The Qualifications Register (QR) is a centralised web-based register established under the Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications Ordinance (Cap 592) for qualifications recognised under the Qualifications Framework (QF). The HKCAAVQ has been designated in the Ordinance as the authority for developing and maintaining the QR.

As the public face of the QF, the QR is a free online database for students, parents, employers, employees, education/training operators, appointed assessment agencies and the general public with an aim to facilitate local learners to plan their study paths and continuing education.

As of March 2014, the number of qualifications on QR has increased to over 10,589 representing a substantial rise of 39% when compared to the previous year. This increase was mainly due to the inclusion of 2,577 new records from the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) and new titles arising from early compliance with the Award Titles Scheme (ATS) introduced by the Education Bureau (EDB). Effective from 1 January 2014, all new programmes at QF levels 1 to 7 should adopt titles which confirm to the requirement of ATS before they can be registered in the QR. At the same time, all new programmes at QF levels 1 to 4 should show QF credit values in the QR.

In the reporting year, there was a steady increase in the usage of the QR and the QR hit rates have recorded an annual growth of 45%, with the highest weekly increase of over 11,000 hits in the middle of July 2013 following the release of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination results.

The HKCAAVQ continues to vet operators’ uploading activities to ensure that qualifications published on the QR is accurate. Briefings were provided to operators on a need basis to maintain effective communication in order to facilitate the vetting process. Of the 613 QR batches uploaded on the QR during the reporting period, the average vetting time per batch was 1 working day.

During the reporting period, a total of 14 cases of misleading claims involving 12 operators were detected and/or reported. Most of these cases concerned QF-recognition claims before publishing the programmes on the QR, and the omissions of required information in the publicity materials. These cases were satisfactorily resolved through an educative approach which aimed to help operators to publish and promote their QF-recognised learning programmes in a timely and proper manner.

In consultation with EDB, the “Guidelines for Advertisements relating to the QF” were revised in tandem with the launch of the revamped QR website in December 2013. The purpose of the guidelines is to provide guidance and advice to operators and qualification granting bodies in promoting their programmes under the QF. The HKCAAVQ will continue to provide guidance and on-going support to operators and qualifications granting bodies for the timely listing of QR entries and marketing relating to qualifications being recognised under the QF.

The HKCAAVQ works in concert with EDB to ensure that our work and processes align with the latest policies and developments in the QF. During the reporting period, the HKCAAVQ supported the EDB’s initiatives in the introduction of the Award Titles Scheme (ATS) and Use of Credit under QF.

Following the decision made by the Liaison Committee on Quality Assurance, the HKCAAVQ has started vetting the QF credit assignment from the extension arms of the UGC-funded institutions. These institutions can come directly to the HKCAAVQ for vetting of their QF credit assignment for existing self-financing sub-degree programmes for uploading onto the QR. A proforma was developed as a tool to facilitate the vetting of QF credit assignment for existing programmes currently published on the QR.

The Credit Field for the entry of QF credit values has been enabled on the QR. Apart from the major search criteria such as qualification title, QF level and area of study/training, users can also conduct and refine their qualifications search by using QF Credit of the qualification. As of March 2014, there are over 400 QR records with QF credit values published on the QR and the number is anticipated to increase especially from operators in the vocational education and training (VET) sector as new programmes at QF levels 1 to 4 are required to show QF credit values on the QR effective from 1 January 2014.

The QR Website Upgrading Project commenced in May 2013 and was completed in late December 2013. The project focused primarily on the enhancement of website usability and the functional changes based on the findings and recommendations of the QR website usability analysis technical report, resulting in significant enhancements and improvements in content, functions and organisation. After a major revamp of the public interface of the QR website, the revamped QR website now provides a one-stop approach to searching quality assured qualifications. It is more convenient for the public to browse and use, especially to search and save relevant information about qualifications and programmes.

The launch of the revamped QR website was announced at a media briefing organised by the EBD on 23 December 2013. Following its launch, we have been receiving positive feedback from operators on the improved features of the website and in particular, the qualifications and the operator/assessment agencies search page.

We also made a significant enhancement in the QR system by adding a new text box in the “Details of Qualifications Record” page to allow operators to provide information on attachment, internship, placement or fieldwork. As the duration of these learning activities may be relatively long and/or may not be included in QF credit calculation, this additional information will help inform the public about these programme components and ensure a good understanding of the requirements and of the actual learning size of the programme.

The HKCAAVQ, with the support of the EDB and the Qualifications Framework Secretariat (QFS), organised a briefing for the QR operators on 29 November 2013 to provide them with the latest developments of the QF and the QR. The event was well attended by over 220 representatives from both the self-accrediting and the non-self-accrediting sectors. The briefing featured an update by QFS on the provision of training and support for the implementation of the ATS and Use of QF Credit and the progress of the implementation of these two schemes. The QR Operators Briefing marked another important milestone in the development of QF and QR and provided a good platform to exchange views with partners in the QR.

The usage of QR is anticipated to further increase with an expansion of user groups like the adult learners seeking continuing education in the VET sector. Anticipating an era of rapid development of the QF, the HKCAAVQ will continue to work proactively to support the Government’s initiatives in the QF. We will also continue our efforts in safeguarding the integrity and validity of the QR as a reliable information source for quality-assured qualifications.