CITY UNIVERSITY OF MACAU’S INSTITUTIONAL ACCREDITATION

2018-01-08

The following article was translated from the website of City University of Macau (CityU).

In order to improve the higher education system in Macao and promote the continuous improvement of the institutions’ quality, Higher Education Bureau launched the "Institutional Quality Audit"- Pilot Study in 2016 to help institutions review their school operations and improvement system to bring Macao's higher education in line with international standards. CityU actively responded to the project and was firstly selected as one of the participating institutions. "Taiwan Assessment and Evaluation Association" (TWAEA) was chosen as the external evaluation association, which has accreditation qualifications for international institutions. Five reviewers were recruited from internationally renowned higher education institutions in accordance with regulations and conditions to form an expert team, including Vice President of the University of Western Sydney, Deputy Dean of Research and Extension at the University of Rhode Island, Chairman of the Promotion and Mutual Aid Corporation for Private Schools of Japan, Honorary President of I-Shou University, and Director of the Center for Graduate Education Beijing Institute of Technology. This evaluation complies with the "Guidelines on Institutional Quality Audit" and "Guidelines for External Quality Assurance Agencies", focusing on "Mission and Vision", "Institution Management, Planning and Accountability", "Operation Effectiveness", "Academic Planning, Management and Development", "Teaching, Research, Social Services, Cultural Heritage and Innovation", etc.

Since Sep., 2016, CityU has gone through stages such as "Pilot Study Planning", "Self-evaluation", and "On-site Visit" to actively cooperate with external evaluation association to carry out evaluation works. In Oct., 2017, the university closely worked with the expert team to carry out the on-site visit. CityU spent more than a year to pass the quality assurance accreditation and the report after evaluation was finally released by the external accreditation association recently. The efforts and achievements of CityU made on "rename, restructure, transformation and upgrade" and the continuous improvement of the quality of the university were highly appreciated by the external evaluation association, affirming the university's efficient operation, continuous improvement on system construction, stable financial situation, appropriate discipline development that meets the needs of Macao’s social development, solid and diverse student training models, and rigorous teaching quality assurance mechanisms.

As we are now facing the new starting point of the university's development, the faculties and students of CityU were all greatly encouraged by the progress made in the accreditation. The University expressed heartfelt thanks for the supports given by Governo da Região Administrativa Especial de Macau da República Popular da China, Higher Education Bureau and the society, and the expert team for their valuable suggestions. CityU will continue to improve the operating mechanism, continuously improve the quality of teaching, and cultivate outstanding talents in response to the development of Macao and the region.