Academic accreditation work continues to be one of the core activities of the HKCAAVQ. The accreditation service provides assurance on the quality of post-secondary education in Hong Kong to current and potential students and their parents, employers, funding bodies and the Government.
Division of Academic Accreditation
Four-Stage Quality Assurance Process
The Qualifications Framework (QF) was officially launched in May 2008. The Division of Academic Accreditation has since offered accreditation services under the Four-Stage Quality Assurance Process for post-secondary programmes seeking QF recognition.
Details of the Four-Stage Quality Assurance Process are summarised below:
Initial Evaluation (Stage 1) is an assessment of whether course providers have the organisational competency to effectively manage and provide adequate resources to the development, delivery, assessment and quality assurance of their learning programmes and educational/training services.
Programme Validation (Stage 2) is an overall evaluation of the learning programmes' planning and management, syllabuses, delivery arrangements, assessment methods and learning outcomes to ensure they are appropriate for the qualification to which they lead.
Programme Area Accreditation (Stage 3) confers programme area accreditation (PAA) status to course providers with sufficient quality assurance competency and maturity at the organisational level and a track record in their validated programme(s). Course providers with PAA status can develop and offer learning programmes within a defined scope of programme area and at specified QF level(s) within a validity period without prior accreditation by the HKCAAVQ.
Periodic Review (Stage 4) is a periodic monitoring and external review exercise for course providers with valid PAA status. This is cyclical event, repeated at regular intervals, decided by the validity period for PAA.
During the reporting year, two Initial Evaluation and one Programme Area Accreditation exercises for post-secondary course providers were conducted. In addition, 16 individual or collective programme validation/revalidation exercises were conducted, involving a total of 19 programmes at Associate Degree (AD), Higher Diploma (HD), and Bachelor's or Master's degree level. With the introduction of the QF, the accreditation exercises now include a focus on the course providers' implementation of an outcome-based approach to teaching and learning.
Quality Assurance Role in the Post-secondary Sector
The HKCAAVQ has also been involved in developing a handbook on good quality assurance practices in the post-secondary sector. This project was initiated in response to an increased emphasis on quality, outlined in the Report of the Phase Two Review of the Post-secondary Education Section released by the Education Bureau (EDB) in April 2008.
In January 2009, the EDB announced new Common Descriptors for AD and HD programmes to be implemented from the 2009/10 academic year. The Common Descriptors include a requirement for course providers to submit annual reports on the admission profiles of new intakes. Starting from the 2009/10 academic year, the HKCAAVQ will follow up annual returns submitted by providers from the non-UGC sector as part of the monitoring work for our accreditation exercises.
Panel meeting during accreditation exercise
Education Reform
In preparation for the launch of the new 3-3-4 academic structure, the HKCAAVQ held a number of discussion sessions during the reporting period with the EDB, the Examination and Assessment Authority and other contributors to the post-secondary sector, on the implications of the education reform and the minimum entry requirements for sub-degree and degree level programmes. Internally, the HKCAAVQ also initiated a study on the impact of the education reform, the 3-3-4 structure and other recent education initiatives launched by the Government.
Accreditation for the Purpose of Registration under Cap 320
Hong Kong's move toward a knowledge-based economy over the past decade has significantly increased the demand for tertiary education. In response to the Government's policy to develop Hong Kong as an education hub, there is growing interest from self-financed providers of tertiary education in offering degree-level programmes, with the long term objective of becoming private universities. In the year under report, one such provider underwent an Institutional Review with the purpose of becoming a degree-awarding post-secondary college under the Post-secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap 320). Extensive discussions were also held with other institutions that expressed an interest in undergoing similar review exercises.
HKCAAVQ will arrange a site visit with
the accredited party
Framework for the Accreditation of Non-local Programme
One of the principles underpinning the QF is that non-local programmes offered in Hong Kong may be entered into the Qualifications Register (QR) and be recognised under the QF, subject to successful accreditation by the HKCAAVQ in the capacity of Accreditation Authority under the QF. This government policy is intended to enhance the quality assurance process that is currently administered through the registration procedure under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance and to provide students in Hong Kong with both local and non-local QF recognised qualifications. The main benefits of accreditation for non-local programme providers are eligibility for government student financial support schemes and inclusion of the newly accredited qualifications in the QR.
Members of the accreditation panel will have a better understanding
of the facilities of the accredited party during the site visit
In the reporting year, the HKCAAVQ started developing a framework for the accreditation of non-local programmes giving due regard to their collaborative nature and the existing requirements for local programmes. An important aspect of non-local programme validation is determining whether the non-local programme can meet the QF standards pertaining to corresponding local qualifications. Given that the accreditation of non-local programmes is a challenging process and one where there are very few comparable overseas experiences to draw upon, the HKCAAVQ also initiated a pilot study to test out the proposed accreditation framework and criteria of the relevant accreditation guidelines.
Looking Forward
With growing public awareness of the value of the QF and the importance of quality assurance, we envisage that more course providers in the post-secondary sector will seek academic accreditation services for the purpose of gaining recognition under the QF. Moreover, the rapid expansion of the sub-degree sector in the past few years has led to an acute shortage of bachelor's degree places as articulation pathways for AD/HD graduates. This has in turn fuelled greater interest from the tertiary sector in offering degree-level programmes upon successful HKCAAVQ accreditation and registration by the EDB under Cap 320.
Another new challenge in the coming year is the launch of a voluntary scheme for the accreditation of non-local programmes with experience hopefully gained from a pilot exercise to be conducted in late 2009. Government financial subsidies are expected to generate interest from non-local programme operators to seek accreditation services. To meet service demands the accreditation framework of non-local programmes is being planned to utilise a collective approach, on a subject discipline basis.
