1 INQAAHE 2009 Conference and AGM International Accreditation in Taiwan Higher Education Presented by Dr. Roger C. Y. Chen President, Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan Dr. Angela Yung-chi Hou Research Fellow & Director of International Exchange, Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan March 31 to April 2, 2009, Abu Dhabi

2 Fact Sheet in Taiwan higher Education 1. Number of universities and colleges Increased by 120% in the past 10 years with more than 160 institutions II. Student enrollment With a total number of 1.3 millions increased 65% III. University Entrance Exam admission rate More than 97% in 2008 IV. Net enrollment in higher education 55.3% ( total number of year-old students studying at a university and a college / school-aged population between years old) V. Gross enrollment rate increased 78.6% (total number of students studying at a university and a college / school-aged population between years old)

3 Total Number of New Born Babies in Taiwan from 1957 to 2007

4 Total Number of New Born Babies from 1990 to 2007 Year Total No of new born babies /fertility rate Year Total No of new born babies / fertility rate 1990(2008 大學 ) 335,618 / ,661 / ,932 / ,312 / ,632 / ,354 / ,613 / ,530 / ,938 / ,070 / ,581 / ,419 / ,545 / ,854 / ,002 / ,459 / (2016 大學 ) 271,450 / ,414 /

5 Total Student Enrollment in Taiwan Higher Education from 1975 to 2007 Junior College University Master Ph.D Total

6 Total Enrollment in Taiwan Higher Education from 1990 to 2007 by degree yearAssociateBachelorMasterPh.D.total ,169239,08217,9354,437576, ,127253,46221,3065,481612, ,803273,08824,7116,560653, ,373285,98228,1177,713689, ,860302,09330,8328,395720, ,751314,49933,2008,897751, ,837337,83735,5089,365795, ,865373,70238,60610,013856, ,346409,70543,02510,845915, ,020470,03054,98012,253994, ,182564,05970,03913,8221,092, ,841677,17187,25115,9621,187, ,247770,915103,42518,7051,240, ,025837,602121,90921,6581,270, ,938894,528135,99224,4091,285, ,886938,648149,49327,5311,296, ,978966,591163,58529,8391,313, ,890987,914172,51831,7071,326,029

7 Number of New born babies and College Students No. of New born babies No. College Students

8 Number of Colleges and Universities in Taiwan Higher Education from 1957 to 2007 by type Junior College College University Total

9 Number of Colleges and Universities in Taiwan Higher Education from 1957 to 2007 by type yearJunior collegecollegeUniversitiestotal

10 Challenges for Taiwan Higher Education From Elite Education to Universal Education Quality Assurance International Academic Competitiveness

11 National Quality Assurance Framework in Taiwan Higher Education From centralization to decentralization – A decentralized system in higher education evaluation is being formed completely until the establishment of the HEEACT in 2005 Duplication of national quality assurance in higher education Exemptions from HEEACT Accreditation

12 Governmental role in Development of External Quality Assurance University Law of 2005 revised government is entitled to commission external evaluation agencies to assess the academic performance of an institution

13 Three Major External Quality Assurance Agencies in Taiwan Higher Education Evaluation and Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT) –74 comprehensive universities and colleges Taiwan Assessment and Evaluation Association (TWAEA) –38 science and technologies universities National Yunlin University of Science & Technology –40 technical colleges

14 HEEACT Endowed in 2005 with mutual funds of the government and 153 institutions in Taiwan 34 full-time staffs and more than 800 part-time reviewers Board of Directors President Advisory Committee Evaluation Affairs Research & Development General Affairs

15 Two Major Tasks of HEEACT Program Evaluation: to help institutions and programs to enhance quality –Self-evaluation –Peer review Rankings of Academic Performance: to encourage colleges and universities in pursuit of academic excellence –Benchmarking –International competitiveness

16 Statistics for Accreditation Outcomes in the Academic Year of 2007 and 2008 Review status Accredited Accredited conditionally Denial Academic Year Number of programs Number% % % 2006Fall Semester %7119.6%113% Spring Semester %5522.7%2711.6% 2007Fall Semester %5522.8%2711.2% Spring Semester %6514.2%71.5% Total % %725.5%

