The OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education

1
The OECD Thematic Review of Tertiary Education
Synthesis Report
What have we learned?

• Presentation by Paulo Santiago, Karine Tremblay
  and Ester Basri, OECD

Tertiary Education for the Knowledge
SocietyInternational Conference, Lisbon, 3-4
April 2008
2
Outline of Presentation
Part 1 Key features of the OECD Thematic Review
of Tertiary Education

• Part 2 Focus on policy recommendations across a
  range of areas with some description of the
  analysis undertaken in the report
• Governance
• Funding
• Equity
• Links to the labour market
• Academic career
• Role in research and innovation
• Quality assurance
• Internationalisation
• Policy development and implementation

3
Part 1 Key features of the OECD Thematic Review
of Tertiary Education
4
The OECD projects contribution

• Objective
• Recommend policies that ensure that capabilities
  of tertiary education contribute to countries
  economic and social goals
• A collaborative, cross-national process to
• Synthesise research-based evidence on the impact
  of tertiary education policies and disseminate
  this knowledge among participating countries
• Identify innovative and successful policy
  initiatives and practices
• Facilitate exchanges of lessons and experiences
  among countries
• Identify policy options and the conditions under
  which they are successfully implemented

5
Key features of Review

• A broad range of areas covered
• Governance
• Funding
• Quality assurance
• Equity
• Role in research and innovation
• Academic career
• Links with the labour market
• Internationalisation
• Policy development and implementation
• 24 participating countries
• 14 of which hosted a country review visit

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Key features of Review

• A wide range of stakeholders involved
• National Co-ordinators and Steering Committees
  in participating countries
• 52 external reviewers from 22 countries involved
  in visits
• About 140 institutions visited and about 4000
  persons interviewed
• Other OECD units (STI, ECO, EDU - IMHE, CERI,
  IAD)
• Links established with other international
  organisations and key stakeholder groups
  (business community, unions, students)
• And a range of outputs
• 24 Country Background Reports (CBRs)
• 14 Country Notes (Publication series)
• Expert/Background papers commissioned
• Qualitative data collected
• Final Synthesis Report
• 4 Workshops of participating countries
• 4 Visits to analytical review countries to
  discuss CBRs
• Dissemination Conferences in countries (6
  already organised, a number planned)
• International Conference in Lisbon on 3-4 April
  2008

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Steering tertiary education setting the right
course
8
Aspects under analysis

• Section 1 Governance of tertiary education
  concepts and dimensions
• Nature of governance systems
• Regulation
• Dimensions of institutional autonomy
• Market-type mechanisms in tertiary education

Section 2 Steering tertiary education
institutions patterns, trends and drivers of
change
Section 3 Structuring the tertiary education
system

• Section 4 System Linkages
• Linking secondary to tertiary education
• Linking tertiary education to working life
• Linkages within tertiary education system
• Linkages with surrounding regions and
  communities.

• Section 5 Institutional governance

9
Policy priorities

• Strategy
• Develop a coherent strategic vision for tertiary
  education
• Devise a statement of strategic aims for tertiary
  education
• Coherent vision in harmony with national social
  and economic objectives
• Draw on a comprehensive advisory body to
  establish strategic aims for tertiary education
• National Council or Forum of Tertiary Education
  to assist with the integration of strategic
  leadership, policy planning and co-ordination
  among the main actors

10
Policy priorities

• Steering
• Establish sound instruments for steering tertiary
  education
• Ensure that the capabilities of Ministries keep
  pace with changing responsibilities
• From administration to policy steering and
  performance evaluation
• Develop steering instruments to establish a
  balance between institutional autonomy and public
  accountability
• Instruments for steering that achieve
  accountability and link institutional performance
  to national purposes while also permitting a wide
  scope for institutional autonomy
• Use student choice as a means by which to improve
  quality and efficiency

11
Policy priorities

• Structure, diversification and coherence
• Ensure the coherence of the tertiary education
  system within extensive diversification
• Grasp the benefits of wider and more flexible
  diversification among tertiary institutions
• In systems with vocationally-oriented sectors,
  ensure that mechanisms exist to discourage
  academic drift
• Avoid the fragmentation of the tertiary education
  system

