The international student dimension
Some outcomes for the project of issues raised in the course of the Second European Quality Assurance Forum held in Rome from 15-17 November 2007 and the Asia-Pacific Quality Network annual conference in Tokyo from 20-22 February 2008.
HEIs are actively encouraged by Government to treat HE higher education as an export. If students' expectations are disappointed as a result HEIs may be exposed to disputes of a potentially expensive and complex sort, involving litigation in other jurisdictions, and to worldwide reputational damage. Collaborative ventures with overseas 'partners' and the establishment of transnational campuses involve legal agreements which need careful consideration of the local legal framework.
Our objectives at this stage in the development of this section of the project are:
- To identify problem-areas likely to lead to disputes.
- To note good practice in dispute-resolution for international students already in place in other parts of the world and consider how it might be adapted for the UK.
We welcome comments and responses to the following questions from HEIs keen to
- encourage student mobility,
- welcome EU or international students to the UK
- send their own students overseas
- become involved in collaborative ventures with overseas partners or
- run transnational campuses.
Incoming students from overseas
Australia: is ESOS a model for the UK?
Australia has a comprehensive statutory protection of the interests of international students who study in Australia:
'The Australian Government, state and territory governments and providers share responsibility for maintaining and enhancing Australia’s international reputation as a destination for high quality education and training for overseas students':
The legislation places detailed requirements on providers:
' An industry servicing students who travel to Australia to study requires a consistent national approach to the registration of providers permitted to offer those services':
The present unregulated situation in the UK is leading to difficulties for students in obtaining visas. By contrast, the Australian legislation ties the detailed provisions closely to the student visa arrangements and forms a means of controlling the behaviour not only of students but also of the proliferating private higher education providers eager to win a share of a lucrative market:
'The international education and training industry is closely linked to the Australian Government’s student visa programme. Adherence to migration law is essential to ensure public confidence in the student visa programme and to ensure the provision of high quality education and training opportunities to students.'
See:
http://aei.dest.gov.au/AEI/ESOS/Default.htm
Q 1. Should the UK adopt a similar framework to protect incoming students from overseas? How would you wish to see the Australian approach modified for the UK? Is there a disproportionate emphasis on the use of adversarial procedures?
National Code 2007
http://aei.dest.gov.au/AEI/ESOS/NationalCodeOfPractice2007/Default.htm
Standard 8 of the National Code deals with student complaints and appeals. It imposes strict general requirements about procedural fairness and timeliness on providers while allowing for variation in the detailed codes of practice each provider adopts.
There is some reference to informal resolution ('for example, through affected parties discussing the matter'):
'It is important for the provider to make the objective of the process clear in its policies and procedures. For example, is the objective to reach a mediated resolution or is it for the internal complaints and appeals processes to reach a determination? Generally, a mediated solution will be inappropriate when the issue is whether or not the institution followed its own policies and procedures.'
II. STUDENTS FROM THE UK STUDYING ABROAD AND OVERSEAS STUDENTS STUDYING IN THEIR OWN COUNTRIES THROUGH COLLABORATIVE PROVISION WITH UK HEIs
Q2 How does your HEI seek to establish that a potential partner can provide or co-provide a course of appropriate standard?
Q3 What information do you seek about the quality-assurance framework in your partner institution's home country?
Q4 Is your international partner organization an accredited provider in its own country and how do you establish what this means both there and in the UK?
Q5 Does your international partner organization have authority to design and accredit/approve its own courses or does this have to be done by the state in its home country?
Your course-provision partners: avoiding disputes
What kind of organization or institution is your potential partner and how do you ensure that it can provide or co-provide a course of appropriate standard for students?
Although the use of the university title is controlled by law in England, this is not the case elsewhere. The 'scene' is constantly changing and it cannot be taken for granted that 'university' means the same thing everywhere. The vocabulary is far from universally recognized and it is unwise to assume that an English term means the same in the usage of another country. A 'Glossary' exemplifying some of the difficulties in achieving equivalence of concept and description may be downloaded from http://www.niad.ac.jp/index_e.html
'Mutual recognition' of providers and of courses is a growing problem internationally, with private providers jostling with national and public institutions and entering into a variety of different kinds of arrangement with them and with one another. The difficulties which face students in knowing whether to trust a provider also face HEIs considering joint ventures.
UNESCO
UNESCO has a project to identify 'recognized' HEIs worldwide, beginning with a pilot project of 2006-7, covering a limited number of countries. There is no immediate prospect of its being extended to all parts of the world, for reasons of cost . It will also be costly to maintain in a rapidly-changing scene. Funding is needed .
