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As a Liberal Arts College, how UIC establishes its uniqueness through the implementation of a robust quality assurance system

by Prof Zee Sze Yong, UIC Vice President (Academic)

In another speech, Prof Zee Sze Yong recommends a book to new students on 2 September.
(Photo by Vivi Xie)

A. Vision and Mission of UIC as a Liberal Arts College

Being the first full-scale cooperation in higher education between Mainland China and Hong Kong, the UIC positions itself as ‘A New Liberal Arts College to Serve China and the World’. Its charter was approved by the Ministry of Education of China with full support of the local authorities.

The College aims at advancing internationalization of Chinese higher education by taking the lead in implementing liberal arts education in China. The UIC’s vision is ‘To create an innovative international education model for China that can contribute to the welfare of the nation and the world’, and its mission is based on its liberal arts education philosophy:

To build a new model for liberal education in Mainland China and to nurture talented graduates with international perspectives:

- To integrate creatively and dynamically international and national experiences of education in China.
- To promote Whole Person Education with local and international relevance.
- To promote liberal arts education by tapping into both classical Chinese and Western cultural traditions.
- To develop an innovative Four-Point Education Model that unites the forces of the college, the student, the parents and society for the delivery of our education programmes.

B. General Curriculum Structure of UIC

Since its inception in 2005, UIC has adopted a 4-year curriculum structure in order to be in line with the requirement of Mainland China. The 4-year structure is slightly different from Hong Kong Baptist University(HKBU)’s 3-year curriculum structure, which is prevalent among the UGC-funded institutions in Hong Kong. In 2013, riding on the “3+3+4” academic reform in Hong Kong, UIC had taken the opportunity to refine its curriculum structure with a view to further enhancing it and bringing it closer in line with the HKBU’s new 4-year curriculum framework. The new curriculum framework of UIC is detailed in Table 1 below:

Table 1: New Curriculum Framework of UIC

Against the above background, UIC has then undergone a thorough review of its General Education programme and also the 20 undergraduate programmes offered by the three Divisions in order to ascertain that all the UIC programmes have been properly adjusted and sufficiently strengthened as they migrate to the said new curriculum framework.

Details of UIC’s New Curriculum Framework

1) Major Courses – 60 units: In the new curriculum structure, all students are required to complete 60 units of their major programmes in accordance with the stipulated reaccredited programme requirements.

2) General Education Core (GEC) Requirements – 32 units: The aim of the GEC Requirements is to equip students with the transferable skills, guiding attitudes and values that will support all-round development and personal growth.

3) General Education Distribution (GED) Requirements – 12 units: The breadth of the GED requirements reflects how the UIC students acquire and integrate knowledge from different areas.

4) Whole Person Education Experiential (WPEX) Modules – 4 units: Whole Person Education is at the core of UIC’s educational philosophy, laid down in its mission statement and reflected through the desired graduate attributes.

5) Free Electives – 24 units: Free electives, in combination with the discipline-based knowledge and skills, contribute to a unique student learning experience with flexibility and diversity.

C. Uniqueness of UIC

UIC’s aspiration in pioneering the Liberal Arts Education in Mainland China is realized by the prominence of its academic provision in three areas, namely the General Education Programme, the Whole Person Education Experiential Learning Programme and the Free Electives Options. Further elaboration on these areas is provided below.

(i) General Education Programme

The General Education Task Force of Harvard University once confirmed that general education is “one distinct component of a liberal education” and labeled it as “the public face of liberal education” (Report of the Task Force on General Education, Harvard University, 2007, preface and p. 3). Its distinctiveness lies in the fact that general education can help the students to construct a deeper understanding of the world around them at a personal, societal, and historical level, and thus able to position themselves in the ever-changing globalized world and contribute to its betterment.

Under the auspices of UIC’s General Education Programme (GEP), students are to be nurtured as all-rounded persons in addition to being well-informed in their major disciplines. Upon the completion of their studies, UIC graduates should be able to:

(a) think critically and creatively;
(b) be independent, lifelong learners with an open mind, an inquisitive spirit, and the ability to express themselves effectively in both English and Chinese and ideally in a third language;
(c) be responsible citizens with a multicultural and historical perspective and a sense of ethics and civility;
(d) possess the necessary IT, numerical and problem-solving skills to function effectively in work and everyday life; and
(e) be ready to serve, lead and work in a team and pursue a healthy lifestyle.

Based on the new curricular framework, the GEP consists of the following elements with detailed structure set out in Table 2:
(a) 32 credit units of GE Core (GEC) Courses;
(b) 12 GE Distribution (GED) Courses; and
(c) 4 credit units of WPE Experiential (WPEX) Modules.

