A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y Dr David Woodhouse President, INQAAHE Executive Director, AUQA Feedback on the Guidelines from the Perspective of QA agencies UNESCO 3rd Global Forum on International Quality Assurance, Accreditation and the Recognition of Qualifications Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, September 2007

2 Overview A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 1. States and Borders; 2. Cross-Border Higher Education; 3. Possible EQA actions; 4. EQA Collaboration; 5. The Role of INQAAHE; 6. Specific Comments on Guidelines.

3 The Nation State; Control of internal issues; Collaboration on external Issues; Higher Education is one area of activity that is state-based, but has many added complications when it crosses borders. A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 1. States and Borders

4 Cross-border higher education (CBHE) poses a challenge for quality assurance (QA) agencies; Guidelines for Quality Provision in CBHE; A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 2. Cross-Border Higher Education

5 There are seven Guidelines for EQAs, the majority of which imply collaboration; Government action needed; EQA action: inertia or initiative? A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 2. Cross-Border Higher Education

6 Actions that don’t threaten government or national sovereignty; Advise and lobby national governments and agencies; Ready themselves to support and implement the Guidelines; Interpretation of the Guidelines. A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 3. Possible EQA actions 3.1 Action Types

7 Translation of the Guidelines into the national language; Increasing attention to the quality of CBHE (EQA Guideline (a)); Attention to the Guidelines in meetings and conferences (b); Joint initiatives with peer agencies ©; A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 3. Possible EQA actions 3.2 Examples

8 EQA expectations that the institutions will address the institutional section of the Guidelines (d); The UNESCO / Council of Europe ‘Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Transnational Education’ (e); Discussions on mutual recognition of EQA judgements, and use of colleagues from other countries (g); A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 3.2 Examples (cont)

9 Compensate for lack of necessary resources; Compensate for lack HE or EQA capacity; Compensate for clear policies or intentions on the role and place of HE; Overcome corruption of various kinds that affect HE and its quality. A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 3. Possible EQA actions 3.3 What the Guidelines cannot do

10 Collaborating to act on common national issues; Collaborating to act on issues that occur at the supra-national or international level; Regional Networks; sharing ideas, and co-operating on cross-border issues. A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 4. EQA Collaboration

11 INQAAHE Guidelines for Good Practice in Quality Assurance (GGP); Good Practice Database (GPDB); Clearinghouse;Handbooks; Consulting Service. A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 5. The Role of INQAAHE

12 Cross-border education (a); Principles of good practice in TNE (e); Information on standards (d). A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 6. Specific Comments on Guidelines Part 1 Guidelines that can be addressed by individual EQAs

13 strengthen the existing regional and international networks (b); Establish links… between the bodies of the sending & receiving countries ©; International panels, benchmarking, and joint projects (g); Mutual recognition agreements (f). A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 6. Specific Comments on Guidelines Part 2 Guidelines that need collaboration between EQAs

14 A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y 6. Conclusion EQAs are very supportive of the Guidelines and many are actively working on their implementation. The main difficulties are that the first steps may need to be taken by others (eg governments) and are out of the control of the EQAs, and that EQAs are already extremely busy so there is little ‘mental space’ for the extra effort needed to seriously plan for implementing the Guidelines. INQAAHE is also supportive of the Guidelines, and supportive of its member agencies in their attention to them.

15 Stella, A. (2007), ‘Dissemination and Implementation of the UNESCO-OECD Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education: A Synthesis Report’, Report to 2007 General Conference of UNESCO. Woodhouse, D. (2004), ‘Desarrollo Global del Aseguramiento de la Calidad’, Calidad en la Educación, N°21, December 2004, Consejo Superior de Educación, Santiago, Chile Woodhouse, D. (2006), ‘The Role of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education in the 21st Century’, Keynote address to 1st International Conference on Assessing Quality in Higher Education, Lahore, Pakistan, December 2006 Woodhouse, D. (2007), ‘Emerging Issues in Quality Assurance in Higher Education: Perspectives of the INQAAHE’, Invited presentation to Second International Conference on Quality Assurance in Higher Education in Africa, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, September 2007 A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y References

16 David Woodhouse President, INQAAHE Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, September 2007 A u s t r a l i a n U n i v e r s i t i e s Q u a l i t y A g e n c y