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Final Statement
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Sharing
Quality Higher
Education Across Borders:
A Statement on Behalf of Higher
Education Institutions Worldwide |
(Note to reader:
This document, prepared
by the
International Association of Universities (IAU), the Association
of Universities
and Colleges of Canada (AUCC)
(external link), the American Council on
Education (ACE) (external link), Council
for Higher
Education Accreditation (CHEA)
(external link), was
circulated
as a draft to higher education membership associations worldwide for
comment
from May to September 2004. This final version has benefited from their
commentary.)
The Issue
Higher education’s tradition of exchanging
ideas and people across borders has long served to advance its
contribution to
society’s cultural, social and economic goals. In recent years, there
has been
an impressive expansion of cross-border higher education initiatives.
This
expansion is characterized by two main trends. One is the growing
imperative of
higher education institutions to internationalize – to integrate an
international/intercultural dimension into teaching, research and
community
service – in order to enhance their academic excellence and the
relevance of
their contribution to societies. Higher
education institutions have long experience in this area, and are
rapidly
expanding their cooperation with their counterparts around the world.
The second trend is the growth of
market-driven activities, fuelled by increased demand for higher
education
worldwide, declining public funding in many national contexts, the
diversification of higher education providers, and new methods of
delivery. The growth of this second
trend, in particular, and the complex issues it raises, provide the
impetus for
this document.
The scope, complexity and volume of
cross-border activity
[1]
create new challenges and intensify existing ones. Principal among
these are
the need to (a) safeguard the broader cultural, social and economic
contributions of higher education and research, particularly given the
critical
role they play in today’s global knowledge society; (b) protect the
interests
of students and facilitate their mobility; (c) strengthen the capacity
of
developing countries to improve accessibility to quality higher
education,
especially at a time when the gap in resources and access to knowledge
between
the industrialized and developing world is growing; and (d) preserve
linguistic
and cultural diversity within higher education.
This document is based on the belief that
market forces alone are inadequate to ensure that cross-border
education
contributes to the public good. Therefore, it lays the groundwork for
fair and
transparent policy frameworks for managing higher education across
borders that
are underpinned by a set of guiding principles and a process of
dialogue among
stakeholders. These frameworks should address the challenges we face in
developing and sharing quality higher education across borders for the
benefit
of all, and ensure that cross-border higher education’s contribution to
the
broader public interest is not sacrificed to commercial interests.
Audiences
This statement is therefore addressed to
two audiences: (1) higher education institutions and other providers [2]
and their non-governmental associations worldwide, and (2) national
governments and their intergovernmental organizations. It
outlines the principles that the
signatories believe should anchor institutional initiatives in
cross-border
education as well as government policies and positions in trade
negotiations. It also recommends
specific actions that reinforce these principles.
By endorsing this statement, the higher
education membership associations listed at the end of this document
signal
their intention to (a) promote policies and practices among their
member
institutions which are based on the principles and actions called for
in this
statement; (b) cooperate at an international level to implement such
policy
frameworks and (c) engage in dialogue with their respective governments
and
intergovernmental organizations so that national and international
policies and
practices advance these principles and realize this action
agenda.
Principles for Cross-border Higher Education
We believe
that cross-border activity can
make an important contribution to enhancing higher education if it is
developed
and delivered responsibly and effectively.
We therefore set forth the following principles to guide the actions of
all the stakeholders specified in this statement:
- Cross-border higher
education should strive to contribute to the broader economic, social
and cultural well-being of communities.
- While cross-border education
can flow in many different directions and takes place in a variety of
contexts, it should strengthen developing countries’ higher education
capacity in order to promote global equity.
- In addition to providing
disciplinary and professional expertise, cross-border higher education
should strive to instill in learners the critical thinking that
underpins responsible citizenship at the local, national and global
levels.
- Cross-border higher
education should be accessible not only to students who can afford to
pay, but also to qualified students with financial need.
- Cross-border
higher education should meet the same high standards of academic and
organizational quality no matter where it is delivered.
- Cross-border
higher education should be accountable to the public, students and
governments.
- Cross-border
higher education should expand the opportunities for international
mobility of faculty, researchers and students.
- Higher education
institutions and other providers of cross-border higher education
should provide clear and full information to students and external
stakeholders about the education they provide.
Recommendations for Higher Education Institutions and
other Providers
Based on these principles, we endorse the
following action agenda for adoption and implementation by higher
education
institutions and other providers engaged in education across borders.
In order
to benefit from past experience, implementation efforts should
recognize and,
where appropriate, build on existing legal instruments, policy
statements, fora
and initiatives that are consistent with these principles and promote
further
research and policy dialogue [3]
.
- Become conversant with
issues surrounding cross-border education and trade to inform the
exchange among associations and their associations’ engagement in a
constructive dialogue with governments.
- Strive
to ensure that higher education across borders contributes to the
broader social and economic well-being of communities in the host
country, is culturally sensitive in its approach and content, and
strengthens local higher education capacity by, for example,
cooperating, when appropriate, with local institutions.
- Obtain the proper authorization to operate
as a higher education institution from government or other competent
bodies
[4] in
the home and host countries. At the same time, governments and
competent bodies should increase their collaboration, transparency, and
information sharing in order to alleviate the administrative burden on
higher education institutions.
