Background and Purpose
Since the Government’s announcement in the 2000 Policy Address to increase the secondary school leavers’ post-secondary education participation rate to 60% within ten years, there has been a rapid development of the self-financing post-secondary sector 1 (including the emergence of self-financing arms of publicly funded tertiary institutions and the establishment of new self-financing privately-run institutions). To achieve this policy target, the Government has been promoting a “parallel development” of the publicly-funded and self-financing post-secondary education sectors. In line with this policy, a number of financial and administrative measures have been introduced to support the self-financing sector, including allocating land sites and vacant school premises to self-financing institutions and setting up funding schemes to help their operation, etc.
2. Over the past decade or so, the self-financing sector has grown very significantly in size and diversity. We achieved the 60%
post-secondary education participation rate within five years after 2001, and the rate hit 70% in the 2015/16 academic year, including 45% having access to degree-level education. There are now about 150 and 300 self-financing post-secondary programmes at undergraduate level and sub-degree level respectively, vis-à-vis around 40 and 230 such programmes respectively in 2005/06. These programmes are operated by 11 degree-awarding self-financing institutions registered under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320) or statutory institutions, the eight publicly-funded universities via the University Grants Committee (UGC) and/or their self-financing arms or community colleges, and other post-secondary institutions registered under the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279) or other relevant legislation.
3. However, some limitations and drawbacks are also observed after nearly two decades of practice, notably issues relating to the
1 Self-financing institutions refer to institutions that do not receive recurrent public subvention for their operation. In the context of this review, post-secondary institutions refer to non-profit-making institutions that provide full-time locally-accredited programmes at sub-degree (including higher diploma and associate degree) and/or undergraduate programmes.
long-term viability and sustainability of self-financing institutions and the sector as a whole as reflected in the low student enrollment in some of the institutions/programmes, as well as the quality of self-financing post-secondary programmes in respect of their design, delivery and recognition, leading to concerns over the development of the sector.
Meanwhile, the general public, including many parents and students, remain of the view that the future of our higher education lies only in the publicly-funded institutions, i.e. UGC-funded universities. Besides, the post-secondary sector as a whole has reached a level of saturation now when we compare the supply of and demand for sub-degree and undergraduate programmes. The number of secondary school graduates will drop from 57 000 in 2016 to 43 000 in 2022. This poses a major challenge to the post-secondary sector, in particular the self-financing institutions whose sustainability unavoidably depends on student recruitment. We have come to a stage where critical steps need to be taken to improve the balance of our post-secondary education provision, so as to fully realise the Government’s “parallel development” policy.
4. Against the above background, there are calls from the community for a review of the whole self-financing post-secondary education sector, including its role and positioning in higher education, the need for associate degree programmes, and the regulatory framework, etc.
5. In response to these concerns, the Chief Executive announced in her 2017 Policy Address to set up a task force to consider issues pertinent to the development of the self-financing post-secondary education sector.
In this connection, the Task Force on Review of Self-financing Post-secondary Education (the Task Force) was set up in October 2017.
The composition and terms of reference of the Task Force are set out at Annex A.
Principles and Approach
6. The Task Force considers that the Government’s investment in education is of paramount importance as it is intrinsic to the public interest and instrumental in the creation of social benefits, as well as in
developing the full potential of students. As Hong Kong is a developed economy and aspires to excel as a knowledge society, the Government has responsibility to support the nurture of talent and creation of new knowledge through investment in education to meet changing manpower demands and support social innovation. The Government also has a duty to ensure that public investment in education is commensurate with the social benefits it can bring about, both in the near and longer term.
7. Unlike any other commercial services/commodities in society, education has immense social impact, the planning and operation of which should not be left entirely to market forces, whether it is being provided by the public sector or the private sector. The Task Force believes that the Government has a regulatory role in both sectors to ensure quality and their healthy and sustainable development, while at the same time respecting market demand and institutional autonomy.
8. The Task Force takes the view that the self-financing post-secondary education sector is a vital part of the tertiary education ecosystem in Hong Kong, complementing the subvented higher education sector. Both sectors should strive to deliver the mission of providing quality higher education for students and serving community needs. It adopts a holistic approach to the present review with the aim to give due consideration to the need for balanced and sustainable development among the different sectors within our education ecosystem, while identifying viable goals and strategies to boost the further advancement of self-financing post-secondary education in an increasingly diverse and, to some extent, competitive landscape. In its deliberations, the Task Force has also accorded great importance to the aspirations and interests of students, staff and operators of the sector.
9. Over the past several months, the Task Force has looked into the following issues –
(i) Developments in the self-financing post-secondary education sector;
(ii) Role of the self-financing post-secondary education sector;
(iii) Regulatory regime and support for the self-financing post-secondary education sector; and
(iv) Future of sub-degree education.
10. During the course of its deliberation, the Task Force has made reference to experience in some other economies and taken into account the views of various stakeholders. Written submissions were invited from all stakeholders to express their views on the key issues pertinent to the development of the sector. More than 50 submissions were received by the end of February 2018. Furthermore, the Task Force conducted various other activities including visits to self-financing post-secondary institutions, meetings with the heads of relevant organisations/institutions, and engaging external consultants to conduct focus group interviews with stakeholders.
11. The feedback received through these engagement activities has provided very useful input to the review and enabled the Task Force to ponder the issues under review in a comprehensive manner. The Task Force has now come up with some initial observations, and would like to consult members of the public through this consultation document.
Invitation of Submissions
12. Members of the public, including but not limited to stakeholders of the self-financing post-secondary education sector, are welcome to provide any views/opinions on the preliminary observations and proposals put forward in this consultation document, and/or on any other issues pertinent to the future of self-financing post-secondary education.
