Internationalisation Quality Review (IQR)

imheimhe infoOECDNo. 12002

PROGRAMME ON INSTITUTIONAL MANAGEMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION

On 3-4 December, at the IMHE Seminar on InstitutionalResponses to Changing Student Expectations in Paris,project leader Peter Coaldrake summed up earlierdiscussions as a series of questions. What is the nature andcontext of the relationships between students anduniversities? How and why are student expectationschanging? To what extent, and how should universitiesrespond to student expectations?

Are students consumers? Vice-Chancellor and RMITPresident Ruth Dunkin (student population 50 000,including 25% international students from 110 countries)

lent nuance to this keyquestion. “Yes and no.Education is more than asimple public goodprovided to students for afee since students laterprovide services to thecommunity, which in turnprovides resources toeducation and research.Education plays a centralrole in social cohesion.” In

The international dimension of higher education hasbecome an important agenda item for HEIs. Transnationaleducation, the impact of new information andcommunication technologies on education, and thedefinition of educational services as cross-border trade areexamples of the way in which the issue is posed.

Internationalisation poses many challenges for HEIs. Atthe same time, it gives institutions new opportunities forpositioning themselves in an increasingly competitivemarket that is reshaping institutional strategies. Descriptionsand definitions of international higher education abound;so do the reasons for introducing an international dimensioninto higher education — political, economic, cultural, andacademics are equally numerous.

The twin issues of quality and internationalisation dovetailin IQR. IMHE, the Academic Co-operation Association,the European University Association, with the co-operationof the International Network for Quality Assurance inHigher Education all collaborate to provide institutionswith a service for assessing and improving, where necessary,their efforts to internationalise. IQR provides a flexibletool for a sensitive process.

Based on a self-assessment phase and an external peerreview, the IQR is tailored to each institution. The firststage begins with the preparation of a self-assessment,

based on IQR guidelines. This gives the institution theopportunity to evaluate its current international activitiesand plans and their implementation; future strategies; andits own assessment of outcomes. The second stage lasts twomonths and involves the visit of an international peer-review team to validate the self-assessment report, providean external, in-depth perspective, and engage the institutionto prompt positive change. The team report is widelydistributed internally and the institution determines how todisseminate the report and follow up on the process.

The cost of IQR defrays the expenses of the review visitand the costs of training the review team, briefing seminarsand administration. Registration forms are available atwww.unige.ch/eua.This work initially focused on qualityin higher education and led to the publication in 1999 ofQuality and Internationalisation in Higher Education.ISBN 9789264170490 (see IMHE info 1999 No. 3).

Participating Higher Education Institutions in 2000 and 2001❖ Rhodes University, South Africa❖ Guanajuato University, Mexico❖ Erasmus University, The Netherlands❖ Aalborg University, Denmark❖ University of Valladolid, Spain❖ University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Australia, the education debate is part of the innovationagenda debate concerning Australia’s ability to hold on toits RD people. The issue of cost is critical, but “educationmust be seen as an investment, rather than a cost.”

President Brendan Goldsmith, Dublin Institute ofTechnology (21 000 students), described changing studentexpectations at his institution: there are greater numbers ofpost-graduate students, more working students, and morestudents in four-year degree programmes. “Students aremore demanding, they want a better level of service, whichincludes everything from physical environment to supportservices (library, etc.) to the quality of the learningenvironment, and professionalism. Students expect DIT tokeep up with the latest technology.”

Jacob Henricson, President of ESIB (National Unions ofStudents in Europe), gives voice to student perspectives.“Students refuse to be identified as consumers.” In therecent Brussels Student Declaration concerning theconstruction of the European Higher Education Area, ESIBreiterated that “Students should be regarded as a core partof higher education, not as consumers that purchase aproduct.” Communication moves students closer to

What do Students Expect? How do HEIs Respond?

RMIT President Ruth Dunkin

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New MembersIMHE welcomes the following new members:Association of Christian Universities and Colleges in Asia

(ACUCA) * Consejera de Educacion y Cultura, Spain *HEFCE, United Kingdom * Istanbul Technical University,Turkey * Ministry of Education, Slovak Republic * Ministryof Education, Culture and Sports, Spain * Ministry of Educationand Research, Norway * Ministry of Education and Science,

What do Students Expect? How do HEIs Respond?decision-making structures and makes decision-making

processes more transparent. If students are to participatemore actively, they need financial support. The investment,according to Henricson, and therefore the participation,makes students more responsible, helps educationalstructures evolve, and promotes democratic highereducation. Michael Conlon, Director of Research, CanadianFederation of Students was “encouraged by the commitmentto public education (at the seminar). The United States andNew Zealand want education to be traded. We wantgovernment to keep education a public service and not aglobalised commodity.”

