1. 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

2. UNESCO
What is New?

3. Qian Tang
Irina Bokova
UNESCO HQ Paris

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

5. But, a familiar Old Team!

6. 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.

7. 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.’

8. 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”

9. 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

10. 2009 World Conference on Higher Education Paris - July 2009

11. 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

12. Ministers…
Egypt
China
India
France

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

14. Students were well represented…

15. 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

16. 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***

17. Tertiary Enrolment Rates
UNESCO Institute of Statistics

18. What else is New?

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

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

21. 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

22. 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?

23. 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

24. “…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

25. 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

26. 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

27. 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…

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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.

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

32. INQAAHE Forum
Windhoek, Namibia
May 2010

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

34. 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

35. 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

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

37. 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

38. 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.

39. 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.

40. 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.

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

42. UNIVERSITY RANKINGS

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

44. 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

45. 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

46. Higher Education Institutions
Web Portal
Higher Education Institutions

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

48. 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

49. 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

50. 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

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

52. 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

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

54. 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

55. “global leadership in education”
political discourse academic debate

56. THANK YOU!