Open Data Albania has taken into consideration the number of HEIs in the years 2002-2013, as the market prior to this period of time was covered only by the public sector. Currently, in the country 15 public HEIs and 44 private HEIs conduct their activity. The following chart gives a view of all HEIs in years and their classification between the public and private sector.
Source: Ministry of Education and Science
Processing: Open Data Albania
Graph reinforces the idea that the number of public HEIs has undergone relatively minor changes, which is in fact an expected trend taking in consideration the time of the establishment and consolidation of public education in the country. Meanwhile, the situation differs with private HEIs. From a moderate increase in the years 2002-2005, with an average of 1-2 licenses per year, it introduced its peak in 2006-2009 with about 27 new licenses. The following chart shows the number of private HEIs licensed over the years.
Source: Public Accreditation Agency for Higher Education
Processing: Open Data Albania
The high intensity of licensing continued during 2011, while it ends in 2012 with two new licenses. Overall, the Ministry of Education has licensed 47 private HEIs, of which only three have ceased their activities (2 have stopped operating and 1 license was taken away from Ministry of Education and Science).
It should be noted that not all HEIs are universities. Higher Education Law explains the difference between: universities, colleges, academies, professional colleges and inter-university centres, where universities, are featured by their scientific profile and offering study programs in the three cycles. Currently, from 44 private HEIs, only 7 of them enjoy the title “university”, while there are 26 “colleges”. The following chart provides clear classification of public and private HEIs.
Source: Public Accreditation Agency for Higher Education
Processing: Open Data Albania