PURPOSE OF THE MEETING: Bring together representatives from quality assurance agencies, higher education, business and government to work together on issues of quality of educational programs which have moved outside of national borders - programs exported from one country and imported into another. The rapid development of electronic communication media makes quality control of "transnational" educational activities more difficult and more urgent. The new Global Alliance for Transnational Education (GATE) has been organized to undertake principled advocacy for transnational programs of high quality.

FOUNDING MEMBER: Glenn R. Jones, Chairman and CEO, Jones International Ltd.

SECRETARIAT: Center for Quality Assurance in International Education, National Center for Higher Education, Washington D.C. - Marjorie Peace Linn

COUNTRIES INVOLVED:

• Australia
• Canada
• Chile
• Hungary
• Ireland
• New Zealand
• the People's Republic of China
• Russia
• South Africa
• the United Kingdom
• the United States

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED:

• Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
• UNESCO
• Council on Int'l Education Exchange
• the Laurasian Institution

ORGANIZATIONS PARTICIPATING:

University of Qatar	Mexico-Ministry of Public Education
New Zealand Qualifications Authority	United Technologies
Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CREP)	Bentley College
South African Committee of University Principals	Techniken South Africa
Higher Education Quality Council-UK	George Washington University
National Board for Certified Counselors	Universite due Quebec at Montreal
University of Maryland	Construction Specifications Institute
The Open University - UK	Debreczeni & Associates Consulting
The College Board	Nuffic-the Hague
Monash University	Royal Academy of Dancing
Jones Education Networks	Hungarian Accreditation Committee
American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Administrative Officers	Higher Education Consulting Group - CA
Ericsson Telecom AB-Sweden	Legislative Reform Programme, Council of Europe
European Council for Business Education	International University College -Jones
CRE Association of European Universities	Chilean Accreditation Council
Macquarie University-Sydney, Australia	National Architectural Accrediting Board
Regents College-NY	ADEC
Universidad de Buenos Aires	National Council for Education Awards-Ireland
Coca Cola Company	American Council on Education
Appollo Group Inc./University of Phoenix	Australian Education Office-Washington D.C.
University of Evansville-British Campus	GATE/Buzzeo Inc.
University of Sunderland-UK	Ministry of Education of the Czech Republic
Southern Illinois University at Carbondale	Degree Committee of the State Council for the People's Republic of China - Peking
University Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council/China	Centre for Higher Education Studies-Czech Republic

DEFINITION OF TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION: Transnational Education refer to providing educational services outside the home nation (or political entity) of the provider. The provider may be a recognized institution of higher education, a corporation providing training for its employees, or another organization offering education or training.

Transnational Education has been available for many years from institutions that have established "branch campuses" and other forms of educational programs in other countries, or from corporations that have developed in-house training programs used in several countries. More recently the development of distance education techniques using electronic communication (e.g. satellite video transmission, cable television, electronic mail, the Internet and World Wide Web) has opened a new dimension for transnational education in which the provider may not have significant physical presence outside of its home country, but would provide educational services to students abroad.

DRAFT PRINCIPLES FOR TRANSNATIONAL EDUCATION (Reviewed at the GATE London Conference)

1. Goals and Objectives

   Transnational offerings must be guided by goals and objectives understood by students who enroll in them and must fit appropriately within the institution's fundamental purposes and competencies.

   1.1		Course and program offerings have explicit and publicly disclosed goals and objectives.
   1.2		Course and program goals and objectives are derived from the institution's more broadly-stated mission and purposes.
   1.3		Course and program goals and objectives identify and address educational needs understood by students who enroll.

2. Standards

   Students receiving instruction and educational credentials through transnational courses and programs must be assured of educational quality in the instruction and must also be assured that the transnational courses and programs are an accepted activity of the provider institution.

   2.1		Transnational courses and programs are approved (as appropriate) by procedures and groups of the provider organization who regularly judge content, structure and rigor of courses and programs.
   2.2		Student language proficiencies needed for admission and/or satisfactory completion of transnational courses and programs are established and assured by the provider.
   2.3		Student achievement is assessed for transnational courses and programs with at least the comparable standards used by the provider for other courses and programs.
   2.4		Student transcripts and records showing transnational courses and programs accurately reflect student achievements.