Sweden * Österreichische Rektorenkonferenz, Austria *Swiss Federal Institute of Technology-Zürich, Switzerland *Università degli Studi di Catania, Italy * Université Laval,Canada * University of Vienna, Austria * Universität Zürich,Switzerland

Views vary widely about the benefits of trade in educationalservices, the desirability of including the sector in multilateraltrade negotiations, and how much the initiatives aimed atexpanding trade in education should be further promoted.The OECD is examining the implications ofinternationalisation in the demand for competences and thesupply of education and training services. More specifically,OECD is looking at trade in educational services and keytrends and issues in international e-learning activities.

The first OECD Forum on Trade in Educational Services isbeing jointly organised by CERI and the Trade Directorateof OECD, the U.S. Departments of Education and Commerce,the National Committee for International Trade in Education,the Center for Quality Assurance in International Education,and the World Bank, in co-operation with the Office of theU.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of State.The principal stakeholders actively involved in cross-bordertrade activities in education and training will use this forumas a platform to discuss the main issues and trends in theglobal trade of educational services. For programmeinformation, contact Kurt.Larsen@oecd.org

Are students well prepared to meet the challenges of thefuture? Can they analyse, reason and communicate theirideas effectively and continue learning throughout life? PISA,the Programme for International Student Assessment, surveysthe knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds in the principal

industrialised countries,assesses how far studentsnear the end of compulsoryeducation have acquiredsome of the knowledge andskills they need to fullyparticipate in society. It isan unprecedented attemptto measure studentachievement scores inOECD and some non-OECD countries.

For further information:http: //pisa.oecd.org

The OECD Forum on Trade in Educational Services,Washington D.C., 23-24 May

Knowledge and Skills for Life - PISAAssessing Reading, Mathematical and Scientific Literacy

News from the Secretariat

Elsewhere in the OECD

Student Leaders Michael Conlon and Jacob Henricson

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Economics and Finance of LifelongLearning. OECD Publications. 2001.ISBN 9264195866

Learning is essential for progress inthe ‘knowledge society’, and criticalfor economic growth and social

w e l f a r e .O E C DM e m b e rc o u n t r i e sh a v ecommi t tedthemselvesto makingl i f e l o n glearning areality for allbut ther e q u i s i t e

resources are potentially large andcountries differ in their capacity togenerate them. Can the challenge bemet? This report identifies andexamines the economic and financialissues that arise in implementing thegoal, and the strategies pursued by thepublic and private sectors. It addressesindividual learning accounts,recognition of non-formal learning,and measures to raise rates of return tolifelong learning. The report draws onanalyses, findings, and lessons fromearlier OECD work and theproceedings of the internationalconference on “Lifelong Learning asan Affordable Investment” (Ottawa,December 2000).

Managing the Learning University.Chris Duke. Open University Press,2002. ISBN 0335207650

This book debunks prevailingmodern management theories andfashions applied to higher educationand provides practical guidance on aclear set of principles for re-energisinghigher education staff to meet thegrowing needs of the knowledgesociety. Challenging advice formanagers.

Transnational Education and theNew Economy: Delivery and Quality.UNESCO Studies on Higher Education,2001. ISBN 9290691640

This publication presents the papersof the 2000 Global Alliance for

TransnationalE d u c a t i o n( G A T E )conference,co-sponsoredby UNESCO.Chal lengesfor the NewE c o n o m y :R e s k i l l i n gand Re-training aG l o b a l

Workforce; Modes of TransnationalEducation from on-line to On-the-Ground; The Future of a BorderlessEduation in a Third Wave World;Transnational GATE Principles andModels for Transnational EducationalPartnerships; Standards for QualityAssurance in Distance Education.

The Global Market for HigherEducation: Sustainable CompetitiveStrategies for the New Millenium.Tim Mazzarol and Geoffrey NormanSoutar. Edward Elgar Publishing, 2001.ISBN 180643293

Many educational institutions nowdepend on recruiting overseas students

to survive. Thisbook discussesthe industry froma strategic ands e r v i c e sm a r k e t i n gp e r s p e c t i v e ,and proposesa model forobtaining andmaintaining ac o m p e t i t i v eadvantage.

Internationalisation in EuropeanNon-University Higher Education.Bernd Wächter, ed., Lemmens. 1999.ISBN 3932306333

This book explores the state ofinternationalisation in Europe’s non-university HEIs such as the Dutchhogescholen, the GermanFachhochschulen, and the Irish

Institutes ofTechnology.State-of-the-art reports on15 Europeancountries arep r e s e n t e dalong withe x p e r t s ’papers froman inter-n a t i o n a lseminar heldin Bonn onthe issue.