Table 2: Structure of the General Education Programme

(ii) Whole Person Education Experiential Learning Programme

By and large, UIC’s Whole Person Education aims to offer a variety of character-building learning experiences to equip students with critical and holistic knowledge, skills, attitudes and values that they can apply elsewhere to achieve their life goals. Heavy emphasis is put on "learning through experience" and "learning through practice", after which reflection and sublimation will naturally follow. While the GEP is a structured learning experience, UIC’s Whole Person Education Experiential Learning (WPEX) Programme is to provide students with opportunities to move from the confines of a classroom into a bigger picture, the surrounding community as well as the world.

The Whole Person Education Experiential Learning (WPEX) Programme comprises 7 modules. Students must complete 4 out of the 7 modules offered:

(a) Experiential Development – to develop students' self-motivation and team spirit, encouraging positive attitude and active lifestyle. Through processing and discussions, students are encouraged to share personal experiences, understanding and emotions with each other. Team spirit and coherence will be fostered through this process.

(b) Emotional Intelligence – to improve students' awareness of their own unique emotional patterns, their understanding of others' emotions, as well as their abilities to empathize and act in responsible manners when working with others in team settings. It helps students to enhance their Emotional Quotient and acquire competencies to handle feelings and preserve a positive attitude and hopefulness.

(c) Sports Culture – to help students strengthen physique and wellness while they learn and practice one traditional sport. It emphasizes not only the basic skills and techniques of each individual sport, but also the understanding of the cultural value and philosophy behind the sport, for example: sportsmanship, willpower, perseverance, team spirit and strategic thinking, etc.

(d) Experiential Arts – to provide students with a "hands-on" aesthetic learning experience by having apprentice-style interaction with talented artists, while working together with other students as a team. The final product or performance from each workshop will be presented at a final exhibition or show on campus.

(e) Voluntary Service – to develop students into active and responsible citizens, by equipping them with the necessary social skills and values. Through the participation in real-life community services organized in Zhuhai City and surrounding areas, students get to practise the skills they learn and build up the desired values, which are further consolidated through reflection assignments.

(f) Environmental Awareness – to develop students' understanding of global environmental problems, and to raise students' environmental awareness and responsibility through environmental education and practices. After receiving proper training, students will be guided to initiate, implement and participate fully in environmental projects.

(g) Adversity Management – to develop students' ability to adapt to and function in uncertain and adverse situations. In a day-and-night outdoor camp, students face a number of challenges which aim to enable them to overcome basic mental obstacle processes that tend to limit their potential and performance, as well as enhance their ability to function and perform under stressful and unfavourable conditions.

(iii) Free Electives Options

As mentioned above, students can enhance their learning with the designated 24 units under the Free Electives. Through the following means, students are able to pursue interests that are beyond their major studies; or they can select some courses to strengthen their discipline-based training:

(a) Participate in outbound exchange programme for one semester – these programmes offer students with excellent opportunities and platforms for cross-cultural interaction and engagement; and/or
(b) Take a minor programme – for students who are interested in acquiring specialized knowledge with significant depth in a discipline other than their major studies, they are encouraged to take a minor programme; and/or
(c) Take English courses offered by the English Language Centre in Year 3 and Year 4 – as recommended by the Director of English Language Centre and endorsed by the Dean concerned, students are required to take additional English courses so as to improve their language proficiency; and/or
(d) Take major courses offered by a student’s own Programme/Division– students can take more major courses offered by their own Programme/Division so as to deepen their understanding of the discipline-specific knowledge; and/or
(e) Take earmarked major courses offered by a Division other than the one a student being admitted to – different from pursuing a structured minor programme, this arrangement adds breadth to students’ learning; and/or
(f) Take General Education elective courses from these categories: (i) Business and Communication, (ii) Foreign Languages and Cultures, (iii) Humanities, Music and Arts, (iv) Social Sciences, (v) Science and Technology, (vi) Interdisciplinary Study – the provision of a rich array of general education courses keeps students abreast of broader developments and equips them with a foundation of lifelong learning.

D. UIC’s Quality Assurance System and how it works to uphold the institutional value of academic rigor and excellence

UIC has a very robust framework to manage its teaching and learning to ensure academic quality and it is detailed in the ‘Quality Assurance (QA) Procedures and Protocol pertaining to Teaching and Learning’. Guidelines on the initiation and the development of new programmes, programme monitoring, review and revision, and the quality assurance of delivery of programmes are described in this document.

