Summer Institute 2016 Higher Education for Tomorrow The Role of University Grants Committee Dr Richard T Armour Secretary-General, UGC 31 May

Ideas Behind the UGC Academic freedom Institutional autonomy Public accountability Policy driven initiatives Value for money UGC 2

Institutional Autonomy Universities are set up under their own Ordinances. Universities (not UGC) control : Internal resource allocation Selection of staff Research Academic standards Curricula Selection of students Substantial freedom 3

UGC-funded Universities  City University of Hong Kong  Hong Kong Baptist University  Lingnan University  The Chinese University of Hong Kong  The Education University of Hong Kong  The Hong Kong Polytechnic University  The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology  The University of Hong Kong 4

 To keep under review in light of the community’s needs for publicly-funded institutions in HK : facilities plans for development financial needs  To advise Government on : applications of funds for education in UGC-funded institutions; and aspects of higher education which the Chief Executive may refer to the UGC Terms of Reference 5

Mission Statement  Work with institutions, the Administration and the community  Promote excellence in the higher education sector – both teaching & learning and research  Assist the Government in establishing HK as the premier higher education centre of the region  Nurture all rounded individuals to promote the economic and social development of HK  Preserve institutional autonomy and academic freedom, with appropriate public accountability 6

Specific Functions  Advising on academic development  Advising on funding allocations (recurrent and capital)  Monitoring performance against role and targets of universities  Quality assurance and enhancement  Ensuring quality and value for money 7

UGC Structure Groups to deal with ： Strategy Research policy matters General administration UGC RGC QAC Ad hoc groups as required (HKIEd Development, Academic Development Proposal, Institutions’ Financial Affairs) 8

UGC Members  Appointed by the Chief Executive, in their personal capacity  Local and non-local members, lay members as well as academics   Members open in giving their independent advice with reference to international standard and practices  Each UGC Member appointed into different groups/subcommittees (As at 1 April 2016)LocalNon-local Academics66 Lay Members8N/A 9

10 UGC Members (Cont’d) MembersAffiliation 1. Mr Carlson TONG (Chairman) Securities and Futures Commission (Chairman) 2. The Hon CHEUNG Chi-kong Executive Council 3. Professor Adrian K DIXON * University of Cambridge, UK (Master) 4. Sir David EASTWOOD * University of Birmingham, UK (Vice-Chancellor) 5. Professor Horace IP City University of Hong Kong (Vice-President) 6. Dr KAM Pok-man Certified Public Accountant 7. Mr KWOK Wing-keung Carmel Holy Word Secondary School (Principal) 8. Professor Gabriel LEUNG The University of Hong Kong (Dean) 9. Dr Michael MAK Hoi-hung Medical Practitioner 10. Dr Kim MAK Kin-wah The Hong Kong Jockey Club (Executive Director) 11. Sir Howard NEWBY * University of Liverpool, UK (Former Vice- Chancellor) *non-local members

11 MembersAffiliation 12. Professor Joshua MOK Ka-ho Lingnan University (Vice-President) 13. Professor Richard SALLER * Stanford University, USA (Dean) 14. Professor Wei SHYY The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Provost) 15. Professor Mark WAINWRIGHT * The University of New South Wales, Australia (Former Vice-Chancellor) 16. Professor Angelina YUEN The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Vice-President) 17. Professor ZHANG Jie * Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (President) 18. Mr Tim LUI Tim-leung (ex-officio) PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd (Senior Advisor) 19. Professor Benjamin W WAH (ex-officio) The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Provost) 20. Mr Lincoln LEONG Kwok-kuen (ex-officio) MTR Corporation Ltd (CEO) UGC Members (Cont’d) *non-local members

UGC Secretariat  Small department of about 90 staff  Headed by Secretary-General and two Deputy Secretaries-General  Eight Assistant Secretaries-General and a Departmental Secretary 12

Role of UGC Secretariat  To provide administrative support to the UGC/RGC/QAC;  To administer Government grants to the UGC- funded tertiary education institutions; and  To support the UGC’s objectives of - maintaining and enhancing the quality of teaching & learning, and research in UGC- funded universities; and - monitoring the efficiency and cost- effectiveness of universities’ activities 13

Characteristics of UGC Funding  Funding by the triennium ( , , ) Provide, to a large extent, predictability and stability in resources  Roll-over year (2008/09, 2015/16) Roll-over arrangement: A simple extension of the approved financial arrangements following the preceding funding triennium  Block grants to universities Provide maximum flexibility 14

