Abstract:

The need for a consistent approach to the assurance of curriculum and teaching quality in Australia and offshore is frequently highlighted by writers. Badley (2000, p.244) described the capabilities required of globally-competent university teachers to include academic subject knowledge, pedagogic skills, a transformatory and democratic approach to education and an ethnographic stance to education abroad. But teaching practice must also be complemented by the appropriate adaptation of curriculum to suit a variety of offshore contexts.

Situated within a context of quality assurance in transnational education, this paper describes the development and implementation of two closely related initiatives developed in an Australian University. The Transnational Quick Guide Project acknowledges the complexity of transnational teaching practice by addressing the professional development needs of faculty in Australia and offshore. The second initiative supports the assurance of Equivalence and Comparability of standards in the delivery of courses across multiple locations, identifying individual elements that determine whether courses are equivalent and comparable and producing a framework that underpins a systematic course review process.

The two initiatives contribute to the university’s quality assurance strategy for its transnational programs.

Keywords:

Equivalence and Comparability, transnational education, quality assurance.