1. Concepcion V. Pijano
Member, AQAN Technical
Advisory Committee

2. Defining the Region: Geographical Coverage
All Pacific island nations and territories, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, all island and mainland nations and territories in Asia, including Russia, Afghanistan and Iran, but excluding the other central ‘stans (which are covered by another network), and excluding the Gulf states (which are covered by another network).

3. . . . Membership: 166 members from 38 countries Russia Kazakhstan
Bhutan
Macau .
Taiwan .
Brunei .
Maldives
Membership:
166 members from
38 countries

4. ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS

5. Understanding ASEAN It is home to more than 600 million people.
Together, ASEAN’s ten member states form an economic powerhouse with a large potential market.
If ASEAN were a single country, it would be the seventh-largest economy in the world.
Next to the People's Republic of China and India, ASEAN has the world's third largest labor force that remains relatively young.
A total of 7,908 Higher Education Institutions exist in the region

6. The Challenge
There is a need to bridge the perceived "development divide" between the older and economically more advanced members - Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, known as the ASEAN-6, and the four newer members – Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Viet Nam, also known as CLMV countries.

7. Matrix of External Quality Assurance Agencies in ASEAN

8. Matrix of External Quality Assurance Agencies in ASEAN (cont.)
Source: Niedermeier, F. and Pohlenz, P. (2016) “Development Needs: Higher Education Quality Assurance in the ASEAN Region”, University of Potsdam.

9. Country/EQA/Year Established Purpose Number of (HEIs) Population/
Enrolment in HEIs
Brunei Darussalam National Accreditation Council
2000
Ensure and maintain the quality and standard of educational credentials in accordance with the provisions as set and required by the Government..
4 universities
1 Polytechnic
417,000 inhabitants
8,000 students
Cambodia
Accreditation Committee of Cambodia
2003
A judicial mechanism to administer the accreditation of higher education for all higher educational institutions to ensure the promote academic quality.
110 HEIs under 9 Ministries
15 Million
231,787 students
Indonesia
National Accrediting Agency for Higher Education
1994
Providing national accreditation to all study programs, and the public, private, religion-based, and government service higher education institutions.
3,813 HEIs under 10 Ministries
254 Million
5,354,000 Students
Lao PDR
Education Quality Assurance Center
2008
Accreditation provides public notification than an institution has met established standards of quality set forth by the Ministry of Education and Sports/
5 Universities
127 HEIs under 2 Ministries
6.6 Million
125,000 students

10. Country/EQA/ Year Established Purpose Number of HEIs
Population/
Enrolment
Malaysia
Malaysian Qualifications Agency
1997
Implement the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF) as a basis for quality assurance of higher education and as the reference point for the criteria and standards for national qualifications.
20 Public
510 Private including Branch Campuses
30 Million
1,036,000 Students
Myanmar
National Accreditation and Quality Assurance Committee
2015
Monitoring, and advising on standards, methods and quality in higher education..
163 HEIs under 13 Ministries
53 Million
660,000 Students
Philippines
Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities
(PAASCU)
1957 plus four (4) other accrediting agencies
The government encourages the use of voluntary non-governmental accreditation systems in aid of the exercise of its regulatory functions.
220 Public
1636 Private
100 Million
2,625,000 Students

11. Country/EQA/ Year Established Purpose Number of HEIs Population/
Enrolment
Singapore
Ministry of Education Higher Education Division (HED)
2001
Council for Private Education 2009
For public HEIs: To plan and conduct quality audits, with the help of external review panels, work closely with the institutions for continuous improvement and conduct research on QA practices for enhancement purposes.
For private HEIs: To register and regulate private education institutions and persons who offer or provide any service relating to private education.
To establish, implement or support quality accreditation or certification schemes to enhance the standards of the private education sector.
5 Public
31 Private
5.4 M
244,000 students
Thailand
Office for National Education Standards and Quality Assessment
Development of criteria and methods of external evaluation, conducting evaluation of educational achievements in order to assess the quality of institutions.
98 Public
71 Private
57.73 M
2,430,000 Students

12. Country/EQA/ Year Established Purpose Number of HEIs Population/
Enrolment
Vietnam
General Department of Education, Testing and Education (GDETA)
2003
Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU-CEA)
Center for Education Accreditation - Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM CEA) 2013
Center for Education Accreditation - Da Nang University (DNU-CEA) 2015
Center for Education Accreditation of the Association of Vietnam Universities and Colleges (CEA-AVU&C) 2016
Responsible for guiding the individuals, institutions and organizations to implement quality assurance programs nationwide.
Conduct accreditation of educational institutions and educational programs, counseling to improve the quality of educational institutions in order to contribute to improving the quality of education in Vietnam, 
219 Universities
217 Colleges
55 Research Institutes
91 M
2,363,492 Students

13. ASEAN QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK (AQAF)
2. External Quality Assurance Processes Processes
1. External Quality Assurance Agency
3. Internal Quality Assurance
4. National Qualification Framework

14. PURPOSES of the AQAF
Serves as a common reference point to align quality assurance systems, higher education institutions and qualifications.
Encourages national QA systems to benchmark against the Framework.
Improves consistency of QA practices and builds a zone of trust to facilitate recognition of qualifications and promote regional harmonization.

15. Key Players in Regional Collaboration
ASEAN QA Network (AQAN) ASEAN University Network (AUN) South East Ministers of Education Organization Regional Center for Higher Education (SEAMEO-RIHED) Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific Asia and Europe Meeting ASEAN+3 CAMPUS Asia University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific International Alliance of Research Universities Association of Pacific Rim Universities Association of East Asian Research Universities Association of Southeast Asian Institutions of Higher Learning

16. EUROPEAN UNION SUPPORT TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE ASEAN REGION

17. International Cooperation
An umbrella term covering a number of activities including but not limited to:
1. international student and academic faculty
exchanges (both ways)
2. international university partnership agreements
(both bi-lateral and consortia and networks)
3. international research projects
4. development of joint degree programs with
partner universities
5. branch campuses of foreign institutions
6. sandwich programs, twinning, and many others

18. Challenges
Lack of resources to support quality assurance initiatives including insufficient funding
Lack of quality experts (for example to conduct external reviews)
Limited tools and knowledge and also a lack of awareness of quality assurance implementation
Restrictions at a policy level
Quality assurance responsibilities sometimes falling within several government departments.
Lack of leadership for respective countries to strengthen their national quality systems.

19. Challenges
Resistance from some academics who view QA as an external process imposed on them.
The risk of over-bureaucratization of the quality assurance processes. A situation when QA becomes a formal procedure (sometimes purely administrative and not academic) rather than an opportunity for genuine reflection and improvement.
The risk of insufficient academic buy-in in the academic ownership of the quality assurance process, which prevents the QA from having an impact on the quality of the everyday operations and teaching and learning.

20. The Way Forward Review AQAF and guidelines upon completion of Project
Develop new generic tools, instruments and common standards
Build capacity with ASEAN and External experts
Strengthen collaboration with international partners
Provide full support and services towards alignment and harmonization in Higher Education and TVET