Autumn 2024
Introduction
The arrival of the fall 2024 season brings exciting advancements in quality assurance for higher education worldwide. In this issue, we’re thrilled to highlight some of the most significant developments.
Among these is the recent decision by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to extend its recognition services to accrediting organizations beyond the United States. By opening its recognition process to international bodies, CHEA aims to foster global collaboration and raise quality assurance standards across borders. Additionally, UNESCO’s launch of the Sustainability Self-Evaluation Tool for Higher Education Institutions (SET4HEI) offers a critical resource for institutions seeking to align their operations with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Another key development is the emergence of new frameworks for academic freedom. These frameworks, spanning institutional to global levels, are vital for addressing challenges in higher education and fostering an environment of academic inquiry and freedom.
As part of our service to the CHEA International Quality Group (CIQG), Quality International Newsletter continues to feature organizational members of CIQG. In Nigeria, the National Universities Commission (NUC), a CIQG member, oversees Africa’s largest university system, with 274 institutions under its jurisdiction. NUC plays a vital role in shaping higher education in Nigeria. We also spotlight Croatia’s Agency for Science and Higher Education (ASHE), a key player in global higher education since its founding in 2004. ASHE’s involvement with major organizations such as ENQA, EQAR, and INQAAHE underscores its commitment to maintaining high quality assurance standards.
We are also pleased to congratulate Dr. Cecilia Bibbò on her recent appointment as a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University at Albany’s School of Education. Dr. Bibbò’s work as a CHEA Fellow and her research on international quality assurance exemplify the significant contributions being made in the field.
We hope you find this edition both informative and inspiring as we continue to shape the future of higher education together.
Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) Opens Recognition to International Higher Education Accreditation Organizations
The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) announces the inauguration of the Recognition of International Accreditation Organizations, marking a new era of global engagement and partnerships in higher education quality assurance. In January 2024, the CHEA Board of Directors established a subcommittee to review the broader implications of this initiative. The subcommittee conducted a comprehensive review and evaluated potential benefits and challenges, CHEA’s capacity, application processes, and global impact. Their thorough analysis led to a recommendation to open the recognition process to international organizations under the same rigorous criteria applied to domestic accrediting organizations. READ MORE.
USQF as a Tool for Recognition and Mobility
A National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is a framework that describes the relationship between educational qualifications in a country. It's a tool that helps learners and education evaluators understand what's required to achieve a qualification, and how qualifications relate to each other in terms of level, length, and learning outcomes. The additional transparency created by NQFs supports the comparability of qualifications domestically within a national system across pathways, or internationally between two systems. By making credentials more transparent, NQFs support the recognition of earned qualifications for further education, employment, and professional recognition, thereby enabling the mobility of learners and learning alike. For more than 150 countries and regions, the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) is a key piece of infrastructure that supports both domestic and global mobility. READ MORE.
Melissa Ganiere is a Client Solutions Manager with Educational Credential Evaluators (ECE) and has been with the company since 2006. In her role as Project Manager for the United States Qualifications Framework (USQF), she provides an understanding of non-traditional pathways and academic requirements and is an expert at navigating global education systems, supporting both students and institutions alike. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Master of Education from Marquette University.
Melanie Gottlieb is the first woman to serve as Executive Director of AACRAO, after nearly six years as Deputy Director. With 18 years of AACRAO membership and experience in records, enrollment management, and international recruitment, she brings a global perspective and technological expertise to the role. She has held various leadership positions, including Vice President for International Education.
CIQG Member Spotlight
CIQG Member since: 2016
The National Universities Commission (NUC) is the quality assurance agency of Government, charged with the responsibility of ensuring orderly development of university education in Nigeria. It was established in 1962 as an advisory unit in the Cabinet office of the then Prime Minister’s office and became a statutory body in 1974. The Commission superintends over the largest university system in Africa with a total of 274 universities comprising 62 federally funded, 64 universities established by the various State Governments and 148 universities established by a variety of private sector entities.
READ MORE.
CIQG Member Spotlight
CIQG Member since: 2013
Since its establishment in 2004, the Agency for Science and Higher Education (ASHE) has been an active factor in the area of international higher education, and a member of numerous organizations that promote quality assurance in higher education on a global level and bring together agencies from different countries.
ASHE’s high quality and expertise has been recognized as an example of good practice in the European Higher Education Area, which is evident in ASHE's involvement in the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ENQA), European Quality Assurance Register for Higher Education (EQAR), International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE), Network of Central and Eastern European Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (CEENQA) and other international organizations through participation in working groups, initiatives, joint projects and activities. READ MORE.
New Frameworks of Reference Stir Hope for Academic Freedom
The emergence of new frameworks of reference for academic freedom is a remarkable recent development.
In some cases, they represent significant efforts to address the crisis of academic freedom that unfolded in different parts of the world after the Great Recession of 2007-2009.
Frameworks of reference for academic freedom can be identified at different levels: institutional, national or system, regional and global.
As a rule, they include a conceptual reference for academic freedom, and also, variably, all or some of the following: elements of codification (legislative or non-legislative norms, regulations, codes of conduct, etcetera), guidelines for practice and provisions about institutions and institutional mechanisms that should or could oversee the implementation of the respective understanding and codifications of academic freedom.
READ MORE
UN Unveils Tool to Track Universities' SDGs Performance
Higher education institutions worldwide are being encouraged to focus on achieving global sustainability targets with the help of a new United Nations-sponsored reporting and measurement resource.
On 15 July 2024, UNESCO unveiled its Sustainability Self-Evaluation Tool for Higher Education Institutions, or SET4HEI.
It is a free, online and open resource for higher education institutions to map their current and potential future contributions to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which cover areas such as the eradication of poverty and hunger; combating climate change; the promotion of good health and wellbeing; clean and affordable energy; and gender equality.
READ MORE
HESI Global Forum 2024: A Call to Action Sustainable Development
The Higher Education Sustainable Initiative (HESI) Global Forum 2024 urged higher education institutions, policymakers, students, and stakeholders to join the call for action. Together, we can mobilize knowledge, engage youth, and harness resources to achieve the SDGs and ensure a sustainable future for all.
READ MORE
Announcements
Congratulations Dr. C. Bibbo
CHEA/CIQG congratulates Dr. Cecilia Bibbò on her recent academic appointment at the University of Albany’s School of Education. There, she serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Policy & Leadership. Dr. Bibbò supported CHEA’s international initiatives as a 2022 CHEA Fellow, while conducting research which yielded the publication entitled “The CHEA International Directory on Quality Assurance: A Resource for Global Cooperation.” Kudos Dr. Cecilia Bibbò!
-2025 CHEA/CIQG Annual Conference scheduled for January 27 – 30, in Washington, D.C. More information coming soon.
-Upcoming webinar on November 6, 2024.
Submissions
Remember that you are invited to submit articles or op-eds that focus on current topics relevant to quality assurance and international higher education. After reviewing the Quality International Newsletter Guidelines, please submit your articles, op-eds, announcements by November 15, 2024, for consideration of inclusion in the Winter 2024 issue of QI News.
The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter do not necessarily reflect those of the Council for Higher Education Accreditation,
its International Quality Group, its Board, or its members.
Become a CIQG member, today!