ENQA was involved as a partner in the Erasmus+ project “Towards a National Qualifications Framework for Jordan” (NQF-J) coordinated by the Universitat de Barcelona (UB). The project received funding under the Key Action 2: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices, Capacity-building in higher education sub-programme.
TERM/DURATION
October 2015 to April 2019
PARTNERSHIP
The partnership of the project involved 16 partners: Universitat de Barcelona as the coordinator, the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Jordan, the Higher Education Accreditation Commission (HEAC), the Association of Arab Universities, University of Jordan, Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Yarmouk University, Mutah University Ltd, Hashemite University, the German Jordanian University, University College Cork, the National Agency for Quality Assessment and Accreditation of Spain (ANECA), Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI), Tallinn University of Technology, Estonian Qualifications Authority-Kutsekoda and ENQA.
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Project aim
The wider objective of the project is to support the structural reform of the higher education system in Jordan, develop a qualifications framework for higher education in line with national priorities, and implement at different institutional levels. NQF-J shall provide a QF for higher education for implementation at institutional level and, importantly, set up the basis for a comprehensive NQF, and thus endeavours to establish an NQF model that identifies the generic expectations of all levels of higher educational programmes. These will be expressed as learning outcomes, mainly based on knowledge, skills and competences.
The standards of qualifications at each level will be created and established through a number of activities in which descriptors will be determined, along with appropriate QA processes, by all stakeholders in higher education. The methodology for setting and assuring the qualification standards will be disseminated among academic institutions, government agencies responsible for QA and accreditation, and a wide spectrum of stakeholders.
The project will clearly demonstrate the standards of Jordanian higher education awards and their national comparability. Additionally, through rigorous comparison with other national QFs, the project will demonstrate comparability of Jordanian higher education wider awards with international norms and expectations, thus supporting mobility and employability. In particular, its compatibility against the Framework for Qualifications of the European Higher Education Area (FQ-EHEA) and also against the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) will be demonstrated.
Target groups
Project’s main target group is the teaching staff, administrative staff, students, trainees, technical staff, librarians, key stakeholders in areas of education and employment related to HE.
Specific objectives
In order to achieve its overall aim, the project will have the following specific objectives:
- Strengthen and support national and institutional capacities for developing a national qualification framework in HE,
- Create a model for a Jordanian national qualification framework and the develop statements at sectorial levels based on learning outcomes,
- Build the capacity of higher education institutions to produce and assess learning outcomes that are based on descriptors related to different educational disciplines,
- Pilot the new national qualification framework at partner universities,
- Implement the national qualification framework within the higher education sector at the level of study programs,
- Self-certificate the higher education levels of the national qualification framework against the European framework.