Mission statement, vision and strategy

1.1. VISION, MISSION STATEMENT AND STRATEGY OF ACHIEVING OBJECTIVES

The EFL has a clearly defined mission and vision, which show efforts towards a broader recognition and quality. In order to realize the mission and vision, the EFL formed a strategy included in the Action Plan to Realize the Vision and Mission of the EFL.

1.1.1. VISION

The EFL wants to become an internationally recognized higher education institution in the field of law and in the interdisciplinary field of law and management of infrastructure and real estate. Through high-quality educational activities, linking theory with practice, combining teaching and research work and international cooperation, the EFL will develop candidates that are wanted in the domestic and the international labour market. The EFL will also build its international recognition through a system of trans-national education and the double-degree system. In addition, the EFL wants to become a reliable partner both for the domestic private and public sectors, as well as for profit and non-profit institutions from abroad.

1.1.2. MISSION

The fundamental mission of the EFL is to create and disseminate knowledge in the field of law and the interdisciplinary field of law and management of infrastructure and real estate, which will develop legal experts and experts with specific knowledge and skills in the field of law and management of infrastructure and real estate, allowing them to competitively integrate into the domestic and international labour market.

1.1.3. LONG-TERM GOALS AND STRATEGY FOR THEIR ACHIEVEMENT

The EFL has formed the long-term goals and the strategy for their achievement in accordance with its mission and vision. The strategic plan for realization of the set goals is included in the Action Plan to Realize the Vision and Mission of the EFL. This document also presents short-term goals and the strategy for their achievement.

1.1.3.1. GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF ORGANIZATION

A clearly designed organizational scheme, in which participants carry out their tasks quickly, effectively and in a high-quality manner, is one of the key elements that contribute to the overall quality of activities the EFL carries out. At all times, the responsible persons shall monitor the needs for forming  new organizational units and working bodies and the needs for strengthening the existing bodies, working bodies and organizational units.

1.1.3.2. GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

Education is the main activity of the EFL, which is why strategic guidelines relate mainly to the provision of high-quality educational activities, practical aspects during studies, active involvement in educational networks, and the focus on students with a personal treatment for each individual. It is essential to monitor the changes both in the field of the actual content of study programmes and in the method of execution itself.

EFL students have the opportunity to acquire knowledge in current and updated study programmes. Lectures, seminars and practice are carried out in modern classrooms by lecturers – theoreticians and practitioners with expert education at home and abroad. In the future, the EFL shall strive towards offering new study programmes to the students, covering either specific legal fields or other interdisciplinary fields connected with legal knowledge and skills.

Due to the technological evolution, the EFL has an increased responsibility to encourage its students and lecturers towards a rational use of information technology both in the law and the interdisciplinary fields. This is a development strategy in the direction of a computer-assisted faculty model, which will provide academic programmes according to modern technological standards. The EFL shall continue carrying out the e-study, which it started in the 2012/13 academic year.

International cooperation and involvement of students to study at institutions abroad is of growing importance due to globalisation. Since 2008, the EFL holds an Erasmus University Charter, which is a prerequisite to sign bilateral agreements with foreign institutions that carry out the Erasmus programme. The goal of the EFL is to sign as many bilateral agreements as possible, thereby providing student mobility.

The EFL strives towards opening its activities to the international higher education area. In the coming years, the EFL will try to obtain a number of foreign students through the transnational transnational education (VTI) and the double-degree system, which it will be carrying out with partner institutions.

In addition to traditional education, the EFL also provides lifelong education, within the framework of which it provides persons without student status the option to take individual examinations and in cooperation with the Student Council, it organizes round tables that can be attended by anyone. The EFL is a holder of public authority to carry out an examination for the general administrative procedure.

1.1.3.3. GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

In the field of research, it is essential to increase the amount of research activities. The EFL has three research groups entered in the registry of research and development activity providers of the Slovenian Research Agency and one research group in the making. The EFL will need to pay greater attention to strengthening the human resources in this field, mostly by employing young researchers and including students in the research process. Starting the operation of research groups, employment of young researchers and inclusion of mostly postgraduate students will allow the EFL to become a high-quality and recognized research institution. The EFL will continue to encourage its teaching staff to perform individual research work.

