Japan s policy changes on transnational higher education

Transcription

1 Japan s policy changes on transnational higher education Fujio OHMORI Professor, Research Centre for Higher Education Kumamoto University, Japan 18 th IDP Australian International Education Conference Sydney, 8 October 2004 New policy: two-way recognition of transnational on-campus provision Inwards into Japan - graduates from a foreign university/college s branch campus designated by the Japanese education minister will be regarded as university/college graduates equivalent to those from the home campus in its country of origin. - credits acquired at the branch campus will be transferable to Japanese institutions in the same way as those acquired at the home campus are. Outwards from Japan - Japanese universities and junior colleges will be able to establish their faculties, departments and other academic organisations on foreign soil, and provide offshore on-campus programmes if the required standards are satisfied. 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 2

2 Policy change on TNHE (Inwards) Current policy: only one option for foreign institutions - Authorisation by the education minister is required to be established as a university/college in Japan, whether the origin of the institution is Japanese or foreign. The same standards & procedures for authorisation apply to institutions of any origin. New policy: two options will be available - Foreign institutions offshore programmes, designated by the Japanese education minister as bona fide programmes of bona fide higher education institutions in their country of origin, will be recognised in the same way as their onshore programmes in their homeland are recognised. Equivalence to Japanese standards will not to be required. - Foreign institutions will continue to be able to apply for governmental authorisation as they currently are able. 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 3 Policy change on TNHE (Outwards) Current policy: only one option for Japanese institutions offshore programmes, which can be foreign but cannot be Japanese. - Japanese government does not recognise offshore programmes & degrees as Japanese institutions, and does not assure their quality. - Those programmes & degrees can be recognised as foreign ones if the authority in the receiving country recognise them. New policy: two options for offshore programmes, which can be Japanese and/or foreign. - With reports or applications for authorisation from individual institutions, Japanese government will recognise offshore programmes & degrees, if the required standards are satisfied, and put them under the national quality assurance framework including external evaluation. - Institutions can choose not to pursue the above recognition. 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 4

3 (By Now) Schedules for policy changes July 2003: The education ministry set up the Study Group on International Quality Assurance of Universities, consisting of eighteen members, mostly experts and stakeholders in higher education. March 2004: The ministry published the study group s report, the title of which is Quality Assurance of Universities Providing Education across National Borders: Towards International Development of Universities and Internationalisation of Learning Opportunities. The report recommends that the ministry radically change its regulatory frameworks for transnational on-campus provision of higher education both inwards into and outwards from Japan. September 2004: Public comments were invited and received by the education ministry. The Central Council on Education, legally designated advisory body to the education minister, approved the policy changes. 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 5 Schedules for policy changes (From Now) Autumn 2004?: New policy on foreign institutions branch programmes in Japan will be implemented through amending the related ministerial ordinances. April 2005: New policy on Japanese institutions offshore programmes will be implemented through amending the related ministerial ordinances. 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 6

4 Q: How many may apply for the recognition? A: No one knows at the moment. Number of foreign branch campuses in Japan - Although there is no official data on foreign institutions branches in Japan, through Internet and other information, it has been possible to find more than twenty organisations that declare to be foreign institutions operating in Japan. It appears that quite a few of them are unaccredited in their country of origin. Number of Japanese institutions offshore campuses - There is no publicly available data on the size of offshore provision by Japanese institutions, but fragmentary information suggests that there are at least twenty offshore campuses and most likely more. 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 7 How about cross-border e-learning? Cross-border e-learning provision, both inwards to Japan and outwards from Japan, is allowed under the current regulatory framework. In 2001, the education ministry amended the related ministerial ordinances to recognise e-learning degree programmes provided by Japanese institutions abroad and also those provided by foreign institutions into Japan. Such providers need to be bona fide higher education institutions recognised in their home country in order to be recognised in Japan. Unaccredited providers are not prohibited from supplying their services into Japan, but they are not recognised. A large number of American, British and other foreign universities, including unaccredited ones, are providing online MBA and other programmes into Japan. Japanese universities, on the other hand, are not very active in online delivery in general and cross-border online delivery in particular. 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 8

5 National Background: Market-oriented regulatory reforms New quality assurance framework - Introduction of external evaluation by evaluation bodies recognised by minister - Deregulation of authorisation standards for universities and colleges Incorporation of national universities For-profit universities established in special zones for structural reform? Autonomy, Accountability & Competition 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 9 International Background: Global higher education as an emerging issue WTO/GATS negotiations on educational services UNESCO&OECD discussions on Transnational HE - Japan, as well as Norway & Australia, is actively engaged in those international discussions on QA in global HE American institutions branch campuses in Japan British & Australian institutions offshore programmes in the neighbouring East Asian region Currently quite a few offshore campuses of Japanese institutions mainly in the US, but most are for Japanese? Emerging demand from East Asia 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 10

6 Discussions: issues For foreign institutions - how to find a niche in the shrinking market of young population in Japan? - to sell international (especially language) skills? - can mature students be a new market? - newcomers from the U.S., Australia, China, Britain and other countries? For Japanese institutions - a disaster in the shrinking market where competition is already fierce? - internationalisation of teaching & research? - how to overcome the issue of language in offshore provision? - more dynamism needed in institutional management - partnerships with Japanese industries? For learners and other stakeholders - more opportunities for international education? - will quality be really assured? 8 October 2004 F. OHMORI, Kumamoto Univ. 11