To improve the quality of higher education is one of the most important issues today. In order to adapt to the international trend and to improve the mobility of students, European Union and Asian Pacific countries have been aggressively promoting the cross-border quality assurance in higher education by adjoined territorial co-operation recently. We also intend to transform the higher education evaluation to the international quality assurance system in Taiwan. This study is the first year plan of two-year plan that aims to investigate the cross-border quality assurance of higher education. There are three aims in this study: 1.To understand the developmental history and the recent situations of the worldwide cross-border quality assurance. 2. To investigate the problems and challenges of implementing cross-border quality assurance. 3. To analyze the possible strategies for promoting the cross-border quality assurance of higher education in Taiwan.
The methods of interview were adopted in the study. 6 scholars were invited to conduct counseling interviews in order to investigate the relevant issues of and coping strategies for the following conclusions were made according to the study findings: 1.The establishment of a mechanism for cross-border quality assurance in higher education will assure the higher education agencies to provide quality education. 2. The cross-border quality assurance organisations and standards afford quidence will facilitate the development of quality assurance of cross-border higher education. 3. Challenges in quality assurance of cross-border higher education include the restriction in recognition by national quality assurance etc.. 4. The quality assurance standards of cross-border higher education include internal quality assurance, external quality assurance and quality assurance agencies. 5. The promotion of quality assurance of cross-border higher education will enhance the effect of information sharing, agency cooperation and network establishment.
Recommendations for policy in the short term were proposed according to the conclusions：1. Adopt a diversity of quality assurance approaches to assure the quality of higher education in Taiwan. 2. Intensify the international collaboration for Taiwan’s quality assurance agencies to promote internationalization with the quality assurance agencies and. Recommendations for policy in the middle and long term were：1. Establish a quality assurance system of cross-border higher education and publish the guiding handbook. 2. Take consideration of standards of international quality assurance organizations to establish Taiwan’s quality assurance principles and standards. 3. Strengthen the multilateral education among the agencies for quality assurance of higher education to expand the international actions of quality assurance.
