CHEA International Commission Washington D.C., 27 January 2011 UNESCO and Quality Assurance: Progress and Issues Stamenka Uvalić-Trumbić Chief, Section for Higher Education UNESCO

UNESCO What is New?

Qian Tang Irina Bokova UNESCO HQ Paris

A new structure A new name Section for Higher Education Division of Basic to Higher Learning

But, a familiar Old Team!

Mission Statement To help Member States and their institutions widen access to quality higher education through diverse modes of provision adapted to local development needs.

Article 26 (1) ‘Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.’

HIGHER EDUCATION: THE PROGRAMME …nearly as old as the Organization A resolution adopted by UNESCO’s 2nd General Conference in Mexico (1947) explicitly identified higher education as one of its six areas of work of work under the heading ‘Work with Universities”

1998 WCHE The first World Conference on Higher Education ever organized by UNESCO Numbers matter! Over 180 Member States; 130 ministers responsible for higher education; some 4,200 participants in all representing all higher education stakeholders Objective: to lay down the fundamental principles for the in- depth reform of higher education systems world wide

2009 World Conference on Higher Education Paris - July 2009

The World Conference on Higher Education Paris - July 2009 Theme: The New Dynamics of Higher Education and Research for Societal Change and Development. Over 1,500 participants Governments, academics, QA experts, students, civil society, private sector

Ministers… Egypt China India France

Researchers and scholars from around the world… Philip Altbach Lidia Brito Mala Singh Hebe Vessuri J.R.de la Fuente Alice Dautry

Students were well represented…

Final Report and Conference Communiqué Documents published in hard and soft copy, in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Portuguese for a wide dissemination among key higher education stakeholders

Dominant Global Trend: Massification Globally, age participation rates have grown from 19% in 2000 to 26% in 2007 OECD estimates 50 % – 60 % participation rates are necessary with a view to development Low income countries: 5% in 2000 to 7% in 2007 150.6 million tertiary students globally in 2007, an increase of 53% since 2000 ***Inability to meet growing demand in developing countries***

Tertiary Enrolment Rates UNESCO Institute of Statistics

What else is New?

Enrolment projections 36 million by 2020 44 million by 2020 26 million by 2050

A year later, earlier this month, the OECD addressed these new dynamics at their IMHE General Conference

Higher Education in a world Changed Utterly – OECD 2010 Equity, Efficiency, Quality BUT What was new? The Economic Crisis: Doing More with less Universities in search of revenue: ignoring access and equity, but (a paradox?)… Social engagement – more intense today A year later, earlier this month, the OECD addressed these new dynamics at their IMHE General Conference

New Dynamics Revisited OECD/IMHE 2010 Crossborder – often empty shells Diversification: but vocational and professional?? Rankings – risky!; will European rankings make a difference? Do not trust League tables! Academic Profession – students no longer interested (Nigeria) Changing institutions/changing mindsets... Does less money mean more innovation?

Europe and Beyond: The European Higher Education and Research areas must be open to the world (EU Modernisation Agenda for Universities) The world is becoming smaller as the economic crisis hits both developed and developing countries. Austerity forces HEIs to do more with less To do more with less: - be more innovative - embrace the new dynamics

“…quality assurance – and especially the internationalization of quality assurance – was one of the most striking new developments since UNESCO held its previous World Conference on Higher Education in 1998.” Inside Accreditation Judith Eaton

WCHE COMMUNIQUE: Call to Action UNESCO ‘[Pursue]… capacity-building for quality assurance in higher education in developing countries’ Member States ‘Put in place and strengthen appropriate quality assurance systems and regulatory frameworks with the involvement of all stakeholders’ 2009 World Conference on Higher Education Communiqué GIQAC

GLOBAL OUTREACH THROUGH: UNESCO’s Work GLOBAL OUTREACH THROUGH: UNESCO Global Forum on QA, Accreditation and the Recognition of Qualification (2002; 2004; 2007) UNESCO’s 6 recognition conventions UNESCO-World Bank Global Initiative GIQAC