3. Student Enrollment and Admission

   3.1		Information used to encourage student enrollment is truthful about the content, educational level and acceptance of courses and programs in the educational community of the provider and receiving organization.
   3.2		For physical "branch campus" locations, local contractual arrangements used to provide or support transnational course and program offerings are accurately disclosed to prospective students.
   3.3		Admissions requirements for transnational courses and programs are clear and publicly disclosed.
   3.4		Admissions requirements for transnational courses and programs reflect an appropriate understanding of the educational system that prepared prospective students and the credentials students may offer for admission.
   3.5		Admissions processes for transnational courses and programs substantially mirror those used by the provider for other courses and programs, with appropriate adjustments for differences of cultures.

4. Human Resources

   4.1		Oversight of transnational courses and programs is appropriately assigned to administrative structures and personnel of the provider, and substantially mirrors oversight used for other courses and programs of the provider.
   4.2		If transnational courses and programs are offered at an on-site location, the provider has engaged a resident director to provide primary oversight of those courses and programs under the supervision of the provider organization's general administration.
   4.3		Faculty members engaged in teaching transnational courses and programs have appropriate credentials and experience and are appointed under the supervision of the provider organization's general administration.
   4.4		Faculty members teaching transnational courses are sensitive to the differences among cultures.
   4.5		Instruction in transnational courses and programs is provided at least in part by faculty members experienced in other courses and programs of the provider organization.
   4.6		Faculty members engaged in transnational courses and programs have language proficiencies needed to fulfill teaching and counseling responsibilities.
   4.7		Faculty and staff engaged in transnational courses and programs are appointed and evaluated within the personnel guidelines of the provider organization and any applicable laws of the country in which the faculty and staff are located.

5. Physical and Financial Resources

   5.1		Physical facilities used in offering transnational courses and programs meet at least the standards typical of the country in which the students are located.
   5.2		Each student in transnational courses and programs has assured access to learning resources-including libraries and other information resources, computers and laboratories-requisite to the content and rigor of the courses and programs.
   5.3		Adequate and dependable financial arrangements are available to support transnational courses and programs wherever they are offered.
   5.4		All expenditures for transnational courses and programs, whether made directly by the provider institution or indirectly through contractors, are available for examination and audit by the provider organization's central administration and by its auditors, accreditors and regulators, as appropriate.
   5.5		The provider organization has explicit plans for fulfilling its obligations to all students admitted to its transnational courses and programs.

Evaluation

Transnational courses and programs must be regularly evaluated as a normal part of the provider organization's activities, with the results of the evaluations being used to improve the transnational courses and programs.

6.1		The governing board or academic authorizing body of the providing organization regularly reviews and endorses the transnational courses and programs offered.
6.2		The evaluation of the transnational courses and programs is incorporated into the provider organization's regular evaluation procedures and schedule.
6.3		Faculty and staff who participate in offering transnational courses and programs participate in the evaluation of those courses and programs.

APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES

The Principles for Quality Transnational Education have multiple applications. Foremost, they are envisioned to assist institutions in the planning and evaluation of effective quality programs. They may be adopted by national systems for application to transnational program provided by their providing institutions and they may be applied directly by GATE in a centrally administered international peer review process of quality assurance and improvement, requested by institutions on a voluntary basis. Certification by GATE is global and carries with it the professional and moral authority of the international higher education and corporate training communities. Although a GATE-certified entity typically is also elsewhere accredited or authorized, such pre-existing statuses are not required by GATE.

GATE certification is based on guiding principles contemplating:

• quality assurance
• quality improvement
• full disclosure
• acknowledgment of new technologies
• the need for barrier-free global education

Accordingly, GATE certification is an independent certification and can be utilized as such or in conjunction with other accredited or authorized statuses as the GATE-certified entity chooses.