Revisiting quality assurance and delivery modes of cross-border higher education during the pandemic- Does physical mobility matter in qualification recognition of joint / dual degree programmes from an Asian perspective?

Time: 10:30am-12:00nn, (HKT)
Date: 21 March, 2024
Venue: HKU Runme Show Building Room 203 & by zoom
Speaker: Prof. Angela Yung-chi Hou (National Chengchi University, Taiwan)
Chair: Prof. Hugo Horta (The University of Hong Kong)
Registration link: https://hku.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6DnOH34ZuMfcOkC

Abstract

The 2020 pandemic disrupted traditional student mobility and forced a larger majority of transnational programs to switch to a virtual or hybrid mode, including joint and double degree programs. Therefore, this study aims to perceive the linkage between quality assurance and delivery modes of cross-border higher education in Asia before and during the pandemic. Through an online survey and semi-structured interviews, the process by which top 200 ranked universities in the 2022 QS global ranking responded to quality assurance and qualification issues of joint/ dual degree programs in conjunction with delivery modes was explored.

The study has discovered that most respondents from universities, to some extent, tended to be positive about the effectiveness of hybrid delivery of the joint/ dual degree programs, even if they still preferred the physical mode to alternatives. Either “divergence” or “responsiveness” QA modes were not applied appropriately in most joint/ dual degree programs of the selected universities during the pandemic. Moreover, a fair, transparent and convergent quality and qualification system should be established to facilitate agility and responsiveness of cross border higher education.

Keywords: cross-border higher education, quality assurance, qualification recognition, joint and dual degree program, physical mobility, virtual mobility, hybrid mobility

About the Speaker

Angela Yung-chi Hou, is Professor of Higher Education at College of Education, National Chengchi University, Taiwan. In 2022, she was elected as President of Chinese Taipei Comparative Education Society. She served as Executive Director of Higher Education Evaluation & Accreditation Council of Taiwan (HEEACT) from 2016 to 2021. She has been actively committed to quality assurance practices and international research for more than 15 years, including serving as Vice President & Board member of International Network of Quality Assurance in Higher Education (INQAAHE), Vice President & Board member of Asia Pacific Quality Network (APQN). She specializes in higher education policy, quality management, internationalization, faculty development, and quality assurance of cross border higher education. She is recognized the top 5 researcher in field of quality assurance of higher education worldwide according to SCOPUS. 

She serves as Chief-in-Editor of Higher Education Evaluation and Development (HEED) Emerald by HEEACT, Associate Editor of Journal of Asian Pacific Educational Review (SSCI) and Quality in Higher Education (SCOPUS) and several editorial boards of peer-reviewed journals in higher education field. Up to present, she has published more than 140 English and Chinese journal papers, articles, book chapters, reports and monographs in higher education, international education, and quality assurance.

In 2023, she was granted “Outstanding Research Award” by National Science and Technology of Taiwan and “Excellent Research Award “at National Chengchi University. In 2024, She was awarded the Best Researcher and Teacher by National Chengchi University

Orcid: 0000-0003-3349-5671