Issues relating to the introduction of accreditation and a regulatory framework in Hong Kong for sub-degree and vocational courses, which encompasses both public and private funded institutions, are examined. This is a milestone development that seeks to introduce comprehensive quality assurance and consistency in standard and nomenclature for sub-degree and vocational education. The development also entails issues of the articulation of sub-degree and degree qualifications and the transfer between academic and vocational or professional qualifications. On a broader perspective, the paper discusses the implications of two types of quality assurance initiatives: the government-directed and the voluntary initiatives, which co-exist in the current development in Hong Kong. Finally, on the regional and international perspective, the paper examines the implications for foreign qualifications including qualifications awarded through offshore delivery in Hong Kong.
[Copyright of Quality in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1353832242000195842]

Learning materials developed by the Open University for first-line managers in the British Health Service have been adopted and adapted in a number of other countries. This paper reports a questionnaire-based evaluation of their use in Australia, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom. Participants?views of the helpfulness of the 18 workbooks that constitute the core of the Managing Health Services programme were very positive across all four countries, as were their views of the assessment process and, in most cases, of the tutorial arrangements. However, there were some significant differences between the views of the cohorts from different countries. Participants were also asked to assess the extent to which they had developed 40 management competencies as a result of their studies. Managers from each country reported progress in their competence development, but with considerable variation between countries. Possible explanations for these differences are explored.
[Copyright of Journal of Vocational Education and Training is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13636820100200168]

Learning materials developed by the Open University for operational managers in the British Health Service are increasingly being used in other countries, often with adaptation and translation. This paper reports an evaluation of the use of these learning materials in Australia, the Cayman Islands, Hong Kong and the UK. Participants'views of the workbooks that constitute the core of the programme, the assessment process and the tutorial arrangements were mostly positive. However, the materials were not always seen to be successful in addressing individuals in their specific health care contexts. Some participants also reported difficulty in managing the workload within the anticipated study time. Participants were also asked to assess the extent to which they had developed management competences as a result of their studies. In almost all cases, learners reported progress, but there was considerable variation between cohorts in different countries. Possible explanations for these differences are explored.
[Copyright of Innovations in Education & Teaching International is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14703290110073291]

The internationalisation of higher education in countries such as Australia and the UK has resulted in increased numbers of South-East Asia students in higher education classrooms. While considerable attention has been given to exploring the implications of internationalisation on students in 'Western' university contexts, there is a paucity of research concerning the effect on teachers of higher education and, in particular, those employed in to teach in countries culturally foreign to their own. This paper aims to initiate such discussion through an exploration of the experiences of two teaching academics working in Hong Kong. Discussion will focus on issues of language and communication, and social and cultural distance, and the effect of hierarchy and related teaching strategies developed to meet the inter-cultural learning needs of themselves and their students. It is argued that, the development of inter-cultural understandings must permeate the curricula, and be a shared goal and responsibility of both teachers and students.
[Copyright of Teaching in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/135625100114975]

Beginning in 1995, the Hong Kong University Grants Committee (UGC) embarked on a programme of Teaching and Learning Quality Process Reviews (TLQPRs) to gauge institutional commitment to assuring and improving educational quality. While rooted in academic audit principles, the reviews covered more aspects of education quality work than was typical in earlier audit implementations elsewhere. The paper describes the dynamics of the TLQPR process, presents examples of good and bad practices unearthed during the site visits, and reports on an external consultant's ex-post review of the exercise. It concludes by discussing lessons learned from the TLQPR experience and the way forward toward a second round of reviews.
[Copyright of Quality in Higher Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13538320120045067]

Globalisation is a central concept in this paper but it is important to note that 'globalisation' is a highly contested term. Strong globalisation theory argues that the global economy is dominated by uncontrollable global forces in which nation states are structurally constrained and therefore the capacity of modern states eventually declines. Unlike strong globalists, other scholars believe even though there may be similar trends and patterns in public policy and public management domain along the line of privatisation, marketisation, commodification and corporatisation, different governments may use the similar strategies to serve their own political purposes. Hence, modern states may tactically make use of the globalisation discourse to justify their own political agendas or legitimise their inaction. The present paper sets out in this wider context to reflect upon globalisation effects on national policy, with particular reference to how the selected East Asian societies such as the four Tigers, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea as well as mainland China have transformed their higher education systems. More specifically, this paper discusses the theme of 'similar trends, diverse agendas' by examining how the selected East Asian governments have reformed their higher education systems to cope with the growing impact of the global tide of marketisation and decentralisation.
[Copyright of Globalisation, Societies & Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1476772032000105519]

University entrepreneurialism has been adopted as a way of promoting quality education in Hong Kong. In light of the role of the state in Hong Kong's changing higher education governance, this article critically reviews the rationale for privatising and corporatising the university sector. With a focus on the current trends of privatisation and corporatisation, the article discusses and examines how the entrepreneurial culture has changed university governance in Hong Kong and whether these changes have boosted Hong Kong's academic diversity, particularly when the Hong Kong government has set as its vision the promotion of the city as a regional hub of higher education.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188790701591543]