23 February 2016

Working Group Meetings

1st Working Group Meeting

The First Working Group Meeting convened on 30 September 2013 in Tokyo, Japan. The Meeting was attended by delegates from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter, “China”), Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea (hereinafter, “ROK”), Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. Representatives of the ASEAN University Network (hereinafter, “AUN”), Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization - Regional Centre for Higher Education and Development (hereinafter, “SEAMEO-RIHED”) and ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (hereinafter, “AQAN”). Staff members of the ASEAN Secretariat were also in attendance.

The Meeting’s discussion focused on the Future Direction of the Working Group: (1) to develop “ASEAN Plus Three Guidelines on Student Exchanges and Mobility” (hereinafter, “Guidelines on Student Exchanges”) by 2017, and (2) to establish an “ASEAN Plus Three Quality Assurance Expert Meeting” (hereinafter, “APT QA Expert Meeting”), where representatives from quality assurance agencies and, as needed, government officials from ASEAN Plus Three countries met on a regular basis.

1st Working Group Meeting (30 September 2013, Tokyo)

2nd Working Group Meeting

The Expert meeting on preparing for the Second Working Group was held on 25 June 2014 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Meeting was attended by delegates from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Viet Nam, Japan and ROK. Representatives of SEAMEO-RIHED and the ASEAN Secretariat were also in attendance.

Best practices from each country were shared, and ideas for Guidelines on Student Exchanges were discussed. During the meeting, suggestions for further discussion at the upcoming Working Group were summarized as follows: (1) the Guidelines are not for one specific student exchange program but for all the programs in the ASEAN Plus Three countries; (2) a clear vision, mission and objective of the Guidelines should be determined; (3) a time frame and mechanisms for implementation, which includes the parties that will take responsibility for activities, should be stated; (4) balanced mobility of students should be encouraged.

The Second Working Group Meeting was held on 16 October 2014 in Bali, Indonesia. The Meeting was attended by delegates from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam as well as China, Japan and ROK. Representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat, AUN and SEAMEO-RIHED were also in attendance.

The Meeting provided a forum for discussion and agreement on the elements of the draft Guidelines on Student Exchanges based on the following principles:

・The aim is to resolve the general and common questions regarding Asian student mobility and to strive to provide services to open the way to all kinds of student mobility and promote barrier-free mobility;
・All the standards, credit transfers, quality assurance, financial and other support and monitoring that are described in the Guidelines should not be obligatory rules but respected recommendations.

The Meeting also welcomed the suggestion to designate Japan, who has been leading the Working Group as organizer, and ROK and China as Co-Organizers of the Working Group. Also, the Meeting welcomed to revise the Terms of Reference to define the role of the Co-Organizers.

2nd Working Group Meeting (16 October 2014, Bali)

3rd Working Group Meeting

The Third Working Group Meeting was held on 11 June 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting was attended by delegates from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam as well as the China, Japan, and ROK. Representatives of the ASEAN Secretariat and SEAMEO-RIHED were also in attendance.

The revised Guidelines on Student Exchanges were approved and submitted to the 6th ASEAN Plus Three SOM-ED in December 2015 in Bangkok, Thailand, and then to the 3rd ASEAN Plus Three Education Ministers Meeting in 2016 in Malaysia, for endorsement. Japan presented a proposal for the next action plan to develop “ASEAN Plus Three Guidelines on Transcripts for Exchange Students including Comparison Table of the Credit Transfer Systems” (hereinafter, ”Guidelines on Transcripts”), the objective of which is to avoid non-recognition of credits earned at host institutions. The Expert Meeting for Guidelines on Transcripts for Exchange Students is scheduled to take place in March 2016 in Tokyo, Japan.

The Philippines would host the Forth Working Group Meeting in 2016, and during the Meeting, it was also noted that Malaysia will be the Chair of the next Meeting and Japan will be the Co-Chair.