12
Policy priorities

• System linkages
• Build system linkages
• Ensure appropriate co-ordination between
  secondary and tertiary education systems
• Review whether the tertiary education system is
  contributing effectively lifelong learning
• Build linkages between different types of
  tertiary education institutions
• Flexible learning paths and validation of
  previous learning experiences
• Foster the engagement of institutions with
  surrounding regions and communities
• Part of mission statement engagement of
  regional stakeholders

13
Policy priorities

• Alignment of institutions to national strategy
• Strengthen the ability of institutions to align
  with the national tertiary education strategy
• Ensure the outward focus of institutions
• Require institutions to establish strategic plans
• Basis for general accountability to be
  published intrinsic value
• Examine how best to widen the scope of
  institutional autonomy
• Create a national policy framework that gives
  institutions the means to effectively manage
  their wider responsibilities
• External representation in institutions
  governing bodies

14
Matching funding strategies with national
priorities
15
Aspects under analysis
Section 1 Trends in funding tertiary education

• Section 2 Why do governments intervene in and
  subsidise tertiary education?
• Efficiency concerns (externalities, imperfection
  of human capital markets, incomplete information)
• Equity concerns

• Section 3 Why should students (or graduates)
  contribute to the costs of tertiary education?
• Forms of and trends in cost-sharing in countries
• The case for cost-sharing
• There is a need for other-than-governmental
  revenue
• Those who benefit should contribute to the costs
• Public savings from ind. contributions can be
  channelled to improve equity
• Tuition fees might improve efficiency
• Practical issues with and arguments against
  cost-sharing
• Impact of cost-sharing

16
Aspects under analysis
Section 4 Overall country approaches to funding
tertiary education
Section 5 Tuition fees
Section 6 Allocation of public subsidies to
institutions
Section 7 External sources of institutional
funding
Section 8 Funding institutional infrastructure
Section 9 Impact of funding approaches on the
supply of tertiary education
Section 10 Funding for students
Section 11 Efficiency of funds use by
institutions
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Policy priorities

• Strategic Approach
• Develop a funding strategy that facilitates the
  contribution of the tertiary education system to
  society and the economy
• Making funding approach consistent with the goals
  of the tertiary education system
• Goals might include expansion, excellence,
  relevance, equity, social mobility,
  institutional capacity.
• Ensure that the funding approach embraces a
  number of desirable features
• Transparent, flexible, predictable, fair
• Ensures public accountability
• Permits freedom to innovate
• Sensitive to institutional autonomy
  demand-driven
• Recognises the missions and profiles of
  individual institutions
• In some circumstances, is open to private
  institutions.
• Articulate a long-term strategy

18
Policy priorities

• The principle of cost-sharing
• Use cost-sharing between the State and students
  as the principle to shape the funding of tertiary
  education
• Provide public subsidies for tertiary education
  subsidies, regardless of sector of provision
• Charge tuition fees to students, especially if
  limited public funding either
• rations the number of students
• jeopardizes levels of spending per student or
• restricts financial support for disadvantaged
  groups.
• Countries with little tradition of fees should
  launch a public debate on the consequences of an
  heavy reliance on public money for funding
  tertiary education
• Consider tuition fee stabilisation policies to
  ensure cost containment and moderation
• Allow institutions to differentiate tuition fees
  across courses

19
Policy priorities

• Basis to allocate public subsidies
• Publicly subsidise tertiary programmes in
  relation to the benefits they bring to society
• Implications
• the public funding of educational activities
  which generate educational externalities
  (benefits to others not appropriated by the
  individual receiving the education) to the
  benefit of society as a whole, irrespective of
  the nature of the provider
• levels of public funding which reflect the
  magnitude of educational externalities relative
  to private benefits
• Difficulty assess educational externalities
• Possibilities
• differentiate by type of programme (shortage
  areas, if it responds to labour market needs,
  foster innovation or serve communities
  aspirations)
• approval of new programmes to be preceded by an
  assessment of relevance
• interconnectedness with quality assurance

20
Policy priorities

• Institutional Funding
• Institutional funding for instruction should be
  formula-driven, relate to both input and output
  indicators and include strategically targeted
  components
• Block grants should rely on transparent formulas
  based on a balanced array of input and output
  indicators
• Performance-based funding mechanisms should be
  carefully implemented
• A possible model is a contractual relationship
  between institutions and the State
• Institutional funding to include targeted
  development programmes
• Institutional funding to be adjusted to the
  particular mission of the institution
• Institutions to be autonomous in the use of their
  block grants
• Funding to offer some stability for long-term
  development
• Sources of institutional funding to be
  diversified
• Complementary streams for the funding of capital
  infrastructure

