External Quality Assurance beyond borders and role of Quality Assurance networks: towards Global Quality Register

Abstract

Quality Assurance in higher education has national as well as international implications. Over the past few decades External Quality Assurance (EQA) has emerged as an important tool to ensure credibility of higher education institutions (HEIs) and programs for the purpose of international mobility. Mutual recognition of Quality Assurance (QA) decision among different countries is one of the major tools used by EQA agencies. Regional and international QA networks such as Asia Pacific Quality Network(APQN),European Network for Quality Assurance (ENQA,  International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education (INQAAHE)  are playing important role as facilitator of trust as well as exchange of good practices among EQAAs.. The membership of regional and international QA networks is now considered critical requirement for establishing credential of EQAAs bodies which operate nationally as well as internationally. Moving beyond this informal recognition, there is emphasis on formal recognition of EQA bodies which seek to operate regionally or internationally. European Quality Assurance Register (EQAR) is the most prominent example where most of the European EQA bodies have undergone formal registration procedures. This has provided legitimate basis for cross border QA activities. On similar lines, Asia pacific Quality Register (APQR) is established as a stakeholder initiative in Asia Pacific region. It is pertinent, however, to note that many of the international operators in QA are based in USA which are recognised by national recognition bodies like Council of Higher Education (CHEA) and/ or USDE. India is also on verge of launching multiple QA bodies regine.
On the other hand, there is increased concern about several unrecognised and dubious players acting as international/global QA agencies. Similar to degree mills, now we are faced with menace of accreditation mills also. These two different trends have necessitated a need of formal regional as well as international mechanism of recognition of legitimate EQAAs. The initiatives to explore the possibility of Global Quality Assurance Register (GQAR) are an important step in this direction. This paper critically examines the growth of regional and international QA activities and makes a strong case for establishment of global quality register. The paper also discusses various dimensions including problems and prospectus of such initiatives in context of existing mechanisms of recognition of accreditation bodies.