3rd Working Group Meeting (11 June 2015, Bangkok)

4th Working Group Meeting

Delegates from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam as well as Japan attended the Fourth Working Group Meeting on 1 December 2016 in Cebu, the Philippines. Representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, AUN, AQAN and SEAMEO-RIHED were also in attendance.
Participants welcomed a report on the Third ASEAN Plus Three Education Ministers Meeting in May 2016 in Selangor, Malaysia and on the ministers’ formal approval of the Guidelines on Student Exchange.
Based on discussions during the Expert Meeting for Guidelines on Transcripts for Exchange Students on 7 March 2016 in Tokyo, Japan proposed a draft Guidelines on Transcripts. Attendees discussed the draft and agreed they will consult with higher education institutions back home. They also exchanged views and opinions on what and how to monitor the outcome and impact of the Guidelines on Student Exchanges as well as future activities of the working group. They then decided to invite Member States to provide further comment.
Viet Nam will consider hosting the Fifth Working Group Meeting in 2017, it was noted.

4th Working Group Meeting (1 Decembe 2016, Cebu)

5th Working Group Meeting

The 5th Working Group on Mobility of Higher Education and Ensuring Quality Assurance of Higher Education among ASEAN Plus Three Countries (APTWG) meeting was held on 20 October 2017 in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam with attendance of the delegates from all ASEAN member states, ROK and Japan, as well as the representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, AUN, AQAN, AQRF and SEAMEO RIHED.
Following discussions at the 4th APTWG meeting in 2016, the 5th meeting focused on the discussions on the three draft documents, which were revised based on the inputs from member states since the previous meeting.
In particular, the “Guidelines on transcripts for exchange students”, which was significantly revised based on the outcomes of consultations with higher education institutions in member countries, was discussed and agreed with some modifications, including its name change to the “ASEAN Plus Three Guidelines on Transcripts and Supplemental Documents for Academic Record of Exchange Students” (hereafter referred as the “Guidelines on Transcripts”). The “Guidelines on Transcripts” will be submitted to the 8th ASEAN Plus Three Senior Officials Meeting on Education (8th SOM D+3), which will be held on December 2017 in Bangkok, put to experimental use in member countries in 2018, and then discussed again at the 6th APTWG meeting. In addition, after minor modifications, the drafts of “Monitoring form of the Guidelines on Student Exchange and Mobility” and revised “Terms of Reference” of the APTWG will also be submitted to the 8th SOM ED+3.
The 5th APTWG meeting welcomed Myanmar to be the host country for the 6th APTWG meeting in 2018.

5th APTWG meeting (20 October 2017, Ho Chi Minh)

6th Working Group Meeting

The 6th Working Group on Student Mobility and Quality Assurance of Higher Education among the ASEAN Plus Three Countries (APTWG) meeting was held on 13 - 14 August 2018 Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar with attendance of the delegates from ASEAN member states, ROK and Japan, as well as the representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, AUN, AQAN, AQRF and SEAMEO RIHED. Following discussions at the 5th APTWG meeting in 2017, the 6th meeting focused on the discussions on progress made since the previous meeting.
First, representatives from ASEAN Member States, Japan and ROK reported their result of the monitoring of the “Guidelines on Students Exchange and Mobility,” including the numbers of student exchange, numbers of inter-university agreements (MOUs). The meeting agreed to make a minor revision to the monitoring form based on their monitoring.
Second, representatives shared the results of the trial on the “ASEAN Plus Three Guidelines on Transcripts and Supplemental Documents for Academic Record of Exchange Students” (hereafter referred as the “Guidelines on Transcripts”) gathered from their nominated higher education institutions. As the result of the discussion based on the outcome of the trial, the meeting agreed on the “Guidelines on Transcripts” with no further modification, and decided to submit the guidelines to the 9th SOM ED+3 in October 2018, in view of the final adoption at the 4th APT EMM which will be held in November 2018.
Third, the experience of the CAMPUS Asia Project conducted by the Plus Three countries (Japan, Korea and China) was shared, and the meeting agreed to continue discussion on the possible expansion of the Project to the ASEAN member states. The meeting also agreed on the theme for the future APTWG discussions as “Availability of information online to promote mobility of Higher Education in the ASEAN Plus Three region.”
Last, the 6th APTWG meeting welcomed Singapore to be the host country for the 7th APTWG meeting in 2019.