21
Policy priorities

• Institutional cost effectiveness
• Improving cost-effectiveness possible
  responses
• More funding on the basis of graduation rates
• Reduction of public subsidies for students who
  remain too long in the system
• Conversion of loans into grants if students
  graduate within nominal time
• The elimination of low enrolment and/or
  duplicated programmes with possible redeployment
  of academics across education programmes
• Rationalizing faculty to respond to student
  contractions
• Increasing use of shared facilities
• Increasing student mobility between institutions

22
Policy priorities

• Student Support
• Back the overall funding approach with a
  comprehensive student support system
• Aim for a universal student support system with
  two major components
• A loan system with income-contingent repayments
• A means-tested grants scheme.
• Grants scheme to be based on assessed need
• Loans system to be universal with
  income-contingent repayments and means-tested
  subsidies
• Student aid entitlements to cover living costs
• Students who attend private institutions should
  benefit, under the same conditions, from the
  student support system
• Creation of an agency to manage the student
  support system

23
Achieving Equity
24
Aspects under analysis
Section 1 Defining equity in tertiary education

• Section 2 Contextual developments affecting
  equity in tertiary education
• Inequities in tertiary education are, to a great
  extent, dictated by inequities in preceding
  levels of education
• Expansion and diversification of tertiary
  education have had implications for equity

• Section 3 Trends in equity in tertiary education
• Little information to assess the extent of
  inequities in tertiary education
• There is strong evidence that access to and
  participation in tertiary education is associated
  with the socio-economic background of students
• More disadvantaged students are overrepresented
  among those students who are not eligible to
  access tertiary education
• When gaining access to tertiary education, more
  disadvantaged students enrol in greater
  proportions in lower status institutions and more
  vocationally-oriented institutions

25
Aspects under analysis

• Section 4 Factors affecting equity in tertiary
  education and country policy responses
• Funding-related factors
• Family background
• School factors
• Peer effects
• Articulation between secondary and tertiary
  education
• Organisation of tertiary education
• Selection procedures

26
Policy priorities
? Assess extent and origin of equity issues
Systematic collection of data.
? Making tertiary education more equitable
requires policy to intervene much earlier
? Career guidance and counselling services at the
school level are instrumental in improving
equity of access
? Provide opportunities for tertiary education
study from any track in upper secondary school
? Strengthen the integration of planning, policy
and analysis between secondary and tertiary
education systems
? Diversify the supply of tertiary education to
accommodate a more diverse set of learners
27
Policy priorities
? Consider alternative types of provision to
account for the cultural diversity of the
population Development of institutions with
diverse cultural foundations
? Improve the access to tertiary education in
remote areas by expanding distance learning and
regional learning centres
? Diversify criteria for admission and give a say
to institutions in entrance procedures
? Consider positive discrimination policies for
particular groups whose prior educational
disadvantage is well identified
? Consider alternative ways of acquiring
eligibility for tertiary education
28
Policy priorities
? Improve transfers between different types of
institutions within tertiary education
? Provide incentives for tertiary education
institutions to widen participation and provide
extra support for students from disadvantaged
backgrounds Special financial incentive for
institutions to attract less represented groups
positive discrimination studies progression
support (e.g. tutoring services) adapting the
learning environment to account for the diversity
of the student body.
? Encourage institutions to be more responsive to
the needs of adult learners
29
Policy priorities
? Sustain efforts to improve gender parity at all
levels of tertiary education and address gender
stereotyping in subject choice
? Grant special provisions for students with
disabilities - Targeted support accessibility
to the buildings resources for institutions to
provide special support special entrance
procedures targeted grant schemes. - Account
for special rhythms. - Avoid stigmatisation. -
Life course perspective. - Distance learning
opportunities.
? Place more emphasis on equity of outcomes
30
Strengthening ties with the labour market
31
Aspects under analysis
Section 1 Labour market outcomes of tertiary
graduates
Section 2 The skills and abilities of graduates
Section 3 Aligning tertiary education supply
with labour market demand Student
demand Steering by public authorities The role of
other actors in tertiary education National
qualifications frameworks and quality assurance
systems
32
Policy priorities

• Co-ordinate Labour Market and Education Policy
• Better integration between these two policy
  domains integration of education, training,
  and employment, through the institution of
  cabinet-level committee for human capital
• More attention to be devoted to labour market
  concerns (e.g. provision of lifelong learning
  opportunities flexible study options).

