Bo Border der Hi High gher Educ ucat ation on: Ch Challenge - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Trends nds and nd I Iss ssue ues s in n Cr Cros oss s Bo Border der Hi High gher Educ ucat ation on: Ch Challenge nges s fo for GCC CC Dr Tariq Al-Sindi - QQA QA Islamic Meeting & Seminar Manama – Kingdom of Bahrain www.qaa.edu.bh

Definiti inition n of CBHE CBHE has been defined as the movement of people, programs , providers , curricula, projects, research and services in higher education across national jurisdictional borders ( OECD and The World Bank 2007 ) It may include HE by: Public/Private Profit/non-Profit It encompasses a wide range of modalities: From face-to face (students distance learning (range of to to traveling abroad and campuses technologies and including e- abroad) learning).

Frame mework work For CBHE Forms and Conditions of Mobility Category Development Educational Commercial Cooperation Linkages Trade PEOPLE Semester/year aboard Internships Students Professors/scholars “ MOBILITY SHIFT” Full degrees Sabbaticals Researches/ Field/research work Consulting Experts/consultants Twinning PROGRAMS Franchised Course, program Articulated/validated sub-degree, degree, Joint/double award post-graduate Online/distance PROVIDERS Branch campus Virtual university Institutions Merger/ acquisition Organizations Independent institutions Companies Research PROJECTS Curriculum Academic projects Capacity-building Services Educational services Adopted from Knight 2005

Bra ranch nch Cam ampus uses: es: the key y TNE NE a activity ivity They provide fast upgrading of educational quality in the country. Require large investment in human & physical resources.

Br Bran anch h Ca Campuses uses Increa creasing sing number ber of BC BCs in the Gulf regi gion 200 BC across the world as December 2011 Asia and the Gulf region have been identified as particular BC hot spots UAE is the country with the largest number of BCs in the world 40

Bene nefits fits Improves inter-cultural understanding Improves local education standards Increases local provision - meets unmet local demand Increases market opportunities + student numbers/income for institutions with demographic problems Reduce the infrastructure cost to the state Trade benefits (huge commercial potential) mobility of students - increase access to HE Globalization of labor market

Tensi nsion on Risks to reputations ( profit driven) Difficult recognition choices Problems over responsibilities Market challenges Challenges to QA processes (internal/external) Consumer protection issues – Degree Mills Commercialisation of HEI Inequitable provision compared to parent institution

Str trate tegie gies s Fo For HE HE D Deve velopme opment nt in n Gul ulf f Co Coun untr tries es Fast growth • Population (>5% annually) • Infrastructure • Use of Technology Need for Higher Education

Str trate tegie gies s Fo For Enh nhanc nceme ment nt of of Educ ucat ationa onal l Qu Qual ality ty  Develop & support national institutions  Branch Campuses of Foreign Universities  Partnership with Foreign Universities Franchised programs Joint degree programs Less formal partnership

Wh Which h Rou oute te To o Be Be Adop opted ted? Kingdom of Saudi Arabia o No international branch campuses o No face-to-face transnational education o Mainly to support national universities, and also to encourage cooperation with foreign universities

Wh Which h Rou oute te To o Be Be Adop opted ted? Sultanate of Oman o Both, Branch campuses & franchised programs are allowed o Private HEI has to be affiliated with a foreign university o Provides incentive for private HE o 1 BC

Wh Which h Rou oute te To o Be Be Adop opted ted? Kingdom of Bahrain o Few transnational higher education providers o Mainly to support national & private HEIs. o Branch campuses and franchised programs are also allowed

Wh Which h Rou oute te To o Be Be Adop opted ted? Qatar o Support branch campuses of top ranked foreign HEIs. o Has 8 branch campuses of foreign universities o Qatar Foundation has a goal to bring top 10 world class HEIs

Wh Which h Rou oute te To o Be Be Adop opted ted? Kuwait o Few transnational higher education providers o Encourage cooperation with foreign universities o 2 BCs & 5 twinning/affiliations

Wh Which h Rou oute te To o Be Be Adop opted ted? United Arab Emirates o All HE models exist: o National Universities o Branch campuses o Franchised programs o Joint-degree programs o Hosting quarter of branch campuses worldwide o UAE is the country with the largest number of BCs in the world

Wh Which h Rou oute te (S (Str trate tegy gy) ) To Be o Be Adop opted ted? Factors in decision making : Country’s own strategy , if available Political , particularly in the absence of clear strategy Decisions Economic / financial

The Role le of Qu Quali lity y Assur uranc ance The quality of CBHE is a shared responsibility between importing and exporting countries • QA should cover CBHE in all its forms • Stakeholders should collaborate internationally to enhance the transparency about the quality of HE • CBHE delivery should have the same quality as home delivery

Recogn gniti ition n of QA a and TNE With TNE IQA & EQA processes and procedures must be:  no different than for traditional home-delivered education  consistent with national and international guidelines With (JDs) ensure there is an appropriate ‘ MoU ’ established with clear responsibilities In the case of the recognition of TNE for admission or exemption procedures should be as rigorous . NQF will provide more transparency for the purposes of recognition and QA

BUT UT.. Can you cla laim im on QA QA w warranty? ty? • Institutions use EQA or external accreditation as a reason for students to trust them and their qualifications. • Do accreditation and QA really do this job? • How well does accreditation perform in CBHE? • Does it really guarantee quality, in the way it’s often portrayed as doing? • If it does, can a student claim against the guarantee? From anywhere in the world? • If it doesn’t, what value does it have?

The e Ne Need d For r Guidelines delines or St r Stan andards dards • support and encourage international cooperation and understanding of the importance of quality provision in CBHE • protect students and other stakeholders from low-quality provision and disreputable providers • encourage the development of quality CBHE that meets human , social, economic and cultural needs

The Way Forw rward rd Quality assurance • have a IQA & EQA system • have fair mechanisms for recognition of qualifications • have regulatory framework at the regional levels for QA mechanism Transparency and accessibility of information • be transparent about what you do and make the relevant information accessible internationally • enable national authorities to collaborate in devising regulation for CBHE Collaboration • Strengthen your collaboration with other stakeholders in your country, regionally and internationally • Establish cross-border agreements among countries to discourage degree mills (eg INQAAHE, ENQA, ANQAHE)

Lesson sson Learne rned: d: Ch Chall llenges ges • There is a need for regional regulatory frameworks to control transnational institutions • CBHE needs to be accessible , available, affordable , relevant and of acceptable quality • Strengthen student mobility through administrative procedures