7-8 May 2007 Christina Rozsnyai 1

Developing a NQF in Hungary. Contribution of

the Hungarian Accreditation Committee

7-8 June 2007

Dublin, Ireland

ENQA Workshop Quality Assurance and Qualifications Frameworks

7-8 May 2007 Christina Rozsnyai 2

Developments in HE in Hungary 1

Commission Report: From Bergen to London

(7 May 07):

• Curricular reform

• Governance reform

• Funding reform

Thorough HE reform culminated in new HE Act (ratified late 2005)

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Developments in HE in Hungary 2

New HE Act (effective 1 March 2006) introduced all three (and more):• BA/MA• Financial Boards at HEIS• a new amendment expected to introduce 3 year funding contracts

HAC became an independent legal entity• „public service organisation”

• more financial independence but continued state financing

• new Board of Appeals, etc.

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EQF in Hungary 1Hungary has been active in the work on the EQF since 2004

•Various working groups, documents, consultations with stakeholders on the national level have been ongoing

•International Conference in Budapest in February 2006 (main outcome: participants agreed to incorporate VET outcomes into top four levels of the EQF not just HE but vocational descriptors)

•HAC has received working documents from the Ministry for comment regularly and has been invited to workshops and consulations, participated in 1st phase of consultations (Sept.-Dec. 05)

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EQF in Hungary 2

Concept of National QF gaining publicity

e.g. Minister’s press release 22 May 07:

„A connection between higher education, adult education and public education has to be established”

The necessity of having QA appears in all documents: ECVET, EQF, NQF

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Earlier Developments in Hungary 1

In HE have had qualification frameworks since early ’90s

With the introduction of BA/MA (’05/06) new „Education and Outcome Requirements” were developed (note: focus on outcome!) – which take into consideration the Dublin Descriptors

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Earlier Developments in Hungary 2

In addition to HE,

•The National Curriculum was reworked (NAT, 06), as was

•The Vocational Qualifications Register (OKJ, 07)

The NQF concept was approved by government in late 06

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NQF in Hungary 1

Jan. 07: decision to set up 3 working groups, working under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Education and the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour

Participants are ten official-level experts from Ministries, National Credit Council, National Institute for Vocational and Adult Education, the National Institute for Public Education, external experts and researchers

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NQF in Hungary 2

WG I: works out level-decsriptorsWG II: works out mechanisms (necessary developments, regulations, institutional and financing instruments)Are just completing their work

WG III – based on WGs I and II: based on NQF level and content descriptors will analyse existing output factors for all sectors (public, vocational, higher and adult education) and propose necessary codification

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NQF in Hungary 3

In HE, Ministry has posted calls for proposal within the Leonardo da Vinci programme for

Analysing the Eudcation and Outcome Requirements and how they can be connected to the NQF – several national consortia are working on it

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Participation of HAC in the process 1

• Will continue to be invited to various events summarizing the various stages of progress toward the NQF

• Will received document drafts relating to NQF for comment before they go before government

• HAC representatives (staff or council members) sit in regularly on meetings of related decision-making bodies (National Rectors’ Conference, Higher Education and Research Council, Adult Education Accreditation Body)

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How can HAC contribute to the NQF?

• Has reworked its Accreditation Guidelines to reflect outcome factors, skills and competences (05/06)

• Can focus its evaluations on identified weak points:

•Transfer of studies: internal mobility still low – though HE Act supports it. (Study to NQF identified that financing structure is also an impediment: normative finacing for transfering student is not portable)

• Credit recognition: Erasmus students still report difficulties (aso identified in study)

• Credit allocation implemented, but still great variations in translating units into actual workload (also external practial work accepted only if in agreement with school)

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Conclusions 1

A lot is going on in Hungary, minds are changing

In HE:

• Awareness of the Bologna process

• the new BA/MA structure

• In QA: internal Q management at HEIs

• recognising importance of output focus

• student involvement in QA

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Work on a complex QA system accross sectors for a NQF is difficult to imagine without the HAC (extensive national and international experience and recognition)

Whether the sectoral QA bodies will be asked to pool their efforts in working out the QA aspect of the NQF has not beendecided at this stage

www.mab.hu

Conclusions 2