REVERSING THE TREND : LOCAL TLIS AS PROVIDERS OF CROSS- BORDER EDUCATION? Curtis Floyd Director - Registration, Accreditation and Quality Enhancement (Ag.) Accreditation Council of Trinidad and Tobago (ACTT) 1

Rationale To explore the possibility of local Tertiary Level Institutions being providers of cross-border education facilitated by ACTTs Programme Approval Process 2

Rationale (contd) Previous emphasis on America, Asia, Europe Common exporters of cross-border education identified include America, Britain, India, Africa, Australia Role of ACTT in fostering a culture of being a provider rather than just a consumer of cross- border education. 3

Approach Interactions with institutions – head, staff, students Interfacing with documents and reports submitted Review of literature Internet research 4

Cross-Border Education defined: The movement of people, programmes, providers, curricula, projects, research and services in tertiary (or higher) education across national jurisdictional borders. (Kagia and Ischinger, 2007) 5

Context ACTT established in 2004 Chapter 39:06, Section 8, subsection 2(n) - to ensure that the quality of post secondary and tertiary education delivered in Trinidad and Tobago meets the standards set by the Council 6

Context (contd) Recognised over 600 cross-border programmes Great economic prospect (GATS under WTO includes higher education as one of twelve tradable services under Education) 7

Recognition defined Recognition by ACTT is the evaluation and approval of the quality of a foreign institution and its programmes by a recognised quality assurance agency. 8

Programme Approval defined Programme Approval by ACTT is the quality assurance of locally developed programmes by registered post secondary and tertiary institutions ensuring that they are comparable with similar programmes regionally and internationally. 9

Programme Approval Programme approval is examined under six (6) Criteria which were developed in accordance with international best practice. 10

Six (6) Criteria for Programme Approval examine: Criterion 5Criterion 2 Criterion 1 Criterion 3 Criterion 4 Criterion 6 Criterion 4 Assessment Strategies Programme Resources Mission Consistency 11

Criterion 1 Authorisation from the Governing Body or relevant authority to offer the programme Letter of authorisation from relevant authority; Minutes of meeting of Governing Body showing authorisation was granted. 12

Criterion 2 Consistency of the programme with the mission of the institution Mission statement of institution Mission statement of programme Programme aims/objectives 13

Criterion 3 A system for internal programme approval Programme approval policies and procedures Composition of an independent programme approval committee Evidence of access to specalised advice Programme approval committee minutes Programme review policies and procedures 14

Criterion 4 A detailed programme specification Title of programme Programme Aims Learning Outcomes Teaching Learning Strategies Assessment methods Criteria for admission to programme Support for learning 15

Criterion 5 Resources to support the programme Staff Budget for the programme which includes projections for both income and expenditure 16

Criterion 6 A market case has been made for the offering of the programme. Report on relevant market research Documented requests for the programme from stakeholders e.g. students, parents, employers etc. 17

Programmes Approved by ACTT 80 programmes 44 External Evaluators 36 Grandfathered March 28, August 31,

Rationale for introducing programmes Compliance Requirement for Institutional Accreditation Competitive edge Pre-requisite for entry or advanced studies Access to GATE (Government Assistance for Tuition Expenses) To enhance student enrolment Marketability and expansion internationally 19

International Best Practice UNESCO Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Transnational Education INQAAHE Guidelines for Good Practice (GGP) European Standards and Guidelines (ESG) 20

Requirements of Cross-Border Providers students, professors, researchers, consultants People course, programme, sub- degree, degree, post graduate Programme Institution, consortia, companies Provider academic projects, services Projects 21

Common Challenges Student access Quality Assurance of Cross-Border Education New developments in Accreditation Recognition of qualifications Brain drain/gain (Kagia and Ischinger, 2007) 22

Anticipated local challenges Historical mindset Resources – human, financial, physical, technological International demand for programmes Provision of incentives by Government Endorsement by Quality Assurance Bodies 23

Recommendations Compliance Mutual recognition Endorsement Appeal Incentives & Resources 24

Conclusion Turn Obstacles into Opportunities (Thomas E. Pomeranz, Ed. D., 2001) 25

Local We can make it if we try, just a little harder (Black Stalin) 26

THANK YOU 27