Capacity Building in Quality Assurance in Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific Region

1. Capacity Building in Quality Assurance in Higher Education in the Asia-Pacific Region Dr. Antony Stella Adviser, NAAC

2. Asia-Pacific Region • Complex and diverse • Linguistic, political, economic and cultural diversities

3. Quality Assurance Mechanisms • About 22 major national level efforts • Operating in 15 countries • Relatively recent origins • Two-thirds of them established in the last decade • Variance in practices • Differing developmental stages

4. Varying Policies on • Agency role in assessment • Nature of the assessment process • Focus of assessment • Unit of assessment • Assessment outcome • Policy on disclosure of outcome • Linking outcome to funding • Period of validity of outcome

5. Agreement on the Essentials • Autonomy of QAAs • Pre-determined criteria • Transparent process • Combination of self-study and peer review • Public disclosure of the outcome • Validity of the outcome for a specific period

6. Fertile Ground for • Experimentation on debatable issues • Pooling the expertise developed in these systems • Facilitating the sharing of the lessons learnt • Addressing the emerging issues of concern collectively

7. Scope for Capacity Building • Variance in developmental stages • Rethinking QA strategies • Transnational education • Potential for mutual recognitions

8. Variance in the Developmental Stages of QA • Japan and Philippines – relatively long history • China – decentralized and exercised by many agencies • India – over and above the built-in quality control systems • Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Vietnam – evolving systems

9. Rethinking QA Strategies • NAAC – re-accreditation and impact of first assessment on policy making • AUQA – reflecting on mandates other than audit • JUAA – international competitiveness of HEIs • LAN – including public institutions • HKCAA – on the verge of a major reorganization

10. Developments in Transnational Education • Quality assurance of the export – Australia, India, Malaysia and New Zealand • Quality assurance of the import – Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand and Philippines • Role of QAAs - ??? • Ambiguity in national policy frameworks

11. Mutual Recognition (MR) among QAAs • Comparability has to be ensured in • Criteria • Policies • Procedures • Quality assurance outcomes of QAAs • Mutual monitoring and information exchange • Participation in each other’s quality assurance activities • Pilot projects

12. Potential for MR Agreements • Initial interest by AUQA (Australia), AAU (New Zealand), BAN (Indonesia), LAN (Malaysia) and NAAC (India) • Bottleneck – involving the policy makers and finding resources for the implementation

13. Ongoing Capacity Building Activities • Three major approaches: • Capacity building activities of the well established QA systems • Capacity building of the emerging QA systems • Capacity building activities of the networks and regional efforts

14. Type 1: In-Country Capacity Building Exercises of the QAAs • Skill enhancement or professional development approach for the personnel who would be involved in quality assurance activities • Training programmes and orientations for the auditors/assessors/peers • Workshops for HEIs on preparing the self-study report • Case studies, role-plays and panel discussions • Varies from brief discussions to rigorous residential programmes ….contd

15. Type 1: In-Country Capacity Building Exercises of the QAAs • Focus: to ensure a thorough understanding of the quality assurance framework and orient the HEIs • Not much scope for learning from each other • New developments in QA are not addressed • Resources come from the QAAs and the participants • Expertise is within the system • Done periodically

16. Type 2: Capacity Building of the Emerging QAAs • Study visits and professional visits to other QAAs • Participation in international conferences and workshops • Ample scope for learning from each other • Emerging areas of concern are discussed • Need to go beyond national bodies • Supported by inter-governmental bodies • Support for such efforts - limited and un-coordinated

17. Type 3: Regional Network Efforts • Asia Pacific Quality Network (AQPN) • Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) • ASEAN University Network (AUN) • UNESCO • OECD • World Bank

18. Need for Capacity Building Activities at Three Levels • National level • Regional level • Trans-regional level

19. National Level • Emerging quality assurance systems • Involving various stakeholders of the nation • Policy makers • HEIs • Academia • Students • The public • Bringing experienced staff of QAAs from other systems • Providing a platform for sharing of experiences • Facilitating reflection on lessons learnt

20. Regional Level • Cross-border education • Those in key positions • Policy makers • Educational administrators • Mentoring activities • Collaborative research and training • Requires funding

21. Trans-Regional Level • Cross-border education • Policy framework on emerging areas of concern • Clearinghouse functions • Portals or databases of quality institutions • Requires a forum for coordination

22. Priorities in Capacity Building • Ensuring that quality assurance becomes an integral part of reforms in countries where the higher education system is being restructured • Harnessing the support of governments for national quality assurance mechanisms where quality assurance is yet to be given a due place • Promoting the capacity of various stakeholders, especially the governments and students, to make informed decisions using the outcomes related to quality assurance ….contd

23. Priorities in Capacity Building • Supporting mentoring programmes for the staff of emerging quality assurance systems • Facilitating transparency and openness in the fairly stabilized quality assurance systems by supporting the presence of international members in national quality assurance exercises • Conducting training programmes and workshops for quality assurance personnel at the regional level • Facilitating Mutual Recognition arrangements between QAAs through pilot studies ….contd

24. Priorities in Capacity Building • Supporting joint research and publication programmes on QA issues such as indicators of quality, best practices of QAAs, etc. • Supporting more discussions on the policy frameworks and quality assurance of cross-border education • Strengthening the role of the existing networks in contributing to the above-mentioned activities • Strengthening a regional forum that can act as a clearinghouse for information, nodal point for research and development, registry for regional expertise, gateway for trainees, negotiating table for issues of contention and an advisory body for making informed choices