The Third UNESCO Global Forum on International Quality Assurance and Recognition

Parallel Workshop I: Guidelines and capacity buildingDar es Salaam September 13 2007

Counsellor Jan S. Levy, Norway

2 Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OECD and UNESCO http://www.norway-oecd.org/

Cross-border HE: The situation

• In 2004 2,7 million students were enrolled outside their country of citizenship

• This represented an 8% increase in one year and a four-fold increase in 30 years

• OECD-estimate: Value of more than 40 billion US$ per year

3 Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OECD and UNESCO http://www.norway-oecd.org/

4 Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OECD and UNESCO http://www.norway-oecd.org/

Guidelines – the rationale

– 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

5 Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OECD and UNESCO http://www.norway-oecd.org/

Purpose of the Guidelines

• Protect students• And encourage the development of quality CBHE• Not legally binding• Strengthen capacity of QA• Meet needs in different types of provision

6 Permanent Delegation of Norway to the OECD and UNESCO http://www.norway-oecd.org/

What to look for

• Legislation and rules– Does national legislation cover cross-border provision

(both in and out)– Is there any body with competence to overlook the

area• HE Institutions

– Are the institution making reference to the Guidelines when marketing cross-border programmes

• Quality assurance– Do national QA bodies have competence/capacity to

evaluate/accredit CBHE• Student bodies

– Are they informed about the guidelines? Do they have activities informing students? Do they participate in dialogue with other stakeholders?