Recurrent Grant Cycle Start Letters (Discussions) Academic Development Proposals Face to Face Discussions Advisory Letters Triennial Recurrent Grant Estimates Grant Assessment / Recommendations Government / LegCo Approval Allocation Letters 15

$M  Recurrent Grants including research portion of block grant : $4,250 M 17,085  Capital Grants - $614 M for AA&I projects & $232 M for capital projects 846 Approved Grants of UGC-funded Institutions 2015/16 Roll-over Year 16

17 $M  Recurrent Grants including research portion of block grant : $12,866 M (i.e. $4,300M per year) 53,557 (i.e. 18,000 per year) Recommended Recurrent Grants of UGC-funded Universities Triennium

Teaching and Learning  Competitive allocation of funding to accelerate the adoption of necessary pedagogical changes and innovations Internationalisation and Engagement with Mainland China  As one of the strategic areas under the teaching and learning funding scheme, funds will be provided in the triennium to support initiatives to develop and implement holistic strategies for the broader enhancement of internationalisation and student integration, and to enrich the learning experience of commuting local students  Building on the success of the initiatives in triennium, funds will be provided for universities to promote the sector as a united front Tuition Fee Review  Engaged a Consultant to study the tuition fee policies and practices in other jurisdictions Current Policy Priorities of UGC 18

Implementation of Financial Affairs Working Group Report Recommendations  Improve cost allocation practices and financial transparency in universities  Implementation of Report’s recommendations having largely been completed, including promulgation of a new set of cost allocation guidelines and an updated version of accounting and disclosure practices to institutions in Institutional Governance  Following the Government’s endorsement of the overall direction and recommendations of the Governance Report, a task force will be set up to follow up the implementation of the report recommendations to help enhance the effectiveness and transparency of the councils of UGC-funded universities Current Policy Priorities of UGC (Cont’d) 19

20 Background Information

“Aspirations for the Higher Education System in Hong Kong” Report of the UGC issued in 2010 ( The “HER Report” ) Major Development in the UGC Sector 21

Main Themes of the Report :  Need for an integrated sector with better articulation pathways  Need to ensure excellence in teaching, research and community engagement  Significance of knowledge based economy, globalisation, internationalisation and engagement with the Mainland The “HER Report” (Cont’d) 22

Main Themes of the Report :  Single quality assurance body  Internationalisation  Engagement with Mainland China The “HER Report” (Cont’d) 23

24 Major Bodies under the UGC

1)Quality Assurance Council(QAC) The QAC was established in 2007 as a non-statutory, semi-autonomous body under the UGC 25 QAC

QAC (Cont’d) Terms of reference:  To advise the UGC on quality assurance matters in the higher education sector in Hong Kong and other related matters as requested by the Committee  To conduct audits and other reviews as requested by the UGC, and report on the quality assurance mechanisms and quality of the offerings of institutions  To promote quality assurance in the higher education sector in Hong Kong  To facilitate the development and dissemination of good practices in quality assurance in higher education 26

Council Members (as at 1 April 2016) (appointed by Hong Kong Government) Local academics (2) Local lay members (3) Non-local academics (2) QAC (Cont’d) 27

QAC Audit  QAC Audit is an external quality assurance process with an independent peer review system  Periodic quality audits of all first degree programmes and above, however funded, offered by UGC-funded universities  The first audit cycle completed in 2011  The second audit cycle is underway, with the audit visits to be completed in October

QAC Audit  “Fitness for purpose”  Assess the extent to which institutions are fulfilling their stated mission and purpose  Confirm the procedures in place for assuring the quality of the learning opportunities offered to students and the academic standards  Examine the effectiveness of an institution’s quality systems 29

QAC Audit Key features of the second audit cycle:  Stronger focus on student learning and achievement  Two key themes – enhancing the student learning experience and global engagements (strategies and current development)  Shift in emphasis from the scrutiny of process to the assessment of outcomes  More specific coverage of taught postgraduate programmes and research training programmes  Use of audit trails – seek assurance on the effectiveness of institutional policies and procedures if there are particular issues that require further investigation 30

QAC Audit Audit Reports:  Publish on the QAC website and respective websites of the universities Follow-up to audits:  Action plans and progress reports from universities  Progress reports publish on the QAC website and respective websites of the universities 31

2) Research Grants Council(RGC)  The RGC was established in RGC

Terms of Reference:  To advice the Government, through the UGC, on the needs of the institutions of higher education in Hong Kong in the field of academic research  To invite and receive applications for research grants and to monitor the implementation of grants RGC(Cont’d) 33

