December 10th, 2010

 At the meeting of the committee set up following a proposal at the trilateral summit, experts from Japan, China and Korea agreed to implement pilot program next year as early as possible.

Overview

 To further develop higher education throughout Japan, China, and Korea the members of the three countries concluded the following matters at the Second Japan-China-Korea Committee for Promoting Exchange and Cooperation among Universities (in Beijing). This committee was established based on a proposal by former Japanese Prime Minister Hatoyama at the second Japan-China-ROK trilateral summit, which took place in October 2009 (See Attachment 1 for a list of participants and developments to date).

○ Three countries reached a basic agreement on the guidelines for promoting exchange among the three countries in the area of credit transfer and grade evaluation, and agreed to finalize these guidelines at a later date after considering expert opinions (See Attachment 2 for an outline of the guidelines).

○ Three countries agreed to implement the pilot program next year as early as possible, and to continue discussion on this matter in detail in the next third meeting to be held in Korea next spring (See Attachment 3 for details and procedures concerning the pilot program).

 The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) will continue cooperating with China and Korea in preparations for the pilot program and plans to invite government officials and the members of the quality assurance agencies to the Symposium on Exchange among Universities with Quality Assurance in East Asia to be held next March.

Attachment 1

List of Committee Participants

Japan

○Anzai Yuichiro	Chair of the University Subcommittee of the Central Council for Higher Education and Executive Advisor for Academic Affairs of Keio University
Chubachi Ryouji	Vice-Chair of Sony Corporation
Terashima Jitsuro	CEO of the Japan Research Institute and President of Tama University
Hirano Shinichi	President of the National Institution for Academic Degrees and University Evaluation
Isoda Fumio	Director-General of the Higher Education Bureau, MEXT
Hamada Junichi*	President of the University of Tokyo

China

○Wu Boda	Director of the China Degree and Graduate Development Center
Ji Ping	Director-General of the Higher Education Evaluation Center
Yang He	Vice-Chair of Peking University Council
Zhang Zhaodong	Trustee and Chairman of Founder Group Limited Corporation of Beijing University
Zhang Xiuqin	Director-General of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, Ministry of Education
Liu Ju	Deputy Director of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchanges, Ministry of Education

Korea

○Seong Tae-Je	Secretary General of the Korean Council for University Education
Lee Hyunchong	President of Sangmyung University
Kim Inn-Se	President of Pusan National University
Kim Tae Wan	President of Korean Educational Development Institute
Song Ki Dong	Director General of the International Cooperation Department, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology
Yun Jong Yong*	Executive Advisor of Samsung Electrics Co. Ltd

○ Co-chairpersons, ※ Absentees

Developments to date and upcoming schedule

●  At the second trilateral summit (Beijing, October 2009), then Prime Minister Hatoyama proposed holding an intergovernmental expert meeting to examine quality-assured exchanges among the three countries' universities and to convene an international symposium to discuss quality assurance in Asia. The parties agreed to this proposal.

●  First meeting of the Japan-China-Korea Committee for Promoting Exchange and Cooperation among Universities was held (Tokyo, April 2010). The parties agreed to call this concept “Campus Asia” and to set up a Working Group on the Exchange Program and a Working Group on Quality Assurance in order to advance expert discussions.

●  At the third trilateral summit (Jeju Island, May 2010), the parties agreed on the early realization of “Campus Asia” - centered on Japan, Korea and China and including ASEAN members and other countries.

●  First meetings of the Working Group on the Exchange Program and the Working Group on Quality Assurance were held (Tokyo, August 2010).

●  Second Japan-China-Korea Committee for Promoting Exchange and Cooperation among Universities held on December 10th, 2010 in Beijing.

●  Symposium on Exchange among Universities with Quality Assurance in East Asia is scheduled for March 17th and 18th, 2011 (Tokyo). The pilot program is to be discussed in the next Japan-China-Korea Committee for Promoting Exchange and Cooperation among Universities (Korea).

Attachment 2

Proposed Guidelines for promoting exchange among Japan, China and Korea (Outline)

 The members of the three countries reached a basic agreement on the guidelines for promoting exchange among the three countries in the area of credit transfer and grade evaluation, and agreed to continue discussion on elaborating the guidelines. As the draft will be made public as China is to revise the text, the current outline under discussion is as follows:

1. Basic figure of exchange shaped through the Guidelines

●  These guidelines define where universities, governments, quality assurance agencies, industry representatives and other stakeholders should focus their efforts in order to implement credit transfer and grade evaluation to enable cooperative education. They also seek to assure the quality of academic degrees, leading to further improvements in quality assurance in higher education both domestically and internationally.

●  Since the university system in each country possesses unique attributes and features, the guidelines will be formulated such that no one country is bound to another country's concept of what a university system or university education entails. Likewise, exchange among universities shall be based on each university's autonomous policies and frameworks, and the guidelines will be formulated such that no one university is bound to another university's educational style, exchange program content or method of exchange.

2. Important Points

●  On the basis of the specific responsibilities in each country, the guidelines recommend the following necessary actions to governments, universities, quality assurance agencies and other relevant organizations, including industry. (Detailed explanations for each action are omitted.)

Universities

●  Establishment of internal quality assurance system

●  Effective implementation of exchange programs

●  Good services for exchange students

Governments

●  Establishment of a comprehensive, coherent and transparent quality assurance framework

●  Encouragement for relevant universities to participate in the exchange programs

●  Support for the quality assurance agency to conduct activities

Quality Assurance Agencies

●  Maintaining clarification and visibility of procedure

●  Seeking for common standards and joint evaluation

●  Capacity building for the staff

Industry and Other Concerned Entities

●  Understanding of the significance of trilateral exchange

Attachment 3

Plan for Implementing Pilot Program (under discussion)

 On the meeting, the following contents and issues were discussed.

1. Aim of the Pilot Program

●  The aim of this program is to implement, on a trial basis, and under the principle of openness, extensiveness, flexibility and voluntariness, cooperation and exchanges, credit transfer and grade evaluation to enable a cooperative education scheme among universities in Japan, China and Korea and, based on the outcomes and issues thereof, to develop a large-scale cooperative education scheme for universities in the three countries.

2. Pilot Program Details

●  Universities in Japan, China and Korea are expected to form small consortiums and implement cooperative education programs - from short-term through to long-term programs, including ‘short visit,’ ‘summer program,’ and ‘double degree programs’ - that enable credit transfer and grade evaluation.

3. Issues to be discussed for Implementation

 - Procedures of call for proposal
 - Language to be used in the exchange program
 - Structure for selection and evaluation