• Improve data and analysis about graduate labour
  market outcomes
• Lack of data on LM outcomes impairs student
  adaptation to labour market signals the
  capacity of authorities to adapt resource
  allocation to labour market needs and the
  ability of institutions to respond to LM needs.
• Better data and analysis equally necessary in
  systems that rely upon central allocation of
  study places.

• Increase the capacity of institutions to respond
  to demand
• Funding methodologies must create incentives for
  institutions to respond to enrolment demand,
  including the reallocation of resources within
  the institution.

33
Policy priorities

• Enhance provision with a labour market
  orientation
• Engagement with employers and professional
  organisations.
• Creation of vocationally-oriented institutions.
• Provision of short-cycle programmes.
• Avoid academic drift.
• Strengthen partnerships between institutions and
  the business sector internships for students,
  dedicated liaison offices in institutions.

• Strengthen career services at secondary and
  tertiary educational levels

• Involve labour market perspectives and actors in
  policy development and institutional governance
• - In the formulation of national tertiary
  education policies through advisory bodies
• - Widen their participation in the bodies
  responsible for the strategic governance of
  tertiary education institutions.

• Encourage TEIs to play a greater role in
  lifelong learning

• Explore the potential of a National
  Qualifications Framework

34
Academic career adapting to change
35
Aspects under analysis
Section 1 Developments within the academic
workforce - Academic workforces are ageing in a
number of countries - Gender inequalities remain
within the academic profession - Some countries
reveal difficulties in the recruitment of
high-quality academics - Countries have different
traditions of within-country academic mobility -
Cross border academic mobility is increasing

• Section 2 The changing roles of academics
• The nature of academic work has been affected by
  a number of trends in tertiary education
• Expansion (greater diversity of student
  body/programmes)
• Growing share of private funding
• Focus on accountability and performance
• There are new expectations and demands on
  academics
• Increased workload
• Challenges for research activities
• A new relationship with institutional governance
• Traditional academic values challenged

36
Aspects under analysis

• Section 3 Features of the academic profession
• Responsibility for the management of the academic
  career and employment status of academics
• Centralised versus decentralised approaches
• Employment conditions and career structure
• Contractual arrangements
• The debate on academic tenure
• Career structure
• Appointment and promotion
• Multiple employment
• Compensation and rewards
• Salary setting
• Salary differentiation
• Range of tasks performed by academics (including
  research vs teaching)
• Career management
• Formative assessment
• Responses to underperformance
• Professional development

37
Policy priorities

• Give institutions ample autonomy over the
  management of human resources, to include
• Faculty and staff to be formal employees of
  tertiary education institutions
• Institutions with broad discretion over the
  setting of academic salaries
• Institutions with the freedom to create academic
  positions in agreement with the strategy defined
  by their governing authority
• Institutions to determine the range of career
  structures which better reflect the distinct
  roles academics play within them
• Institutions to be given the responsibility to
  design promotion systems, assessment systems and
  professional development strategies

Manage the academic career in a flexible manner -
Flexibility on the roles and workloads of
academics within institutions - Career
structures should reflect the diversity of roles
and missions of institutions - Within broad
direction provided by institutional leadership,
academics to assume responsibility for shaping
their role and profile - Flexibility with types
of employment contracts - Debate the merit of
long career ladders
38
Policy priorities

• Reconcile academic freedom with institutions
  contributions to society in practice, could
  translate into academics
• - pursuing their objectives while accounting for
  institutional goals
• - being provided with support and conditions to
  meet what the institution and society expect
  from them
• - being autonomous in the design of the courses
  they teach
• - benefiting from freedom to select research
  topics and approaches to research, possibly
  within priorities defined collectively either at
  the institution or system level
• - not being constrained in their interpretation
  of research results and of the knowledge conveyed
  to students
• - not being prevented from publicising the
  results of their research or the outputs of
  their service to the community
• - being held accountable for the outcomes of
  their academic activities

