2nd OECD Forum on trade in educational services, 3-4 November 2003, Norway

The internationalisation of higher education systems increases the possibilities for improving the skills of individual students and to increase the quality of the national higher education systems. Cross-border education activities through student, programme or institution/provider mobility have therefore grown considerably over the last decades, following a collaborative effort of national and international policies encouraging such activities and a high demand by students to study abroad.

In addition to the traditional form of cross-border education - students travelling abroad to study - new developments in cross-border education, such as the emergence of e-learning, for-profit providers, joint campuses, branch campuses, transnational consortia, are increasing. These new developments are challenging existing national quality assurance and accreditation frameworks and agencies, thus increasing the pressure to make new efforts for consumer protection both at national as well as international levels. At the same time, increasing student and professional mobility across borders has put the issue of mutual recognition of academic and professional qualifications higher up on the agenda.

• Enhancing Consumer Protection in Cross-border Higher Education: Key Issues Related to Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Recognition of Qualifications