6th APTWG meeting (13-14 August 2018, Nay Pyi Taw)

7th Working Group Meeting

The 7th Working Group on Student Mobility and Quality Assurance of Higher Education among the ASEAN Plus Three Countries (APTWG) meeting was held on 26 - 27 September 2019 in Singapore with the attendance of the delegates from the ASEAN member states, the ROK and Japan, as well as representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, AUN, AQAN, AQRF and SEAMEO RIHED.
At the meeting, first, the representatives from the ASEAN Member States, Japan and the ROK gave a report on their results of the monitoring of the “Guidelines on Students Exchange and Mobility” (adopted in 2016) as well as the follow-up activities of the “Guidelines on Transcripts and Supplemental Documents for Academic Records of Exchange Students” (adopted in 2018).
Second, the Working Group agreed on revision of the TOR to add items specifying the procedures for changes to the chair and co-chair through the exchange of letters.
Third, Japan gave a report to the Working Group on updates on the CAMPUS Asia Program and the future direction of the program based on the 7th Meeting of the Japan-China-Korea Committee for Promoting Exchange and Cooperation among Universities held in Tokyo, and shared the concept of the “Asia for All (tentative name)” as a direction of future collaboration in Asia. The Working Group agreed to continue with discussion on future collaboration.
Then, regarding the “availability of information online to promote mobility of higher education in the APT countries” which the Working Group agreed upon last year as a future APTWG discussion theme, Japan reported the results of the expert meeting held in Tokyo last March, and proposed a draft outcome document, future steps, a questionnaire to be sent to universities and students in the member states, and the establishment of a working team to develop the questionnaire. The Working Group agreed on the future steps and to continue with discussions with a view to submitting the outcome document to the ASEAN Plus Three Education Ministers’ Meeting. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Japan and the ASEAN Secretariat volunteered to participate in the working team.
Last, the 7th APTWG meeting welcomed Vietnam as the host country for the 8th APTWG meeting in 2020.

The 7th APTWG meeting (26-27 September 2019, Singapore)

8th Working Group Meeting

The 8th Working Group on Student Mobility and Quality Assurance of Higher Education among the ASEAN Plus Three Countries (APTWG) meeting was hosted online by Viet Nam on 12 November 2020 with the attendance of the delegates from the ASEAN member states, Japan, China and the ROK as well as representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat, AUN, AQAN, AQRF and SEAMEO RIHED (a total of 13 countries and five organizations).

At the meeting, at first, each country reported on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on higher education in their country from the perspective of the latest information on entry restrictions, measures for conducting classes (face to face/online, etc.), countermeasures by the government and universities, and the new normal for the international higher education.

Second, regarding the "availability of information online to promote mobility of higher education in the APT countries," Japan reported on the results of the analysis of the questionnaires sent to universities and students, and proposed revisions to the draft outcome document based on those results. As a future step, it was decided that the revised outcome document will be distributed to universities in each country where its usefulness will be verified, and then a final agreement will be reached on the document at the next APTWG meeting, with the aim of its adoption at the Education Ministers Meeting scheduled to be held in 2021.

Third, the ROK reported on the updates on the Campus Asia Project implemented by Japan, China, and the ROK and on the broader direction of the Mode 3 to expand the project into other countries and region in Asia. When the details are decided, they will be reported to the Working Group.

In addition, Japan and the ROK suggested that emphasis should be placed on "quality assurance" as the theme for the APTWG discussions for the next two years, and proposed the initiatives shown below, which are to be carried out in cooperation with the quality assurance organizations. It was agreed that the progress and results of these initiatives should be reported as appropriate to the Working Group.

・Collecting and examining good practices and challenges of face to face/online/blended modes from quality assurance perspective
・Conducting of feasibility studies regarding competencies and learning outcomes
・Exchanges of information on practices and regulations on online education
・Preparation of "APT Joint Guidelines for New Forms of Mobility in Higher Education"

Last, it was confirmed that the members would proceed with consideration of the venue and period for the 9th APTWG meeting in 2021.

