Accreditation refers to an evaluation process on the quality of a programme provider or a learning programme based on predefined criteria and standards. The result of the evaluation will lead to a decision by the HKCAAVQ on whether the provider or the learning programme meets the standards and can be granted an accreditation status.

The qualifications of programmes accredited by the HKCAAVQ are eligible to be entered into the Qualifications Register (QR), which is the public face of the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (QF). This means that these qualifications are recognised under the HKQF.

Students studying full-time in these locally-accredited self-financing post-secondary education programmes can apply for grant and low interest loan under the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students if they comply with the Scheme’s requirements.

A list of the accredited academic learning programmes is available on the HKCAAVQ website where the name of the institution, the title of the programme and the validity of the accreditation period are indicated.

Please refer to Academic and Vocational Accreditation and the Four-stage Quality Assurance Process under Our Services of this website. You may also call 3658 0000 or fax to 2845 9910 or email to info@hkcaavq.edu.hk for enquiry.

The HKCAAVQ currently provides four kinds of assessment services for non-local higher and professional courses, individual qualifications, continuing education fund courses, and continuing professional development programmes for both the insurance intermediaries and the estate agents.

The HKCAAVQ is the advisor to the Registrar of Non-local Higher and Professional Education Courses under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap 493), assessing whether a course can meet the criteria for registration/exemption. The Registrar makes the final decision on the course registration and the exemption from registration. The HKCAAVQ also assesses the annual returns submitted by registered courses and advise the Registrar on their eligibility for continued registration. For details of this assessment service, please refer to Assessment of Non-local Course under Our Services of this website.

Successful assessment of a non-local course may lead to the registration status under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap 493). Only registered non-local courses (or courses exempted from registration under Cap 493) can be legally operated in Hong Kong and are eligible for accreditation by the HKCAAVQ.

No, they are not the same. The assessment is conducted against the registration criteria stipulated in Cap 493. A list of the registered and exempted non-local courses can be found in the Non-local Courses Register maintained by the Non-local Courses Registry of the Hong Kong Government.

The HKCAAVQ is the named Accreditation Authority and the QR Authority under the Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications Ordinance (Cap 592). Registered or exempted non-local courses and their operators have to be accredited by the HKCAAVQ in order for their qualifications to be recognised and to be eligible for entry into the QR. The accreditation of non-local programme service is currently in a pilot phase. For details, please refer to Pilot Accreditation Exercise for Non-local Programmes under Our Services of this website.

Accreditation and registration of non-local courses are thus conducted under different ordinances and serve different purposes.

The HKCAAVQ has been appointed by the Labour and Welfare Bureau to provide professional advice and recommendations on the suitability of registration of courses to be included in the List of Reimbursable Courses under the CEF. The assessment is conducted against the assessment requirements specified under the CEF scheme. The final decision for course registration rests with the Labour and Welfare Bureau. For details of the CEF assessment service, please refer to Registration of Reimbursable Courses under the Continuing Education Fund under Our Services of this website.

The approved CEF courses are entered into the ‘registered reimbursable course list’ maintained by the Office of the Continuing Education Fund, which is hosted by the Student Financial Assistance Agency. Under the CEF, local residents aged 18 and 65 are eligible to apply for reimbursement of 80% of any CEF registered course upon successful completion of the course up to a ceiling of $10,000 for each applicant. A list of the registered reimbursable CEF course can be downloaded from the website of the Office of the Continuing Education Fund.

It is Government policy that from May 2008, all new CEF courses are required to obtain QF’s recognition and be uploaded onto the QR before they can be registered under the CEF.

The HKCAAVQ has been contracted by the Insurance Authority (IA) (i.e. Office of the Commissioner of Insurance) and the Estate Agents Authority (EAA) as the assessment authority for their CPD programmes/activities since 2001 and 2005 respectively. The programmes are primarily organised for insurance intermediaries and estate agents in the two local industries to promote competency and standards in providing the relevant service. The assessment is conducted against the assessment criteria developed under the associated CPD schemes. Successful assessment leads to the approval of the programmes under the schemes. The approved CPD programmes/activities are subject to annual re-assessment by the HKCAAVQ. For details of the CPD assessment services, please refer to Insurance Intermediaries Continuing Professional Development Programme and Continuing Professional Development Scheme for Estate Agents Authority under Our Services of this website.

Unless otherwise specified in the CPD (IA) and CPD (EAA) schemes, proposed CPD programmes must be approved by the HKCAAVQ. For details, please refer to the IA website and EAA website. A list of approved CPD programmes is downloadable from this website for the CPD (IA) scheme and on the EAA website for the CPD (EAA) scheme.

Qualifications assessment is an independent professional opinion provided for an individual on whether the totality of his/her educational qualification(s) meets the standard of a particular qualification level in Hong Kong. It is prima facie conducted on an individual basis taking into consideration a person’s educational history in totality and comparing the learning outcomes achieved through the individual learning path with a particular qualification level in Hong Kong. The result therefore pertains only to the individual whose qualification is being assessed and not to a particular educational institution or a particular programme. In Hong Kong, it is a matter of discretion for individual employers, organisations, or educational institutions to recognise or accept the qualifications of candidates for employment, registration or study purposes.