Transcript UNESCO/OECD WORK ON GUIDELINES FOR QUALITY …

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
Project overview
UFD
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Common project UNESCO-OECD
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With relevance both for exporting and importing
countries
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Last year’s OECD forum on trade
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Consumer protection Learner protection
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Concrete goals:
– Guidelines for quality provision
– Information tools to help learners, institutions and
authorities
Major drivers
UFD
More providers –
New providers
General globalisation –
GATS
Need for an
educational
response
Reduced
transparency –
increasing need
for guidance
Increased demand from
learners and societies
Providers and provision
UFD
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Old and new institutions – innovative forprofit organisations
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Partnerships – both traditional academic
and new types including commercial
elements.
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Using all modes of provision – traditional elearning – and first of all blended
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Cross-border activity puts the notions
“foreign” and “domestic” in a haze
The demand side – students and
societies
UFD
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Individual demand
– Full degree programmes
– Single courses/semesters
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Exchange programmes
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National development strategies
– As a means to growth
– As an effect of growth
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E-learning as import strategy
Reduced transparency –
increased need for guidance
UFD
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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
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Globalisation – GATS
UFD
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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 neither secure quality provision, nor help
the learners and societies to make informed choices
There is a need for an
educational response
UFD
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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
The educational response (2)
UFD
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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
The educational response (3)
UFD
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How could it be implemented?
– Developing guidelines on quality provision in higher
education
– Higher education institutions
– Quality assurance and accreditation agencies
– Student bodies
– Information centres of recognition
– Professional bodies
– Governments
– Development of reliable information tools for
learners/students/institutions
– Global Database on nationally approved providers/provision
Ongoing work
UFD
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Working group open to all OECD/UNESCO
members and stakeholders
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Three drafting sessions
– 5 – 6 April 2004 in Paris
– 14 – 15 October 2004 in Tokyo
– 17 – 18 January in Paris
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Expert groups
Some considerations
UFD
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How to make the Guidelines credible both in exporting
and importing countries
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The guidelines should contribute to sustainable
competence building in developing countries
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The guidelines must promote the full inclusion of
stakeholders
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How to identify and regulate the market for agents/
brokers
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How could we assure that quality is maintained were
degrees provided nationally also is provided crossborder?
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How to make the guidelines visible and give relevant
For UNESCO – part of the larger
Agenda
UFD
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The action is a direct follow up of the conclusions
at the 1st Global Forum, confirmed at the 2nd
Global Forum, calling for the development of
policy framework and guiding principles to meet
the challenges from globalisation
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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
Over-ambitious…Or?
UFD
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Bold steps – or is it just as we see it?
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Do we apply different quality control standards to
everyday consuming than to education?
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Learners/students need information
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Even Institutions/countries may lack information
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What about a woolmark?
Thank you
UFD
References:
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UNESCO Website:
http://www.unesco.org/education/amq/guidelines/qualitypr
ovision.html
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OECD Website:
http://www.oecd.org/edu/internationalisation/guidelines