1.1.3.4. GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF STUDENTS

The EFL management strives to strengthen the cooperation with the EFL SC and to obtain feedback on satisfaction of students with studies at the EFL. The goal of the EFL is a constructive cooperation with student representatives, which will help improve the quality of the study process in the long term. The EFL will seek to promote the activities of the Student Council and to inform the students about the importance of their participation in issues related to studies and extracurricular activities. Likewise, the EFL shall strive towards strengthening the cooperation between the Student Council and the Faculty management through active inclusion of the Student Council in decision-making.

In order to implement its mission, the Faculty actively encourages and directs the research work of students at all levels of studies, as well as their inclusion in fundamental and applicative research projects, publication of research findings in domestic and foreign scientific and expert publications, and active participation in competitions and conferences.

1.1.3.5. GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN RESOURCES

The goal of the EFL is to ensure a high-quality personnel structure for teaching, administrative and technical personnel.

The teaching staff is good, including professionals with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. In the future, the EFL shall endeavor to attract renowned experts to the study process from the field of law, management, infrastructure and real estate with both theoretical knowledge and practical experience. In the context of ensuring high-quality staff, the EFL shall encourage the best students and graduates to get involved in the educational process at the Faculty. In the long term, the EFL shall strive towards employing new staff, mostly research staff on the basis of successful applications for projects. The composition of administrative and technical personnel is currently meets the workload. If additional staff will be required in the future, such requirements will be realized.

1.1.3.6. GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

The EFL systematically provides for appropriate facilities for educational activities and equipment, especially for upgrading computer and recording equipment, taking into account the introduction of e-study. In the future, the EFL shall endeavour to provide more suitable tables for students. The main task of the EFL is to finish outfitting of the new facilities, including the library and its archives.

The acquisition of premises for the library and employment of a librarian mean progress in establishing and setting up own professional library. In the future, the EFL shall strive towards obtaining sufficient units of library material, including two copies of obligatory study literature.

The head of the library is also the head of the publishing house, which is why an increase in publishing activities is an understandable goal of the EFL. For achievement of this goal, the EFL will encourage the teaching staff to prepare study literature and other material for students.

1.1.3.7. GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF FINANCING OF ACTIVITIES

Due to the reduction of concessional resources brought about by the government regulation governing the financing of higher education institutions, the EFL will need to place greater emphasis on external sources for financing of activities in the future. Thus, a long-term goal is obtaining external sources of financing, mostly through public and other tenders and market activities of the EFL. The EFL shall also try to increase its income from Faculty market activities, mostly with the preparation of legal opinions.

1.1.3.8. GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF INTEGRATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT

A goal of the EFL is to develop cooperation with related teaching and research institutions at home and abroad and to provide international exchange of students and professors. In the long term, the EFL needs to care for own promotion and for promotion of cooperation with the broader social environment. It needs to create the conditions to establish cooperation with relevant domestic and foreign institutions. It is essential to strengthen the activities intended for internationalization of the Faculty and to increase the trust in the institution. One of the key activities is establishing contacts with foreign faculties and universities based on bilateral agreements, which are the prerequisite for mobility of students and teachers.

In addition, the EFL also looks towards cooperation in the field of European legislation in the field of law and real estate issues, both in terms of legal regulations as well as uniform investment policies. The EFL shall try to realize this goal based on active participation in international associations and cooperation with international institutions.

Thus, the goal of the EFL is to encourage greater visibility in the international environment and to increase cooperation with partners in the European and the global arena.

