Abstract:

This paper wants to address the issue of integrating technology enhanced learning (TEL) into HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) in Kazakhstan by building a standardised Quality Assurance (QA) framework in line with the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). While some of the Kazakh universities have already started the TEL integration process, still most of the HEIs have strategies and solutions that can satisfy quality assurance parameters.

The KUTEL project - Kazakh Universities To foster Quality Assurance Processes In Technology Enhanced Learning is a three-year project co-funded by the European Commission in the framework of the ERASMUS Plus Programme, Key Action 2, Capacity building in the field of Higher Education. The Project Consortium brings together 14 organisations: four Universities from European countries - Italy, Bulgaria, Finland and Greece – and ten partners from Kazakhstan (Universities, the Ministry of Research and Education, the Kazakh Independent Accreditation Agency and a Foundation).

KUTEL core objective is to promote reform and modernization of HE in Kazakhstan through the introduction of a national QA system for TEL by guaranteeing the improvement and implementation of accreditation standards, guidelines/procedures for quality assurance of TEL (Technology Enhanced Learning) courses and study programs at national level. Therefore the Project addresses the Reform in the field of “Quality Assurance (QA) Processes and Mechanisms”, recognised as a national priority for Kazakhstan.

The KUTEL objectives will be achieved thanks to an initial baseline analysis that led to the definition of a European TEL Roadmap for QA standard built up on the basis of the national best practices collected in each EU Higher Education Institution (HEI) involved in the project. The European TEL roadmap is a strategic plan that defines the goal for the QA standard, the desired outcomes and defines the major steps and milestones needed to reach it. The European partners used the roadmap that represents a common working basis among the European countries involved in the project and a starting point in order to define, at a later stage, the one for Kazakhstan.

The baseline analysis led also to the identification of a Baseline Kazakhstan TEL Quality Assurance Framework and national recommendations, the KUTEL Quality Assurance Framework was drawn. This framework was based on data collected through a desktop analysis and questionnaire survey of the existing situation in Kazakhstan. The Framework summarizes the State of the Art of HE related to the existing TEL Quality standards. The collected data were gathered at institutional and national level in order to have more information for the construction of a final QA framework on TEL that corresponds to the real needs and gaps of the Kazakh universities through the combination of both European and Kazakh experience.

Based on the conclusions drawn from these two reports, the KUTEL partners will also develop an e-learning course addressed to academic staff and authorities responsible for accreditation/evaluation in education in order to improve their competencies and skills about accreditation and evaluation on KUTEL QA Framework and the effective implementation of the guidelines defined in Kazakh universities.

New standards will be embedded in the quality of TEL courses offered by HEIs in Kazakhstan, and then into existing regulatory documents at both institutional and national levels.

Keywords:

International projects, higher education, technology enhanced learning, quality assurance, international cooperation.