Written submissions should be sent to the Education Bureau on or before 31 August 2018 (Friday) by post, e-mail or fax:
Mailing Address: Further Education Division Education Bureau
7/F, East Wing, Central Government Offices Tamar, Hong Kong
E-mail address: taskforce_sfpe@edb.gov.hk Fax number: (852) 3579 5097
Way forward
13. With the benefit of further views gathered during the consultation period, the Task Force will finalise its reform proposals and make specific recommendations to the Government by the end of 2018.
Abbreviations and Glossary
AD Associate Degree
Cap. 279 Education Ordinance
Cap. 320 Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance
Cap. 493 Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance
CityU City University of Hong Kong
CSPE Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education
E-APP Electronic Advance Application System for Post-secondary Education Programmes
EDB Education Bureau
FASP Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students
FYFD First-year-first-degree
HD Higher Diploma
HKAPA Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts HKAS Hong Kong Art School
HKCAAVQ Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications
HKDSE Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination
HKSYU Hong Kong Shue Yan University
JUPAS Joint University Programmes Admissions System
MGS Matching Grant Scheme
NMTSS Non-means-Tested Subsidy Scheme for Self-financing Undergraduate Studies OUHK The Open University of Hong Kong PAA Programme Area Accreditation
PolyU The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
QA Quality Assurance
QESS Quality Enhancement Support Scheme QF Qualifications Framework
SCAD SCAD Foundation (Hong Kong) Limited / Savannah College of Art and Design, Inc
SPEF Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund SPSS Self-financing Post-secondary Education
Scholarship Scheme
SSSDP Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors
Sub-degree Associate Degree and Higher Diploma the
Government
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
the Review Review of Self-financing Post-secondary Education
the Task Force Task Force on Review of Self-financing Post-secondary Education
UGC University Grants Committee
VPET Vocational and Professional Education and Training
VTC Vocational Training Council
Chapter 1: Current Landscape of the Self-financing Post-secondary Education in Hong Kong
Development in the Post-secondary Education System
1.1 To meet the needs of Hong Kong as it evolved into a knowledge-based economy, and to catch up with the level in other advanced economies, the Government announced in the 2000 Policy Address to double the secondary school leavers’ post-secondary education participation rate to 60% within ten years. Both publicly-funded institutions and the private sector responded to the policy directive with concrete actions, through the provision of self-financing post-secondary programmes and establishment of private institutions.
The rapid expansion of the self-financing post-secondary education sector was also facilitated by the Government’s support measures, mainly in the form of provision of land and funds/loans. The total number of full-time student intake for undergraduate programmes increased from around 15 000 in 2001/02 to around 24 000 in 2016/17; and from around 13 000 to 32 000 for sub-degree programmes during the same period. The proliferation of sub-degree and undergraduate education opportunities has mainly taken place in the self-financing sector.
1.2 In 2000, degree-level education was predominantly the franchise of eight institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC).
Altogether they provided 14 500 subsidised full-time undergraduate programme places2. The number of degree-awarding institutions reached 20 in 2015, including 11 self-financing local degree-awarding institutions3 which do not receive recurrent public subvention. Out of all 24 000 full-time first-year-first-degree (FYFD) programme places in
2 The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) is another degree-awarding institution in receipt of recurrent public subvention from the Home Affairs Bureau. The Academy provided about 100 subsidised full-time undergraduate programme places in 2000, on top of the supply by the UGC-funded sector.
3 Including Caritas Institute of Higher Education, Centennial College, Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Gratia Christian College, Hang Seng Management College, HKCT Institute of Higher Education, Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong under the Vocational Training Council, The Open University of Hong Kong, and Tung Wah College.
the 2017/18 academic year, about one-third of them are self-financing.
1.3 Post-secondary education constitutes not only undergraduate-level education and above. A vibrant sub-degree sector (i.e. higher diploma (HD) and associate degree (AD) programmes) is another salient feature of our current tertiary education system. Prior to 2000, sub-degree education was primarily in the form of HD programmes.
In response to the call for increasing post-secondary education opportunities by the 2000 Policy Address, a new qualification of AD was introduced to Hong Kong in 2000. Since then, sub-degree education has experienced significant growth in both the number of providers and students. Specially, in 2000 only a few UGC-funded institutions and the Vocational Training Council (VTC) were offering less than 10 000 sub-degree programme places, mostly subvented; in 2017 there were about 20 such providers with nearly 35 000 intake places (22 100 HD intake places and 12 000 AD places in 2016/17), among them almost two-thirds are self-financing.
1.4 As the number of sub-degree graduates continued to increase and many of them aspired for degree qualifications, both the UGC-funded sector and self-financing sector started to meet such demand through the provision of top-up degree programmes4. The number of new intakes to top-up degrees rose from 4 100 in 2008/09 to 12 600 in 2016/17.
Statistics show that in recent years around 80% of AD students and around 40% of HD students pursued a degree upon graduation.
1.5 Given the above development, we achieved the 60%
post-secondary education participation rate5 within only five years after 2001, and the rate hit 70% in the 2015/16 academic year, including 45%
for degree-level education. The self-financing post-secondary education sector has grown in both size and diversity. There are now about 150 and 300 self-financing post-secondary programmes at the degree level
4 Generally known as “senior-year entry” in the UGC-funded sector, usually Year 3 entry to a four-year undergraduate programme.
5 Calculation is based on the participation in sub-degree and undergraduate (including top-up degree) education by those aged between 18 and 20 or 22 (for the calculation of top-up degree students).
and sub-degree level respectively, vis-à-vis around 40 and 230 such programmes in 2005/06 respectively. Annex B provides a list of current providers of post-secondary programmes.