UNESCO-APQN Toolkit : Regulating the Quality of Cross-Border Education
may be downloaded from http://www.apqn.org/events/non_apqn/
However, UNESCO provides a guide Study Abroad for students who want to study in another country. http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php... and http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php...
UNESCO has posted a warning about bogus providers, some claiming UNESCO links
http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=48787...
Alert: Misuse of UNESCO Name by Bogus Institutions
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of requests from individuals, recognition bodies and accrediting agencies concerning dubious providers of higher education that use UNESCO’s name or logo to give the impression that they are recognized providers of higher education.
UNESCO is an intergovernmental body. It does not have the mandate to accredit nor to recognise higher education institutions, programmes, diplomas or accrediting agencies.
Any provider of higher education or accrediting agency which claims or gives the impression of being accredited and/or recognised by UNESCO should be looked upon with caution. Such institutions or accrediting agencies may use different fraudulent modes.
For example:
- Institutions offering/delivering fake diplomas which feature UNESCO’s logo;
- Institutions claiming that one may contact UNESCO to have its accreditation confirmed;
- Institutions stating to be listed in a so-called “UNESCO Higher Education Institutions Registry”, which does not exist in reality;
- Institutions claiming to promote the values and ideals of UNESCO; e.g.; “the Educational Creed of UNESCO”, or the WCHE recommendations, etc.;
- Institutions inserting UNESCO’s name in their URL address to give the impression of official link;
- Institutions claiming to be recognised by UNESCO because of -they are hosting a UNESCO chair; and
- False claims by Bogus institutions that are linked to NGOs affiliated with UNESCO.
In case of doubt, one can refer to the competent relevant higher education body in the country of the institution.
The Quality Assurance Agency in the UK and UKCOSA
The Quality Assurance Agency in the UK and UKCOSA provide a number of resources and links which can assist HEIs and prospective students who want to satisfy themselves that an overseas provider is likely to be reliable in providing courses of an appropriate standard and quality. These do not pretend to be comprehensive, however, and HEIs would be wise to check that online information on which they propose to rely is up to date.
http://www.ukcosa.org.uk/student/index.php
China and Eastern Europe
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/reviews/international/default.asp
Links to the websites of the
Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN)
Central and Eastern European Network of Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (CEENETWORK)
Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)
European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA)
International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE)
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
May be found at
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/international/default.asp#readerguides
Bologna and joint degrees within Europe
The Bologna Process is now at an advanced stage and is helping to bring coherence to the European scene. The current website is at.
http://www.ond.vlaanderen.be/hogeronderwijs/bologna/
A particular feature of the European project is the development of joint degrees. Not all UK HEIs can grant joint degrees, and it is important for individual HEIs to check their powers before entering into arrangements which promise students such awards.
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/international/jointdegrees/default.asp
Asia, Pacific, Australia, New Zealand
The Asia-Pacific Quality Network website gives access to useful links http://www.apqn.org/
USA and Canada
In the USA information is conveniently collected on the website of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation http://www.chea.org/default.asp
Canada provides a Government website to guide prospective international students.
http://www.livelearnandsucceed.gc.ca/
III. YOUR OFFER TO STUDENTS ON YOUR TRANSNATIONAL CAMPUS
If you are offering courses in another country ( for example on a transnational campus ), how do you ensure that students taking your course on your overseas campus receive teaching and resource provision equivalent to that available on your campus in the UK? If there are differences, are they clearly stated to students on the transnational campus? Would your transnational campus meet standard 14 of the Australian Code?
Standard 14 - Staff Capability, Educational Resources and Premises
The staff of registered providers are suitably qualified or experienced in relation to the functions they perform for students. The educational resources of registered providers support the delivery of courses to students. The premises of registered providers, including the floor space available for each student, support students to achieve their course outcomes.
Australia, National Code 2007
http://aei.dest.gov.au/AEI/ESOS/NationalCodeOfPractice2007/Default.htm
Q6 Are students in the UK, EU and international students being offered the same or comparable provision if they enroll on your courses?
Q7 Are you seeking to maintain an appropriate balance of UK/EU and international students on your courses? UK students can be prompted to complain if they find that the proportion of students on their course from overseas is distorting the balance of the teaching, for example because of the need to accommodate language difficulties.
IV DIFFERENTIAL FEES
Q8 Can you justify differential tuition fees and the rate at which you charge them for your international students?