8th APTWG meeting (12 November 2020, online hosted by Vietnam)

ASEAN Plus Three Quality Assurance (APT QA) Expert Meetings

The First Working Group Meeting proposed, as one of its directions, to provide opportunities for quality assurance agencies in the ASEAN and Plus Three countries to meet on a regular basis for exchanging views on student mobility and cross-border education. At the AQAN Round Table Meeting, held in October 2013 in Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam, it was agreed to start the APT QA Expert Meetings that would serve as a venue for exchanging views and smoothing the sharing of information among AQAN members and quality assurance agencies from the Plus Three countries. Information exchange is promoted with a view to further discussion on how the agencies can contribute to enhancing student mobility programs with quality assurance in the region.

1st APT QA meeting

The First APT QA Expert Meeting convened on 6 March 2014 in Hanoi, Viet Nam. The Meeting was attended by delegates from the full and associate member organizations of the ASEAN Quality Assurance Network (hereinafter, “AQAN”) and quality assurance agencies from the Plus Three countries. Participants agreed upon a tentative Terms of Reference, which described the relationship of the Meeting to the Working Group. Representatives from the Philippines, Thailand, Korea and Japan offered inputs regarding policy development and ongoing initiatives related to student mobility in higher education in terms of quality assurance. Further, the participants agreed to share information on quality assurance systems related to student mobility in each of the ASEAN Plus Three countries. The National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation (hereinafter, “NIAD-UE*”) of Japan volunteered to draft and circulate an online questionnaire form to gain comments from the participants.
* On April 1, 2016, NIAD-UE and the Center for National University Finance and Management (CUFM) merged to form NIAD-QE.

2nd APT QA Expert Meeting

The Second APT QA Expert Meeting took place on 17 October 2014 in Bali, Indonesia. The meeting was attended by delegates from the full and associate member agencies of AQAN and quality assurance agencies from the Plus Three countries.
NIAD-UE provided a briefing on the interim report of the online survey results on quality assurance issues related to student mobility. The participants shared the following findings:

・The mechanisms of quality assurance in ASEAN Plus Three countries are varied. In regards to promoting quality assurance relevant to student mobility, there are different degrees of interest among quality assurance agencies, maybe because of differences in 1) the volume of student mobility, 2) the type of student mobility and the mode of collaborative programs, and 3) national government policy.
・Continuous discussion is needed to gain views on what elements of quality assurance are important where student mobility is actively seen and what should be noted in the APT QA Expert Meeting.

Representatives from Malaysia, Vietnam, China and Japan made presentations on their perspectives of quality assurance related to the questions on the survey on student mobility. Representatives from other countries also shared situations related to student mobility and quality assurance in their respective countries.

3rd APT QA Expert Meeting

The Third APT QA Expert Meeting convened on 3 September 2015 in Manila, Philippines. The meeting was attended by delegates from the full and associate member agencies of the AQAN and NIAD-UE.
During the meeting, it was concluded that continued discussion is needed on selected issues about the quality of collaborative programs at future APT QA Expert Meetings, particularly focusing on issues proposed from areas where student mobility is active. Representatives from Malaysia and SEAMEO-RIHED outlined student mobility in ASEAN given background information on the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework (AQRF) and the ASEAN QA Framework (AQAF). The NIAD-UE researcher provided a presentation on efforts to develop a checklist for quality assurance of international collaborative programs between Japan and East Asian countries.

Future prospects

Among ASEAN Plus Three countries, the Vision for an “Asian Higher Education Community” is being increasingly shared. To enhance the regional development of such an educational network, it is important to understand the different systems and cultures of the region while, at the same time, sharing the feeling that we are in the same community in Asia. To materialize sustainable cooperation among ASEAN Plus Three countries, based on the guidelines and rules establishing, and we would like to promote further student exchanges and develop more connected networks among universities in the region. Such efforts will facilitate information sharing and joint programs.