New universities will have to offer at least four programmes up to master’s level and not six, according to new rule changes mired in controversy.

The institutions will also have to offer at least one doctoral programme, as opposed to four.

But the regulations, signed into law at the beginning of the month, give the National Commission for Further and Higher Education discretion to consider a combination of the eligibility criteria if this is in “the national interest”.

Unlike previous rules, the discretionary power will allow the commission to consider applications from universities even if they offer no doctoral programmes, in which case the minimum number of courses up to master’s level will increase to five.

The legal notice outlining the changes was at the centre of controversy after the University of Malta students’ council said the changes lowered standards.

The criticism was picked up by the Opposition, which asked whether lowering educational standards was a way of accommodating the American University of Malta, being proposed for Marsascala by Jordanian investors.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil urged lecturers, intellectuals and students to rebel against this decision when addressing the Nationalist Party general conference last Sunday.

But educational authorities contend otherwise, insisting standards have not been lowered and quality checks remain unchanged.

Higher education commission chief executive Edel Cassar said that reducing the number of minimum programmes offered was a way of attracting more universities that did not necessarily cater for volumes of students.

“For an entity to be able to offer six programmes up to Level 7 [master’s] plus four at Level 8 [PhD] requires a large volume of students, and Malta’s geographical size does not lend itself well to attracting multiple entities of that size,” Ms Cassar said.

The new rules will make it possible to attract specialised and professional institutions, which are normally dedicated to narrow fields, she added.

Ms Cassar also defended the new clause, which gives the commission discretion to consider applications from entities that offer a combination of programmes that differed from those specified in the regulations.

It requires a large volume of students and Malta’s geographical size does not lend itself well to attracting multiple entities of that size

She insisted the clause does not allow minimum requirements to be reduced.

“Almost all vocational and professional universities do not offer Level 8 programmes [PhD] and these institutions would have automatically not been eligible under the previous rules,” Ms Cassar said.

Asked to define the “national interest” referred to in the new regulations, she said that it is based on national policy.

It is government policy to encourage pluralism in education and the internationalisation of education providers with a view to raising standards of higher education, she added. She insisted that the clause granting discretion cannot be used to justify the eligibility of universities that offer just one or two programmes.

The minimum criteria still have to be satisfied, since the clause speaks of a different combination of obligations not a reduced number, she added.

When it was pointed out that the Barts medical school, to open in Gozo, will be offering one programme, Ms Cassar said rules allow the commission to take into consideration the entire operation of universities already established abroad.

This rule already existed and was not changed in the recent amendments, she said. “Barts is a campus pertaining to an established university in the UK, so, despite offering only one programme, it is possible to be licensed under the regulations.”

The changes enshrined in Legal Notice 150/2015 update the regulations for accreditation introduced in 2012. They also introduce a stiffer penalty, in the form of a daily fine, for institutions that flout the law and clarify the method through which the fines can be distributed by the commission.

National interest and the new clause

Institutions will have to offer at least one doctoral programme, as opposed to four.

“Provided that an accredited higher educational institute shall be eligible to apply for university status if the commission considers that such application is in the national interest and in fulfilment of national policies, on the basis of a different combination of higher education qualifications...”

‘Quality not compromised’

Excerpts from the exchange between Times of Malta and Edel Cassar, CEO of the National Commission for Further and Higher Education.

The American University of Malta does not exist and is still being established. Is it correct to say that at a basic minimum, it will have to offer a combination of five programmes?

There is still an ongoing accreditation process, and I would not like to comment on ongoing procedures. Every applicant, to be eligible to apply, will need to adhere to all regulations.

If the first base is Malta, then all conditions will have to be satisfied in Malta.

There has been criticism that standards have been lowered. How do you respond to this?

It is completely incorrect. The legal notice only touched the criteria to be eligible to apply. Quality has not in any way been compromised. Quality is not linked to the amount of programmes offered by a university.

Every programme has to satisfy quality criteria and these were established last year and remained untouched by this legal notice. Last July, we released a national quality assurance framework and reports of reviewed public entities will soon be published.

The quality criteria have not been changed, so much so that the legal notice even strengthened the procedures of imposing the penalties associated to non-adherence, to show that quality was an important issue.

Is it a coincidence that the legal notice was published now that Barts and the American University of Malta projects have cropped up?

This legal notice has been in discussion for the past months and was not introduced to favour any application for university status. It is government policy to attract universities and rules had to be aligned to ensure the policy is implemented.

kurt.sansone@timesofmalta.com