World Bank Learning Seminar Quality Assurance in Tertiary Education (CIEP, Sevres, France, June 18-20, 2006) Welcome to presentation by Prof. V. S. Prasad Vice President, Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN) on Regional Networks for Capacity Building in Quality Assurance: APQN Experience

Genesis of APQN  Founded in January 2003 as regional network in association with INQAAHE  Serving the needs of Quality Assurance Agencies across the region that accounts for more than half of the global population  Members from 51 countries across Asia and Pacific regions (UNESCO definition of region plus Singapore and Pacific Islands)  Current membership includes 16 full, 05 intermediate and 11 associate members along with 2 observers (28 applications for membership are in process)

Features of APQN Region  Majority are developing countries and growing economies  Increasing demand for higher education  Rapid expansion in tertiary education  Increasing student mobility  Presence of quality assurance mechanisms in different stages of maturity

Mission, vision & values Mission To enhance the quality of higher education in Asia and the Pacific region through strengthening the work of quality assurance agencies and extending the cooperation between them. Vision To be a self-sustaining Network by 2010, in which it will come naturally to members to use APQN as a first point of reference for advice or support. Values APQN is:  committed to high quality higher education  supportive of quality agencies in the region  efficient in its operations  open in its information sharing

Objectives The purposes of APQN are:  to promote good practice in the maintenance and improvement of quality in higher education in the Asia-Pacific region  to facilitate research in the region into the practice of quality management in higher education and its effectiveness in improving the quality of higher education in the region  to provide advice and expertise to assist the development of new quality assurance agencies in the region  to facilitate links between quality assurance agencies and acceptance of each others’ decisions and judgements  to assist members of APQN to determine standards of institutions operating across national borders  to permit better-informed international recognition of qualifications throughout the region  to assist in the development and use of credit transfer schemes to enhance the mobility of students between institutions both within and across national borders  to enable members of APQN to be alert to dubious accrediting practices and organisations  where appropriate, represent the region and promote the interests of the region, e.g. vis à-vis other networks and international organisations

Capacity Building: Methods and Means APQN achieves its purposes through a range of methods, including:  Dissemination of information through newsletters, documents, journals and books, whether in paper-based or electronic form  Training and development through seminars, workshops and conferences  Reference to the databases and other resources of INQAAHE and other organisations  Other appropriate means as determined by the General Council or the Board  Development grant facility (DGF) fund provided by World Bank as seed money has served great purpose in boosting activities.

General Council President Vice-PresidentSecretary/ Treasurer Four elected members Two co- opted members Project Group Leaders Committee Chairs Project Group Members and Observers Committee Members DGF Administrator APQN Administrator APQN Board Organisational Structure

Project groups Project Groups have been established to:  focus work on matters of relevance to quality and quality assurance agencies  facilitate joint work on such matters by a range of people and agencies  permit flexibility as issues assume greater importance (and hence merit attention) or recede Some Project Groups are:  Qualifications frameworks  Quality assurance of distance education/e-learning  Indicators of quality  Mutual recognition  Student participation in quality assurance

Workshops/Seminars/Training Activities MeetingsLocationDate Regional Mobility: Cooperation in Quality Assurance (Conference and AGM) Shanghai1-4 March 2006 External Review of Higher EducationHanoi12-13 Jan 2006 The Opportunities and Challenges of Transnational Higher Education (CQAIE) Hong Kong18-19 Dec 2005 AUQA Auditor TrainingMelbourne28-30 Nov 2005 Training of External Reviewers (Workshop)Phnom Penh18-19 Sept 2005 Quality Management of Quality Assurance Agencies (Workshop) Ulaanbaatar29-30 Aug 2005 How to Conduct Institutional Accreditation (Workshop)Manila25-26 July 2005 AUQF2005: Engaging Communities (Conference)Sydney6-8 July 2005 AGM, workshop and Board Meeting (INQAAHE Conference) Wellington31 Mar– 1 Apr 2005 APQN MeetingHong Kong30 Jan – 1 Feb 2005 World Bank DGF and APQN MeetingSydney9 October 2004 Preliminary APQN Meeting (INQAAHE Workshop)Oman23 March 2004 Regional Quality Assurance MeetingHong Kong18 Jan 2003

Some upcoming events EventLocationDate Student Participation in Quality Enhancement Bangalore16-17 September 2006 First International Conference on Assessing Quality in Higher Education (ICAQHE) 2006: Prosperity Through Quality Education Lahore11-13 December APQN Conference and AGM Kuala Lumpur4-7 February 2007

Other activities  Database of reviewers and consultants  Staff secondments/exchange  Consultancy Agreement between Accreditation Committee of Cambodia (ACC) and Philippines Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities  MoC between NAAC and AUQA  Joint APQN/UNESCO project on ‘Toolkit on Cross-Border Education’.

The concerns  Fund raising for sustenance of activities  Continuation of World Bank support  Relationship between INQAAHE and APQN  Expanding membership base and appropriate representation of diverse quality assurance agencies of the region  Development of shared understanding and common framework of quality assurance within the region  Establishing linkages with governments and other stakeholders in higher education within the region.

Lessons of Experience and Possible Futures  Positioning APQN vis-à-vis other international agencies in higher education  Regional agreements/conventions on mutual recognition and student mobility  Need for multiple strategies to address diverse needs/ concerns of the region  Provision of knowledge services on quality assurance through research, publications, reviewers and consultants.

Thank you