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Academic partnerships

    As we launch the Program,
    "Do not go where the path may lead;
    go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
    -Ralph Waldo Emerson


    This Program provides a unique opportunity for educational institutes to develop innovative programs that will strengthen partner’s academic excellence for many years to come. There is great strength in international-academic partnerships, and we are committed to a model that capitalizes on that strength. In developing our proposal process, we have strived for simplicity, transparency and ease of access. We anticipate that the partnership process will evolve over time as we learn from our experiences, and we will refine the process as we move forward. We encourage both your comments and your participation as we work together to make our educational institutes – centres of excellence.

    Introduction

    In addition to programmes developed by the College itself, the College is aimed at developing and establishing new collaboration partnerships with other academic colleges, universities, higher education institutes locally and internationally. All programmes offered in collaboration are subject to the College quality assurance polices and procedures. Academic collaborations refer to partnership or joint efforts in the development, management and/or delivery of programmes by the College and its partners.

    Collaboration Partners

    An institution with which the College collaborates for the first time is considered as a new partner and an initial institutional scrutiny is required. By this scrutiny, the College is able to ascertain that the institution as a whole is an appropriate partner for developing programme collaboration. This scrutiny is taken further with regard to the subject area in the institution. Collaborations with different subject areas in an institution are each taken as individual partnerships and are subject to separate scrutiny.

    Guiding Principles

    The prime consideration for any collaboration is that the academic quality of the
    College must be maintained. When setting up a collaboration partnership, the
    College observes the following guiding principles:

    • (The collaboration is in line with the mission and academic activities of the College.
    • (The policies and regulations of the College in academic, financial and related aspects will be followed.
    • There is clear commitment of both partners to quality assurance of the academic standard of programmes.
    • There is academic input from the College in the development and conduct of the programme.
    • The collaboration brings about academic enhancement to the College.
    • The collaboration agreement is formulated in comprehensive and documented detail.
    • The collaboration abides by the laws of the UK, of the home country of the partner, and of the location where the programme is to be conducted.

    Procedures for Setting up a Collaboration Partnership

    Each partnership is individually negotiated and tailored, and the Programme Team of the relevant subject area is primarily responsible for the development of the collaboration. The Executive Board of the College gives the final approval for collaboration.

    The procedures include :

    • The academic and professional standing of the potential partner is of fundamental importance because it has a direct bearing on the academic quality of the programme to be offered. The best possible partner available for jointly conducting the programme shall be selected.
    • The College has established quality assurance procedures for assessing an intended collaboration arrangement with a new external partner. A Collaborations Approval Panel (CAP) is established by the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC), and reviews the partner’s mission, history, academic and professional standing, financial status and quality assurance arrangements.
    • The particular programme under consideration is expected to complement those already offered in the College in terms of subject area, level of study and teaching mode, and should meet the demands of the local, national and international market. These aspects form the background against which the Programme Team works with the partner to design the programme. Appropriate local materials should be introduced into the curriculum if the programme comes from outside the UK.
    • It is essential that the negotiation for collaboration covers agreement by both partners on the quality assurance procedures to be adopted for the programme concerned.
    • The legal and financial aspects of the collaboration also affect the viability of offering a programme. For programmes offered in collaboration with a non-local partner, compliance with the Non-Local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance is necessary.
    • When a collaboration agreement is reached with an external partner, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is signed by the chief executives or senior administrators of both parties.
    • With the implementation of the Quality Assurance System in the College, the College has endorsed that approval for new programme proposals involving collaboration with non-local institutions leading to the award of the latter be delegated to the Executive Board. The College will also present an annual report on all the joint programmes approved under this mechanism to the Academic Committee for information.

    Collaboration and Programme Monitoring and Review

    As with all award-bearing programmes offered by the College, programmes offered in collaboration are subject to the programme monitoring and review procedures under the College quality assurance mechanisms.

    Award

    The wording of the award document should appropriately reflect the academic input of the partners, and should be agreed in the negotiation process before the collaboration is confirmed.



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