17 Duplication of National Quality Assurance in Higher Education 4 Types of Accreditation –Institutional accreditation –Specialized accreditation –National accreditation –International accreditation An institution will likely be reviewed more than 2 times by the different types of accreditation within a whole year

18 4 kinds of Exemptions from HEEACT Accreditation Accredited by Association to Advanced Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International ) Accredited by Chemical Society in Taiwan Accredited or remain in the process of application by Institute of Engineering Education Programs or fields of Taiwan literature and Taiwan studies which have been accredited by National Taiwan Normal University

19 Table 3: Exemption from HEEACT accreditation by Type and Number IEETCSTNTNUAACSB Year starting accrediting TypeSpecialized vs. national Specialized vs. international ProgramEngineeringChemistryTaiwan Culture and Humanity Business Number

20 Internationalization and Taiwan Higher Education In 2002, the MOE launched the "Enhancing Global Competitiveness Plan“ –Increase the number of foreign students studying in Taiwan –Encourage Taiwan students to study abroad –5 year- 50 Billion Program for Developing First-class University and Top Research Centers In 2007, HEEACT was commissioned to develop a global ranking titled “Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities” International accreditation of programs and institutions didn’t draw much national attention until the HEEACT operated evaluation in 2006 –Fu Jen Catholic University –National Sun Yat Shen University –National Chiao Tung University – National Chengchi University

21 Internationalization and U.S. Accreditation U.S. is substantial exporter of quality assurance by recognizing postsecondary education in the developing nation – 40 accrediting agencies were active in 52 countries in , accrediting 385 non-U.S. institutions and programs –offers a “nongovernmental, mission-oriented model, with trained and impartial evaluators American accreditation, are sought by more and more institutions in South America, Asia, Eastern Europe, as higher education globalizes

22 U.S. Accreditation in Taiwan Higher Education In the late 90s, American accrediting programmatic organizations started to approach Taiwan higher education institutions In 2002, AACSB, the programmatic accrediting agencies started to accredit Taiwan business programs. –4 gained accreditation –17 became a member of AACSB International In 2006, the Middle States commission on Higher education (MSCHE), an American institutional accreditor, has accepted the application of one Taiwan university

23 Benefited by American Accreditation Attract students and faculty easier Develop joint degree programs with foreign institutions Compete with local institutions Help them to develop a continuous self- evaluation mechanism Implement the outcomes based on mission- oriented goal set internally

24 Great Challenges for Taiwan institutions integrating international standards into local context including models of governance, qualification of faculty and staff, resource allocation, etc. speaking fluent English was another big challenge for all senior administrators, faculty, staff and students Translation of materials into English required for accreditation also causes problems and additional work for them in the process of application and maintenance work.

25 International recognition of local accrediting organizations to establish partnerships with foreign accrediting organizations –Taiwan Medical Accreditation Council (TMAC) / the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA) to participate in international network of quality assurance in higher education –HEEACT / INQAAHE/ (APQN) –IEET/ Washington Accord

26 Some Problems Institution to be reviewed by different types of evaluations more than 5 times within a certain period of time –Redundancy of evaluation activities Increasing loads of an institution –Waste of educational resources

27 Challenges for International Accreditation in Taiwan The decentralized frameworks for quality assurance or accreditation in Taiwan cannot apply to providers outside the national education system. Taiwan accrediting organizations do not have capacities to accredit programs or institutions abroad now –It is difficult to monitor them Culture imperialism v.s. national jurisdiction over higher education

28 Integration or Acquisition of Various Evaluations Forum on the Collaborations among University Evaluation Agencies in 2008 An idea to create a coordinating organization for serving as primary national voice for representing evaluation results to the pubic and assure quality of national and foreign accreditation agencies HEEACT will play an active role as a coordinator

29 Conclusions Organize an independent institute in Taiwan such as CHEA or Germany Accreditation Council Define the basic requirements of the process of evaluation for accrediting agenices Take care that any national accreditation is carried out on the basis of reliable, transparent and internationally recognized criteria

30 Thank you for your attention Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan