|
« AAUP Homepage
|
Organization to Certify International Programs
When Jones International University, the country’s first completely online institution, was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1999, the AAUP protested. Among other criticisms, the Association suggested that criteria developed to evaluate "brick-and-mortar" institutions of higher education should not be applied to online learning. What the AAUP didn’t foresee was that it might have to wage a similar battle in the international arena.
The Global Alliance for Transnational Education (GATE), founded in 1996, describes itself as a nonprofit organization created to address issues of quality in educational programs and services, including electronic offerings, that cross national borders. It says it seeks to bring together regional and national accreditation bodies, colleges and universities, commercial institutions, multinational corporations, and government agencies to help them evaluate degree programs and other academic standards from countries around the world. GATE’s chair and chief executive officer is Glenn Jones, founder and board chair of Jones International University. Not surprisingly, GATE has certified Jones International.
Carolyn Allport, president of the National Tertiary Education Union, Australia’s faculty union, is skeptical of GATE. At the AAUP’s annual meeting in June, she warned, "The activities of GATE . . . highlight the view that business sees knowledge and education as key growth markets in the future, and that e-commerce and e-learning will enable such markets to be exploited with minimal regulation. Education is seen simply as the next ‘for profit’ industry."
GATE touts the need for strategic partnerships among multinational corporations, national associations, government agencies, and institutions of higher education to "ensure quality in a rapidly globalizing education and human resource market."
Beyond sponsoring conferences, GATE’s main activity to date has been an international survey on government restrictions on trade in educational services. The survey has gathered information about telecommunications laws and national legislation and higher education policy. It has also identified countries that do not recognize foreign educational credentials and nations with no policy on, or with disregard for, international agreements concerning intellectual property rights.
GATE’s next conference, "Delivery and Evaluation of Transnational Education: Challenges and Rewards," will be held in Colorado Springs in October. According to the call for papers, the conference will explore multiple perspectives on the "unbundling of the faculty role," strategic relationships with corporate universities, and guidelines and protocols for evaluating online programs.
GATE’s offices are in Washington, D.C. Additional information is available on its Web site <www. edugate.org>.
|