Erasmus+ International Days Budapest, November 2015 Enhancing Cooperation in Higher Education Workshop Accreditation of Joint Programmes – at Home or Abroad? Orsolya Hoffmann Ph.DEva Horvati Vice-rector for International and LLL Education Director for International Education

Outline Rationale of International Collaborative Programmes (CP) Necessity for Working Definitions State of the Art: - JPs in Global Perspective - in Hungary - at KJU Challenges of Recognition/Accreditation/QA Accreditation System in Hungary Conclusions

Added Values Rationale for Collaborative Programmes

Plethora of Terms jointdoublemultipletri-national commonintegratedinternationalco-tutelle collaborativeconsecutiveconcurrent conjointoverlappingparalleltop-up simultaneous

Core Concepts or Elements of Definitions Number of collaborating institutions Number of qualifications/certificates awarded Completion time Organization of the study porgram Recognition bodies Number of countries involved

Proposed Working Definitions (considerations) The most officially recognized definitions in Europe are those made by the inter-governmental, regional UNESCO Lisbon Recognition Convention, in the Recommendation on the Recognition of Joint Degrees (2004). NB. the document is outdated and needs updating and clarifying Inter-governmental Bologna Process Implementation Report 2012 Documnets of the Erasmus Mundus and Erasmus+ Program

Joint Programme is offered jointly by two or more HEIs that can be located either in the same country or in different countries and does not necessarily lead to a joint degree. After completion of a joint programme a graduate may be awarded: a single national qualification, double (or multiple) qualifications or a joint qualification. Characteristics: The programme is jointly developed and/or approved by several institutions; Students from each participating institution study parts of the programme at other institutions; The students' stays at the participating institutions are of comparable length; Periods of study and exams passed at the partner institution(s) are fully and automatically recognised; Professors of each participating institution also teach at the other institutions, jointly work out the curriculum, and form joint admission and examination commissions; After completion of the full programme, the student either obtains the national degrees of each participating institution or a degree awarded jointly by them

Joint/Double/Multiple Degree (considerations) Lisbon Recognition Convention- Recommendation on the Recognition of Joint Degrees: A joint degree may be issued as: a joint diploma in addition to one or more national diplomas; a joint diploma issued by the institutions offering the study programme in question without being accompanied by any national diploma; one or more national diplomas officially issued as the only attestation of the joint qualification in question. The European Consortium for Accreditation’s (ECA) remarks: (Aerden and Reczulska, 2010) it is unlikely that both the joint and the national degree are acknowledged as the national higher education qualification; the second part of the definition of the Recommendation is now commonly understood as a joint degree; the third part of the definition describes the situation which is currently considered as a multiple degree.

Degree Definitions A joint degree is awarded and issued as one joint qualification/diploma upon completion of the joint program requirements established by the partner institutions. A double degree is awarded and issued as two individual qualifications at equivalent levels upon completion of the joint program requirements established by the two partner institutions. A multiple degree is awarded and issued as three or more individual qualifications at equivalent levels upon completion of the joint program requirements established by the three or more partner institutions. A consecutive degree is awarded as two different qualifications at consecutive levels upon completion of the collaborative program requirements established by the partner institutions.

State of the Art Joint and Double Degree Programs in the Global Context:, 2011 Survey Report Institute of International Education (IIE) and Freie Universität Berlin Double degrees are much more common than joint degrees. Majority of joint or double degree programs are at the master’s level Majority run with student enrollment of 25 or fewer. Top five cited partner countries France, China, Germany, Spain, and the U.S.

State of the Art (cont.) The majority set up their first joint or double degree programs between 2001 and Global tendency to develop joint programs (current numbers estimated around 4000). But in Erasmus only 11 succesful applications out of 58 eligible proposals! Knowledge Alliances Key Action Programme: only 10 out of 230! Top motivations: broadening educational offerings, strengthening research collaboration, advancing internationalization, and raising international visibility/prestige. Top challenges: securing adequate funding, ensuring sustainability and accreditation

State of the Art in Hungary There are official records only about the joint programmes developed within the Erasmus Mundus Between joint programs with Hungarian HEI’s participation - 3 joint programs with Hungarian HEI coordination - 2 joint degrees accredited by Hungarian law 2015-onwards: Erasmus+ ??? Alternative forms of collaborative programs: The KJU Double Degree Programme

Collaborative Double Degree Programmes for Bachelor Studies KJU, Hungary-MEGU, Ukraine Degree Programmes Current Number of Active Students BA in Tourism and Hospitality 116 BA in Business Administration & Mamagement 49 BA in Communication and Media Studies 20 Total185 Number of students registered so far : 550 Number of degrees issued since 2008: 263 Number of absolvents with no degree: 14 (lack of language certification) Number of passive or drop-out students: 88 (16%)

Recognition/Accreditation/QA Joint Degree : one single diploma jointly signed by both/all HEIs - accreditation in compliance with national legislations in both/all HEI countries - and/or a single accreditation process by an international agency Double/Multiple Degree: two/multiple diplomas issued parallel by HEIs concerned - no accreditation may be needed provided the programmes are accredited in the HEIs’ own countries -and/or the joint program can be accredited in both/all HEI countries in compliance with the national legislations -and/or a single accreditation process by an international agency

Challenges of Accreditation national systems may not exist in all countries national legislations may not allow the launch of joint programmes huge differences in national legislations accreditation agencies differ enormously; some focus on programs and others on institutions, some focus on inputs and others on processes or outputs the establishment of procedures for accrediting international joint programmes is relatively new territory for many agencies

Accreditation System in Hungary Institutional Accreditation: to become a registered HEI under the National Law of HE Programme Establishment Accreditation: the new programme to be registered in the NHEQR Programme Launch Accreditation: programme and outcome requirements of a registered programme in the NHEQR to be licensed to the HEI

Hungarian Law of HE Criteria for Joint Programmes HEIs concerned are recognised in the state of the registered seats The diploma is accepted by the national law of the countries concerned as a diploma or certificate awarded in HE The Hungarian and the foreign HEI are authorized for the programme, the programme and outcome requirements of which are identical to those of the programme subject to the agreement, the ECTS equivalence reaches at least 75%, the student completes at least 30 credits in the Hungarian HEI No authorisation for operation in Hungary shall be necessary for the foreign HEI The Educational Authority shall register the agreement

Conclusion For the time being, the best case scenario seems to be accreditation completed by each partner institution involved in a double degree programme. International accreditation as means of QA may contribute to the international prestige of the jointly issued degree and visibility of the HEIs involved Resources : 1. Axel Aerden & Hanna Reczulska (2012), Guidelines for Good Practice for Awarding Joint Degrees. ECA Occasional Paper, The Hague, p : Background Report on the European Approach for Quality Assurance of Joint Programmes Daniel Obst, Matthias Kuder & Clare Banks (2011), Joint and Double Degree Programs in the Global Context, Institute of International Education KNIGHT, Jane (2011). “Doubts and Dilemmas with Double Degree Programs”. In: “Globalisation and Internationalisation of Higher Education” [online monograph]. Revista de Universidad y Sociedad del Conocimiento (RUSC). Vol. 8, No 2, pp UOC. [Accessed: dd/mm/yy] The European Higher Education Area in 2015: Implementation Report évi CCIV. törvény a nemzeti felsőoktatásról

Proposed Topics for Discussion Challenges of Joint Programmes in Partner Countries/ National Legistlations Best Practices in Partner Countries The Way Forward?