On 16 July 2012, the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) has moved to 10 Siu Sai Wan Road, Chai Wan, Hong Kong. Our telephone / fax numbers and e-mail addresses remain unchanged.

The Education Bureau (EDB) commissioned the Federation for Self-financing Tertiary Education (FSTE) to conduct the following: (a) a project which aims to develop the proposed Award Titles Scheme (ATS) to standardize the titles for qualifications recognised under QF; and (b) a pilot exercise which aims to draw up the proposed operational guidelines on assignment of QF credit to learning programmes. As part of the pilot exercise, EDB separately commissioned two quality assurance bodies (i.e. Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications and Joint Quality Review Committee) to advise on how credit values assigned to a programme will be assessed. The consultation paper developed from the project and pilot exercise and a proposed implementation plan for ATS and use of credit are now available on the QF website for comment.  Your comments and views are welcome.

With deepest sadness and a great sense of loss, the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) notes the passing of Professor Edmond Ko Inq-ming. Professor Edmond Ko served as an HKCAA and HKCAAVQ Council Member since 2005 and as the Chairman of the Qualifications and Accreditation Committee since 2009. Over these years, Professor Ko provided the Council with valuable guidance and tremendous support.  Professor Ko led the pioneering exercises for the Council which set out the guiding principles and parameters for the development of the Four-stage Quality Assurance Process that now underpins the Hong Kong Qualifications Framework (QF).  These exercises included the first Programme Area Accreditation (PAA) exercise in December 2005-June 2006, and the Group Approach Pilot Exercise in late 2007. Professor Ko was a tireless advocate of outcome based approaches.  In helping to build the capacity of HKCAAVQ staff members and to support the outcome-based QF, Professor Ko provided professional development for staff on outcome-based education and its impact on quality assurance. Professor Ko dedicated himself to promoting excellence in all aspects of education and made an enormous contribution to the development of robust quality assurance mechanisms in Hong Kong.  On behalf of the HKCAAVQ, we express profound sadness at the passing of Professor Ko and extend our deepest condolences to his family.  He will be sorely missed by us all.

The HKCAAVQ has prepared a Submission Guide to help operators to prepare their submission for Programme Validation (PV) for Higher Diploma (HD) or Associate Degree (AD) Programme at QF Level 4. The Submission Guide provides basic and essential information required for the PV, as well as templates for the major items listed in this Guide. Operators are advised to conduct a self-evaluation against the accreditation criteria and standards before preparing the submission documents for accreditation. For more details, please visit: http://www.hkcaavq.edu.hk/en/services/accreditation/four-stage-qa-process.

The Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) today (1 February 2012) issued the Guidelines for Promoting Accredited Programmes to promote good practices among operators and qualifications granting bodies. The Guidelines provide the industry with practical guidance on information contained in promotional material about programmes accredited by the HKCAAVQ. The Guidelines come into effect on 1 February 2012, and all operators and qualifications granting bodies that seek the accreditation service of the HKCAAVQ should comply with these guidelines. The Guidelines have been uploaded to the HKCAAVQ website (http://www.hkcaavq.edu.hk/fourstage/PRGuidelines_e.pdf) for public reference.

For the 2012/13 academic year Operators seeking accreditation services for new sub-degree academic programmes to commence in September 2012 should send their Statement of Intent (SoI) to the HKCAAVQ by 30 December 2011. Operators are expected to provide their accreditation documents, which have been approved via their internal quality assurance process, to reach the HKCAAVQ by 30 March 2012. For the 2013/14 academic year For new degree level academic programmes planned for implementation in the 2013/14 academic year, SoIs have to be submitted to the HKCAAVQ no later than 31 July 2012. The accreditation documents, which have been approved via internal quality assurance processes, should reach the HKCAAVQ by 30 November 2012. These timelines take into consideration the need for accredited degree programmes to be formally approved by the Government before their commencement. For the key actions and dates of the accreditation process, please refer to the Appendix.

Operators who wish to seek accreditation from the Hong Kong Council of Accreditation for Academic and Vocational Qualifications can now enjoy increased subsidies from the improved Qualifications Framework Support Scheme (QFSS). With the improvements, QFSS will be open to subsidise all education and training providers in seeking accreditation of their learning programmes. It will also cover subsequent accreditation exercises in addition to first-time exercises. The level of subsidy and ceiling per provider has also been increased. The improved QFSS also includes subsidies for the development of Specification of Competency Standards (SCS)-based courses and an increase in the level of reimbursement of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) assessment. For more details about the scheme, please visit the websites of the Qualifications Framework (www.hkqf.gov.hk) and Qualifications Register (www.hkqr.gov.hk).

The HKCAAVQ has produced a Monograph of its 20th Anniversary Conference titled Quality Assurance at the Crossroads – A Critical Reflection after Twenty Years. This publication captures the wide-ranging discussions and exchanges on issues that took place at the conference such as the evolution of quality assurance in Hong Kong over the past two decades; world trends in quality assurance; the challenges ahead and the way forward in quality assurance practices in Hong Kong. View the HKCAAVQ 20th Anniversary Conference Monograph.