The Language Centre at SEEU: A role model in the Higher Education Area in the Balkans

The Language Centre (LC) was founded in 2001 and was the first independent unit to provide instruction within South East European University (SEEU). It provides language services to all SEEU students. Its 20 well-equipped classrooms, CELTA Centre and the Language Resource Centre (LaRC) are designed to meet the educational needs of the students, staff and the community as well as create an environment that is conducive to learning.

Language study is a central part of every SEEU student’s academic career, both as required subjects and as optional elective courses. Part of the University’s mission is to promote a multilingual approach to learning, stressing both the importance of local and international languages. The Language Centre has a crucial role in achieving this goal. The primary function of the Centre is to provide courses specified in the curricula of the five faculties. This includes courses such as Basic English Skills as well as ESP faculty-dependent courses. Due to these requirements and student interest, the LC is the largest teaching organization at the University.

The Language Centre as an integral part of the SEEU implements a number of well-established, institution-wide quality procedures, which are intended to have a positive impact on the standards of learning and teaching. These include the Teaching Observation Procedure, an annual Student Evaluation Survey, a performance management process for staff linked to professional development and an LC cycle of strategic planning, linked both to internal and LC Specific external evaluation. In developing these procedures, the University and the Centre have drawn on international quality assurance guidelines, trends and good practice in order to develop effective approaches to quality within a specific educational and national context.