of Serbian higher education into the European education area. The novelty which this Law availed of, compared to the previous practice, had been the method of financing the academic programmes by the founders, in the case of Serbian state universities, by the Serbian State. The period of transition of the hitherto method of financing to the new one has not started yet, although the first compulsory accreditation of all institutions of higher learning in Serbia has almost been completed (June 2009). According to the Law of 2005, a higher education institution in Serbia shall acquire funds for carrying out its activities in accordance with the law and the Statute of the said institution, from the following sources:
1) Funds provided by the founder: funds for the implementation of approved and/or accredited study programs within the framework of its activities on the basis of a contract concluded between the independent higher education institution and the Government upon obtaining prior advice from the Ministry. Even though the process of accreditation has been nearly completed, it still remains unclear whether, and if, in which way, this legal provision shall be implemented, before the beginning of the academic year 2009/10
2) Tuition fees: we do not know the tuition costs of individual academic programmes envisaged, rendering it impossible to calculate tuition fees for the paying students. The experience so far mirrors the social problem side of this phenomenon, since the price to be paid for the paying students has always been lower than the calculation of costs financed per state-budget student
3) Donations, gifts and endowments
4) Funds for financing scientific research, artistic and professional work
5) Projects and contracts related to the carrying out of courses of study, research and consulting services; This form of cooperation is in its initial phases
6) Remuneration for commercial and other services
7) Rights of the founder and contracts with third persons; All property and endowments have been NATIONALISED by the state after World War II (1945-1957), and no promised denationalization took place
8) Other sources in accordance with the law. Transition from a mentality formed on financing from the state budget to a commercially oriented one is a daunting process.

Keywords:

higher education in serbia, hitherto method of financing, transition in serbian.