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Meeting the Front-line    Listening Carefully
(02-09-2010)

As the summer vacation is over, the new academic year has just begun! The UGC has always been proactively exchanging views with our various stakeholders on matters concerning higher education. We are partners with our eight funded institutions in taking forward higher education, and open communication between us is important in achieving this. Further to the "Getting to Know UGC" event we organised for the staff and students at the institutions in 2007, and our meetings with members of the Senates last year, I decided to have a session with all Deans and Heads of Departments in this academic year from this month onwards, to introduce the developments of the UGC's recent work, and to seek their views on issues about the UGC and higher education in general. The UGC moves with the times. Not only do we actively listen to views from different sectors, we do review our own operations and procedures. This facilitates administration, while at the same time ensures that institutions use public funds properly and are accountable to the public. One of the key improvements recently implemented is the major overhaul to the UGC Notes on Procedures.

Five Areas of Institutional Autonomy

The UGC Notes on Procedures is a long-established and effective document setting out the interplay among, and roles and responsibilities of the UGC, the Administration and the institutions. It also stipulates the administrative approval procedures with regard to a number of aspects such as finances, capital works, and student numbers of programmes.

Serving as the "bridge" between the Government and institutions, we made clear in the Notes on Procedures that we safeguard institutional autonomy and academic freedom. In terms of institutional autonomy, the eight UGC-funded institutions are established under their respective Ordinances with a governing Council having legal status. The Notes specify that institutions do have autonomy in the following areas:

(1)     Selection of Staff: Institutions have autonomy in the selection, promotion and dismissal of their staff.

(2)     Selection of Students: Institutions have autonomy in the selection or rejection of students presented as candidates for admission.

(3)     Curricula and Academic Standards: Institutions will need to take into account the other developments and requirements in other fronts, e.g. primary and secondary education, other further education facilities, requirements for practising certain professions, general or specific employment opportunities, etc. Nevertheless, final decisions on their own curricula and standards rest with the institutions.

(4)     Acceptance of Research Programmes: In all cases, academic merit, the institution’s role and community needs have to be given great weight, but the institution is the only judge of whether its combined resources of people, accommodation, equipment and money can or should be deployed in the manner required.

(5)     Allocation of Funds within the Institution: Bulk of the subvention is allocated to institutions in the form of Block Grant. Institutions are free to allocate the funds available as they see fit. Institutions are also free to make such changes as then can manage, to decide on specific allocations, to draw u budgets accordingly, and to change such budgets.

Approved Revision to Notes on Procedures

To relieve the burden of certain obsolete or unnecessary regulatory measures on institutions, so that their management attention can focus on matters beneficial to their institution, the UGC has critically reviewed and made considerable revision to the Notes on Procedures, after obtaining the agreement from the Administration and the institutions just before summer. We have slimmed down the Notes from 175 pages to 100 pages, with procedures streamlined on a number of major aspects of work to enhance efficiency. For instance, institutions have greater flexibility within a triennium in moving student numbers across programmes of the same level. This enhances institutions' to respond to changes in demand and to introduce new ideas. Other changes include streamlining the procedures for vetting capital works projects, and removal of the requirement for institutions to seek prior approval from the UGC for purchasing major equipment. The revised Notes took effect on July 1 this year, and has been uploaded to the UGC Website for public reference. The streamlining of the Notes was warmly welcomed by the institutions. Through the meetings with Deans and Heads of Departments in the coming months, I hope to listen to their views on the operation of the UGC so that we can strive for further improvement.

The Hon Laura M Cha
Chairman, UGC