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JOINT QUALITY INITIATIVE
Internationalisation of quality assurance and accreditation
Workshop Maastricht 24-25 September 2001
Day 1 Proceedings
The day was organized around three topics: descriptors for
bachelors-masters; quality assessment; and accreditation. It turned
out that the first and the last were the most controversial. The
conclusion was that the discussion on the issue of accreditation
could be separated from the issue of quality assessment and
descriptors of BaMa.
Especially with regard to the descriptors/standards of BaMa it was
concluded that all participants are facing similar challenges and
common problems and that the resolution to this is resolved
differently in various countries. This depends on traditions,
histories, institutional contexts, etc. It was observed that
characteristics were presented in different terms on similar issues.
It is therefore essential to identify common ground and to exchange
information. Consequently mutual and different answers to basic
questions need to be found. The meeting would welcome initiatives to
this end.
There was agreement that future co-operation should be geared towards
'action versus papers'. Progress is achieved through pragmatic and
practical projects designed by the principle of learning from doing.
A future agenda should exist of common projects that meet the demands
dictated by the needs of individual participants.
In the course of the discussion a vast array of issues to be
addressed has been mentioned: cross-national quality benchmarking,
conceptualisation of BaMa descriptors, franchising and e-learning,
joint degrees and Euromasters, joint degree and mutual recognition,
evaluation and accreditation of trans-national universities, and
setting up of international peer review committees in the context of
national quality assessment and accreditation procedures.
Given the discussions of Day 1, in the water lock and on the wharf,
it was concluded that a framework for conducting these initiatives is
needed.
A JOINT QUALITY INITIATIVE:
On the basis of the above observations, we need:
1. a concrete action programme stimulating internationalisation of
quality assurance towards Berlin 2003;.
2. a framework for bottom up co-operation within the objectives of
the Bologna and Prague process.
The action programme consists of the following elements:
a. Cross border quality assessment possibly followed by accreditation
of (new) BaMa programmes
b. Sharing experience and discussing standards of BaMa
c. Initiate cross-national benchmarking
d. Franchising and quality assurance
e. Comparison of conceptualisations of accreditation
The profile of the framework for co-operation could look as
follows:
· a project of co-operating agencies with input from interested
stakeholders and support by governments;
· developing quality and accreditation systems further by a process
of learning from doing;
· monitoring of the learning from doing process and its outputs
· the action programme will take into account other activities going
on in the follow up of the Bologna - Prague process
Organisation
The action programme and the organisational framework will be
elaborated by a small working group with representatives of the
participating countries on short notice. The working group will give
feed back to the participants and stakeholders involved. Costs will
be shared by the participating countries. Flanders and the
Netherlands are prepared to bear some of the initial cost.
Communication
A web-site will be established to facilitate communication and inform
all the participants about on-going progress in the initiatives
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