International Collaborative Provision in Higher Education: Codes of Practice, Guidelines and Reports

Key Resource, August 2007

These resources include a range of documents aimed at institutions and other higher education associations which give information about, and advice on, international and collaborative activities. Some are aimed at those undertaking or planning collaborative activities both internationally and nationally, and some focus more broadly on transnational education (in which the learners are located in a country different from the one where the awarding institution is based), both collaborative (franchises and joint degrees) and not (branch campuses). They offer insights, general principles and practical advice which could be useful to institutions and associations who are already undertaking, or considering getting involved in, international collaborative activities.

 

International Collaborative Provision in Higher Education: Codes of Practice, Guidelines and Reports

Resources from International Associations

Sharing Quality Higher Education Across Borders: A Checklist for Good Practice
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC); the American Council on Education (ACE); the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA); and the International Association of Universities (IAU) (2006)

This checklist was developed jointly by a number of prominent higher education associations, national and international, from across the world. It aims to help education institutions design and assess their cross-border educational initiatives, to guide them in putting into practice the principles outlined in a previous joint statement (2004 – see below), and to use as a focus in discussions with governments and other stakeholders about their quality expectations for cross-border education. The checklist asks institutions to consider aspects such as ‘contribution to the public good’, ‘accessibility’, ‘capacity building’ and ‘transparency’ within all cross-border education projects, and suggests how these elements could be built into programmes.

Guidelines for Quality Enhancement in European Joint Master Programmes
European Universities Association (EUA) (2006)

These guidelines are aimed at all European higher education institutions either considering, or already running, joint Master programmes. They were produced by the EUA to help institutions evaluate and reflect upon joint Master programmes and inter-institutional co-operation more broadly and they set out some of the key factors which could help ensure positive outcomes for such collaborative activity. The guidelines draw closely on the outcomes of the EUA Joint Masters Project, a two-year project working with 11 established joint Master programmes in Europe, which investigated the difficulties and challenges they faced.

Guidelines for Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education
United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2005)

These guidelines, which have been endorsed by the OECD and UNESCO, set out the difficulties of assuring and comparing the quality of educational programmes when more than one country (and therefore national regulatory body) is involved. The guidelines have been developed to protect learners’ rights and interests; to ensure that qualifications can be understood and recognised across sectors and countries; and to ensure that national quality assurance and accreditation agencies are able to understand each other and collaborate. Specific guidelines are set out for higher education providers and student bodies, quality assurance and accreditation agencies and professional bodies.

Sharing Quality Higher Education Across Borders: A Statement on Behalf of Higher Education Institutions Worldwide
IAU, UNESCO, AUCC, ACE, CHEA (2004)

This statement was developed to help institutions and national bodies develop fair and transparent policies for managing higher education across borders. The statement was originally circulated as a draft to higher education membership associations worldwide and this final version includes input from 36 different associations. It discusses key issues and challenges, and expresses a number of principles which the signatories have agreed to adopt when collaborating across borders. It assumes that market forces alone are inadequate to ensure that cross-border education contributes to the public good, and recommends that stakeholders address some key issues to ensure that cross-border higher education’s contribution to the broader public interest is not sacrificed to commercial interests.

National Unions of Students in Europe, Transnational Education Handbook and Other International Policy Statements
National Unions of Students in Europe (ESIB)

The National Unions of Students in Europe represents and promotes the educational, social, economic and cultural interests of students across Europe. This site offers a number of policy papers, PowerPoint presentations and other resources which examine transnational education from the perspective of students’ rights and interests. The TNE handbook provides background information about transnational education, and a chapter examining the differences and challenges which arise in relation to students on transnational, or collaboratively delivered, programmes. A long-term project which was carried out by ESIB entitled “Transnational Education: Fostering Access or Generating Exclusion?” is also summarised.

Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Transnational Education
UNESCO/CEPES; Council of Europe (2001)

This code of practice was developed by the Lisbon Recognition Convention and is aimed at higher education institutions in the European region. The introductory section describes the changing context of international / transnational education and sets out some of the issues which, at the time, were fairly new to the sector such as programmes operating outside of the framework of any national education system and the increasing use of new information technologies. It stresses the importance of maintaining and monitoring the quality of such programmes and sets out some key principles which institutions should adopt when developing transnational programmes and partnerships.

 

Resources from National Associations 

Provision of Education to International Students: Code of Practice and Guidelines for Australian Universities
Australian Vice-Chancellors Committee (2005 - Australia)

This code of practice and related guidelines were developed by the AVCC to help ensure consistent and responsible recruitment, reception, education and wellbeing of international students at their member institutions. The principles set out (which include advice about issues such as student and staff support, partnership arrangements and quality assurance) have been developed for institutions to use as a benchmark against which to evaluate their own procedures when dealing with international or transnational education provision. All AVCC members have committed to adopting and maintaining the procedures and principles listed within this code. This document resulted from two separate codes of practice developed by the AVCC – one focusing on the provision of education to overseas students, the other on the provision of offshore education and educational services – which in 1998 were combined into a single code. It has been revised a number of times in recent years.

