Under the Microscope: Myths and Realities of International Education
By Karen Poutasi, CE, New Zealand Qualifications Authority
17 August 2006 |
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Speech to Education New Zealand Conference
Good afternoon, and thank you for the opportunity to speak to this conference, themed "Under the Microscope: Myths and Realities of International Education". It is always a pleasure to talk with industry and education representatives and hear different views on international education and, in particular, how we can collectively improve.
As you probably all know, I am relatively new to the education sector, having been appointed to the New Zealand Qualifications Authority in May. However, even in the short time I have been in this role, I have been impressed with the passion and commitment that education professionals from all parts of the sector have shown. It seems clear to me that everyone involved recognises the importance of a high-quality education system, and everyone wants to work towards enhancing quality and improving outcomes, nationally and internationally.
I have to say I read the theme of your conference with something of wry smile.
You will be well aware that NZQA has had more than its fair share of media coverage over the past year or so, at times fuelled more by myths than reality.
The big myth, of course, is that there is actually something wrong with education in this country. I am surprised, and disappointed, whenever this myth is promulgated.
Let me be clear - New Zealand has a high quality education system. I'm sure I don't have to tell you, as the international face of New Zealand education, that this quality is the cornerstone of the international education sector.
Is it perfect? Of course not - ongoing quality improvement is the hallmark of success in a globally competitive environment. And I can say that the NZQA is committed to just that in our field of endeavour. We want to operate in a transparent way, and to be open to constructive suggestions on how to further improve our processes.
Education is a dynamic environment where change is now the norm. We must all be open to new ways of reaching the common goal - quality learning outcomes for students, at all levels.
To that end, NZQA has just completed an internal restructuring which has seen the appointment of three Deputy Chief Executives looking after Qualifications, Quality Assurance, and Corporate and Strategic Services. This gives us a more tightly defined strategic focus, and will assist your engagement with us.
One of my key priorities is quality assurance, of qualifications AND providers - both are major drivers of success in the international education environment.
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You have heard challenging words from Dr Cullen earlier today.
In response, I can assure you that NZQA is here to provide support in meeting those challenges.
As the Minister has intimated, the key is the broadening of emphasis from New Zealand providing education to international students to internationalising education in a New Zealand context.
In terms of international students studying in New Zealand, I like to think of it as a two-way exchange.
New Zealand education should gain more than fees from international students. For domestic students, it is a case of opening the world up to them through an enhanced educational experience that is outward looking and integrates an international, intercultural or global dimension into their studies.
For international students, the New Zealand experience should be a quality product - I'll return to that brand theme later.
I'd like to talk to you about three major areas of the Qualifications Authority's work as they relate to the internationalisation of education.
In brief, these are; quality assurance, qualifications, and strategic engagement internationally.
- Quality assurance ensures education providers are on track
- Qualifications must be valued and be recognised internationally as having value
- Strategic engagement involves work at government-to-government level and with international organisations where NZQA works to gain acknowledgement and acceptance of the integrity and value of New Zealand's quality assurance and qualifications systems
Together, these three strands of work provide a stable platform enabling education providers to think, and act, in a competitive global environment, where reputation matters.
I repeat my earlier point - New Zealand's qualifications and quality assurance systems are internationally recognised as world-class. This recognition is important for New Zealanders working and studying abroad. It is also important for education providers in New Zealand seeking to attract students from offshore or provide courses at overseas sites.
High standards of quality assurance support the reputation of our educational provision and our qualifications system
But the Qualifications Authority does not work alone. Along with the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors' Committee and ITP Quality, which has delegation from NZQA, we are involved in ensuring providers are playing by the rules and sticking to standards.
We have an "aid and assist" system focussed on continuous improvement and self-review.
I believe that quality assurance systems are maturing, thanks in large part to the auditors' work.
It is also important to acknowledge the dedication of a large number of providers who work to make the whole experience of international students in New Zealand a positive and memorable one. The quality of our education is dependent on the quality of provision by providers, many of whom go far beyond the minimum standards required.
For those who don't, standards will be upheld by our auditors.
At the end of the day, it is providers who interact directly with students. And it is providers who make that all-important personal impression. It is providers who are crucial to the reputation of the New Zealand brand.
International students must be enriched by their experiences in New Zealand if we are to be successful.
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The maturing of the education market in general has also been improved, I believe, by better flows of information and the increasing transparency of the sector.
In January this year, the Qualifications Authority began asking all providers who had been audited by us to give us their views on the process. The response has been excellent, and the feedback extremely useful. We want to use this information to improve our processes.
Amongst the generally positive feedback, providers believe their auditors do a good job, while noting that we are sometimes less-than-timely in responding to requests for information. We will continue with the survey, because we want improvement to be an ongoing process that benefits NZQA services, providers, and, most of all, students.
