10/10/2014
Beyond Bologna. Beyond ASEAN. Harmonizing the Higher Education Sector Mervin Bakker, Kirsten Freeman, Irene Jansen AIEC 2014 in Brisbane
EU SHARE: EU Support to Higher Education in ASEAN Region • Overall principle: EU programme to “strengthen regional cooperation, enhance the quality, regional competitiveness and internationalisation of ASEAN HEI contributing to an ASEAN Community” • Key targets: Contribute to the “harmonisation of ASEAN HE area through the formulation of ASEAN HE frameworks” based on EU experience and to support the “mutual recognition and student mobility among HEI in ASEAN”
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
1
10/10/2014
EU SHARE
Content: Three result areas: (1) Policy Dialogue on the harmonisation of the ASEAN HE landscape (2) ASEAN HE Qualification Reference Framework and Regional Quality Assurance a. ASEAN Qualification Reference Framework (AQRF) b. Quality Assurance (3) Student Mobility a. ASEAN Credit Transfer System (ACTS) b. ASEAN-EU Credit Transfer System (AECTS) c. Scholarships to support the ACTS and AECT Implementation period: 4 years, foreseen from 2015 to 2018 Project size: Indicative amount of EUR 9.3 Million to EUR 9.6 Million Current status: Call for Proposals by EU Delegation to Indonesia, Brunei Darussalam and ASEAN expired in August 2014 – pan-European consortium led by British Council ‘provisionally selected’: British Council (UK), with Campus France (FR), DAAD (DE), ENQA (EU), EUA (EU) and Nuffic (NL) Tentative start of the Project: January 2015
Screen Ratio
partners: SEAMEO AUN AQAN, RIHED,…
The Approach knowledge: Bologna experience
Policy Dialogue
Scholarships
EU players: EUA ENQA, …
Student experience
ACTS, AECTS local knowledge and schemes: AIMS, QA agencies, …
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
QA/QF ongoing activities: ANZ Taskforce, …
2
10/10/2014
Regional integration – Education Why does it matter? • It helps boost international academic cooperation and mobility • How did we do this in Europe? • Promoting reforms in higher education through inter-regional mobility programmes, policy dialogues, and institutional networks
Europe
• The Bologna Process (1998) created the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), with 47 participating countries • Central goal: create ‘comparable, compatible, and coherent’ systems of higher education in Europe • It has successfully set up the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). Universities of member states issue transferable credits based on learning outcomes specified by the EHEA • Europe also has ERASMUS Programme - the world’s most successful student exchange programme • Co-operation in cross border education is more comprehensive and integrated in Europe
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
3
10/10/2014
Europe – all going well?
• Economic disparities between countries makes mobility harder • Major reason for mobility imbalances, cannot be easily addressed by Bologna • Obstacles: administration and legal frameworks, and in particular to the recognition of study periods abroad • Still, mobility has been made easier with the dramatic expansion of joint degree programs since Bologna
South East Asia
•
Less comprehensive, less integrated, preference for de-centralisation
•
In SEA ASEAN states not looking to emulate Europe
•
National governments to navigate higher education policy, universities to forge academic partnerships and specialised research centres to co-ordinate research
•
Unlike Europe, “harmonization is about comparability; not standardization or uniformity of programmes, degrees and the nature of higher education institutions.”
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
4
10/10/2014
Why?
•
ASEAN goal is for integration for socio-cultural, economic integration and common security
•
This is the main driver towards the creation of deeper educational ties - education is seen as a soft landing for the integration project, to make the road to currency integration, and regional security
•
In 2009, a plan was put in motion to support the integration of universities across the ASEAN region, with the main building blocks being student mobility, credit transfer, quality assurance and research
Policy challenges
•
Moving from ‘neighbourhood’ to ‘community’ – difficult in practice
•
Equity
•
Balanced development across countries – aspirational
•
Huge problem in getting professional qualifications recognised
•
A university curriculum covering the legal systems of member states has yet to be finalized
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
5
10/10/2014
Regionalism and beyond
•
Regionalism is one part of the journey
•
More alignment globally, as higher education becomes an incredibly contested global space
•
It is not desirable to replicate the Bologna process but adapt from it and other regional experiments in what works best.
Credit Transfer System
• Mapping current initiatives - AUN, SEAMEO RIHED - Build on existing actions
• Identify expectations/needs of ASEAN HEIs - Credit Transfer System fit for purpose (comparability/compatibility) - Facilitate capacity building workshops for HEIs
• Review/adapt/design/scale-up - First ACTS, later also AECTS
• Consolidate/disseminate results
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
6
10/10/2014
Scholarship programme
In a nutshell: • Test and evaluate work on CTS • Focus on overall student experience • Intra-ASEAN and ASEAN-EU mobility
“Mobility is the most effective method to start the HE harmonisation process within the ASEAN region”
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
7
10/10/2014
Planning & design • Selection of HEIs and subject areas - AUN/AIMS experience - STEM, business, vocational English, ec. dvpt. ASEAN
• Goal: test CTS incentives for HEIs needed • Transparent selection criteria - eligibility - academic performance - inclusiveness (CLMV countries) - Set-up online application system
• Short term mobility (3-6 months) - quick results - more students can benefit
Scholarship cycle
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
8
10/10/2014
Challenges ahead
• • • • • •
Different initiatives Academic systems Level Make students mobile Destination preference Ownership
EU SHARE
Design and implementation of selected project components: Qualifications Framework and Quality Assurance, in cooperation with ENQA and EUA • Selection of specific measures envisioned:
Qualifications Framework: • In-depth review of existing ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF), framework development, national dissemination activities, development of stakeholders, buildup and strengthening of national and institutional structures Quality Assurance: • Developing guidelines to operationalize the existing ASEAN Quality Assurance Framework for Higher Education (AQAFHE), mapping with similar regional frameworks, dissemination activities (e.g. review of agencies, pilot institutional assessments)
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
9
10/10/2014
EU SHARE
Result 2 activities planned
Overarching Activities: • Study visit Europe for ASEAN high-level HE representatives, to facilitate dialogue • Training of Trainers for Capacity Building in QF and QA • Final Conference Plus: Policy Dialogue “Milestone Events” (see Result 1)
ASEAN Qualification Reference Framework (QF): Activities planned: • Background study QF • Study on ASEAN degree structures • ASEAN-EU Expert Teams • National Workshops on NQF
ASEAN Quality Assurance (QA): Activities planned: • Study state of play Regional QA • ASEAN-EU Technical Working Groups • National Regional Dissemination ws. • Pilot-Reviews of QA-Agencies • Training for QA-Agencies and HEIs • Pilot-Assessments of HEIs (IQA + EQA) • Training for assessors
Thank you for your attention!
Australian International Education Conference 2014 www.aiec.idp.com
10