QAA Code of Practice for the Assurance of Academic Quality and Standards in Higher Education. Section 2: Collaborative provision and flexible and distributed learning including e-learning
Quality Assurance Agency (2004 - UK)

This document is one of a series which form the Code of practice for the assurance of academic quality and standards in higher education for higher education institutions who subscribe to the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (UK). It focuses on how to ensure that collaborative education programmes, courses and other types of learning which cross borders are of a suitably high standard and are of comparable quality to UK-based and non-collaborative programmes. The Code is designed to be used by those within institutions when setting out their own procedures for establishing, monitoring and evaluating new or established collaborative programmes, including those which are run in collaboration with partners overseas.

Code of Practice of the Council of Validating Universities
Council of Validating Universities (1997 - UK)

This Code offers practical advice about how the formal academic relationship between higher education institutions with degree-awarding powers and the partner institutions who run programmes on their behalf should be set out. It aims to complement more procedural guidance from agencies concerned with quality assurance in higher education. The code covers some general issues about partnerships and looks at elements such as the initial proposal, institutional agreement, the approval/validation of individual programmes, on-going quality assurance and operation of the partnership and accreditation.

 

Resources from Higher Education Institutions

University of Western Australia: Rationale and Processes for Considering and Establishing Transnational Courses (Australia)

This site sets out the preferred procedures for those developing transnational programmes covering all stages from the processes to follow in terms of initial consultation to programme development and ongoing review. A checklist for those developing these programmes is also available.

University of Greenwich: Collaborative Provision: Policy and Practice (and additional self-evaluation documents for collaborative partnerships) (UK)

The collaborative provision policy document describes the university’s approach to regional, national and international collaborative academic provision; summarises their current arrangements for the authorisation, approval, monitoring and review of these partnerships; and outlines the responsibilities of different departments in the coordination and management of collaborative provision. This site also contains a self-evaluation document which discusses the institution’s rationale behind, and experiences of, national and international partnerships until 2006.

University of Oxford: Notes of Guidance on Collaborative Provision and Flexible and Distributed Learning (including E-Learning and international) (UK)

This document discusses the responsibilities which must be met in respect of collaborative and flexible distance learning arrangements which lead to a degree awarded by the University of Oxford. It also contains a procedural diagram to help in ‘identifying, establishing and managing collaborative and other flexible and distributed learning’.

Harvard University: Policies on International Projects and Sites (US) & Harvard University: Guidelines on Establishing Remote Locations (US)

These documents set out some of the risks which should be considered as Harvard increases its presence abroad, and the procedures and processes which could help to minimise these risks. The aims set out are to help ensure that aspects such as initial approval, quality assurance and governance of international projects and new campuses are understood by all staff involved in these ventures.

 

Related Reports from the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education

A Framework for Quality Assurance in the Development and Delivery of Offshore Programmes in Languages other than English
Angela Scarino, Jonathan Crichton and Leo Papademetre, Research Centre for Languages and Cultures Education, University of South Australia - December 2006

Models and Types: Guidelines for Good Practice in Transnational Education
Stephen Connelly, Pro Vice-Chancellor (International) and Jim Garton, Director, Transnational Education, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia; and Alan Olsen, Director, Strategy Policy and Research in Education, Ltd - September 2006

Borderless, Offshore, Transnational and Cross-border Education: Definition and Data Dilemmas
Dr Jane Knight, Ontario Institute for the Study of Education, University of Toronto, Canada - October 2005

Good Practice: Contract Negotiation for Transnational Higher Education
Kathleen Kwan, Associate, Mills & Reeve - September 2005

 

Leadership, Governance & Management of International Collaborative Provision - A Selection of Articles

Crossborder Education: An Analytical Framework for Program and Provider Mobility
Knight, J. (2006). Higher Education Vol.21 pp345-395

“Catch Me I’m Falling”: Key Factors in the Deterioration of Offshore Education Partnerships
Heffernan, T. & Poole, D. (2004). Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, Vol. 26:1 pp75-90

Higher Education as an International Commodity: Ensuring Quality in Partnerships
Hodgson, P. J. and Thomas, H.G. (2001). Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol.26:2. pp101-112

Transnational Education Project Report and Recommendations
Confederation of European Union Rectors Conferences (2001). Stephen Adam, University of Westminster

Opportunity and Risk in Transnational Education – Issues in Planning for International Campus Development: An Australian Perspective.
McBurnie, G. and Pollock, A. (2000). Higher Education in Europe, Vol. XXV:3, pp333-345.