Issues of Concern
1.6 As explained above, the self-financing post-secondary education sector in Hong Kong has experienced tremendous growth since 2000.
This could be attributed to three main factors, namely a solid local demand for more post-secondary education opportunities, Government’s support measures, and enthusiastic response from existing players and newcomers in the sector. However, the sector will likely see a big challenge given the expected change in student demography in the coming years. After nearly two decades of continuous growth, both the sector and the public have now called for a critical review in order to ensure a healthy and sustainable development of the sector in the coming era. Some key issues that the Task Force has examined are set out in the ensuing paragraphs.
First issue: Role of the self-financing post-secondary education sector 1.7 The rapid development of the self-financing post-secondary sector (including the emergence of the self-financing arms of UGC-funded institutions and the establishment of new self-financing institutions) over the past decade or so was largely prompted by Government’s policy of increasing opportunities for secondary school leavers to continue with post-secondary education. It is also the cornerstone of the Government’s policy to support the “parallel development” of the publicly-funded and self-financing sectors.
1.8 On the one hand, despite its booming development and the great efforts put into it by the sector – operators and staff alike - the “quality issue” as perceived by the general public, including many parents and students, remains to cast uncertainty over the long-term prospect of the self-financing sector within the higher education landscape. Some of the privately-run institutions are struggling to gain public recognition vis-à-vis UGC-funded and resource-rich universities, and to secure
sufficient student intakes to make their accredited undergraduate and sub-degree programmes financially viable. In this respect, they also face competition from self-financing programmes offered by those universities or their self-financing arms. On the other hand, the post-secondary sector as a whole has more or less reached a level of saturation now as we compare the supply of and demand for sub-degree and undergraduate programmes (see Annex C). The “over-supply” of self-financing post-secondary education places in some general disciplines has rendered the situation of those relatively new institutions even more difficult unless there is a change in the demand landscape such as opening up the self-financing sector more to non-local students from the Mainland. At the same time, self-financing institutions must be more strategic in their academic positioning and programme planning in order to demonstrate niche areas of specialisation.
1.9 In view of the above development, the Task Force has deliberated whether the Government needs to enhance the current policy of supporting the parallel development of subvented and self-financing post-secondary sectors; and whether the role of subvented institutions and self-financing institutions should be more clearly differentiated in terms of the provision of self-financing programmes.
Second issue: Is the current landscape of the self-financing sector conducive to its long term development and the post-secondary education system as a whole?
1.10 The self-financing post-secondary institutions are diverse in terms of their form of existence and mode of operation (see Chapter 3).
There is vigorous competition among these institutions, and generally speaking, they could be broadly divided into two groups – (a) those operated as a subsidiary or separate unit of a subvented higher education institution; and (b) those truly self-financing institutions operated on their own.
1.11 The self-financing arms of the subvented institutions, i.e.
UGC-funded universities, are perceived by some to have certain advantages over their counterparts in the self-financing sector, such as
branding, leveraging on existing expertise and resources. There is also the view that subvented institutions should focus more on their original role and mission of providing subvented higher education and conducting research.
1.12 While some may argue that we should leave it to the market to pick the winner, one has to recognise that the organic expansion of the self-financing operations of subvented institutions may well hinder the development of self-financing private operators with good potentials in the specific circumstances of Hong Kong, making it even more difficult to maintain a balanced development of the publicly-funded sector and the self-financing sector (and also diluting the original and core mission of the publicly-funded sector). To say this is not to deny for a moment the significant contribution made by such operations in meeting student demand for self-financing post-secondary education. Moreover, differentiation rather than overlapping and excessive market competition among different self-financing institutions would be more beneficial to the well-being of the post-secondary system as a whole. For instance, it will not help in fostering programme diversity and innovation should self-financing institutions mostly opt to operate programmes with lower start-up costs, such as those in business administration and arts, despite the abundance of similar programmes in the market. That said, the Task Force is pleased to note that in recent years some self-financing institutions have better identified market needs and started to provide specialised programmes within their niche areas to meet the community’s human resources demand which could not be fully met or is being overlooked by subvented programmes.
1.13 The Task Force has therefore considered whether the Government should continue to leave the development of self-financing sector entirely to market force, or the Government should take up a more proactive regulatory/facilitative role to enable a balanced and sustainable development of the sector. Similarly, there is also a need to address the question of whether and how we should create a more level playing field for different operators in offering self-financing post-secondary programmes. Furthermore, the Task Force notes that given the positioning of Hong Kong as a regional higher education hub, the importance of which will only
increase within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area context6, there may be room to facilitate the self-financing sector to also play an active role in this respect by reviewing the current policy on self-financing operators in terms of admission of non-local students.
Third issue: If the self-financing sector continues to exist, should the Government play a more proactive role in regulating its development, in terms of quality assurance (QA), financial control and governance?
1.14 As self-financing post-secondary institutions do not receive recurrent public subvention, the Government’s involvement in their development strategy/plan has so far been limited. Questions have been raised as to whether and how the Government can facilitate self-financing institutions to identify and promote their unique positions that are conducive to their healthy and sustainable development, e.g. whether there should be any differentiation and concentration in the provision of programmes in certain fields, taking into account their expertise, the interests and aspirations of students and social needs.
1.15 The Government promulgated the Roadmap for Becoming a Private University in July 2015, which defines certain criteria necessary for the Government to consider granting university title to an aspiring institution (see Chapter 3). The Task Force has also explored whether there is a need to encourage more self-financing institutions with good potential to become private universities and if so, whether further strategic guidance accompanied by more support measures are required to facilitate them.