Enhance the attractiveness of the academic
career - Target larger salary rises to particular
groups - Provide a dynamic knowledge-rich work
environment, opportunities for career growth,
prospects for a stable career, formal mechanisms
to recognise the work of academics and
opportunities for mobility and collaboration
with external organisations.
39
Policy priorities
Improve the entrance conditions of young
academics - Well structured induction schemes,
effective recruitment processes, prospects for a
stable and rewarding merit-based academic
career - Supporting environment upon entry into
the academic career e.g. reduced teaching load,
availability of mentoring by senior academics,
special funds to create research groups, and
availability of training programmes to help young
academics familiarise with a number of key
processes - Probationary process
Strengthen management processes and leadership -
To provide the framework for linking individual
academic work to institutional strategic goals -
Needs to demonstrate the advantage of change,
establish a systematic forward- looking
assessment of organisational direction, and
define the requirements and workloads needed to
achieve the desired profile.
40
Policy priorities
Evaluate and reward the accomplishments of
academics - Put in place mechanisms which grant
feedback to academics and reward their
accomplishments - Performance management to
define expectations for staff and provide
feedback and development opportunities - More
emphasis on rewarding accomplishments of
academics in areas other than research -
Consolidate mechanisms to reward academics for
exemplary performance
Integrate professional development throughout the
career - Lifelong learning approach to the
academic career - Professional development
entitlement-based incentive-based
institution-based - Centres for teaching and
learning - Opportunities for experiences outside
academic organisations
41
Policy priorities
Develop mechanisms to support the work of
academics - Support the work of academics and
recognise the wide variety of tasks that
academic work actually entails - Protect
academics from excessive demands e.g.
administrative units teaching and learning
centres offices to advise students

• Enhance the capacity for collaboration and
  encourage mobility
• Mutual recognition of academic career structures
  across institutions portability of entitlements
  to leave and retirement benefits
• Recognition of skills and experience acquired
  outside academia provision of flexible re-entry
  pathways to the academic profession
• Forms of collaboration such as Centres of
  Excellence
• Steps to limit in-breeding'

Provide more flexible employment conditions for
senior academics - Attractive working
environments for older academics e.g. prof.dev.
activities tailored to meet their needs more
flexible working arrangements new roles.
42
Enhancing the role of tertiary education in
research and innovation
43
Aspects under analysis

• Section 1 The role of TEIs in research
  innovation
• Building knowledge bases and capabilities
• Developing human capital
• Knowledge diffusion and use
• Knowledge maintenance
• Section 2 The tertiary education research
  innovation environment
• RD trends
• Scientific and technological output (publications
  and patents)
• Human resources for science and technology (HRST)
• Linkages knowledge transfer
• Intellectual property rights and
  commercialisation

44
Aspects under analysis

• Section 3 The governance of TEI research
• Development of overarching national strategies
• Involves inter-ministerial councils,
  institutions etc.
• Priority setting
• Selecting and defining complex. Difficult to link
  priorities with the ST system
• Funding research
• Balance between allocation mechanisms changing
• Evaluating research
• Important to ensure efficiency, but difficult to
  assess impacts
• Creating critical mass
• Identifying critical mass across different fields
  unclear

45
Policy priorities (1)

• Knowledge diffusion
• Improve knowledge diffusion rather than focusing
  on commercialisation
• Role of TEIs is to create and diffuse knowledge
  but commercialisation requires secrecy
• Results of success are skewed
• Innovation requires access to knowledge
• Widen channels of interaction
• Improve linkages, particularly with SMEs
• Foster mobility
• Inter-sectoral mobility between TEIs, firms and
  public research institutions
• International mobility (but this is not a
  substitute for domestic supply)

46
Policy priorities (2)

• Developing human resources
• Improve research career prospects
• Career opportunities limited job insecurity,
  salaries, work dissatisfaction etc
• Improve data on human resources
• Demand for the highly skilled increasing
• Mismatches unknown
• Innovation requires a variety of skills
• Vocational training
• Non-technological innovation
• Traditional research careers changing

47
Policy priorities (3)

• Building capabilities
• Maintain adequate research infrastructure
• Basic resources
• Large scientific facilities may require
  collaboration
• Use TEIs to foster the internationalisation of
  RD
• Success in the global economy largely depends on
  national capabilities
• Measures to improve research capabilities will
  increase attractiveness for RD investment