- Build a culture of ongoing
quality review, feedback, and improvement by creating robust quality
assurance processes at the institutional level which rely heavily on
faculty expertise and incorporate the views of students.
- Cooperate with their
associations as well as with relevant governmental and non-governmental
bodies to develop effective quality assurance principles and practices
and apply them to cross-border activities.
- Cooperate with relevant
governmental and non-governmental bodies to improve the international
exchange of information and cooperation on quality assurance and
recognition issues.
- Provide reliable
information to the public, students and governments in a proactive
manner, particularly with respect to the institution’s legal status,
award-granting authority, course offerings, quality assurance
mechanisms, as well as other relevant facts as suggested by codes of
good practice.
Recommendations to Governments
Meeting the challenges of cross-border
education will require a concerted effort not only by higher education
providers, but also by governments and competent authorities within
nations. In
this regard, it is vital that strong partnerships be fostered between
higher
education institutions and their associations on the one hand, and
governments
and their intergovernmental organizations on the other hand. We believe
the cornerstone
of this partnership should be a shared vision of principles and
policies to
govern the management of cross-border
education
Some governments seek to manage
cross-border higher education through multilateral and regional trade
regimes
designed to facilitate the flow of private goods and services. There
are three
main limitations to this approach. First, trade frameworks are not
designed to
deal with the academic, research, or broader social and cultural
purposes of
cross-border higher education. Second, trade policy and national
education
policy may conflict with each other and jeopardize higher education’s
capacity
to carry out its social and cultural mission. Third, applying trade
rules to
complex national higher education systems designed to serve the public
interest
may have unintended consequences that can be harmful to this mission [5].
Thus, we
believe that international agreements and policies for cross-border
higher
education – particularly in the context of WTO and other trade
discussions –
should address these limitations. They should respect the right
of
governments and competent bodies within nations to regulate their
higher
education systems, to safeguard the public investment in higher
education to
achieve their cultural, social and economic goals, and to promote
access and
equity for students.Moreover,
governments should play a constructive role in developing national and
international policy frameworks that promote
cross-border higher education’s positive contributions to society. To
this end,
we recommend that governments adopt the following action agenda to
complement
the efforts of higher education providers:
- Engage with higher
education institutions and other providers and their representative
associations in dialogue about the principles articulated in this
statement, particularly when elaborating trade policies.
- Promote
and support academic
and research partnerships and other forms of cooperation for higher
education capacity-building in developing countries.
- Demonstrate
a commitment to
access through increased support for qualified international students
with financial need.
- Cooperate
with relevant
governmental and non-governmental bodies to ensure that foreign higher
education providers operating within their countries are appropriately
authorized and monitored.
- Cooperate
with relevant
governmental and non-governmental bodies to make widely available
accurate, timely, and user-friendly information on the country’s higher
education institutions and quality assurance and accreditation
practices.
- Cooperate with relevant
governmental and non-governmental bodies to improve information tools
that ensure the information referred to above is shared internationally
in a systematic fashion.
Conclusion
Higher education across borders is a
promising avenue for enhancing equity, access and the quality of higher
education. Realizing its potential is a shared responsibility of many
stakeholders, including the associations cited below and the higher
education
institutions they represent. We urge all engaged in planning,
providing,
monitoring, and negotiating higher education across borders to adhere
to the
principles articulated in this statement and to implement the action
items. We
also urge governments to bring this statement to the attention of
intergovernmental organizations whose mandates include higher education
and to
ensure that the values, principles, roles and responsibilities
articulated in
this statement guide these organizations’ deliberations and actions. By
taking these steps, and working
collectively, we will help address the urgent need for national and
international policy frameworks for sharing quality higher education
across
borders and affirm the value of higher education’s continued
contribution to
the public good.
(This statement
has been formally adopted by the
higher education membership associations listed below.)
Signatories
(click here)
[1]
Higher
education across borders is a multifaceted phenomenon which includes
the
movement of people (students and faculty), providers (higher education
institutions with a physical and/or virtual presence in a host
country), and
academic content (such as the development of joint curricula). These
activities
take place in the context of international development cooperation,
academic
exchanges and linkages, as well as commercial initiatives.
[2]
This group
includes institutions and new types of higher education providers,
whether they
are public, private or for-profit.
[3]
The following is a
representative, but by no means exhaustive sample of related existing
instruments, policy statements, fora and initiatives: UNESCO regional
conventions on the recognition of academic qualifications and
credentials (see www.unesco.org);
UNESCO/Council of Europe
Code of Good Practice in the Provision of Transnational Education (see www.cepes.ro); OECD-UNESCO Draft
Guidelines on
Provision of Cross-border Education (see www.oecd.org);
development of the European Higher Education Area (see www.eua.be or www.bologna-bergen2005.no);
Accra
Declaration on GATS and Internationalisation (AAU, see www.aau.org) ; Joint Declaration on
Higher
Education and GATS (ACE/ AUCC/ CHEA/EUA, see www.unesco.org/iau).
[4]
The term “competent bodies” is used in order to take into account the
fact that
in any given country, authority for higher education rests with
different
levels of government, non-governmental organizations, and institutions.
[5]
This is
particularly true given the fact that GATS, Article I:3 is ambiguous
and open
to interpretation. It is this Article
that is concerned with services ‘supplied in the exercise of government
authority’ where these services are defined as being supplied ‘neither
on a
commercial basis nor in competition with one or more service
suppliers’. |
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