Council Members (as at 1 April 2016) (appointed by Hong Kong Government) Local academics (10) Local lay members (3) Non-local academics (12) RGC (Cont’d) 34

Panel Members (as at 1 April 2016) Assessment committee/panel members of various research funding schemes: Local academics / lay member (143) Non-local academics (142) Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme Local academics (22) Non-local academics (27) RGC (Cont’d) 35

Disciplinary Committee RGC Structure The RGC has set up Panels/Committees to handle various funding schemes : 36 RGC Subject Panels Biology & Medicine Business Studies Engineering Humanities & Social Sciences Physical Sciences Collaborative Research Fund Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme 8 Joint Research Schemes with Mainland China and other regions Major Projects Steering Committee Collaborative Research Fund Committee Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme Steering Committee Theme-based Research Scheme Areas of Excellence Scheme General Research Fund Early Career Scheme Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme Steering Committee on Competitive Research Funding for the Self-financing Degree Sector Faculty Development Scheme Institutional Development Scheme Inter-Institutional Development Scheme

 The Government provides funding for academic research to the 8 UGC-funded universities mainly through the University Grants Committee (UGC) and its Research Grants Council (RGC)  This constitutes the major source of research funding for the 8 universities, making up about 75% of their total research expenditure Funding for Academic Research 37

Funding Sources UGC Block Grant  Provides research support (e.g. infra-structure, overhead) directly to universities (about HK$4.3 billion per annum for triennium) Allocation based on – Results of Research Assessment Exercise 2014 Success in obtaining RGC Earmarked Research Grants  Provides funding for RPg places to universities and Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme (about HK$1.8 billion per annum for triennium) 38

Funding Sources (Cont’d) 39 Research Endowment Fund  Established in 2009 with HK$18 billion to provide a steady flow of research funding for institutions  Topped up by HK$5 billion in 2012 to make up a $23 billion fund  Placement with the Exchange Fund to generate a steady rate of return : average rate of return from 2009 to 2016 was about 5% per annum – Investment income of HK$1 billion per year for RGC funding schemes open to UGC sector Investment income of HK$150 million per year for the local self-financing degree awarding institutions

40 SectorFundEstimated Investment Income Per Year UGC-fundedHKD 20 billionHKD 1 billion Self-financing HKD 3 billionHKD 150 million Funding Sources (Cont’d)

Individual Research – General Research Fund (GRF) Small scale, normally 2-3 years HK$0.1M to HK$1.7M per project – Early Career Scheme (ECS) Small scale, normally 2-3 years HK$0.1M to HK$1.9M per project RGC Research Funding Schemes 41

GRF Research Fund Allocation $179.7M $43.4M $105M $161M $105.3M 2015 / 16 Total : HK$594.5M Remarks: The figures does not add up to total due to rounding

ECS Research Fund Allocation $9M $20.6M $30.6M $15.4M $16.4M 2015 / 16 Total : HK$91.9M Remarks: The figures does not add up to total due to rounding

RGC Research Funding Schemes (Cont’d) Group Research – Collaborative Research Fund (CRF) Medium Scale, normally 3-5 years HK$2M to HK$10M per project – Theme-based Research Scheme (TRS) Large Scale, up to 5 years HK$13M to HK$75M per project – Areas of Excellence (AoE) Large Scale, longer-term projects, up to 8 years HK$23M to HK$92M per project Current per-project funding ceiling of HK$60M 44

RGC Research Funding Schemes (Cont’d) RGC Fellowships – Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship Scheme Up to 12 months A maximum amount of HK$1 million per award – Hong Kong PhD Fellowship Scheme Up to 3 years Monthly stipend of HK$20,000 and a conference and research-related travel allowance of HK$10,000 per year 45

RGC Research Funding Schemes (Cont’d) Joint Research Schemes RGC has collaborations with organisations in the Mainland China and other regions, including: – Mainland China – National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) – European countries – The Consulate General of France in Hong Kong The French National Research Agency (ANR) German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) The Scottish Government Scottish Funding Council (SFC) European Commission (EC) (Horizon 2020) – The United States Fulbright Scholar Programme 46

RGC Research Funding Schemes (Cont’d) 47 Competitive Research Funding Schemes for the Local Self-financing Degree Sector – Institutional Development Scheme (IDS) Up to 36 months HK$2.5M to HK$14M per project – Inter-Institutional Development Scheme (IIDS) Up to 12 months HK$0.1M to HK$0.7M per project – Faculty Development Scheme (FDS) Up to 36 months HK$0.2M to HK$1.2M per project

Questions? 48