1.1.3.8. GOALS AND STRATEGIES IN THE FIELD OF GENERAL QUALITY ASSURANCE

Within the framework of the strategy for quality monitoring, the EFL adopted the Action Plan to Realize the Vision and Mission of the EFL in the 2011/12 academic year, which includes long-term and short-term goals and the strategy for achieving them.  It started actively cooperating with the Student Council, at the initiative of which the Career Centre was established. The EFL also acquired premises for the library and carried out a survey on the quality of study among the students. In the field of quality, the EFL shall endeavour to achieve the quality standards provided for by the  Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and international ESG standards (European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance).

The goal of the Career Centre is to become a high-quality and effective institution in the field of career development and advisory service for young people and to become the main connecting point between students, graduates, the Faculty and potential employers. With the help of additional education and advisory services, the EFL CC strives towards adequately preparing students and graduates for real employment and providing appropriately trained employees for the public and the private sector.

Table 1: Goals and long-term strategy for achieving them

FIELD	GOAL	LONG-TERM STRATEGY
1. Organization	Clear and effective organizational scheme.	New organizational units and working bodies.
		Strengthening existing bodies, working bodies and organizational units.
2. Educational activity	Type and extent of study programme implementation
	Diverse range of study programmes.	Offer new study programmes.
	Method of study programme implementation
	Provide the option of studying to those candidates who cannot attend in person at the Faculty or at its branch unit.	Implementation of e-study for all study programmes.
	Mobility of students
	Increase the amount of mobility for domestic and foreign students within the Erasmus programme.	Conducting bilateral agreements with foreign institutions.
		Implementation of guest lectures and international workshops.
		Designing trans-national education and a double-degree system.
		Ongoing introduction of lectures in English or subtitling of lecture recordings in the event of e-study.
	Increase the number of foreign students.	Transnational higher education.
	Lifelong education
	Increase activities in the field of lifelong education.	Implementation of various programmes for the purpose of lifelong training.
3. Research activities	Increase research activity, upgrade individual research and teaching staff and include students in research activities.	Start of operations of research groups, mostly by employing young researchers.
		Application of own research projects and continued application of projects at national and international public tenders.
		Encourage teaching staff to perform individual research work.
		Encourage mainly postgraduate students to participate in research projects.
4. Students	Constructive participation of the Student Council with the Faculty management.	Promote activities of the Student Council and inform the students about the importance of their participation in issues related to studies and extracurricular activities.
		Strengthen the cooperation between the Student Council and the Faculty management through active inclusion of the Student Council in decision-making.
5. Staff	High-quality personnel structure for teaching, administrative and technical personnel.	Constant attention of the Faculty management for strengthening the academic assembly with renowned experts with theoretical knowledge and practical experience.
		Encourage the best students and graduates to get involved in the educational process at the Faculty.
		Employing new staff, mostly young research researchers on the basis of successful applications for projects.
6. Facilities and equipment	Facilities and equipment
	Provision of appropriate facilities and constant concern for upgrading hardware and software.	Concern for upgrading hardware and software.
		Acquire more appropriate tables for students in Nova Gorica.
	Library and publishing house
	Establish a library that would meet all regulatory requirements.	Obtainin sufficient units of library material, including two copies of obligatory study literature.
	Increase publishing activities of the Faculty.	Encourage the teaching staff to prepare study literature and other material for students.
7. Financing	Obtain of appropriate sources of financing for activities.	Obtain external sources of financing, mostly through public and other tenders and market activities of the EFL.
8. Integration into the environment	Develop cooperation with related teaching and research institutions at home and abroad, provide international exchange of students and professors, cooperation in the field of the European legislation.	Promotion of the cooperation of the EFL with the broader social environment.
		Create the conditions to establish cooperation with domestic and foreign institutions.
		Establish contacts with foreign faculties and universities and sign bilateral agreements based on established contacts.
		Participation in international associations and cooperation with international institutions.
9. General quality assurance	Realization of the mission and the vision.	Follow the Action Plan to Realize the Vision and Mission of the EFL and annually update the short-term goals and the strategy to achieve them.
		Endeavour to achieve the quality standards provided for by the  Slovenian Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education and international ESG standards.
		Establishment and functioning of the Career Centre.