Lingnan University’s devotion to quality education commended in the Quality Assurance Council audit report

19 Oct 2016

Lingnan University welcomes the release of the Report of a Quality Audit of Lingnan University by the Quality Assurance Council (QAC) of the University Grants Committee (UGC) today (19 October). The QAC findings confirm that the University is committed to providing quality whole-person education informed by the best of Chinese and Western liberal arts traditions; nurturing all-round excellence in students; and encouraging faculty and students to contribute to society through original research and knowledge transfer.  

 

The Report also highlighted the University’s commitment to achieving excellence through a liberal arts education and to providing a rich array of opportunities for the whole-person development of its students.  These include efforts to increase interdisciplinary learning opportunities, the development of a science component within the undergraduate core curriculum, and the rebalancing of teaching and research in order to sustain its mission as a liberal arts university. 

 

The Report also affirmed the University’s efforts to enhance the research postgraduate student learning environment through the development of a range of local, regional and international networks, opportunities and initiatives.

 

In relation to the audit theme Enhancing the student learning experience, the Report appreciated the University’s commitment to providing a wide range of learning experiences, and drew particular attention to the Integrated Learning Programme for undergraduate students that supports the University’s mission of providing quality whole-person education. It also acknowledged the University’s recent achievement of full residence, which facilitates a ‘Living Learning Community’ within the student hostels. Furthermore, the Report noted the value added to the University’s student body, which is realised through substantial financial and human investment in small classes and broad exposure of students to international and service-learning experiences.

 

Regarding the audit theme Global engagement: strategies and current developments, the Report commended the University “for the clarity of its internationalisation strategy, which specifies KPIs capable of providing meaningful data about progress made in this area”, recognised the comprehensive range of international opportunities provided for Lingnan students, and endorsed that the University is making efforts to strengthen mechanisms for assuring the quality of the student learning experience in international exchanges.

 

The Report also provided recommendations for improvement in a few areas including the need to accelerate the full implementation of the outcome-based approach to teaching and learning and criterion-referenced assessment; to develop systematic methodologies for selecting benchmarking academic institutions, and to identify and implement suitable instruments for testing of standards of students’ English language competency at both entry and exit points. The University is actively working on the formulation of an action plan to address the various recommendations made in the Report.

 

Prof Leonard K Cheng, President of Lingnan University appreciated the Audit Panel’s Report, which is very positive and supportive of the University’s vision of becoming a leading Asian liberal arts university with international recognition, distinguished by outstanding teaching, learning, scholarship and community engagement.  He also welcomed the Panel’s insightful comments and suggestions for improvement, which are invaluable in helping the University to further enhance the student learning experience and achieve academic excellence.

 

“A new Strategic Plan for 2016-2022 has been formulated with the goal of steering Lingnan to the next level of excellence and addressing the education needs of the present and future generations.  With academic development and research as well as student development being its primary focuses, the Strategic Plan has also reflected the observations made in the QAC Audit Report, with a view to elevating Lingnan to a new level of excellence, not just in the local landscape, but also in Asia and worldwide,” said President Cheng.