48
Policy priorities (4)

• Enhancing the system (1)
• Improve methods for priority selection
• Lack of systematic approach
• Tends to focus on high-technology rather than
  national technological specialisation
• Need to consider emerging areas, social sciences
  and humanities
• Broaden assessment criteria and monitor impacts
• Some performance measures have had unintended
  impacts on research quality
• Shift towards more project-based funding may also
  have unintended impacts
• Broad range of performance indicators required

49
Policy priorities (5)

• Enhancing the system (2)
• Ensure policy considers long-term perspective
• Knowledge production often involves long
  time-lags between discovery and application.
• Evaluate and co-ordinate policies across the
  whole system
• TEIs integral part of the research and innovation
  system
• Policies need to be coherent and evaluated as
  part of the wider system

50
Assuring and improving quality
51
Aspects under analysis

• Section 1 Introduction
• What is quality assurance (QA) and why does it
  matter?
• Can be broadly defined as the systematic,
  structured and continuous attention to quality in
  terms of quality maintenance and improvement
• ? Both Accountability and Improvement dimensions
• Interest in QA driven by several factors
• Massification rise NPM approach in public
  service provision ? insight into
  cost-effectiveness accountability
• Development private provision
  internationalisation ? consumer protection
• Advent of New Economy ? demands for quality
  tertiary education
• New models of governance (distant steering
  autonomy with accountability)
• Different forms of QA
• Accreditation ? Pass/Fail
• Assessment ? Grade
• Audit ? Qualitative
• But a common puzzle the ambivalence of purposes

• Section 2 Current practices in QA systems
• Diversity in approaches
• In terms of level of evaluation (TEI vs
  programme), scope (territorial, type of TEI),
  initiation, frequency, actors involved,
  instruments used, outcomes, follow-up and
  consequences

52
Aspects under analysis

• Section 3 Issues at stake and policy challenges
• Designing an effective QA framework
• Is it possible to combine accountability and
  improvement?
• How many QA agencies and what scope for their
  activities?
• Implications of internationalisation cooperation
  and comparability
• Should performance indicators be used and how?
• Building consensus and trust with various
  stakeholders
• Ensuring successful implementation different
  conceptions of QA, resistances and implementation
  gap
• Building internal ownership and trust
• Enhancing the cost-effectiveness of the QA system
• Costs of evaluations, links with research
  evaluations
• Addressing the implications of internationalisatio
  n for QA
• Transparency towards international actors
• International standards and guidelines (ESG),
  European Register (EQAR)
• Maximising impact of the QA system
• Difficult measurement (teaching, learning,
  institutional management)
• Avoiding undesired outcomes (intellectual
  diversity, acccreditation mills, insufficient
  preparedness of users)

53
Policy priorities

• Design of the QA framework
• Build consensus on clear goals and expectations
  of the QA system
• Expectations from QA aligned to overall tertiary
  education strategy
• Reconcile different perceptions of quality to
  build national commitment to QA
• Distinguish accountability and improvement to
  build consensus
• Ensure that QA serves both improvement and
  accountability purposes
• Find the right balance between them
• Revisit this balance periodically ? move to audit
  once baseline standards are met
• Combine internal and external quality assurance
  mechanisms
• Most effective to address the different purposes
  of QA
• Specific mechanisms according to traditions and
  level of QA development
• Build capacity and secure legitimacy
• QA agency independant from Ministry, trust of
  TEIs
• Involve academic community in external teams

54
Policy priorities

• Design of the QA framework (ctd)
• Make stakeholders visible in the evaluation
  procedures
• Students and employers in external teams,
  graduate surveys
• To build legitimacy
• Increase focus on student outcomes
• Shift focus from inputs to learning and labour
  market outcomes
• Develop and publish indicators of teaching
  quality, cognitive outcomes
• National qualification frameworks, LM indicators,
  graduate perspectives in QA
• Enhance the international comparability of the QA
  framework
• Convergence mutual recognition of national QA
  systems, international guidelines
• Involve international experts, publish results in
  English

55
Policy priorities

• Strengthen internal evaluation
• Develop a strong quality culture in the system
• Make internal QA systems mandatory, incentives
  (e.g. publish quality-related info)
• Builds-up over time
• Put more stress on internal QA mechanisms
• Less costly and more effective than periodic and
  comprehensive external reviews
• Role of QA agency technical assistance, promote
  dialogue and best-practice
• Ensure that internal accountability is guided by
  some key principles
• Avoid burdensome processes
• Delegate responsibility for QA to those able to
  effect changes
• Support peer observation but separate it from
  probation/promotion processes
• Undertake the external validation of internal QA
  systems
• E.g. involve external examiners