6 Self-financing post-secondary institutions that are allowed to recruit students from the Mainland are currently subject to a 10% quota in admitting Mainland, Macao and Taiwan students. In anticipation of a continuous drop in the number of secondary school graduates in Hong Kong until 2022/23, the Task Force notes that some self-financing post-secondary institutions may seek to expand its student base to beyond Hong Kong.
Given the proximity of cities in the Great Bay Area with Hong Kong, relaxation of the 10% quota could be explored to facilitate the recruitment of non-local students from the Greater Bay Area.
1.16 When taking more proactive actions to assist self-financing post-secondary institutions, it should be equally important to enhance their quality and governance. Doing so will be conducive to promoting public recognition and market relevance of their self-financing programmes. The Task Force has reviewed the current regulatory regimes applicable to different self-financing post-secondary institutions, and the support measures made available to the institutions (see Chapter 4), and explored whether any improvement can be made to their QA, financial control and governance.
Fourth issue: the way forward of sub-degree programmes
1.17 The UGC-funded universities’ self-financing activities are commonly in the form of community colleges, which were established to mainly deliver sub-degree education. The Government has been promoting sub-degree as a standalone and valuable qualification suitable for articulation and employment. Sub-degree education has enlivened the post-secondary education sector and contributed to the development of multiple pathways for secondary school leavers.
1.18 Notwithstanding the positive contribution of sub-degree education, the Task Force stays alert to some evolving perceptions about the value of sub-degree education within the overall landscape of higher education. Hence the way forward of sub-degree programmes is another issue of concern under the review.
Chapter 2: Development of the Self-financing Post-secondary Education in Some Other Economies
2.1 The Education Bureau has invited the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) to look into the development and latest position of post-secondary education in nine other economies (including Australia, Germany, Japan, Mainland China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States), with a view to enabling the Task Force to have a better understanding of the trends in public and private sector development in higher education. The ensuing paragraphs provide a summary of the preliminary findings of the study.
Key Observations
2.2 According to the research, historical contexts and government policies are the main factors that have impacted on the development of the self-financing sector in the economies under study. Generally speaking, apart from the United States where private institutions include the Ivy League universities/colleges which are traditionally perceived as more prestigious, the self-financing sector exists to meet the unmet demand for higher education that cannot be catered for in the public sector. In this regard, most governments cautiously support the development of their self-financing sector by means of funding and/or regulation. Although the nature of private provision varies significantly across the studied economies, there are some common features. For instance, –
(a) The emergence of private provision is closely related to massification of higher education.
(b) Private providers are mainly teaching-oriented, focusing on programmes that do not require heavy investment in equipment or facilities. Very often, programmes offered by private providers are in their niche areas or perceived as more “fashionable”.
(c) Some form of public funding (e.g. student loans) is usually available to support students pursuing private higher education.
(d) Most private providers rely heavily on tuition fee as a major
source of income, and are therefore more susceptible to the negative impact of economic downturn.
(e) With the United States as an exception, private providers in other economies under study are often perceived as of lower quality, with lower admission requirements.
(f) There is a notable trend that private providers are gradually becoming more significant in terms of contribution to the overall provision of higher education.
(g) A range of sub-degree qualifications are offered by the self-financing sector, including AD, HD, etc.
2.3 According to the preliminary findings of the research, there is a spectrum of regulatory arrangements adopted by the jurisdictions studied for the self-financing institutions and/or their programmes. Such arrangements include government approval, registration, voluntary or mandatory accreditation, annual reporting and/or review. Typically, where there is some form of government funding received by the institutions or for student support, the regulatory requirements tend to be more stringent.
2.4 Information collected suggests that, unlike Hong Kong, there is no model that exists in the studied economies where a public university, on its own or through its extension arm, provides self-financing programmes at sub-degree or undergraduate level.
The closest example to Hong Kong would be the colleges set up by some public universities in Australia to offer foundation courses; however, those colleges are separately incorporated and regulated apart from their parent institutions. In the Mainland, independent colleges are strongly affiliated with public universities though they are supposed to be independent. In recent years, the number of such independent colleges has been steadily decreasing, probably due to new measures introduced to require them to comply with certain requirements to become truly independent colleges.
2.5 The roles played by AD and HD, if any, in the studied economies can be very different even though the qualification titles are the same.
Either an AD or HD qualification can support articulation to further
education or immediate employment. Some AD programmes, particularly in the United States, are strongly vocationally-oriented. Yet, save for the case of Australia7, it is not common in other studied economies where two such sub-degree qualifications co-exist to serve the dual purposes of articulation and employment.
7 In Australia, both advanced diploma and associate degree qualifications co-exist as sub-degree level education for both purposes of employment and articulation.
Chapter 3: Role of the Self-financing Post-secondary Sector
3.1 As mentioned in Chapter 1, it has been the Government’s policy to adopt a two-pronged strategy and support parallel development of the publicly-funded and self-financing post-secondary education sectors in broadening and diversifying study opportunities for our students.
3.2 Our post-secondary participation rate rose to 72% in 2016/17, including 38% enrolling in publicly-funded post-secondary programmes (21% in undergraduate and 17% in sub-degree) and the rest in self-financing progarmmes. In the same academic year, self-financing places constituted about 40%, 72% and 68% of all FYFD, top-up degree and sub-degree intake quotas respectively. It is therefore evident that the contribution of our self-financing sector has become indispensable in providing post-secondary education opportunities for students.
3.3 The self-financing sector is quite diverse in terms of the scale of institutions as well as their form of existence and mode of operation.
The following table analyses the intake capacity of all 28 self-financing post-secondary institutions.
