Quality Assurance

QA@HKUST

The HKUST quality assurance framework enables and encourages our collective effort to improve the quality of the university educational programs. It sets out key principles that characterize international best practice and emphasizes the need for evaluation and evidence. Under the framework, all members of the University have a role to play in the collective work of quality assurance and enhancement. For more information about the quality assurance framework at HKUST, please visit QA@HKUST.

HKUST School of Engineering

Under the leadership of the Dean, the School is responsible for the review and oversight of educational programs under Engineering and for ensuring that the University’s policies and procedures are implemented by Departments, in particular policies for the assurance and improvement of quality and the maintenance of academic standards. The School monitors departmental processes for assuring the quality of educational delivery and the maintenance of academic standards. The school works with Departments to implement international benchmarking of educational programs in line with University policy for external peer review.

Assuring Quality in Taught Postgraduate Programs

The taught postgraduate programs of the School follow the regular University quality assurance processes. The academic contents of all these programs, be it newly proposed programs or proposed changes to existing programs, have to be considered and approved by the respective program’s Program Administrative Committee, followed by the School's Engineering Postgraduate Studies Committee (EPSC) and the Senate's Committee on Postgraduate Studies (CPS). Since School of Engineering's MSc programs are self-financed, each program is also reviewed and approved by the UAS Sub-committee on Continuing and Professional Education (SCCPE) based on its academic contents, market viability, financial soundness, management structure and program support.

Major Quality Assurance Processes

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Annual Report on Education Quality

As a regular self-review on quality assurance required by the University, each taught postgraduate program and the school has to submit an annual report on postgraduate education to the Senate’s Committee on Teaching and Learning Quality (CTLQ).

MSc Program Administrative Committee

At the program level, the quality assurance of each program is managed by the Program Administrative Committee (PAC) consisting of the MSc Program Director plus a minimum of 3 other faculty members. PACs are required to meet frequently to discuss program quality assurance issues.

Engineering MSc Review Committee (EMRC)

At the School Level, the Engineering MSc Review Committee (EMRC) consists of Associate Dean of Engineering (Research and Graduate Studies) and six faculty members, one from each of the Departments in the School. EMRC meets annually to advise and make recommendations on school-level policies, regulations and procedures related to taught postgraduate programs, receive and review PAC’s meeting notes and Annual Reports on Postgraduate Education.

Internal and External Review

All the MSc programs of the School followed the University’s procedures of monitoring and review of the taught postgraduate programs. All taught postgraduate programs are reviewed every five years following a standard procedures, including: internal self-evaluation; review of related teaching and learning documents by a qualified external panel which would visit the School; preparation of a review report to the relevant Dean; and arrangements for follow-up on action plans developed through the review process.

Professional Recognition

Some of the MSc programs have been accredited or certified by external professional bodies. These programs include:

MSc in Civil Infrastructural Engineering and Management (CIEM) program is accredited by the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE), the Institute of Highway Engineers (IHE) and the Chartered Institution of Highways & Transportation (CIHT) as meeting the requirement for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer under the provisions of UK-SPEC, for candidates who have already acquired a CEng accredited BEng(Hons) undergraduate first degree.

Graduates of CIEM are academically acceptable for the Corporate membership of the Hong Kong Institute of Construction Managers.

MSc in Intelligent Building Technology and Management (IBTM) program has been accepted as a Top-up Master Degree Program to meet the Corporate Membership Requirement for the Building Services Discipline of Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

The course EEMT5220 "Six Sigma Quality Management" of the MSc in Engineering Enterprise Management (EEM) program has been accredited by the Hong Kong Society for Quality (HKSQ). Students who have successfully completed the course are eligible to apply for registration as Certified Six Sigma Green Belt (HKSQ). The same course has also been accredited by the Six Sigma Institute (SSI). Students who have successfully completed the course are eligible to apply for registration as Registered Quality Professional (Green Belt), denoted as RQP (GB) and are exempted from taking the professional examinations of SSI.

SFQ Survey Exercise

Student feedback is collected via SFQ survey exercise conducted at the end of teach term for each of the taught postgraduate courses. Feedback from these evaluations are used to fine-tune curricula, further improve existing courses and develop new ones.