Restricted Area

PG11: Transnational Education

1. Objectives/purpose

To develop a report on the status of and trends in transnational education in the Asia-Pacific region

2. Relevance to APQN Objectives/activities

Asia-Pacific is the region where a lot of transnational education activity is happening. This is also the region where many national QA efforts are still in initial stages and there is a great need for capacity development. While efforts have gone into scoping the general development of QA and in addressing the national needs of the QA systems, efforts to understand the QA of transnational activity have been sporadic. A study with special focus on transnational education and its QA issues will be valuable to plan the capacity development activities of the region.

Asia-Pacific is also the region that has the distinct feature of leading in both export and import at the same time. It is also the region where the phenomenon of third country students is significant. Malaysia and Singapore are trying to become regional hubs by attracting foreign students to study in their countries in the foreign university campuses they host. These developments bring in issues that are not addressed by general reports on QA. This project will look at these issues and develop a report on the emerging trends.

The region also has QA agencies that have made significant contributions to good practices in the quality assurance of new forms of education including transnational education, e-learning and virtual universities. This study will identify those good practices as well.

3. Methodology/Process

Review of literature, use of data already collected from APQN members, web search, targeted approach to select APQN members, teleconference

4. Expected Outcome

A report that would outline the current status of transnational education in the region, good practices and effective policies for both source and destination countries, areas that need attention, and trends that are emerging.

5. Budget

No significant financial implication is foreseen at this stage. E-mail and APQN events will be used for the project group discussions. Efforts will be made to use teleconference facilities among the project group members. If support is needed for travel or to meet expenses for teleconferencing, a specific approach will be made at that stage.

6. Time Schedule

One year

7. Project Team

Dr Antony Stella (Project Leader)
Audit Director, Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA)
a.stella@auqa.edu.au

Vicheanon Khieu
Deputy Secretary General, Accreditation Committee of Cambodia (ACC)
vicheanon@acc.gov.kh

Professor Zita Mohd Fahmi
Malaysian Qualifications Authority (MQA)
zita@mqa.gov.my

For drawing on comparative perspectives a member from another region that is active in TNE but in a very different way will be involved after an initial analysis of the regional trends.