The HKCAAVQ conducts research to inform practice and to support policy development. It also runs training events to build up the capacity of programme providers, specialists/panel members and staff in preparation for accreditation processes. As a leading quality assurance agency in the region, it maintains best practice in quality enhancement through internal review and monitoring of its services, provides consultancy services as well as disseminates research findings and practices locally and overseas. With the help of an independent Standing Review Committee for Qualifications Assessment (SRCQA), the HKCAAVQ conducts reviews for organisations or individuals of qualifications assessment decisions.

The Review of the Four-stage Quality Assurance (QA) Process initiated by the Council in March 2011 and conducted under the leadership of a Steering Committee culminated in a refined Model, after completion of the fact-finding phase and data analysis phase in the second quarter of 2012. The Steering Committee comprised local and non-local HKCAAVQ Council Members, expert members as well as representatives from the Education Bureau (EDB) and the QF Secretariat.



The refined Model was the subject of consultation with stakeholders in the last quarter of 2012. Consultation was conducted through face-to-face meetings and online dissemination via email and the HKCAAVQ website for public access. Altogether 112 specialists/ panel members and 148 representatives of 61 operators attended six face-to-face consultation sessions. Another 70 (10 from providers) provided written responses. Findings from the consultation indicate that the refined model is largely supported by the respondents. The HKCAAVQ will make reference to comments received from the consultation in the development of the operational guidelines.

With the endorsement of the Council, the refined Model will be implemented progressively from June 2013. A pilot study will be commenced in the second half of 2013 on the newly formalised Facilitating Phase of Stage 1 Initial Evaluation (IE) and Stage 2 Learning Programme Accreditation (LPA) under the refined Model. The Facilitating Phase will be fine-tuned after the pilot study.

The HKCAAVQ collects feedback from operators, panel members and financial experts engaged in accreditation exercises, as well as from individuals and institutions using other HKCAAVQ services. The surveys, conducted primarily through an online platform, form part of our internal quality assurance process for continuous enhancement. Surveys of panel members and financial experts are conducted in house. In the reporting period, we continued the engagement of a professional agency to undertake the annual Operators’ Survey.

Data collected from the surveys are kept in strictest confidence and are used for improvement purposes only. Reports of the surveys are reviewed by the Council; findings and follow-up actions are shared with respondents during activities such as training workshops or through written reports circulated to respondents. The findings have also been considered by the Steering Committee when reviewing the Four-stage QA Process.

Consultancy Services The HKCAAVQ has been commissioned by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) to conduct a three-year Comparative Study of Veterinary Qualifications. In the reporting period, the HKCAAVQ visited National Taiwan University and National Chung Hsing University in Taiwan in May 2012; University of Copenhagen in Denmark and University of Helsinki in Finland in December 2012; and South China Agricultural University in Guangdong in February 2013. The HKCAAVQ also completed the study of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons of England and the Royal Veterinary College, the recognition authority of veterinary medicine education in the United Kingdom, as well as the University of Tennessee and its accreditation authority the American Veterinary Medical Association in the United Sates of America primarily through a paper-based exercise.

The HKCAAVQ has also been commissioned by the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region to develop the scope and content of the quality assurance mechanism for its higher education sector. The consultancy project is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.

As of 31 March 2013, there were 999 Education and Training Specialists providing their services to the HKCAAVQ. About a quarter of the Specialists are from overseas; they provide views and advice from an international perspective and mainly support academic accreditation.

The HKCAAVQ offers various types of capacity building activities to prepare operators, specialists and staff for accreditation exercises. These include training workshops, briefings, seminars and other events. The HKCAAVQ also runs tailor-made in-house training programmes at cost upon request by interested operators/organisations. In the reporting period, the HKCAAVQ conducted one two-day workshop for the higher education sector in Macao by invitation of the Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region.



To provide further training support to the Specialists and Panel Members, the HKCAAVQ launched an Online Specialists Resource Centre in March 2013. The Resource Centre is a one-stop portal housing the training manual, a training package with video-taped materials on questioning techniques and other references to build up the Specialists’ capacity in quality assurance that underpins the Qualifications Framework.

In the reporting year, the HKCAAVQ organised 23 capacity building events attended by 689 participants.





In addition to the above training activities, the HKCAAVQ also held another 22 specific workshops and briefings on the criteria, standards and processes for accreditation, involving a total number of 259 participants from 46 operators in the vocational education and training sector.

The HKCAAVQ will continue to explore ways to better meet the needs and expectations of the education sector, and to work closely with our stakeholders to enhance their quality assurance capacities. The HKCAAVQ will commence the pilot study of the Four-stage QA Process Refined Model in the second half of 2013.