1

IAU 14th General Conference, 27-30 November 2012

Towards a quality culture for internationalization

Patricia Pol, Université Paris-Est, IAU Board member, AERES - France

pol@u-pec.fr

2

Outlines

1. A matter of decreasing risks and enhancing benefits ?

2. An increasing concern for external stakeholders

3. A shared vision for HEIs and a necessity to promote self evaluation processes

4. An attitude towards cooperative approaches : the case of joint degrees

3

1. A matter of risks and benefits ?

4 © IAU – October 2010

5

6

2. An increasing concern for external stakeholders

1. The « integrated approach » : the international dimension is included in the existing guidelines of quality assurance agencies :

Programmes evaluation or accrdeditation

Institutional evaluation

Research units evaluation

(case of the French agency AERES till 2012)

Accountability / Improvement

IAU 14th General Conference, Puerto Rico, 27-30 November 2012

7

2. An increasing concern for external stakeholders

2. The « international-focused approach » : with specific instrumentsCodes (code of ethical practice in international education (Canada-1996), to international students (Australia- 1998)

Reviews (IQR, Internationalisation quality review,OECD- 1999)

Mapping and benchmarking (IMPI- Indicators for measuring and profiling internationaliation, 2012)

Advisory services (ISAS-AIU- 2010)

Quality label for internationalization of institutions and programmes (NVAO-2012)

8

3. A shared vision for HEIs

Quality Culture and internationalisation - An issue of shared values, principles and

attitudes at all levels of HEIs (and not only staff or students involved in international, mobility or quality matters)

- A policy and set of strategical approaches (rational / « chemin faisant »)

- A learning process and a tool for reflection

9

3. Necessity to promote self evaluation processes

A learning process through self evaluation

What does internationalisation mean for the community ?

What are we trying to do at international level, where do we want to go and how ?

How do we know it works ?

How do we change in order to improve ?

The choice of a specific or an integrated approach can depend on the degree or « maturity » of internationalisation

10

3. A shared vision and self evaluation processes

An issue of indicators

Attitude indicators Export-import strategies / cooperation strategies (development of joint programmes/branch campuses, strategic partnership, membership in international networks)

Internationalization of staff in the decision bodies, among faculty members, Language skills of the curricula and staff,

Ethnocentric, Regiocentric, Polycentric

(see H.W. Perlmutter, 1974 analysing the Multinational Firms)

11

3. Self evaluation processes

Structural indicators Numbers of agreements , rates of international students, in coming out-going mobility (staff and students), part of the budget dedicated to internationalization, size of the international office, number of international publications, research projects…

Performance indicators % fund raising, evolution of the position in the international rankings? Income generated

Tools for benchmarking, mapping and understanding evolutions

12

4. A collaborative approach : the case of the evaluation of joint degrees

Some key issues

What is the added value of a joint degree ?

How to set up and assess « jointness criteria » ?

How to move towards joint evaluation or mutual

recognition between quality assurance agencies ?

Towards specific guidelines ?

13

Focusing on the major issues. Critical Paths. Start at the Beginning – Develop Logically and Strategically (EMQA-UE)

14

Concluding considerations

A culture can’t be decided by decret but quality can be enhanced through :

- A collective responsility (HEIs leaders and staff at each level, students, associations, policy makers, quality assurance agencies)

- Policies, strategies and tools for internal and external quality processes

No one best way to assess internationalization but fit for purpose

15

References

Measuring and assessing internationalization, Madeleine Green,

NAFSA, 2012

Internationalisation of higher education in Europe and

its assessment, trends and issues, Hans de Wit, NVAO

2012

Global and regional trends in internationalization, threat to or

improvement of quality ? Patricia Pol, INQAAHE-ENQA seminar,

Brussels, 2011

www.IMPI-toolbox.che.de

www.ecaconsortium.net/main/projects/joqar

www.emqa.eu