developing trust: towards mutual recognition agreements mercosur – riaces maría josé lemaitre...
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DevelopingDeveloping trust: Towards Mutual trust: Towards Mutual Recognition agreementsRecognition agreements
MERCOSUR – RIACES MERCOSUR – RIACES
María José Lemaitre
Chile
June, 2006 MJL 2
Requirements for mobility Requirements for mobility and recognitionand recognition
Trust on basic, shared quality requirements Quality: wide and flexible definitions, able
to account for different options in HE Standards: for programmes, institutions and
QA agencies
June, 2006 MJL 3
Requirements for mobility Requirements for mobility and recognitionand recognition
HE
TRUST
STANDARDSQUALITY
Mobility Recognition
Accreditation
June, 2006 MJL 4
TrustTrust
Shared cultural elements Quality assurance mechanisms Need to develop substantive standards Need to establish standards for QA processes
June, 2006 MJL 5
QualityQuality
Diversity of HEFlexible definition of quality (internal
and external consistency)Legibility of degrees and diplomasQualifications frameworks
June, 2006 MJL 6
StandardsStandards
Substantive standards: contents of teaching and learning, clear expected learning outcomes
Standards for quality assurance processes: procedures, GGP
June, 2006 MJL 7
The MERCOSUR The MERCOSUR experienceexperience
Goal: To make degrees comparable in the six MERCOSUR countries Conditions: to respect national sovereignty and institutional autonomy Need to operate within national QA frameworks
MERCOSURMERCOSUR
June, 2006 MJL 9
Standards for accreditationStandards for accreditation
Three expert groups, from the six countries Expected learning outcomes for three programmes:
Engineering Medicine Agronomy
Conditions for operation (management, human resources, curriculum development, teaching and learning strategies, scholarship, learning resources)
June, 2006 MJL 10
Definition of qualityDefinition of quality
Quality defined as the combination of two main aspects:
• External consistency (adjustment to requirements from disciplinary and professional reference group)
• Internal consistency (ability to respond to institutional principles and priorities
June, 2006 MJL 11
Quality assurance Quality assurance proceduresprocedures
Supranational arrangement, promptly rejected Need to reach an agreement that would allow for mutual recognition of QA decisions Agreement on a basic set of procedures
June, 2006 MJL 12
Quality assurance Quality assurance procedures (2)procedures (2)
All countries agreed to base their decisions on self assessment and external review reports All agencies would use the standards developed by the expert groups External review teams must include members from other two Mercosur countries All external reviewers had to undergo Mercosur training
June, 2006 MJL 13
OutcomesOutcomes
All countries recognize the decisions made by the national agencies
Students from accredited programmes enjoy enhanced opportunities for mobility
Bilateral agreements have been reached leading towards automatic recognition of qualifications of students from accredited programmes
Countries without QA agencies have established their own
Red Iberoamericana para la Red Iberoamericana para la Acreditación de la Calidad de la Acreditación de la Calidad de la
Educación SuperiorEducación Superior
RIACESRIACES
June, 2006 MJL 15
RIACESRIACES
New network of QA agencies, government organizations, associations of HE institutions, and international organizations
Established in 2003, with participation of Latin American countries and Spain
It received a grant from the World Bank to help its development and the promotion of QA activities in the region
RIACESRIACES+ SPAIN
June, 2006 MJL 17
RIACES: two strategic areas RIACES: two strategic areas areas of involvementareas of involvement
1. Capacity building of quality assurance agencies, in order to promote their external recognition
2. Improvement of contents and procedures of agencies in order to promote integration
June, 2006 MJL 18
Action plan: Capacity building Action plan: Capacity building of quality assurance agenciesof quality assurance agencies
Component 1: Development of QA mechanisms within the region Seminar on good practices for QA Design and development of a handbook for the self assessment of
agenciesComponent 2: Establishment of a regional information center Exchange of experiences and development of common criteria for the
assessment of graduate programs, and of distance education Updating of the RIACES glossaryComponent 3: Development of the technical staff of QA agencies Internships for technical staff in the more experienced agencies
within the region Specific projects for consultancy or advice to benefit the less
developed agencies
June, 2006 MJL 19
Action plan: Action plan: Improvement of contents and Improvement of contents and procedures of agenciesprocedures of agencies
Component 4: Development programs Workshops for harmonization of criteria on three subject
areas: agronomy, engineering, medicine, based on the MERCOSUR experience
Component 5: Training of external reviewers Participation of reviewers as observers in external reviews
for program and institutional accreditation
June, 2006 MJL 20
ProceduresProcedures
International dialogue among QA agencies and other stakeholders: Shared learning Adjustment of standards and procedures Development of mutual trust
QA of accrediting agencies GGP Improvement of information systems Support to QA agencies
June, 2006 MJL 21
Final commentsFinal comments
Globalization brings new challenges, that must be anticipated and addressed with a long term and global approach
Networking is essential, for developing trust, for learning together, for building strong constituencies, for standing up together to the globalized world
National systems are essential, but international support makes things more effective