56
Policy priorities

• Improve external evaluation
• Commit the external QA to an advisory role as the
  system gains maturity
• Role of QA agency to evolve towards research,
  benchmarking indicators, research, best-practice
• but retain strong external components in
  certain contexts
• E.g. early stages of development, large
  expansion, large private sector
• Implement adequate follow-up procedures and view
  QA as a continuous process
• Necessary condition to have an impact.
  Consequences must be clear
• Concentrate improvement efforts on institutions
  most in need
• Allow for selected assessments to be initiated by
  an external QA agency
• Flexibility for ad-hoc evaluations, e.g. in case
  of problem, specific topic
• Avoid direct links between results and public
  funding decisions
• Prefer ex-ante links with funding (e.g. to be
  eligible for funding) to ex-post links
• Limit financial rewards to better assist
  low-performing institutions

57
Policy priorities

• Methods
• Align QA processes to the particular profile of
  institutions
• E.g. more focus on LM relevance in tertiary
  vocational institutions
• Improve co-ordination between the evaluation of
  teaching and research
• To avoid duplication burden
• Innovation
• Develop QA expertise in new areas
• E.g. LLL, off-campus provision, use of
  value-added indicators in quality evaluations

58
Policy priorities

• Practical arrangements for the QA system
• Avoid fragmentation of the QA organisational
  structure
• Better integration and coherence, spread best
  practice within system
• More accountability with system-wide standards
  and more transparency
• Avoid excessive costs and burdens
• Transaction costs duplication QA activities,
  fragmented system with many TEIs
• Improve quality information base
• Improve information dissemination
• E.g. Quality-related information on the web
• As an incentive for improvement through student
  choices

59
Shaping internationalisation strategies in the
national context
60
Aspects under analysis

• Section 1 Introduction
• Process of integrating an international,
  intercultural or global dimension into the
  purpose, functions or delivery of tertiary
  education
• ? Globalisation as the catalyst,
  internationalisation as the (proactive) answer
• Many drivers
• Globalisation of skilled LM ? demand for
  international skills
• National skill development strategy
• Foster exchange and co-operation
• Bottlenecks in provision or inter-system
  complementarities
• Trade value, economic implications
• TEIs ? compensate for projected decline in
  enrolments, generate revenues
• Different forms of internationalisation
• Convergence of tertiary education systems and
  recognition arrangements
• Internationalisation at home
• Student and academic mobility
• Institution and programme mobility ? usually
  different forms of transnational education in
  parallel

61
Aspects under analysis

• Section 2 Trends in internationalisation of TE
• Students and academics mobility
• Dramatic growth in student mobility over past 3
  decades
• Emergence of new players in recent years
• No clear evidence of similar trends for
  academics, except short term
• Other emerging forms of internationalisation
• Internationalisation of curricula gained momentum
  over past decade
• Bologna Process
• We are at the beginning of the era of
  transnational higher education
• A range of policy levers
• Language of instruction, reputation, legislation
  on transnational education, immigration policy,
  marketing, course databases, poles of excellence,
  grants schemes, portability of public funding,
  tuition fee policy, mobility programmes
• Section 3 Issues at stake and policy challenges
• Policy coherence
• Protecting students and safeguarding reputation
• Transparency, comparability and portability of
  qualifications
• Equity

62
Policy priorities

• Overall strategy and steering of
  internationalisation policy
• Develop a national strategy and comprehensive
  policy framework for internationalisation
• Build on country-specific advantages/constraints
  ? resist replication
• Improve national policy coordination
• Inter-governmental committee to maximise
  synergies among policies
• ? Immigration, ST, Labour, Foreign Affairs
• Encourage institutions to become proactive actors
  of internationalisation
• Framework conditions to make TEIs more responsive
  to internat. envt
• ? int chapter in annual negociations, remove
  blockages, incentives
• Promote sustainable strategies of
  internationalisation
• Diversify activities, partners, distribution of
  internat. students within system
• Create structures to assist TEIs in their
  internationalisation strategies
• Provide adequate funding to implement
  internationalisation strategies

