UNESCOOECD Guidelines on Quality Provision in CrossBorder Higher Education

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UNESCO/OECD Guidelines on Quality Provision in
Cross-Border Higher Education

• IAU Global Meeting and International Conference
• Sharing Quality Higher Education Across Borders
• 14-16 November 2005
• Alexandria, Egypt
• Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic
• Division of Higher Education, UNESCO

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Guidelines Status Next steps

• 33rd session of the UNESCO General Conference, 16
  October 2005 supported the Guidelines as a
  secretariat document
  
• The OECD Council Prague, 2 December 2005
• Implementation UNESCO OECD with stakeholders
  and partners
  

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Why UNESCO?

• Existing frameworks
• 1998 WCHE and 20035 FU access, equity,
  relevance HE element of SD in the Knowledge
  Society
  
• The 6 regional conventions on the recognition of
  qualifications as the only legal instrument in HE
  ratified by over 100 Member States
  
• Recommendations on the Recognition of
  Qualifications 1993 and the Status of HE teaching
  Personnel 1997
  
• The Global Forum on International Quality
  Assurance, Accreditation and the Recognition of
  Qualifications new dimensions in quality
  assurance and qualifications recognition
  (20022004)

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Guidelines/Codes of Good Practice on TNE/ CBHE

• 1978 Guidelines for Developing Countries on
  Correspondence Education (UNESCO)
  
• 1999 Recommendation on International Access
  Qualifications (UNESCO/CoE)
  
• 2001 Code of Good Practice on TNE (UNESCO/CoE)
• 2004 Statement on Quality HE Across Borders
  (IAU/AUCC/ACE/CHEA)
  
• 2005 Guidelines on Quality in Cross-Border HE
  (UNESCO/OECD)

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WHY THE GUIDELINES?

• Context
• Growth of cross-border higher education distance
  education, franchises, branch campuses
  
• GATS and Higher Education
• Need to provide an EDUCATIONAL response to
  maximize opportunities, minimize risks
  

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External quality assurance and accreditation
systems have been adopted in more than 60
countries

• The scope and status of agencies vary, depending
  on countries.
  
• The map is not exhaustive and changes rapidly, as
  governments face pressing needs to establish a
  quality assurance agency

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But their scope is often domestic

• National quality assurance and accreditation
  systems are very diverse and uneven
  
• They do not often cover cross-border (or
  for-profit) higher education
  
• Higher education systems are often opaque viewed
  from abroad
  
• Need for more transparency and for quality
  assurance to take into account the growth in
  cross-border education
  

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Objectives of the Guidelines

• support and encourage international cooperation
  and understanding of the importance of quality
  provision in cross-border higher education
  
• protect students and other stakeholders from
  low-quality provision and disreputable providers
  
• encourage the development of quality cross-border
  higher education that meets human, social,
  economic and cultural needs

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Principles of the Guidelines

• Voluntary and non-binding
• Responsibility for partnerships, sharing,
  dialogue, mutual trust and respect between
  sending and receiving countries
  
• Recognition of national authority and of the
  diversity of systems
  
• Recognition of importance of international
  collaboration and exchange, internally,
  externally
  
• Access to transparent and reliable information

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The scope of the Guidelines

• Voluntary and non-binding BUT
• Stamp of two IGOs UNESCO and the OECD
• Addressing Governments but recognizing the role
  of NGOs and Student Organizations
  
• Stakeholders Governments Higher Education
  Institutions/academic staff Students bodies
  Quality Assurance and accreditation bodies
  Academic Recognition Bodies Professional
  Bodies

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Definition of CBHE

• The Guidelines define cross-border provision as
• cross-border higher education (that) includes
  higher education that takes place in situations
  where the teacher, student, programme,
  institution/provider or course materials cross
  national jurisdictional borders. Cross border
  higher education may include higher education by
  public/private and not-for profit/for profit
  providers. It encompasses a wide range of
  modalities, in a continuum from face-to face
  (taking various forms such as students traveling
  abroad and campuses abroad) to distance learning
  (using a range of technologies and including
  e-learning).

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Guidelines to HEI/Academic Staff

• Ensure that the programmes they deliver across
  borders and in their home country are of
  comparable quality and take into account the
  cultural and linguistic sensitivities of the
  receiving country.
• Recognise that quality teaching and research is
  made possible by the quality of faculty and the
  quality of their working conditions
  
• Maintain Internal quality management systems
  full use of the competencies of stakeholders
  responsibility to ensure that the information and
  guidance provided by their agents are accurate,
  reliable and easily accessible

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Guidelines to HEI/Academic Staff

• Consult competent quality assurance and
  accreditation bodies and respect the quality
  assurance and accreditation systems of the
  receiving country when delivering higher
  education across borders, including distance
  education
• Develop and maintain networks and partnerships to
  facilitate the process of recognition by
  acknowledging each others qualifications as
  equivalent or comparable
• Provide accurate, reliable and easily accessible
  information on the quality assurance and the
  academic and professional recognition of
  qualifications
• Ensure the transparency of the financial status
  of the institution /programme

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Main (underlying) message

• The quality of cross-border higher education is a
  shared responsibility between importing and
  exporting countries
  
• Quality assurance should cover cross-border
  education in all its forms
  
• Stakeholders should collaborate internationally
  to enhance the transparency about the quality of
  HE and about HE systems
  
• Cross-border delivery should have the same
  quality as home delivery

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Main action mechanisms

• Quality assurance
• have a quality assurance system, internal or
  external
  
• have fair mechanisms for recognition of
  qualifications
  
• Transparency and accessibility of information
• be transparent about what you do and make the
  relevant information accessible internationally
  
• Collaboration
• Strengthen your collaboration with other
  stakeholders in your country, regionally and
  internationally

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Regional Capacity Building

• The Mediterranean Tempus-MEDA MERIC Network
• RIACES (Latin America Spain)/revival of LAC
  Convention/Bogota Ministerial Meeting/Nov.05
  
• The Caribbean CANQATE
• Asia Pacific Convention APQN

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Regional Capacity Building

• Africa Launch of AQUAnet (partnership with AAU
  and the World Bank)
  
• Pilot project for Francophone countries
• Arab States New Initiatives for Regional
  Accreditation

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Capacity Building Some Existing Tools

• Tool-kit for QA in CBHE (Asia and the Pacific)
• DE course for QA in CBHE, using the Guidelines,
  to be launched in Africa (UNESCO-IIEP)
  
• Knowledge Base for QA in ODL Africa, Asia and
  the Pacific, CIS (to be extended to LAC and Arab
  States)
  
• On-Line Course for Credential Evaluation
  Mediterranean Convention
  

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NEXT STEPS

• Info-Tool Create a portal of accredited HEIs and
  programmes to be hosted by UNESCO pilot project
  2006
  
• 3rd Global Forum on QA focusing on Learners
  (October 2006)
  
• UNESCO/OECD Conference 2007?

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A WAY FORWARD?

• UNESCO 2005 GC Decision how have the Guidelines
  been used
  
• Do HEIs and Associations find them relevant?
• How can they be applied and used?
• Should they be improved and adapted?
• Are there regional specificities that should be
  reflected?
  

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• Thank you!
• s.uvalic-trumbic_at_unesco.org
• http//www.unesco.org/education/amq/guidelines