Number of institutions providing self-financing post-secondary
programmes Intake capacity of
sub-degree and/or
undergraduate programmes
2014/15 2015/16 2016/17
Below 100 4 3 2
100 - 499 6 7 10
500 - 999 4 6 4
1000 - 1999 6 6 5
2000 - 3999 6 5 7
4000 and above 1 1 0
Total 27 28 28
UGC Sector and the Other Subvented Institutions
3.4 It is worth noting that providers offering more than 2 000 intake places per year are mostly the self-financing arms of publicly-funded institutions. Within the UGC sector, the universities have different
strategies and positioning in their provision of self-financing programmes.
The Task Force notes that most UGC-funded universities have been involved in providing self-financing sub-degree, especially AD programmes, for historical reasons. Among them, the City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong (PolyU) have an enrolment of over 6 000 and over 7 000 sub-degree students respectively. They also operate a number of self-financing local or non-local top-up degree programmes, providing ample opportunities for their sub-degree graduates to articulate.
Self-financing sector
3.5 The self-financing institutions also differ in terms of scale and student population as well as in the scope and development of academic programmes, as explained below –
(i) The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) was established as the Opening Learning Institute of Hong Kong by the Government in 1989 by statute to be a main provider of distance learning degree programmes for working adults. It earned the university title in 1997 and enjoys self-accrediting status. In 2001, OUHK introduced its first full-time programmes at AD level. In 2007, it started to admit full-time undergraduate students. Together with its Li Ka Shing Institute of Professional and Continuing Education, which is dedicated to HD education and a few non-local top-up degree courses, OUHK now accommodates over 10 000 full-time students in a wide array of programmes at HD and undergraduate (including top-up) level, offered under six schools/divisions.
(ii) There are at present nine privately-run institutions registered under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320) which are primarily devoted to degree education. Altogether they house about 14 000 sub-degree and undergraduate students.
The nine institutions differ greatly in their level of development and could be generally demarcated into four groups –
– Private university
Hong Kong Shue Yan University (HKSYU) is currently the only institution registered under Cap. 320 that has acquired university title. It was founded in 1972 as Hong Kong Shue Yan College
to provide mainly diploma programmes. In December 2006, the College was granted university title. In the 2017/18 academic year, HKSYU operates 18 self-financing locally-accredited degree programmes, including 12 bachelor’s degree, five master’s degree and one doctoral programmes, with about 4 500 students in total.
– Institutions having indicated intention to apply for university title
(a) Hang Seng Management College has been registered under Cap. 320 since 2010 and currently operates 17 degree programmes, including one master’s degree programme, with about 4 900 students in total; and
(b) Chu Hai College of Higher Education has been registered under Cap. 320 since 2004 and now offers 17 degree programmes, including three master’s degree programmes, with about 900 students in total.
– Institutions with over 1 000 students
(a) Caritas Institute of Higher Education, formerly Caritas Francis Hsu College, has been registered under Cap. 320 since 2001 and currently operates one HD and five undergraduate programmes, with about 1 500 students in total; and
(b) Tung Wah College has been registered under Cap. 320 since 2011 and currently operates five sub-degree and 10 undergraduate programmes, with about 2 500 students in total.
– Institutions with less than 1 000 students
The other four Cap. 320 institutions are Centennial College, Gratia Christian College, HKCT Institute of Higher Education, and Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education. All of them have been registered under Cap. 320 in or after 2012.
Each of them operates no more than five degree programmes.
While Centennial College has about 200 students, the other three each enrolls less than 100 students.
(iii) There are seven privately-run institutions registered under
the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279) 8 that provide self-financing sub-degree and/or non-local degree programmes with about 4 000 students altogether. The largest institution in this group is HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College, which enrolls over 2 000 students. The Hong Kong Institute of Technology is the only institution in this category that offers non-local degree programmes (apart from its sub-degree programmes) with about 700 students in total.
(iv) There are two other private providers of sub-degree and non-local undergraduate programmes, which are not registered under the above ordinances, namely Hong Kong Art School (HKAS)9 and SCAD Foundation (Hong Kong) Limited / Savannah College of Art and Design, Inc10. HKAS operates one HD programme and one non-local undergraduate programme in fine art, with about 150 students. SCAD operates a number of undergraduate programmes in art and design, with about 500 students.
Roadmap for Becoming a Private University
3.6 To steer the development of the self-financing degree-awarding institutions, the Government promulgated the Roadmap for Becoming a Private University in July 2015, which sets the following criteria which an aspiring institution has to meet before the Government would consider granting university title to it –
(a) have obtained Programme Area Accreditation (PAA) status in at least three areas;
(b) have demonstrated a certain level of research capability by
8 Including Caritas Bianchi College of Careers, Caritas Institute of Community Education, Hong Kong College of Technology, Hong Kong Institute of Technology, HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College, Yew Chung Community College, and YMCA College of Careers.
9 HKAS is a division of the Hong Kong Arts Centre, established under the Hong Kong Arts Centre Ordinance (Cap. 304)
10 SCAD itself is registered under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622) and all it programmes are registered under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap. 493).
having successful applications under publicly-funded research-related schemes;
(c) have a minimum student enrolment of 1 500 (full-time equivalent) at degree level for the past two consecutive academic years immediately preceding an application for university title;
and
(d) have obtained the Institutional Review status from the HKCAAVQ to demonstrate its fundamental ability to meet the standards expected of a university in terms of governance and management, financial sustainability, academic environment, QA and research capability.
3.7 The Task Force supports such a roadmap approach and it also considers that private universities should not be rigidly compared with UGC-funded universities especially in terms of research outputs given the financial resources and endowments available to the latter under their different mode of funding and operation. Private universities nonetheless should aim to do well in students-based teaching and learning activities.
