Highlights

The last two decades have witnessed a strong push for more university autonomy around the globe, paired with a request for higher education institutions to be accountable not only to those directly involved– the academic community, students and their families – but also the wider public. As such, the topic of quality assurance has played a prominent role. In Europe quality assurance was discussed particularly in the context of the Bologna Process; nevertheless, there has also been an ‘internal quality assurance buzz’ in various countries in MENA, with a multitude of events held on the topic as well as projects supporting the developments of quality assurance units and approaches within universities. Concerning ‘external quality assurance’, however, i.e. quality assurance exercised by bodies outside the universities for example, Ministries, independent or semi-independent providers or national accreditation bodies, to name but a few, there is a huge heterogeneity within MENA.

How can higher education systems in MENA develop external quality assurance bodies and mechanisms that contribute to the national enhancement of quality while taking into account institutional specificities? To what extent can quality assurance further and support governance reforms, and vice versa? And how can institutions learn from each other and share best practices on what works, and what does not? These are some of the questions the conference will raise and seek to further explore, while supporting the ongoing dialogue between universities, ministries and quality assurance agencies.

This event comes as a third in a series of regional workshops organized by the World Bank/CMI Regional Higher Education Program in cooperation with partners, which, together, have set the ground for and disseminated the lessons learned from the first round of the implementation of the University Governance Screening Card: an innovative tool which was developed under the program and applied by 100 universities in the MENA region.

This year’s event will focus on the nexus between quality assurance and governance, in order to enable universities and higher education sectors to move ‘from vision to action’, and further the reform process. The conference and corresponding workshops set out to serve as a platform for discussion for universities, quality assurance agencies, and policymakers. Participants will be able to interact with each other as well as with regional, European and international experts and World Bank staff, in order to discuss questions and challenges they face with regard to governance and internal and external quality assurance in the region.

The opening day will welcome higher education practitioners from both within the MENA region and beyond; speakers will share their insights on governance and quality assurance in an internationalized context and derive lessons for higher education reform in MENA countries and at institutions. The second day of the event will narrow in on selective topics discussed at the conference, with a series of parallel workshops for the 100-university network which is currently developing institutional action plans as well as quality assurance agencies. Universities will be invited to share their action plans during these workshops.

Practical information about the event is available in the Logistics Note, which will be sent to you.

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AGENDA
Draft Agenda Regional Event - June 12-13, 2014

SPEAKER BIOS
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ADDITIONAL MATERIAL
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POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS
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