GIQAC It takes a community… The principal objective of GIQAC is to improve and expand worldwide capacity for quality assurance (QA) in higher education in developing and transition countries.   It takes a community…

GIQAC FY2010 Implementing Networks International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE) African Association of Universities (AAU) in cooperation with the African Quality Assurance Network (AfriQAN) Arab Network for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ANQAHE) Asia-Pacific Quality Network (APQN) Caribbean Area Network for Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education (CANQATE) La Red Iberoamericana para la Acreditación de la Calidad en la Educación Superior (RIACES) GIQAC Worldwide

GIQAC Achievements ‘The GIQAC grant has accelerated the growth of quality assurance agencies in various countries and developed leaders who serve as champions for QA in their own agencies. From an initial membership of 47 agencies and institutions in 2007, APQN now has 72 members in various categories. The grant has also paved the way towards greater cooperation and mutual understanding across a diverse and populous region.’ — Concepción Pijano, President, APQN

GIQAC Achievements In 2010, GIQAC made an impact at the national level in 43 countries in Africa, 11 countries in the Arab States, 27 countries in Asia and the Pacific, 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and 31 countries in Europe and North America.

Looking Ahead: Challenges GIQAC FY2011 ENQA – ECA countries Future Sustainability: Beyond DGF The next 3 years Action plan

INQAAHE Forum Windhoek, Namibia May 2010

GIQAC meeting Windhoek “…Spread of the familiar” Judith Eaton

Follow-up to 2009 WCHE: New Dynamics of quality assurance Open Educational resources OERs University rankings and accountability Private higher education (including for- profit) and Cross-border higher education: what next

UNESCO Paris, 5 – 8 July 2009 COMMUNIQUE (8 July 2009) ODL approaches and ICTs present opportunities to widen access to quality education, particularly when Open Educational Resources are readily shared by many countries and higher education institutions

WCHE session on OERs Imperative to ensure that all – developed and developing countries - are enabled to contribute to OERs…

Policy Forum 1 (December 2010, Paris) UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning Taking the Open Educational Resources (OER) beyond the OER Community: Policy and Capacity

Objectives of the Project Ensure greater support for the use of OER created and used both in developing and developed countries by educational decision makers (governmental and institutional) Enhance capacity of educational practitioners in developing countries to create and use OER. Objectives of the Initiative The objectives of the initiative are to: Ensure greater support for the use of OER created and used both in developing and developed countries by educational decision makers (governmental and institutional) Enhance capacity of educational practitioners in developing countries to create and use OER. The project focuses in the first instance on higher education institutions (universities) in Africa and Asia and the Pacific and is being implemented in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning as part of a Partnership Agreement between the two organizations. It will build on the results of the previous and ongoing projects of the two organizations. The basic premise of the project is that OERs will not be able to help countries reach their educational goals unless awareness of the potential can rapidly be expanded beyond the communities of interest that they have already attracted. The project is financed thanks to extrabudgetary funds provided by the Government of the United States, regular programme funds from the Division of Higher Education and the Commonwealth of Learning. It is part of UNESCO ‘s inter-sectoral activities in the field of ICTs and Education.

Basic Premise OERs will not be able to help countries reach their educational goals unless awareness of the potential can be rapidly expanded beyond the communities of interest that they have already attracted Mainstreaming OER will contribute to the quality of learning materials The project focuses in the first instance on higher education institutions (universities) in Africa and Asia and the Pacific and is being implemented in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning as part of a Partnership Agreement between the two organizations. It will build on the results of the previous and ongoing projects of the two organizations. The basic premise of the project is that OERs will not be able to help countries reach their educational goals unless awareness of the potential can rapidly be expanded beyond the communities of interest that they have already attracted. The project is financed thanks to extrabudgetary funds provided by the Government of the United States, regular programme funds from the Division of Higher Education and the Commonwealth of Learning. It is part of UNESCO ‘s inter-sectoral activities in the field of ICTs and Education.

Activities 2010 Development of an OER Dossier 3 Online Forums 4 Capacity-Building workshops 1 Policy Forum Activities The activities of this project are : 4 capacity building workshops; 3 online forums and a policy forum . In addition, to support the activities of this project, an OER Dossier has been developed to serve as a resource for the capacity building workshops and policy forums.

