Yerevan State University (YSU), Armenia
Armen Budaghyan, abudaghyan@ysu.am  

partners

1. Armenian State Pedagogical University After Khachatur Abovyan (ASPU)
2. Yerevan State Medical University After Mkhitar Heratsi (YSMU)
3. Northern University (NU)
4. Institute for Informatics and Automation Problems of the NAS of the RA (IIAP NAS)
5. National Center for Professional Education Quality Assurance Foundation (ANQA)
6. Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport of the RA (MESCS)

1. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM), Spain
2.  Universidade de Lisboa  (ULISBOA), Portugal
3.  Universita Degli Studi di Genova (UNIGE), Italy       
4.  Kungliga Tekniska Hoegskolan (KTH), Sweeden     

summary

The eCAMPUS project is aimed at:

·  Enhancing the quality of online teaching, learning and assessment (TLA) in Armenian (AM) HEIs in line with the EU’s “Digital Education Action Plan 2021-2027” priorities and objectives through promoting teaching staff’s digital skills and competencies, and adopting internal QA mechanisms for online TLA.

·  Enabling responsible transition from emergency remote learning to more meaningful, engaging, and sustainable post-COVID campus-based education and high-quality learning experiences resilient to potential future restrictions by providing adequate digital education ecosystem, regulatory framework, novel educational practices and model infrastructures.

These wider goals will be accomplished by achieving the following objectives:

1. Creation of Digital Competence Framework (DCF) of TLA for the AM HE sector (DIGIcomp) aimed at determining and regulating the obligatory skills and competencies for the teaching staff engaged in digital TLA to align the AM HE sector with the global digital education technology trends.

2. Establishment of a National Certificate Programmed (NCP) in digital TLA (DIGIcert) aimed at training, continuous professional development and certification of teaching staff’s pedagogical skills and instructional proficiency in digital TLA equipping them with innovative instructional strategies and techniques.

3. Elaboration of internal quality assurance system (IQA) for digital TLA in AM HEIs (IQAsys) to ensure quality and standards in online education by providing criteria, procedures and tools for evaluation, self-assessment, continuous enhancement and alignment with the EHEA QA standards in digital TLA.

4. Development of benchmark standards for e-learning multimedia platforms and provisions for smart classroom models for AM HEIs (SMARTclass) to promote effective and inclusive learning environments, technology-enhanced instructional models and to ensure equitable access to digital learning resources and tools for all.

5. Development of a regulatory framework for part-time studies in AM HE sector and provisions for common online course registration and student progression e-platform (COURSreg) aimed at creating a legal and operational basis to support a smooth transition of AM HEIs from the correspondence to part-time study mode, and to enhance accessibility of HE for the students with special needs.

The project impact is as follows:

At the institutional level: More than 120 teaching and administrative staff of AM HEIs with enhanced skills and competencies in digital TLA and QA, a functioning NCF for professional development of the teaching staff engaged in digital TLA, 8 smart classrooms for technology-enabled education, enhanced quality of digital TLA.

At national level: Ratified DCF and NCF for digital TLA, revised IQA standards relevant for digital TLA, benchmark standards for e-learning multimedia platforms, technical specification for the common course registration and student progression e-platform, and enhanced inclusiveness of AM HE.

At the European level: best practice and experience sharing, peer learning, networking, and long-term oriented cooperation with EU partners promoting further integration of the AM HE system into the EHEA.

Website: www.ecampus.am