The overall QA operating framework of the teaching and learning process in UIC is based on the following basic principles:
(a) All programme proposals must be accredited/reaccredited by the HKBU.
(b) Approved programmes must follow the QA procedures and protocols pertaining to teaching and learning of HKBU.
(c) UIC ensures the quality of the delivery of programmes by establishing a quality management system to be managed and monitored by the Quality Assurance Committee (QAC), which is accountable to the UIC Senate and HKBU.
(d) HKBU conducts Institutional Reviews at regular intervals and audits the overall ‘health’ of the College, both in the administrative and academic domains.

In addition to the basic principles listed above, the QA operating framework in UIC is also realized through the implementation of different internal and external mechanisms.

(i) Internal Mechanism – Teaching and Learning Evaluation

An online teaching and learning evaluation (TLE) is organized by the Academic and Administrative Quality Assurance Office for all courses at the end of each semester. This aims to provide staff with student feedback on their teaching effectiveness and to assess students’ attainment of the course intended learning outcomes. It forms one of the major components of the College’s comprehensive quality assurance system in teaching and learning.

Individual teachers are able to access the evaluation results of the courses that they taught, and will be requested to respond to the student feedback if needed. Programme Directors and Deans/Directors have full access to the evaluation of courses offered by their respective Programmes/Divisions/Centers/Offices. They will discuss with the teachers concerned the appropriate actions to be taken to improve their teaching, if necessary. An annual TLE report is prepared for the UIC and HKBU Senates. Detailed analysis on student feedback towards each question is made. To further assure quality, the student evaluation results and the teacher’s response contributed to one of the criteria for faculty performance appraisal. For example, the TLE results are used by the Division of Business and Management for both formative and summative tools for staff appraisal. For staff developmental purpose, individual staff is informed of their TLE results and advised to seek support for improvements as deemed necessary. Staff members who have unsatisfactory evaluation results will be supported through peer review, counselling as well as appropriate staff development. For personnel decision purposes, the TLE results are reviewed by the Programme Director and the Dean in staff annual review, contract renewal and promotion.

To supplement the TLE, the individual Division/course offering unit can also administer a mid-term teaching survey at their discretion. The aim of the survey is to help teachers to adjust their teaching before the end of the semester to better help students to achieve the course intended learning outcomes.

(ii) External Input – External Examiners’ System and Advisory Committees

UIC has a well-established QA mechanism in seeking external input in programme planning, curriculum design and programme monitoring. External input, e.g., feedback from industry and graduates, will be sought at the programme and curriculum planning and curriculum stages to ensure the programme meets market needs and international trend. New programmes and major programme revisions have to seek HKBU’s Senate approval to ensure the UIC programmes are on par with the standard of the degree programmes in Hong Kong.

A system of External Examiners (EEs) has been in place since 2007-08 to ensure that the degree awarded to UIC students is on par with the degree granted at HKBU. A HKBU faculty member is appointed as EE for each of the three language centres, General Education Office, Whole Person Education Office and the individual degree programmes when the programme reaches the third year of operation. The EE system has been changed to an ‘audit mode’ starting from 2010-11 to give overall feedback on the programme assessment in view of the continuing and positive efforts of the College in maintaining its academic standards. This is a significant milestone of the College in its assurance of academic quality.

Recognizing the importance of external input, all three Divisions have set up their own Division Advisory Board to advise on the strategic plan and future development of the Division. Majority of the members are from related external professional fields.

E. Conclusion: How UIC establishes its uniqueness through the implementation of a robust quality assurance system

As a Liberal Arts College, UIC goes beyond the traditional emphasis on discipline-based training and is dedicated to nurturing students, via the provision of General Education and Whole Person Education as stated above, with transferable attributes that will benefit them in their future lives.

In addition to the fact that the outcomes of students’ in-class learning can be assessed in a coherent and qualitative manner as regulated by the QA mechanisms, a robust QA system indeed plays a crucial role to ascertain the effectiveness of the Whole Person Education which is of an experiential nature, so that it will not belittled into some abstract conceptions without concrete significance on students’ future development.

For example, the WPEX was the first programme to pilot the Criteria-Referenced Assessment in the 2011-12 academic year, paving the way for other course-offering units to follow. To ensure the learning effectiveness of students under the new assessment scheme, a series of workshops were organized for instructors, all the syllabi were revised and a set of rubrics were developed in accordance with the stipulated internal QA procedures and protocols. All these endeavours were commended by the EE of WPEX. For instance, in the 2014 WPEX review report on the “Emotional Intelligence Module”, the EE commended that, “The documentation provided was clear, with 4 good rubrics for 4 assessment tasks … The samples of student work showed that they had enjoyed the learning experience and achieved the outcomes of this course.”

To conclude, it is only with a robust quality assurance system that UIC can be informed of the students’ learning outcomes in a holistic approach and be able to uphold its rigor as a premier Liberal Arts College in Mainland China.

(from MPRO)