Summary of Stakeholders’ Views
3.8 According to the written submissions from stakeholders collected in the period of November 2017 to February 2018 –
(a) self-financing post-secondary institutions generally recognise the contribution of self-financing post-secondary education to the diversification of higher education in Hong Kong by providing more articulation opportunities and pathways for young people (especially those who could not pursue subvented post-secondary education) in a flexible and responsive manner, thereby nurturing the necessary talent in support of our community’s economic and social development;
(b) some institutions remark that self-financing programmes have been developed and delivered at a more cost-effective way than subvented programmes, as no recurrent cost is borne by
taxpayers;
(c) some stakeholders from the secondary school sector ask for better support for self-financing post-secondary institutions/programmes by channeling more funding thereto; but some ask for more subvented rather than self-financing post-secondary education opportunities; and
(d) some professional and business bodies see the role of self-financing programmes in supplementing subvented education, whereas some consider it necessary to better adjust the number of self-financing institutions/programmes according to market demand.
Task Force’s observations
3.9 The Task Force recognises that secondary school leavers in Hong Kong have solid demand for post-secondary education opportunities and such demand cannot be met solely by the public-funded sector. Even when the number of local secondary school leavers will hit its trough in 2022 (see Annex C), this group of students’
demand for sub-degree and undergraduate studies could not be met entirely by subvented programmes. Assuming no significant change in the publicly-funded education opportunities, self-financing post-secondary institutions will always have a role to play in providing education opportunities to fulfil local students’ demand. Furthermore, while the publicly-funded sector aims to provide a comprehensive array of education programmes, in some cases it will be bound by constraints arising from the mode of operation of publicly-funded universities. The self-financing sector plays a complementary role in providing flexible options and adding diversity to the higher education system as a whole.
3.10 The Task Force considers that there are merits in a parallel system in Hong Kong where the self-financing sector should strive for further development in a direction that sets itself complementary, not supplementary, to the publicly-funded sector, thereby achieving a more comparable development of the two sectors for the advancement of higher education. The advocacy for diversity in higher education and
complementary development of both public and private institutions is also in line with similar development in other comparable advanced economies (see Chapter 2). Hong Kong’s higher education system should enable those eligible students pursuing publicly-funded or self-financing post-secondary education programmes to receive quality education as well as academic or vocational and professional education and training (VPET) qualifications well recognised by educational institutions and employers.
3.11 The Task Force has the following observations about the future role of the self-financing sector -
(a) At the sectoral level, the self-financing post-secondary sector needs to be “reformed and modernised” with a clear mission strongly conveyed to the public – that the sector operates alongside with the UGC sector to provide more options and adding diversity to the higher education system as a whole.
(b) In particular, the Task Force is pleased to learn that some self-financing institutions (including the self-financing arms of the UGC-funded universities) have established track records and grown to a significant scale in terms of student number, range of programmes and campus facilities, etc. These large self-financing institutions indeed have good potential to develop into private universities. Formulation of a more elaborate roadmap for the self-financing sector to demonstrate delineation amongst self-financing institutions by their level of development, scale and areas of specialisation will be conducive to the sustainable growth of the self-financing sector as a whole. For example, some of them may aspire to becoming private universities with a wider range of academic discipline areas, and some may position themselves as boutique institutions with specialisation in selective programme areas. With proper efforts by these institutions, and appropriate strategic steer by the Government, they can in due course be nurtured to become new
“beacons of light” alongside UGC-funded universities.
(c) At the institutional level, self-financing post-secondary institutions should be encouraged to more sharply identify their distinctive roles and positioning in the post-secondary arena to respond to societal needs, and demonstrate how to achieve long term sustainability in terms of academic quality, student intake and financial sustainability by way of formulation and implementation of strategic plans.
3.12 The Task Force considers that a clear delineation of roles and positioning of self-financing institutions, coupled with suitable support measures, will have positive impact on the sector’s sustainable development by enhancing certainty in student admission, encouraging staff development and retention, as well as fostering a quality and diversified higher education environment.
3.13 To facilitate the evolution of some privately-run institutions into private universities or colleges with unique strengths in some areas and disciplines, suitable support measures, such as dedicated start-up loans and/or one-off grants may be considered by the Government to improve the hardware of eligible institutions in tandem with their development.
Chapter 4: Regulation and Support for the Self-financing Post-secondary Sector
4.1 Post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong enjoy a high degree of institutional autonomy and academic freedom under their respective regulatory regimes. Although self-financing post-secondary institutions do not receive recurrent public subvention, the community generally expects all institutions in higher education to provide quality programmes to nurture our younger generation, hence the Government’s current policy oversight of the institutions focuses on enhancing their transparency, QA and good governance. Where public funds are involved as in the support measures, mechanism is devised under the principle of reasonableness and proportionality to ensure that resources are put to intended use in a prudent manner.
4.2 It is the Government’s policy to support the “parallel development” of the publicly-funded and self-financing post-secondary education sectors. The self-financing sector helps to diversify our higher education system and provides more education opportunities for our secondary school graduates. To promote a healthy and sustainable development of the self-financing post-secondary sector, the Government has implemented, over the years, a host of measures to provide direct support to institutions, as well as subsidies for student pursuing self-financing studies. The key prevailing measures are –
For institutions
(a) Land Grant Scheme – It provides land at nominal premium or vacant premises at nominal rent to self-financing non-profit-making post-secondary institutions. Since the launch of the Scheme in 2002, 11 sites and eight vacant premises have been granted to eligible institutions.
(b) Start-up Loan Scheme – It provides interest-free loans to self-financing non-profit-making post-secondary institutions in support of the development of college premises, reprovisioning of existing premises operating in sub-optimal environment and enhancement of teaching and learning facilities. Of the total
commitment of $9 billion, 39 loans amounting to $7.3 billion have been approved for 18 institutions as at September 2017.
