1 quality assurance at a distance. 2 qa of branch campuses badr aboul-ela director, caa, uae...
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QUALITY ASSURANCE AT A DISTANCE
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QA OF BRANCH CAMPUSES
Badr Aboul-ElaDirector, CAA, UAE
Vice-President, ANQAHE
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Branch Campuses
• Definition
Establishment operated in the name of the home (foreign) institution
Qualification is awarded by the home HEI
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• Not For-Profit (few), For-Profit (Majority)• Funding Models
A. Totally funded by the institution (few)
B. External funding support From Governmental support in home country From Government or organizations in host
country
C. Facilities provided (dominating)
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BC No’s. & Distribution
• No Accurate Statistics (>100)• BC Number increased substantially in
the last 10 years. • Some are never reported• Mainly Developed to Developing
countries• Main Providers: US , UK, Australia• Recently, New providers & New hosts
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Emerging Hosts & Sources ~ TNE
UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman: major hosts
UK: major source; emerging host
USA: major source
C. America: hosts and sources
S. America: varying levels of hosts and sources
Australia (NZ): major source; emerging host
China & India: major hosts, emerging sources
Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore: major hosts, emerging sources
Central Asia: emerging host
Kenya & Mauritius: emerging hosts
South Africa: declining host; emerging source
Russia: declining source; emerging host
Canada: emerging host and source
Source: Bjarnason, 2007, © Observatory on Borderless Higher Education
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Special Education ZoneEducation City (e.g. Qatar) Academic City (Dubai) Educational Free Zones
UAE Educational Free ZonesKnowlegde VillageAcademic CityDubai Health Care CitySharjah Free ZoneRas Al Khaimah Free Zone
Total No. of Branch campuses = 35
Some were established in the absence of QA regulations
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If education is offered as a Free Trade,
it should be subjected to quality checks, for
Consumer Protection.
Food cans produced in Free Zones are
inspected through Quality Control Checks to
avoid stomach poisoning, BC in Free Zones
must be inspected to avoid mind poisoning.
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• Host Country
Cover shortage in H. Ed. opportunities not met by national HEIs
Contribute to national economic development through attracting international students
May help in meeting R & D in host country
Benefits
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• Institution
Diversify revenue resources
Advance international profile
Provide international exposure of faculty
Be less dependent on recruitment to home campus
Benefits (continued)
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• Students
Access to international/ foreign Ed. system without travel & at lower cost
Overcome social, cultural & visa problems
Access to programs not available in the host country
Benefits (continued)
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RisksFinancial loss• Damage to reputation• Operational challenges
Market fluctuations & Competitiveness Inability to attract quality faculty Lack of full understanding of host environment Meeting host country regulations Changes in host country regulations
(e.g. Jordan, South Africa)
Increased volatility of BC
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QA of BC
Concerns over Quality of Ed at BC, due to differences in QA System compared to Home Campus
(Yokoyamaha, 2008)
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• Currently: Mixed Bag of HEI with different qualities
QA of BC
(continued)
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• Who Carries the responsibility?
QA of BC (continued)
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Role of QAA in the Provider Country
HEI from countries with:
a) No QAA
b) QAA of less than acceptable standards
c) QAA of “Good Standards”
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• A main requirement: Approval of QAA at Home.
The system is built on TRUST
Are all home QAA doing a “good job”?
Some DOSome have special standards & procedures for
BC, which are followed / not followed
In the UAE, Some BC were never visited by “Good” home QAA!!!
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Who judges/ follows the home QAA?
“Who watches the Watchman?” Finkin, 2009 (USA)
This question becomes more important for QA of BC
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Be ware of Accreditation Mills
• > 137 Agencies are listed as Unrecognized QAA (UNQAAHE !!)
• Possible role for INQAAHE in recognizing QAAs which align with GGP
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Role of QA in host country
Host countries need and have the right to protect their students with their own oversight process
Countries vary in their regulatory control of BC
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Austria, Denmark, FranceMalta, Russia
Netherlands, Peru, UK, Canada, USA
Singapore, Hong Kong , Israel
India
Japan, South Korea
South Africa, Jordan, UAEGreece, Belgium,
More R
estrict
ive
Less R
estrict
ive
Adopted from Observatory on Borderless Higher Education
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What to look for?
A. Before Initial Approval/ Licensure
1. Criteria & Procedures used by home QA in its approval of BC, (evidence-based with detailed report)
(Some QAAs give approval without visiting BCs)
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2. Check the institution’s fitness of purpose:
Compatibility of country’s strategic/ development plan
Suitability to serve local Ed. and research
Availability of a sound Business Plan, Feasibility Study (Student availability, financial support, market survey)
Risk Management Plan with Teach-out Provision
What to look for? (Continued)
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For Purpose:
Ability to do what it is supposed to do in the right way
Appropriate & Sound programs
Faculty & other HR
Learning resources
Control of Admission
Student Support
Internal QA
What to look for? (Continued)
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When BC is in operation
• Host QAA should have criteria & procedures for periodic review
• Host QAA has advantages over Provider QAALocation & ability to conduct more frequent visitsBetter ability to understand local environment &
culture
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Role of HEIMain Responsibility for QA lies with the HEI
itself
• HEIs need to protect their reputation
• Need to fully understand the local conditions (finance, students, local regulations…etc)
• Have a fully developed Risk Assessment Plan as Basis for deciding on having BC
• Tier 1 institutions are often more reluctant to have BC, mainly due to inability to provide faculty of similar quality
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Need for Cooperation Between Home & Host QAA
• The system is built on TRUST
• Recognized Local QAA (follow GGP) should be taken as valuable source to home QAA
• Collaborative agreements should be encouraged, Good Example: ENCA
• Needed in other regions & also between QAAs in different regions (INQAAHE’s future list of recognized QAA)
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Further Steps for cooperation
• Encourage reports & Inf. exchange
• Joint review visits
Some QAAs have Policies & Procedures for joint reviews (e.g. MSCHE, 2002)
Similar approaches are encouraged
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Joined Visits
Help alleviating pressure, time, effort & resources placed on the institution in preparing the self-study & associated site visit
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Joint Visits
Same principle applies to joint visits of host QAA & Professional Accreditation Agencies
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Conclusion
QA of BCs is a Collective Effort of
Host QAA Home QAA HEI
Collaboration should be the way forward
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Thank YouThank You Badr Aboul-Ela