The work of SHARE in the field of Credit Transfer Systems (CTS), led by Nuffic, aims at facilitating comparability and compatibility of study programmes, and thus facilitating harmonious student mobility. Result area 3 activities will be correlated to Result area 2 on the qualifications framework and quality assurance led by DAAD. All SHARE activities underpinning Result area 3 will enhance the capacity of higher education stakeholders to coordinate efforts in ensuring recognition and transfer of credits across ASEAN, thereby stimulating international student mobility and increasing students’ employability in a competitive labour market.
SHARE activities in Result area 3 build upon existing CTS in the region. The cornerstone to guaranteeing a sustainable and efficient CTS system in ASEAN is to ensure mutual trust between the Higher Education Institutions in the ASEAN region and between ASEAN and the EU. Experience from Europe shows that the instrumental value of the credit for mobility purposes is high when credits are associated to the learning outcomes. The challenge therefore is to harmonise the system in order to have comparable and transferrable credits in ASEAN that are based on commonly recognised learning outcomes.
The first year of the programme focused on preliminary work, including desk reviews and mapping of the existing initiatives within the 10 ASEAN Member States, as well as virtual focus groups in the CLMV countries, and the preparation of conceptualisation documents. Prior to developing a CTS, SHARE thus commissioned two studies:
- a study mapping student mobility and CTS in the ASEAN region, which was jointly published by Campus France and Nuffic in February 2016;
- and a study mapping the higher education systems in each of the ASEAN Member States, which was conducted through Self-Analysis Documents. The results of this study were presented and discussed at the Ho Chi Minh workshop on 6-7 February 2016, the Paris workshop on 21-22 February 2016, and the Policy Dialogue 3 in Hanoi on 8-9 June 2016. A report summarising and updating the results of this study will be published in 2018.
Two CTS expert panels were set up in 2015, comprising 8 ASEAN experts and 9 EU experts, and an IT expert was also hired for the development of the SHARE Platform. The expert groups guide and shape SHARE activities and tools developed in the field of CTS.
Following the needs-identification analysis carried out through the two studies, the SHARE Platform and the first set of SHARE Mobility Tools were developed. System design and adaptation were supported by specialised workshops in Europe and Asia to better respond to the HEIs’ needs. The SHARE Platform and the SHARE Mobility Tools were subsequently tested through batches 3-5 of the SHARE Scholarship.
Now, during the SHARE Extension, which was launched at a time when higher education institutions and students around the world had to grapple with new challenges caused by changing circumstances, the SHARE programme is in a strong position to leverage its expertise and network to provide evidence-based capacity building to the ASEAN higher education community.
In the first phase of SHARE, the ASEAN-EU Credit Transfer System (AECTS) was developed and tested through the SHARE Scholarship by student awardees and SHARE Partner Universities to facilitate student mobility in the ASEAN region. With the push towards digital transformation brought about by the recently changing circumstances, the expansion of digital credentials and facilitation through a digital credit transfer system is another innovation that can be explored in the SHARE programme extension. This provides both a challenge and an opportunity to benefit mobility innovation and digital transition to a more learner-centric focus, and from paper documents to digitalised data.
Building upon the successful development and use of the SHARE AECTS Platform and SHARE Mobility Tools in the student mobility scheme during the first phase of SHARE, Nuffic plans to continue improving the AECTS Platform and mobility tools. Mapping and identification studies of digital AECTS needs are being conducted to help provide a basis of data for the necessary improvements to update the platform and redesign the mobility tools to support digital credential recognition.
- AECTS Capacity Building Workshop for SHARE Universities, click here.
- What Works Conference: Boosting ASEAN Student Mobility and Launching SHARE Credit Transfer Handbook in Cambodia, click here.
- The European Expert Specialised Workshop on CTS and Handbook, click here.
- 6th SHARE Credit Transfer System Capacity-Building Workshop in Myanmar, click here.
- 5th SHARE Credit Transfer System Capacity-Building Workshop in the Philippines, click here.
- 4th SHARE Credit Transfer System Capacity-Building Workshop in Vietnam, click here.
- 3rd SHARE Credit Transfer System Capacity-Building Workshop in Indonesia, click here.
- 2nd SHARE Credit Transfer System Capacity-Building Workshop in Cambodia, click here.
- 1st SHARE Credit Transfer System Capacity-Building Workshop in Malaysia, click here.
To visit the SHARE Platform and see the SHARE Mobility Tools, click below
PUBLICATION
Student Mobility and Credit Transfer System (CTS)
“Student Mobility and Credit Transfer System in ASEAN: Mapping student mobility and credit transfer systems in ASEAN region” is a joint report by Campus France and EP-Nuffic, commissioned under Result 3, Credit Transfer System and Scholarships published in February 2016. This report identifies the actions which could be undertaken in the ASEAN region in order to enhance student mobility and to allow for the recognition of students’ study abroad period in the ASEAN region. The report is based on the results of a comprehensive mapping of mobility programmes and credit transfer systems in the ASEAN region and a joint survey by Campus France and EP-Nuffic that highlighted the obstacle that restrain student mobility with ASEAN. The report also draws attention to the negative impact of the divergent credit transfer systems in the ASEAN region.
To download the report on Student Mobility and CTS please click here.
