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The Government today (March 23) announced the membership of the newly established Quality Assurance Council of the University Grants Committee.
Welcoming the establishment of the council under the aegis of the University Grants Committee, the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Professor Arthur K C Li, announced that Dr Alice Lam Lee Kiu-yue had been appointed as Chairman of the council for one year from April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008, and that Dr Lam would be succeeded by Mr Philip Chen Nan-lok from April 1, 2008.
"I am most delighted that Dr Alice Lam, who has rich experience in higher education and has been instrumental to the establishment of the council, has agreed to be the first chairman of the council in order to oversee the initial phase of its establishment and to provide necessary guidance and continuity to its work. I am also grateful to Mr Philip Chen for his agreement to serve on the council as member initially and to succeed Dr Lam as chairman in a year's time."
"I am confident that under the able leadership of Dr Lam and Mr Chen, the Quality Assurance Council will succeed in its mission and bring quality assurance in our higher education system to a new stage," Professor Li said.
Professor Li said the council was one of the most important endeavours of the University Grants Committee in recent years and the Administration fully supported the committeeˇ¦s efforts in promoting quality assurance in the higher education sector. "By conducting audits of the quality assurance mechanisms of our institutions and their taught programmes, the council serves to promote excellence among our institutions and disseminate good practices, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of our higher education sector in the international arena," he said.
Apart from the appointment of Dr Lam as chairman, the Secretary for Education and Manpower has also made the following appointments to the council:
* Mr Philip Chen Nan-lok - as Member for one year from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008, with a view to taking up the appointment as chairman for two years from April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2010.
* Professor Richard Ho Man-wui - as Member for three years from April 1, 2007
* Professor Leung Tin-pui - as Member for three years from April 1, 2007
* Sir Colin Lucas - as Member for three years from April 1, 2007
* Sir Howard Newby - as Member for three years from April 1, 2007
* Professor dr Frans A van Vught - as Member for three years from April 1, 2007
* Secretary General, University Grants Committee (ex-officio member)
The council will focus on quality and quality assurance matters with respect to all taught programmes offered by University Grants Committee-funded institutions at the degree and above levels irrespective of their sources of funding. Programmes that are offered by committee-funded institutions solely or jointly with other institutions which lead to qualifications wholly or partly awarded by the committee-funded institutions will also be covered. Quality audits, which will take the form of self-evaluation and peer reviews, will be conducted by the council and its panels.
Upon its establishment, the council will make preparations for its first quality audit, which is scheduled to take place in early 2008.
The terms of reference of the council and brief biographies of its members are attached in the annex.
Ends/Friday, March 23, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:21
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