Policy Forum 2 (October 2011, Paris) UNESCO and the Commonwealth of Learning Policy Guidelines on OERs

UNIVERSITY RANKINGS

BRITAIN’S TOP NINE UNIVERSITIES Quality Rankings of Teaching based on all subject assessments 1995-2004 (Sunday Times University Guide 2004) 1 CAMBRIDGE 96% 2 LOUGHBOROUGH 95% 3= LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS 88% 3= YORK 88% 5 THE OPEN UNIVERSITY 87% OXFORD 86% IMPERIAL COLLEGE 82% UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON 77% ESSEX 77%

Unesco global forum on university rankings and other accountability tools Paris, 16-17 May 2011 Goals: Healthy debate on Rankings and other accountability tools Increased understanding of the impact of rankings Improved convergences between rankings and other accountability tools Improved communication between the higher education community and the public, particularly governments, funding bodies, and potential students Access to reliable and transparent information

Private higher education Private HE: fastest growing sub-sector - 30% global HE enrolment Japan, South Korea: 80% Latin America– 50% Governance: relationship between government and PHEIs QA: key tool for demand- absorbing private sector GLOBAL DEBATE ON PHE INCLUDING FOR- PROFIT

Higher Education Institutions Web Portal Higher Education Institutions

Degree Mills What next? Would a UNESCO legal instrument be useful?

Web Portal on HEIs: Country Information Institutions recognized by competent authorities Higher education programmes recognized by competent authorities Information for students planning to study in the country Information on the higher education system Foreign credential assessment and recognition Information on financial assistance opportunities Cross-border higher education National Information Centre Other information sources Definition of key terms

Current Participating Countries February 2010 Argentina Armenia Australia Belarus Belgium Bulgaria Canada China Costa Rica Cyprus Cuba Croatia Egypt Ireland Jamaica Japan Kenya Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Mexico Malaysia Namibia New Zealand Nigeria Norway Pakistan Paraguay Saudi Arabia Sweden Thailand Trinidad and Tobago United Kingdom United States of America

Countries being processed December 2010 Austria Chile Colombia Dominican Republic Estonia Guyana India Indonesia Iran Kazakhstan Panama St Vincent and the Grenadines Switzerland Uruguay Uzbekistan

Implementation Survey and analysis Guidelines for quality provision in cross-border higher education UNESCO and OECD Implementation Survey and analysis

LEGAL FRAMEWORKS FOR ACADEMIC MOBILITY: CONVENTIONS (December 1, 2009) Region Secretariat Adopted Number of parties SIDS / UCSIS Last ratification Last meeting Africa UNESCO Dakar Arusha 1981 22 Seychelles and Holy See 2008 Addis Ababa, Sept 2009 Arab UNESCO Beirut Paris 1978 14 None 1991 Beirut, March 2006 Asia & the Pacific UNESCO Bangkok Bangkok 1983 21 Maldives and Manila, May 2009 LAC IESALC Caracas Mexico 1974 19 Cuba, Suriname, and 2007 Caracas, October 2006 MED UNESCO Paris Nice 1976 12 Malta and Holy See Split, 2005 Europe UNESCO & Council of Europe Lisbon 1997 47 2010 Sevres, June 2010 52

A WORKSHOP ON THE WEB PORTAL WILL BE ORGANIZED Welcome to Tokyo! Asia and Pacific Convention on Degree Recognition Revised text: Diplomatic Conference 25-26 November 2011, Tokyo, UNESCO & MEXT A WORKSHOP ON THE WEB PORTAL WILL BE ORGANIZED

Flagships projects 2012 – 2013 Diversified and innovative providers and modes of higher education delivery for expanding equitable access: private higher education, cross-border providers, ODL and OERs; Strengthened use of quality assurance systems and other accountability tools to promote quality and relevance of sustainable higher education systems Assistance to the creation of an African Higher Education and Research Area  

“global leadership in education” political discourse academic debate

THANK YOU! s.uvalic-trumbic@unesco.org