20 April – Virtual Seminar prior to the IX Congreso Universitario Centroamericano – Regional academic harmonisation: The role of qualifications frameworks.

Regional higher education integration remains and important political priority in different parts of the world, driven by different forces and entailing different policy choices. In Central America, it has its own dynamic, driven in a very bottom-up fashion with the support of regional organisations and networks that create a space for cooperation in the sector. Amonst the priorities of CSUCA, for example, has been the promotion of qualifications frameworks for higher education as a means to help systems dialogue and also to support universities to reform their curricula towards learning outcomes-oriented approaches. In the context of the Erasmus+ project HICA (2015-2018), qualifications frameworks (regional and national) were seen as motors educational innovation and regional academic harmonisation. This forum will explore the following questions: 

• Where is the Qualifications Framework for Central American Higher Education (MCESCA) now and how is it used at the level of universities and systems?
• How do Central American integration dynamics compare to other regions? For example, how have the Bologna Process objectives evolved with respect to harmonisation and what can Central America learn?

The forum will entail and exchange of information, visions and experiences on qualifications frameworks (achievements, challenges and opportunities for the future). Furthermore, from a European perspective, the panel will offer a reflection on the Bologna process and the 2021 Rome Ministerial Summit.