Over the past year, the Qualifications Authority has made all audit report summaries from PTEs available on our website. With more than 700 of around 780 PTEs now covered by the reports, prospective students can quickly get an overview of the majority of PTEs.
While these reports are not perfect, the number of people accessing them is growing constantly, with over 8,000 people viewing reports in the last three months alone. In an international sense, we are one of the few countries that makes all this information available.
This helps to create a sense of openness and faith in the system.
Overall, I believe there is now a solid framework for quality assurance across the sector. Providers know - and I think appreciate - that NZQA and other agencies have the capacity to take action against any rogue elements that might be tempted to cut corners.
We can help with a framework for quality assurance, but that alone is not enough.
We all need to find new ways to work together to enhance quality, and to promote New Zealand education as world class.
Promoting an understanding of our quality assurance systems, bi-laterally and in international fora, enhances the reputation of education in New Zealand as a whole. The Qualifications Authority works hard to achieve this.
For example, with NZVCC and ITP, we have run a very successful workshop in Malaysia on the quality of our qualifications system.
And we are planning a similar workshop in China later this year.
Of course, this reputation is not grounded solely in quality assurance. Qualifications are the key component of an education system. One of the major drivers attracting international students here is recognition that they are gaining world-class qualifications, and that the cost of their education is an investment in these.
For the Qualifications Authority the focus on the integrity of qualifications begins, as you know, at secondary level.
With NCEA now being in its second cycle, the bedding-down process associated with this is key to creating confidence in the system. Our standards-based assessment system was created for New Zealand and has been designed to prepare us as a country for the future.
As such, we should feel justifiably proud of it, while accepting that it will always need ongoing review and as a relatively new system, the understanding of it needs promotion internationally.
This is where our strategic engagement internationally is important.
There has been comment, another myth, at least in part, that NCEA is not recognised internationally - I would point out that the Qualifications Authority is active in communicating about NCEA, for example, through important and internationally used publications such as the Universities & Colleges Admissions Services handbook used by a large number of universities worldwide.
In addition, NZ has agreed a comparability statement for NCEA Level 3 with the National Recognition Information Centre for the United Kingdom.
While we must all remember that universities in New Zealand and around the world have discretion about their own entry requirements, we are working to ensure that NCEA is not only recognised as our national secondary school qualification, but also that NCEA is profiled as an internationally recognised and valued qualification.
But schools enrolling international students also have a critical role to play in the process.
They need to be aware of those students' aspirations beyond their time in secondary education in New Zealand. Schools need to direct international students to courses that are academically focussed to ensure their success at university level study in the following year, if that is their objective.
It may be, for example, that New Zealand University Entrance is well above the minimum entry requirement needed to enrol at a university in their home countries. Or it may be that their target is medicine, for which we all recognise that in New Zealand, University Entrance alone is not sufficient to ensure entry to such a restricted and academically challenging university course.
In short, schools must be clear what their students want from their New Zealand education, and help them choose courses that enable them to succeed in their goals. And of course we also want New Zealand students to thrive in an inter-connected world.
Qualifications, and not just NCEA, must be portable, useful, recognised and valued.
One particular project for the coming year is a stock-take of the recognition of New Zealand qualifications overseas. The purpose is to find out which specific countries need assistance in recognising our qualifications, and the nature of that need. We then need to prioritise areas for future work, taking into account advice from agencies such as Education New Zealand as part of this process.
As a government agency, we are tasked with working with international agencies and in inter-governmental fora, to enhance the recognition of NZ qualifications.
One of the biggest priorities here is the EU and Bologna process. The Bologna process aims to achieve the harmonisation of higher education qualifications across the European Higher Education area.
As many countries are looking to Europe as a benchmark there are significant opportunities for leverage (as well as immediate benefits) if New Zealand can 'harmonise' with the EU. It is also an example of a regional qualifications framework that could provide useful lessons for New Zealand in relation to other potential regional developments (including in the Asia/Pacific region). Finally, it is useful for us as we look at quality assurance within the expectations of the Government's tertiary education reform work.
At a strategic level, it is vitally important that the Qualifications Authority and other government departments establish and maintain working linkages with overseas governments so that issues can be worked through at this level.
These activities at a strategic level can act as an enabler for other educational initiatives to be explored at the provider level.
Engaging with our partners overseas and deepening those relationships must be the goal of concerted action by us all. Again, while we aim for widespread recognition of our qualifications and quality assurance systems, we must all pull together - in the same direction!
New Zealand's reputation as a quality destination for education is the key to the international education sector succeeding. And it will be the drive to enhance our reputation that guides us into the future.
You will be aware that Education NZ is responsible for the New Zealand Educated brand and its use. The New Zealand Educated website is popular and well used.
The New Zealand Educated brand needs to be a powerful symbol of quality. I look forward to working with you all to make our education sector not just world class, but top of the world's class.
Thank you.