The UNESCO/OECD Guidelines for Quality in Cross-Border Higher Education

Stamenka Uvalic-Trumbic
UNESCO

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     Last modified: July 30, 2006
     Presentation date: 10/31/2006 4:00 PM in NT Portland A
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Abstract
One of the responses put forward internationally through the UNESCO-OECD Guidelines on Quality Provision in Cross-Border Higher Education, aim to promote mutual trust and international cooperation in quality assurance and the recognition of qualifications, in particular those provided across borders. The objective is to strengthen the notion of sharing responsibility for quality higher education between providers and receivers of higher education and to protect students, through a joint effort of the six stakeholders addressed by the guidelines. Dialogue and sharing, access, transparency and reliability of information remain key notions of this instrument. It also underlines that policy-making in higher education reflects national priorities, and should be an important element in cross-border provision, including e-learning. The Guidelines, launched in 2005, constitute a first step in capacity building and assisting national policy makers develop robust quality assurance systems.

It is against this background that we should explore what can UNESCO do, in partnership with other international organizations, to promote trust and confidence in post-secondary e-learning by empowering learners to assess its quality and assist capacity building for quality assurance of cross-border ICT-assisted higher education.