AUN-QA Council Meeting Sets the Stage for AUN-QA Initiatives of 2024

The new year is upon us and the AUN-QA Council has convened online on 8 January to set the stage for 2024. Plans are aplenty in regards to Internal Quality Assurance (IQA) Development, Data-Driven Quality Assurance (DDQA), AUN-QA Community Projects, and improvements to AUN-QA Assessment guidelines. The Council also saw the appointment of a new lead assessor and the approval of 14 new AUN-QA Associate Member Universities.

To start, AUN-QA will be making revisions to its current IQA model found in implementation guidelines. In order to see this development through, the AUN-QA has set up the IQA Revision Working Group with members dedicated to making sure the model not only satisfies criteria, but will be successful. This initiative goes in tandem with an ongoing AUN-QA Community Projects which comprise a plan to organize workshop activities that will support the development of the IQA Framework in CLM countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar). Feedback received from community projects will be crucial for the development of regional IQA for higher education institutions and the revision of the AUN-QA’s IQA implementation guidelines.

In the prospect of enhancing regional quality assurance through data and technology integration and optimization, the AUN Secretariat is also in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization -  International Centre for Higher Education Innovation (UNESCO-ICHEI) and MyCOS (China Occupational Skills) in the Data-Driven Quality Assurance (DDQA) project. It will be a service that is provided to member universities where data can be analyzed with the goal of improving the overall capabilities of educational institutions and aligning with UNESCO quality benchmarks. With a commitment to respecting intellectual property rights, the project aims to empower institutions and elevate educational standards, contributing to more advanced and quality-driven higher education in the region.

The Meeting then followed with discussions on internal matters regarding guidelines that will improve the process of future assessments. Afterwards, the subsequent discussion on matters of approvals first conferred to the appointment of Prof. Cheryl R. Peralta to be one of the AUN-QA lead assessors – a matter which garnered approval from the Council. Next, the Meeting saw the approval of the following 14 universities to be a part of the AUN-QA Associate Member Universities:

• Thailand
  • Maejo University
• Viet Nam
  • Dong Thap University
  • Hanoi Metropolitan University
  • Thuongmai University
  • Vietnamese - German University
• The Philippines
  • Baliuag University
  • Bataan Peninsula State University
  • Eastern Visayas State University
  • FEU Institute of Technology
  • Lyceum of the Philippines - Laguna
  • Lyceum of the Philippines - Manila
  • Manual S. Enverga University Foundation
  • Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
  • St. Michael College of Iligan, Inc.

The first AUN-QA Council Meeting of 2024 concluded successfully with both the AUN-QA Council and the AUN Secretariat having acknowledged, discussed and approved matters which are relevant to the future prospect and development of this thematic network on quality assurance. 2024 is certainly going to be an eventful year for AUN-QA and the AUN Secretariat team is excited to keep you updated on the network’s journey along the way.