The HKCAAVQ conducts research to inform practice and to facilitate training and capacity building of programme providers, specialists and staff involved in the accreditation processes. In the reporting year, we continued to enhance our services in the training and development of our stakeholders through ongoing dialogue and the sharing of good practices.

Quality Assurance of Non-local Learning Programme in Hong Kong

Non-local Learning Programme (NLP) plays a significant role in higher education in Hong Kong. The HKCAAVQ has identified a number of good practices for ensuring the quality of NLPs in Hong Kong. One of these is to establish direct dialogue with the NLP operators to keep them abreast of the local quality requirements under the Qualifications Framework (QF).

During the reporting period, the HKCAAVQ shared its NLP accreditation philosophy and process with operators through the British Council webinar in September 2010, the Transnational Education Forum held in Manchester, United Kingdom in October 2010, the Offshore Campus Management Forum held in Melbourne, Australia in November 2010 and a pre-conference event during the Going Global Conference in Hong Kong in March 2011. We also participated in a Roundtable conducted by the British Council in February 2011 to foster positive development of NLPs in Hong Kong.

To share our findings from the NLP accreditation exercises, we presented research papers in various regional and international conferences, such as the Australian Quality Forum in June 2010 and the Asia-Pacific Quality Network Conference in March 2011.

Demand Forecast for Accreditation Services

To gauge the overall demand for accreditation services by the local community, over 1,800 existing and potential operators in Hong Kong were invited to participate in an online survey and telephone survey between August 2010 and March 2011. On the basis of the findings from the survey, the HKCAAVQ developed a forecast of accreditation service demand for the period between 2011 and 2014. The survey also provided information about the training and manpower development needs in respective disciplines and sectors.

Four rounds of surveys were also conducted during the reporting period with both the local and non-local operators to develop a demand forecast for NLP accreditation services. Drawing reference from the findings in these surveys, the HKCAAVQ worked out the NLP accreditation schedule for 2011 and 2012. Subject to findings from further demand forecast exercises, it is expected that accreditation of NLPs for the remaining disciplines in the first cycle will be completed by 2013.

Gauging Feedback for Continuous Enhancement of Services

As part of its internal quality assurance process for continuous enhancement, the HKCAAVQ collects feedback from panellists and programme providers on our accreditation exercises, as well as from institutions using other HKCAAVQ services. The surveys are conducted through an online platform. Data collected from the surveys is kept in strictest confidence and is used for improvement purposes only. Findings of the surveys and follow-up actions are shared with respondents during activities such as the training workshops. Starting from the end of 2010, all HKCAAVQ services provided to institutional clients are covered by the annual Operators’ Survey.

Consultancy Services

The HKCAAVQ and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) entered into a consultancy agreement in April 2010 to conduct a three-year Comparative Study of Veterinary Qualifications. Following the preparatory visits to the study targets in Europe, USA, Mainland China and Taiwan between October and December 2010, the HKCAAVQ presented the findings and a Report on the Study Framework to the AFCD in January 2011. This report laid down the parameters for the on-site visits to the study targets in 2011 and 2012.

The HKCAAVQ was also engaged by the Vocational Training Council to conduct a Comprehensive Review of Yeo Chei Man Senior Secondary School. To undertake the study, on-site visits were made to the School in May 2010, and the Report, which was accepted by the Education Bureau, is now available on the Education Bureau’s website.

 

Training and Capacity Building

The HKCAAVQ makes use of various capacity building activities to prepare its key quality assurance partners, i.e. programme providers, specialists and staff, for accreditation exercises. These include training workshops and briefings, Specialists Web Link and the publication of the bimonthly e-newsletter QALink. The QALink was officially launched in August 2010 to keep our stakeholders informed of the latest developments in our services, and local and international quality assurance concepts and practices.

During the reporting period, a total of 43 capacity building events were held as shown in Table 1. Participants’ feedback gathered from questionnaires indicated their satisfaction with the quality and effectiveness of our training services.

(Table 1)
Breakdown of briefings and workshops (1 April 2010 – 31 March 2011)



Looking Forward

The HKCAAVQ will undertake a review of the accreditation model that underpins the QF, i.e. The Four Stage Quality Assurance Process, in 2011 for continuous enhancement of our accreditation services. The review will comprise five phases spanning activities such as desktop research, literature review, development, stakeholders’ feedback and consultation and pilot testing. The whole review exercise is expected to be completed in late 2012.