Post on 28-Jan-2016
description
Royal Ministry of Education and Research
UNESCO/OECD WORK ON GUIDELINES FOR QUALITY
PROVISION------------------
Jan S. Levy, Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Chair of UNESCO/OECD Guidelines group
UFD
Major drivers
More providers –
New providers
Reduced transparency – increasing need for guidance
General globalisation – GATS
Increased demand from learners and societies
Need for an educational
response
UFD
Types of cross-border education activities
Type Main forms Examples Size
1. People
Students/trainees Student mobility -Full study abroad for a foreign degree or qualification- Part of academic partnership for home degree or joint degree-Exchange programmes
Probably the largest share of cross border education
Professors/trainers Academic /trainer mobility - For professional development- As part of an academic partnership- Employment in foreign university- To teach in a branch institution abroad
An old tradition in the education sector, which should grow given the emphasis on mobility of professionals and internationalisation of education more generally
2. Programmes
Educational programmes
Academic partnershipsE-learning
- Joint course or a programme with a foreign institution- E-learning programmes- Selling/franchising a course to a foreign institution
Academic partnerships represent the largest share of these activities. E-learning and franchising are small but rapidly growing
3. Institutions/ providers
Foreign campusesForeign investments
- Opening of a foreign campus- Buying (part of) a foreign educational institution- Creation of an educational provider abroad
A trend increasing very quickly form a low starting point
UFD
Providers and provision
Old and new institutions – innovative for-profit organisations
Partnerships – both traditional academic and new types including commercial elements.
Using all modes of provision – traditional - e-learning – and first of all blended
Cross-border activity puts the notions “foreign” and “domestic” in a haze
UFD
The demand side – students and societies
Individual demand– Full degree programmes– Single courses/semesters
Exchange programmes National development strategies
– As a means to growth– As an effect of growth
E-learning as import strategy
UFD
Reduced transparency – increased need for guidance
Higher complexity– Speed of change, new provision,
increased range of choices Challenging for the individual learner But also for societies – especially
countries with short domestic academic traditions
Need for capacity building – also in QA Diploma mills – accreditation mills
UFD
Globalisation – GATS
Globalisation: The flow of technology, economy, knowledge, people, values and ideas across international borders.
Either we like it or not – we are profiting from it in our everyday life
GATS is an approach to meet the trade related challenges
Trade in education is there now. We may address it through GATS or chose not to do it.
Eventually, trade will not disappear, but we may throw away a tool for controlling it.
But GATS will nor secure quality provision, neither help the learners and societies to do informed choices
UFD
There is a need for an educational response
What should we achieve?– Learners need to be protected from the risks of
misinformation, low-quality provision and qualifications of limited validity
– Qualifications should be readable and transparent in order to increase their international validity and portability
– Qualifications should be recognised internationally with as few difficulties as possible
– National quality assurance and accreditation agencies need to intensify their international cooperation in order to increase their mutual understanding
UFD
The educational response (2)
Who should take responsibility of the response?– Organisations with high degree of legitimacy in
the world of education– Global organisations, encompassing
governments and stakeholders– UNESCO and OECD joining forces– Soft laws – Legal instruments
UFD
The educational response (3)
How could it be implemented?– Developing guidelines on quality provision in
higher education– Higher education institutions– Quality assurance and accreditation
agencies– Information centres of recognition– Professional bodies – Governments
– Development of reliable information tools for learners/students/institutions
– Global Database on nationally approved providers/provision
UFD
Ongoing work
Working group open to all OECD/UNESCO members and stakeholders
Three drafting sessions– 5 – 6 April 2004 in Paris– 14 – 15 October 2004 in Tokyo– 17 – 18 January in Paris
Expert groups
UFD
For UNESCO – part of the larger Agenda
The action is a direct follow up of the conclusions at the 1st Global Forum, calling for the development of policy framework and guiding principles to meet the challenges from globalisation
Furthermore, UNESCO General Conference last October decided on a Resolution on Higher Education and Globalisation: Promoting quality and access to the knowledge society as a means for sustainable development
UFD
Over-ambitious…Or?
Bold steps – or is it just as we see it? Do we apply different quality control
standards to everyday consuming than to education?
Learners/students need information Even Institutions/countries may lack
information What about a “woolmark”?
UFD
Thank you
References:
UNESCO Website: http://www.unesco.org/education/amq/guidelines/qualityprovision.html
OECD Website:
http://www.oecd.org/edu/internationalisation/guidelines