La formation professionnellecontinue : Transformations,contraintes et enjeux (French only).Vincent Vandenberghe, ed.,Academia Bruyland, 2000. ISBN2872095756

The growing interest in continuingeducation is part of the debate on anew social issue. In the United States,the issue is that of rising income in-

equality; inEurope, it is thatof status withrespect to thelabour market.This bookassesses thedevelopmentof continuinge d u c a t i o n ,analyses themeaning of thei n t e r n a l

changes and the external impact, anddiscusses its benefits.

Address change? Please inform IMHE.

Publications of Interest

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11-12 AprilFrom Lisbon to the European Area of Higher Education;

Issues of Recognition in the Framework of the BolognaProcess, Council of Europe, Lisbon, Portugal.Contact: Sjur.bergan@coe.int

19-22 JuneThe Changing Universities: The Challenge of New

Technologies, EUNIS 2002, 8th International Conferenceof European University Information Systems: Faculdadede Enghenharia da Universidade do Porto, Portugal.www.fe.up.pt/eunis2002

24-27 JuneAcademic Values, National Dreams, Global Realities,

International Association of University Presidents XIIIthTriennial Conference IAUP, Sydney, Australia.www.iaup-triennial.org

24-26 JulyThe AVCC Public Relations and Marketing Conference

2002, Quality Time, The Australian Vice-Chancellors’Conference, North Queensville, Australia.www.avcc.edu.au

2-4 SeptemberThe New Educational Benefits of ICT in Higher Education,

CHEPS European Conference, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.www.oecr.nl/conference

8-11 SeptemberCrossing National, Structural and Technological Borders:

Development and Management in Higher Education, 24thAnnual EAIR Forum, Prague, The Czech Republic.www.org.uva.nl/eair

9-11 SeptemberConference, European Universities in Crisis? Deans’

European Academic Network, 2002 Bogaziçi University,Istanbul, Turkey. Sme.belgium.eu.net.esmu

11-14 September14th Annual EAIE Conference, Porto, Portugal.

www.eaie.org

23-24 MayOECD Forum on Trade in Education Services, Washington

D.C. www.oecd.org.14-19 JuneRoles, Identity, Strategy for New Institutions, IMHE/EUA

Strategic Management Seminar for University Leaders,University of Edinburgh, Scotland.

21-22 JuneInternational Conference for Leaders of New Generation

Universities, IMHE/University of Western Sydney,Association of Commonwealth Universities,Sydney,Australia. www.uws.edu.au/uws/conferences/nguc

26-27 AugustSeminar on Managing University Libraries, OECD, Paris,

France.5-12 OctoberStudy Visit to English and French-speaking HEIs in Canada.3-6 NovemberStrategic Management Seminar for University Leaders,

IMHE, in co-operation with the University of Regina Carmeliand the Association of Universities of Asia and the Pacific(AUAP), Manila, The Philippines.

IMHE Calendar 2002

IMHE-Info is published in English and French by the OECDProgramme on Institutional Management in Higher Education(IMHE). Extracts from this newsletter may be reproducedprovided that credit be given. Send inquiries, comments anditems to be considered for publication to:

Deborah Glassman, EditorIMHE Programme, OECD

2, rue André-Pascal75775 Paris Cedex 16, France

Tel: (33) 1 45 24 92 24/64Fax: (33) 1 42 24 02 11 or (33) 1 44 30 61 76

imhe@oecd.orgwww.oecd.org/els/education/higher

Other Meetings of Interest

The programme for this flagship event promises to bestimulating. The four plenary sessions provide a national,an international, an institutional and an individualperspective on the conference theme. Sir Howard Newby,Chief Executive of the Higher Education Funding CouncilEngland (HEFCE), will open the discussions. Dr. KlausLandfried, Secretary General of the German Rectors’Conference will give the keynote address on the institutionalmilieu, and Professor Bernard Belloc, head of the Conferenceof French University Presidents will respond. A round tablewill debate internationalisation and transnationaleducation. A panel including university rectors or presidentsfrom Australia, Norway, and the United States will discussinstitutional identities in the context of how today’suniversities are governed. Laurie Taylor, sociologist, radiobroadcaster and well-known columnist in The Times HigherEducation Supplement, will speak at the dinner conference.

General Conference Update16-18 September

16th IMHE General Conference on Incentives andAccountability: Instruments of Change in HigherEducation, OECD, Paris, France.

For programme information:www.oecd.org/els/education/higheror contact IMHE at imhe@oecd.org