Moreover, the ambit of the Scheme has been extended to support the development of student hostels since 2012 for the self-financing post-secondary education sector.
(c) Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund (SPEF) – The Fund has received a total Government injection of $3.52 billion so far to (i) provide scholarships and awards under the Self-financing Post-secondary Education Scholarship Scheme (SPSS) to outstanding students pursuing full-time locally-accredited self-financing sub-degree or undergraduate programmes; and (ii) support worthwhile non-works projects under the Quality Enhancement Support Scheme (QESS) to enhance the quality of self-financing post-secondary education.
To date, over 21 000 students have been granted awards/scholarships under SPSS and a total of 52 projects have been approved under QESS. The Fund has provided nearly
$600 million to benefit the sector since 2011.
(d) Qualifications Framework (QF) Fund – The designated support scheme for QF, which is supported by the QF Fund, encourages and assists education providers in seeking accreditation of their programmes and registering the qualifications and programmes in the Qualifications Register.
All self-financing post-secondary education providers can benefit from the Scheme. To support the sustainable development and implementation of QF, the Chief Executive, in her 2017 Policy Address, announced to inject $1.2 billion into the QF Fund which now also supports various schemes/initiatives for QF development, QF-related studies/projects and public education.
(e) Matching Grant Scheme (MGS) – Since 2003, the Government has launched seven rounds of MGS to help higher education institutions diversify their funding sources. Self-financing degree-awarding institutions started to join MGS in the fourth round. The latest (seventh) MGS was launched in August 2017,
with an earmarked amount of $500 million for application by qualified local self-financing degree-awarding institutions.
(f) Research Endowment Fund - The Government injected
$3 billion to this UGC-administered Fund, to support the self-financing degree sector in enhancing its academic and research development. Investment income of the Fund is used to operate three research funding schemes that cater for the needs of the self-financing degree sector. Four rounds of allocation exercises have been completed so far with a total committed grant of about $323 million.
For students
(g) Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/Sectors (SSSDP) – Starting from the 2015/16 academic year, SSSDP subsidised about 1 000 students per cohort to pursue designated full-time locally-accredited self-financing undergraduate programmes in selected disciplines to nurture talent for industries with keen manpower demand. Each student can get up to $70,000 (for laboratory-based programmes) or $40,000 (for other programmes) each year as tuition fee subsidy. After three cohorts of pilot run, the Scheme will be regularised in the 2018/19 academic year with an increase in subsidised quota to about 3 000 places per cohort. Eligible continuing students of selected programmes will also receive the subsidy under the recurrent Scheme.
(h) Non-means-Tested Subsidy Scheme for Self-financing Undergraduate Studies (NMTSS) – Starting from the 2017/18 academic year, a non-means-tested annual subsidy of $30,000 is provided to eligible students pursuing full-time locally-accredited local and non-local self-financing undergraduate (including top-up degree) programmes in Hong Kong offered by eligible institutions (save for those already benefitted under the SSSDP);
(i) Student finance – The Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency provides means-tested and non-means-tested financial assistance for students in the self-financing post-secondary sector. The Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP) was first introduced in 2001.
The Scheme was then improved in 2008 so that full-time students pursuing locally-accredited, self-financing post-secondary education programmes have access to financial assistance in the forms of means-tested grant and low-interest loans, at a level comparable to their counterparts in the publicly-funded programmes. In the 2016/17 academic year, the grants and loans provided to self-financing post-secondary students under FASP amounted to $1 billion and $200 million respectively, benefitting about 30% of the students.
4.3 In tandem with the rapid development of the self-financing post-secondary sector since 2000, there has been a growing demand by students and the public at large for access to more information of the sector. The Education Bureau (EDB) and the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education (CSPE) help enhance the transparency and governance of the self-financing sector through various arrangements as set out below –
(a) Information portals – The Information Portal for Accredited Post-secondary Programmes (www.ipass.gov.hk) was launched in 2007 to provide comprehensive information on all full-time locally-accredited self-financing sub-degree and undergraduate (including top-up degree) programmes. The Electronic Advance Application System for Post-secondary Education Programmes (E-APP) (www.eapp.gov.hk) is a one-stop online application system to facilitate the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) Examination candidates to make advance application for most locally-accredited post-secondary programmes not covered under the Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS). Since its launch in 2012, E-APP has become a common platform for HKDSE candidates to apply for full-time locally-accredited sub-degree and undergraduate programmes and for planning of further studies. The
Concourse website (www.cspe.edu.hk) was launched in December 2013 by the CSPE to provide comprehensive information and statistics of the sector to help enhance its transparency and accountability.
(b) Code of Good Practices on Governance and Quality Assurance for Self-financing Post-secondary Education Sector – The CSPE promulgated the Code in June 2015 for all self-financing post-secondary institutions to adopt on a voluntary basis. The Code covers areas of institutional governance, programme design and delivery, and staff, other resources and student support. A study of the sector-wide implementation of the Code was undertaken by the HKCAAVQ and completed in October 2017, which showed a high level of compliance across the sector after one year of implementation.
(c) Admission and refund arrangements – To enhance the support for current HKDSE candidates and to enable institutions to process applications and admissions in an orderly and efficient manner, institutions have adopted common application and admission arrangements since 2012 for locally-accredited post-secondary programmes that are not covered by JUPAS, in respect of payment of enrolment deposits and tuition fees, under the coordination of the EDB.
