Quality and accreditation body goes global

By Alison Moodie. The US-based Council for Higher Education and Accreditation, CHEA, has launched a new international division, arguing that as internationalisation spreads there is a pressing need for institutions around the world to work together to establish a shared global system of quality assurance.
For many years, the role of universities was relatively straightforward – educate the youth and produce original research. But in an increasingly globalised world, tertiary institutions serve a more complex purpose. They function more as nodes in a much larger global network that involves not only other universities, but a slew of businesses, non-profits and organisations that have a vested interest in an institution’s educational activity and financial outcomes.