The concept of digital maturity is significant in Higher Education Institutions (HEI) which, due to the rapid development of information and communication technologies, have an increasing need to develop and improve existing teaching and business processes to raise digital maturity and increase the quality of learning, teaching and business processes. Information society, information technology (IT), or information and communication technology (ICT) are terms that are generated by scientific, technological, and technical progress. Today, knowledge and information are the main drivers of the productivity, competition, wealth, and prosperity of countries. Accordingly, countries have focused on different approaches to increase quality education. At the scientific and technological level, there are a rapid change in the evolution of ICT useful for higher education institutions (HEI), while at the educational level the pace of change is relatively constant. ICT allows for changes in the way we learn and teach, but these changes do not guarantee the improvement of the quality of learning and teaching and its sustainability. The changes require a multifaceted systemic approach, including investment in infrastructure, investing in the professional development of professors, changing curricula, reviewing student evaluations and evaluating professors, promoting and encouraging collaboration and open content, and integrating all of the above in a well-managed environment. A high-quality HEI and research excellence are not possible without modern and advanced ICT which is an indispensable foundation for new methods and exploits in research, as well as in learning and teaching. The employment and integration of ICT in everyday work, learning and teaching, scientific research, technology transfer, development of ICT culture, adequate ICT infrastructure contribute to the event of digital maturity (DM) of HEI. The initial aim of the proposed research is to identify the areas and elements relevant to the DM of the HEI and relevant for the assessment of HEI's DM level in Croatia. The research of this PhD thesis will result in the development of the Digital Maturity Framework for Higher Education Institutions (DMFHEI) and the Instrument for Assessment of Digital Maturity of Higher Education Institutions (IADMHEI).