63
Policy priorities

• Strengthen attractiveness and competitiveness of
  TE system
• Create structures to promote the national
  tertiary education system
• E.g. marketing agency, capitalise on diplomatic
  missions abroad
• Enhance the international comparability of
  tertiary education
• E.g. Bologna-compatible degree structures, credit
  transfer schemes
• Develop alternatives to current global rankings
• E.g. instruments accomodating the diversity of
  TE, measuring value-added and interactive for
  taylored rankings
• Improve information to prospective international
  students
• E.g. courses costs, accreditation, international
  recognition
• Foster centres of excellence at postgraduate
  level
• To showcase research achievements in areas of
  strength
• Ensure quality provision in undergraduate
  cross-border education
• Coordination between agencies dealing with QA and
  int, support for int. students, OECD/UNESCO
  guidelines, cooperation with foreign QA agencies

64
Policy priorities

• Strengthen the internal dimension of
  internationalisation
• Develop on-campus internationalisation
• From equity perspective, efforts should focus on
  internat on campus
• E.g. revisit HR pensions policy to ease
  recruitment of foreign academics
• Encourage the mobility of domestic academic staff
  and students
• Students ? inform on benefits of study abroad,
  credit transfer schemes, means-tested mobility
  grants/loans, portable public financing
• Academics ? include mobility in promotion
  criteria
• Optimise internationalisation strategy
• Inform policy-making in the area of
  internationalisation
• Take advantage of international complementarities
• Target public support for degree-mobility to
  post-graduate level and undergraduate programmes
  not available at home
• Manage the migration impact of internationalisatio
  n

65
Policy design and implementation
66
Aspects under analysis

• Section 6 (chapter Governance) Developing
  tertiary education policy
• Challenge of designing sound tertiary education
  policies
• Establishing objectives for the system and
  devising a strategy to reach them
• Informing policy diagnosis and recommendations
• Building on best practices elsewhere the
  importance of international perspectives
• Using research evidence
• Need for policy coherence across governmental
  departments
• Economic, political, social and regulatory
  trade-offs
• Challenge of political feasibility and
  implementation
• ? Chapter implementation

67
Aspects under analysis

• Chapter implementation
• Section 2 The complexity of policy
  implementation
• Wide range of stakeholders and views on TE policy
• Difficult consensus-building over policy
  initiatives
• Diverse forms of policy failure
• Abandon in Parliament, implementation gap,
  partial implementation
• Section 3 Lessons from success stories
• Context for policy reform
• International pressure and competitive
  environment
• Consensual nature of policymaking
• Trust between stakeholders can be built over
  time
• Clear objectives/purposes of policy reform
• Process of policy development
• Magnitude of TE reform
• Consensus-enhancing patterns of policy
  development

68
Aspects under analysis

• Section 4 Understanding failure and overcoming
  obstacles to TE reform
• Rationale behaviour political economy of reform
• Winners and losers
• Distribution of costs and benefits and political
  mobilisation
• Satisfaction of median voters towards
  re-election policy makers agenda
• Information imperfections and asymetries
• Psychological factors insufficient ownership and
  social acceptance
• Overcoming obstacles to maximise impact
• Rationale for compromise cost of reform vs cost
  of inaction
• Bargaining processes in TE reform
• Side policies to support implementation

69
Policy priorities
Development of TE policy reforms Establish
ad-hoc independent committees to initiate
tertiary education reforms and involve
stakeholders Allow for bottom-up policy
initiatives to be developed into proposals by
independent committees Recognise the different
views of stakeholders through iterative policy
development Develop an evidence basis to inform
policy making Widen consultation within
government to ensure coherence across policies to
support national tertiary goals Widen
consultation with those outside government to
ensure that voices other than those of
producers are heard
70
Policy priorities
Search for consensus or compromise over TE policy
reforms Use pilots and policy experimentation
when needed Favour incremental reforms over
comprehensive overhauls unless there is wide
public support for change Avoid reforms with
concentrated costs and diffused
benefits Identify potentials losers from
tertiary education reform and build in
compensatory mechanisms Create conditions for
the successful implementation of reforms Improve
communication on the benefits of reforms and the
costs of inaction Search for consensus or
compromise over TE policy reforms Implement the
full package of policy proposals Support
effective policy implementation