Digitalizing Access to Higher Education for Refugees, reflecting on policy-making Moving from the big picture to organizational challenges

Presentation for discussion at Kiron Partners' Meeting 'Digitalizing Access to Higher Education and Shaping Successful Learning for Refugees Identifying scalable best practices and innovative solutions' on 5.12.2018.

Transcript

2. “Those whose qualifications are not recognized are less likely to find skilled work. However, recognition mechanisms are often fragmented or complex to meet immigrants’ and refugees’ needs and end up being underutilized. They need to be made cheaper and more efficient to overcome a key obstacle to socio-economic integration.” http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0026/002658/265866E.pdf Yet refugee tertiary participation is estimated at just 1%. In OECD countries, over one-third of immigrants with tertiary education are overqualified for their jobs, compared with one-quarter of natives.
3. The UNESCO Global Convention would encompass all countries and support: • the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4, especially as it concerns the quality enhancement of higher education • growth in student mobility • the recognition of academic credentials as a global right • international consistency in recognition procedures • increased international cooperation https://en.unesco.org/themes/higher-education/recognition-qualifications/global-convention It builds on regional initiatives such as ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF) in the Asia-Pacific, the Bologna Process in Europe (EHEA), the Latin American and the Caribbean Area for Higher Education (ENLACES) and the African Higher Education and Research Space (AHERS).
4. Characteristics of the Global Convention: • It focusses on the user: The applicant is entitled to fair recognition of their qualifications within a reasonable time limit, according to transparent, coherent and reliable procedures; the reasons for refusal have to be stated; the applicant has the right to appeal; and the principle of substantial differences is introduced • It will not replace regional conventions and does not seek automatic recognition The convention will focus on recognition principles and good practices rather than on specific rules for actual recognition. The final decisions on recognition will still be done on the national level and/or by the appropriate authorities in accordance with national rules and legislation. A global convention will also fully recognize the sovereign nature of higher education policies and thus the sovereignty of State Parties to award diplomas, degrees and certificates in all fields of higher education within their systems. Therefore the convention will not weaken in any way the autonomy of academic institutions.
5. EHEA is moving towards automatic recognition. The EHEA benchmarks the following principles: 1. applicants have right to fair assessment 2. there is recognition if no substantial differences can be proven 3. legislation or guidelines encourage comparing of learning outcomes rather than programme contents 4. in cases of negative decisions the competent recognition authority demonstrates the existence of substantial difference 5. applicant's right to appeal of the recognition decision
6. The most recent benchmarking shows that in most cases the principles of the Lisbon Convention are being met. Importantly, final decisions are made in the main at institutional level and the principles are seldom tested in external quality assurance measures. European Commission/EACEA/Eurydice. (2018). The European Higher Education Area in 2018: Bologna Process Implementation Report. Cham: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. https://doi.org/10.2797/63509
7. https://bolognadigital.blog/ First paper published and referenced in preparation for Bologna Ministerial Conference, Paris 2018 Second elaborated version being prepared now by Higher Education Forum for Digitalisation (HFD) as White Paper ‘Bologna Digital 2020’
8. Recommendations for a ‘Bologna Digital’ • Higher education institutions are encouraged to discontinue paper-based admission processes and expand the use of electronic student data in order to inform, secure and speed up recognition and admission processes, based on the principles laid down in the Groningen Declaration. • Governments and the EU are invited to support the establishment and networking of centralised (national) electronic depositories of student data (in line with the principles laid down in the Groningen Declaration) and implement adequate measures to ensure a high level of data security and protection. • The EU Student Card proposed by the European Commission should be considered a (virtual) Lifelong Learning Card facilitating admission decisions on a much wider scale.
9. Recommendations for a ‘Bologna Digital’ • Higher education institutions are encouraged to develop and publish procedures (steps to take) for the assessment and recognition of prior (digital) learning achieved through different forms of (open) online education building upon quality assurance to be done by MOOC providers. This can also facilitate the gradual integration of non-traditional learners into full programmes of study and allow for more flexible student journeys. • Higher education institutions are invited to publish a list of MOOCs and micro-credentials, which they can accept as part of their degree programmes and to accordingly develop transparent digital recognition management solutions.