Common Quality Assurance Standards
- Enhancing Quality Collaboration for Inter-University Exchanges in Asia -

Established in April 2025

A. Fundamental Principles

The inter-governmental scheme by China, Korea, and Japan has been successfully promoting inter-university exchanges with quality assurance since 2011. In expanding this scheme throughout Asia, the Higher Education Institution (hereafter HEI) endorses the following fundamental principles and undertakes to implement them accordingly:

• The HEI undertakes to further enhance the international competitiveness of Asian universities and promote educational and academic exchanges that will serve as the foundation for mutual understanding and long-term harmonious relations within the region. Additionally, in line with the scheme, which aims to create a higher education community based on an international network of universities in Asian countries aspiring toward the peaceful development of Asia, the HEI, together with partner institutions, contributes to the realization of these objectives as a member of this framework.
• The HEI guarantees to provide programs under the scheme to enhance quality higher education in Asia by responding flexibly to societal changes, while complying with the relevant laws and regulations of each higher education system, and establishing appropriate structures and various types of support to ensure the continuity of students' learning.
• The HEI offers essential information regarding the available programs for students, who are considered as primary stakeholders, to make informed choices. It provides education in accordance with the students' interests and concerns, following student-centered principles and ensuring academic rigor.
• The HEI respects in full the principles of equality, equity, inclusiveness, diversity, and openness to the society.

B. Standards

The HEI undertakes to ensure maintaining and continuing to implement these standards as a participating HEI in international collaborative academic programs in Asia.

• 1. Establishment and Sharing of Objectives
  1.1 The HEI, with partner institutions, clearly defines the objectives of the program, the personality to be cultivated, and the expected learning outcomes in terms of students' knowledge, skills, and attitudes, and shares them among stakeholders. The HEI also considers the expected social impact of its programs upon setting objectives.
• 2. Implementation Structure
  2.1 The HEI has made an agreement among partner institutions in which the basic policies of the program, such as the program management system, responsibilities toward students, and expense sharing, are documented.
  
  2.2 The HEI clearly states the operational structure of program implementation and relevant responsibilities as well as the support system provided by related organizations within the institution.
  
  2.3 The HEI has established an educational management system in which faculty and staff members involved collaborate and implement the program effectively and sustainably.
  
  2.4 The HEI appropriately establishes a program-coordinating function and maintains mechanisms for regular communication and coordination among partner　institutions.
• 3. Curriculum
  3.1 The HEI cooperates and collaborates with partner institutions to design a curriculum, including project advisory plans aligned with the program's objectives and expected learning outcomes.
  
  3.2 The HEI ensures to provide its curricula based on the cooperation among faculty members of partner institutions. The HEI is prepared to utilize various teaching methods effectively, encompassing online and hybrid, in addition to face-to-face education.
  
  3.3 The HEI provides detailed information on curricula and subjects such as course descriptions, language of instruction, lecture style, credits, student workload, expected learning outcomes, and grading methods. This information is included in the syllabus or other supplemental documents, while making the latest information available to students.
• 4. Student Acceptance
  4.1 The HEIs jointly establish and implement policies for letting students join the program according to its objectives, with envisaged learning outcomes that students will obtain taken into consideration. The HEIs also endeavor to assure a balanced student mobility among partner institutions.
  
  4.2 The HEI has clearly set up a process to let students join the program (including eligibility for application and recognition of qualifications) while paying attention to equity and transparency with the provision of accurate information for students' decision-making.
• 5. Student Support for Learning and Living
  5.1 The HEI agrees among partner institutions on the necessary learning and living support for students, based on the objectives and characteristics of the program. In addition, the HEI disseminates details of each area of support in an explicit manner to both prospective and current students.
  
  5.2 The HEI adequately provides the agreed learning support to students. Examples of learning support include an academic advising system such as the placement of teaching assistants, course guidance, language learning support, and sufficient research and learning environments through libraries, information technology, and laboratory facilities.
  
  5.3 The HEI adequately provides the agreed living support for students. Examples of students' living support include financial support, accommodation support, medical support, orientations, counseling, interaction with local communities, and risk management.
  
  5.4 The HEI encourages interactions among students and alumni within and outside the program.
• 6. Learning Outcomes
  6.1 The HEI has appropriately established methods for measuring the learning outcomes as defined in 1.1 and shared the results of the measurements in a timely manner among partner institutions.
• 7. Credit Transfer and Degree Awarding
  7.1 The HEI promotes mutual understanding of the credit system of each institution and has made agreements on credit transfer and recognition.
  7.2 The HEIs have a collective understanding of each grading method and standard.
  
  7.3 The HEI provides information, without any delay, to students and their home institutions on their academic records, such as credits and grades, in a transparent and explicit manner. The HEI properly manages the academic records of students based on mutual agreement among partner institutions.
  
  7.4 In the case of degree-seeking programs, the HEI has established an appropriate review system, processes, and standards according to the types of degrees awarded. Particularly for joint degree and double degree programs, the HEIs have jointly arranged and properly managed the standards and assessment system based on mutual agreement according to the objectives of the program.
• 8. Continuous Quality Improvement
  8.1 The HEI has developed an effective and continuous internal quality assurance system including the appointment of responsible bodies for implementation to promote the quality improvement of the program.
  
  8.2 The HEI has established a mechanism that contributes to the improvement of educational management based on the information on students' learning outcomes obtained by the method described in 6.1.
  
  8.3 The HEI has developed procedures for internal quality assurance to identify issues through regular meetings among partner institutions and feedback from students and other stakeholders, and consider measures for the improvement of program management.
  
  8.4 The internal quality assurance system and procedures for the program jointly developed by the HEIs are functioning effectively.
  
  8.5 The HEIs jointly plan to consider various measures, including financial schemes and the availability of adequate human resources, to ensure sustainable operation of the program.

• [NOTE]
  These Standards will be reviewed and revised as necessary every three to five years in response to the changing environment of higher education and inter-university student exchange.

• Please click here for the Common Quality Assurance Standards in PDF file