Regulatory framework for the self-financing post-secondary education institutions
4.4 Self-financing post-secondary institutions enjoy a high degree of autonomy and academic freedom, and they can be categorised based on their respective statutory regimes as follows –
(a) approved post-secondary colleges11 registered under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320), and institutions
11 Including the Caritas Institute of Higher Education, Centennial College, Chu Hai College of Higher Education, Gratia Christian College, Hang Seng Management College, HKCT Institute of Higher Education, Hong Kong Nang Yan College of Higher Education, Hong
established by statute that are operating on a self-financing basis12;
(b) institutions registered under the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279) and providing self-financing locally-accredited post-secondary programmes13;
(c) institutions providing self-financing locally-accredited non-local programmes 14 are subject to the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap. 493) in respect of their non-local programmes; and
(d) publicly-funded institutions 15 that offer self-financing post-secondary programmes through their self-financing continuing and professional education arms or subsidiary institutions under their aegis that are governed by their respective ordinances.
4.5 The eight UGC-funded universities and four other local post-secondary institutions (namely HKAS, HKAPA, OUHK and VTC) are governed by their respective statutes. These statutes provide the
Kong Shue Yan University and Tung Wah College.
12 Including The Open University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Art School.
13 Including Caritas Bianchi College of Careers, Caritas Institute of Community Education, Hong Kong College of Technology, Hong Kong Institute of Technology, HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community College, Yew Chung Community College, and YMCA College of Careers.
14 Including SCAD Foundation (Hong Kong) Limited / Savannah College of Art and Design, Inc. and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in Hong Kong.
15 Including the City University of Hong Kong’s Community College and School of Continuing and Professional Education; Hong Kong Baptist University and its School of Continuing Education and College of International Education; Lingnan Institute of Further Education; The Chinese University of Hong Kong’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies; The Education University of Hong Kong; The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and its School of Professional Education and Executive Development and Hong Kong Community College; The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; The University of Hong Kong - HKU SPACE and HKU SPACE Community College; and the Vocational Training Council’s four member institutions, namely the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, Hong Kong Design Institute, School for Higher and Professional Education, and Technological and Higher Education Institute.
institutions concerned with a high degree of autonomy over academic and non-academic matters while maintaining an appropriate level of public accountability. Most of the statutory institutions have established subsidiaries (e.g. community colleges) to provide self-financing post-secondary programmes, as the governing legislation empowers the councils of these institutions to establish schools or corporations.
4.6 Enacted in 1960, the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap.
320) sets out in detail the conditions that a private educational institution has to fulfill before it can be considered for registration as a post-secondary college. It was amended in 2001 to enable registered post-secondary colleges to award degrees subject to the approval of the Chief Executive in Council. In practice, any new degree programmes proposed by a registered college needs to first go through academic accreditation by the HKCAAVQ (and relevant professional accreditation by a professional authority, if required, as in the case of accountancy, social work, etc.) before it is considered by the Chief Executive in Council.
4.7 Originally designed for the regulation of schools at secondary or below level, the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279) also provides that the Permanent Secretary for Education may give approval for schools to provide post-secondary education. Institutions registered under this Ordinance are, however, prohibited from awarding degrees, and can only provide sub-degree education and/or non-local degree programmes (i.e. a degree conferred by an overseas institution instead of its partnering institution in Hong Kong, with the latter providing campus facilities and some teaching staff, etc. for the delivery of non-local degree education).
4.8 Comparing with Cap. 320, Cap. 279 imposes more requirements and control on registered institutions in terms of school management, school premises and charging of fees, etc. It is because when Cap. 320 was first enacted in 1960, there was a clear intention to concede colleges registered thereunder a greater measure of autonomy than they would enjoy under Cap. 279; hence apart from reasonable controls to ensure the satisfactory conduct of the colleges, specific penalties for infringement of Cap. 320 were deliberately omitted, other than the ultimate sanction of cancellation of registration as a post-secondary college. A
post-secondary college with its registration under Cap. 320 cancelled can alternatively seek registration under Cap. 279 with relatively more controls.
4.9 Apart from programmes provided by local institutions, there are also many “non-local” post-secondary education programmes operating in Hong Kong either independently by an overseas institution or jointly with a local partner (e.g. a local post-secondary institution). It should be noted that those programmes lead to a non-local qualification and are not necessarily locally-accredited, though regulated separately under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap. 493) enacted in 1997 for the purpose of protecting “consumer”
interests. They are required by law to have effective measures in place to ensure that their standard and quality are maintained at a level comparable to the same programme conducted and accredited in the home country of the awarding institution. Application for registration of a programme leading to the award of non-local higher academic qualification by a non-local institution will only be approved if the programme in question meets the specified criteria.
4.10 In view of recent incidents involving the delivery of some problematic non-local programmes in Hong Kong, enhanced enforcement actions under the current Cap. 493 regulatory regime have been undertaken16, and further enhancement is being dealt with in a separate context. Therefore, matters relating to non-local programmes do not come within the ambit of the current review by the Task Force.
16 The major enhanced enforcement actions undertaken since mid-2016 include –
(a) A new condition for registration has been imposed on courses newly registered since 31 October 2016 requiring operators concerned to maintain certain documents relating to the non-local courses for a specified period. While the same condition has also been imposed upon operators of existing registered courses from 1 September 2017, local institutions of higher education have agreed to comply with the same condition from January to September 2017.
(b) The arrangement of referring minor contraventions of Cap.493 to law enforcement departments for follow-up action has been tightened since November 2016, leading to more prosecutions against operators.
(c) Templates for periodic reports have been prepared and put into use since July 2016 to record comprehensively cases of possible contravention spotted from newspapers, magazines and websites, and arising from individual complainants.
(d) Inspections to operators' premises have been conducted since September 2017.
