What is the NQF-J project?
NQF-J will be designed to support the HE system in Jordan in demonstrating both attributes of its graduates and the international comparability of its degrees.
In October 2010 Jordan was the first Mediterranean partner country in the ENP to be granted "Advanced Status" by the EU, thus expanding areas of cooperation and opening up new opportunities in economic and trade relations. Within this framework reforming the education and training systems, according to Jordanian’s national programme and towards convergence with EU standards and practice, was a major objective.
The agreement also calls for promoting the development of a National Qualifications Framework, (NQF) to include higher education (HE) and vocational education training (VET) and occupational and skills profiles. The NQF-J concept has evolved with participation of all major higher education (HE) stakeholders in Jordan, spearheaded by the Ministry of Higher Education and HEAC as core partners, with involvement of six public and not-for-profit universities, and the Association of Arab Universities (AArU). Consortium members were selected to ensure completion of the design, piloting and implementation of the new NQF-J; they have detailed knowledge and expertise of NQFs and have already demonstrated outstanding ability to work collaboratively in Jordan.
Amongst Jordanian partners, the Ministry will take a key role in policy making, guiding the development of the NQF, and HEAC will retain its national coordination mandate and technical role. PSUT will offer its experience and competency in European project management. The five other universities were carefully selected to represent the HE system in Jordan, with wide geographical coverage, diversity of academic programmes, and QA experience and manpower. All universities are known for their high level of motivation and active contribution to other related TEMPUS projects.
On the European side, the University of Barcelona (UB) has strategic partnerships with Jordanian universities, and has managed projects effectively, channelling communications between European and Jordanian partners with resulting synergies. The three European universities and three QA agencies have vast knowledge and expertise in developing and applying an NQF relevant to Jordanian needs. UB, ANECA and ENQA have extensive experience in establishing NQFs at national and regional levels. The Quality and Qualifications Ireland leads one of the world’s most advanced and well-functioning NQFs, with University College Cork providing an institutional perspective on this. ANECA (Spain) has led NQF development for an HE/QA system not dissimilar to that in Jordan. The Estonian partners bring experience of integrating HE and VET in their NQF. ENQA helped develop arguably the most succesful regional QF and will provide the latest international trends, and contacts with Agencies and country cases that are not within the formal consortium. The project also reflects UB and AArU work within the AECHE process. The Consortium thus includes partners all with significant and relevant expertise and a record of succesful collaborations.