The International Network for Quality Assurance Agencies in Higher Education in cooperation with CINDA (Centro Interuniversitario de Desarrollo), RIACES (La Red Iberoamericana para el Aseguramiento de la Calidad en la Educación Superior), Ministry of Education of Chile, and IESALC (the UNESCO regional office in Latin America and the Caribbean) organized an international conference on quality assurance in tertiary education in Santiago, Chile, 8-10th of January, 2018.
The focus of the event was on the development of higher education for the 21st century – a time of reforms and structural change. Around the world, including Latin-American and the Caribbean region, governments and institutions advocate changes in higher education systems, to provide effective, inclusive, quality higher education. The International Conference on Diversity, Quality and Improvement provided a trusted platform for tertiary education key stakeholders to reflect on the experiences and impact of the current practices while providing an excellent opportunity to consolidate and plan for the future, in partnership with the global partners, who brought in a wider view. It promoted knowledge-sharing and stimulating discussions for like-minded quality assurance enthusiasts. Experts from quality assurance, higher education institutions and policy makers, from Latin America, the Caribbean and other regions of the world shared their views on the current challenges the global tertiary education system is confronting. The format of the event included keynote and short presentations with breakout groups for participants to hold theme-focused discussions. The outcomes of the Conference will be published and presented at the Regional Conference for Higher Education, CRES 2018.
Quality as Recognition was the main highlight of the INQAAHE contribution. The message from the INQAAHE President was the significance of promoting relevance and recognition of tertiary education outputs in terms of qualifications, knowledge development and knowledge transfer as well as recognition of quality assurance outcomes and the importance to re-consider approaches to QA to enable such kind of recognition.
One of the highlights of the event was the workshops offered to the tertiary education providers on internal and external quality assurance. To promote recognition of the tertiary education outcomes in general and quality assurance in particular, INQAAHE conducted a workshop on the new Guidelines of Good Practice adopted in 2016 and the new procedures related to it.
