Paving the Way for Becoming a Private University Table of Contents Foreword .............................................................................................................................................................1 Planning Context..............................................................................................................................................2 Introduction Present Situation The Environment The Higher Education Sector The Pathway to Become a Private University Vision, Mission and Core Values of TWC ...................................................................................................5 Strategic Goal ....................................................................................................................................................6 Key Strategic Areas Programme Development ............................................................................................................................7 Teaching and Learning Quality....................................................................................................................8 Research Capability .......................................................................................................................................9 Student Development .................................................................................................................................10 Governance and Management ..................................................................................................................11 Finance and Human Resources.................................................................................................................12 Campus and Facilities .................................................................................................................................13 Image and External Relations ....................................................................................................................14 Acronyms........................................................................................................................................................15 Foreword Thank you for your interest in reading this second 5-Year Strategic Plan of our Tung Wah College. The main theme of this Plan is “Paving the Way for Becoming a Private University”. I am glad that a˜er discussion and consultation with sta°, management, members of College Council and Board of Governors, we came to a consensus that the College should move along the direction towards obtaining a university title in the next 5 to 10 years. This Strategic Plan has laid down our strategic objectives and actions in eight areas, namely, programme development, teaching and learning quality, research capability, student development, governance and management, finance and human resources, campus and facilities, and image and external relations. I am confident that with our concerted e°orts, we will achieve our goal in foreseeable future. Yet, your support to us is indispensable along our road to private university. I, therefore, invite you to give us your suggestions or comments on any aspects of our College’s development. We will make our best endeavour to nurture the young generation and contribute to the betterment of our society and mankind. Professor Yu-hon Lui President 1 Planning Context Introduction Tung Wah College (TWC) was established in March 2010 by Tung Wah Group of Hospitals (TWGHs) as a self-financing tertiary education institution to provide quality education in response to community needs. Having gone through the rigorous college-wide accreditation and passed the Institutional Review (IR) by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) in 2010, TWC finally attained its degree granting status and was registered as an approved self-financing post-secondary college under the Post-Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320) on 8 April 2011. This Plan is TWC’s second 5-Year Strategic Plan. It covers the period from 2016/2017 – 2020/2021 and outlines the direction that the College will move in and the strategies to be adopted for the next 5 years. Present Situation TWC admitted the first cohort of students in September 2011. At present, TWC has 4 Schools namely Arts and Humanities (ARH), Business (BUS), Medical and Health Sciences (MHS), and Nursing (NUR), o°ering a total of 12 programmes (including 6 degrees which cover 14 majors and 6 sub-degrees), with various new programmes under active planning, accreditation or about to launch. Its student population has been on the rise and exceeded 2,300 in 2016/2017. Since inception, TWC has nurtured close to 1,000 graduates. Programmes O˜ered in 2016/2017 School Programme ARH Bachelor of Social Science (Applied Psychology major) Higher Diploma in Psychology Higher Diploma in Early Childhood Education BUS Bachelor of Business Administration (with 4 majors in Professional Accountancy, Finance Services, Marketing, Health Services Management) Bachelor of Business Administration in Entrepreneurship and Management Higher Diploma in Business Studies MHS Bachelor of Medical Science (with 5 majors in Basic Medical Sciences, Forensic Science, Medical Laboratory Science, Radiation Therapy, Veterinary Health Studies) Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy Associate of Health Studies NUR Bachelor of Health Science (Nursing major)* Bachelor of Health Science (Applied Gerontology major) Higher Diploma in Nursing Diploma in Health Studies (part-time) * Since 2015/2016, 200 places of the programme have been included in the Study Subsidy Scheme for Designated Professions/ Sectors (SSSDP) of which students have to apply through Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS). 2 TWC is established and positioned to be a teaching institution but it is keen on developing a research culture with a focus on applied research and building its research capability to support and enrich teaching and learning. As reflected in the improving results of Research Grants Council’s (RGC’s) Competitive Research Funding Schemes, academic research at TWC has been progressing in this direction in recent years. The financial condition of TWC is considered as healthy. In the recent 2 years, the College has changed from deficit to surplus in its operation. As of 31 August 2016, TWC has a reserve of HK$161.5 million. With a steady and modest growth in the first five years, TWC has now been playing an active role in provision of quality tertiary education to nurture professional talents (especially in the areas of nursing, medical and healthcare) for our society. Building on the success of the College in the first five years, TWC will continue to excel, grow from strength to strength and pave the way for further advancement to progressively become a quality tertiary institution with reputable programmes and a strong foothold and eventually acquire a university title. The Environment Hong Kong is a very dynamic society and constantly experiences di°erent changes in economic, social, political and technological aspects etc. Among other things, two recent changes which have obvious implication on the College are worth noting. Rapidly Ageing Population Due to demographic changes, the population is ageing very rapidly. According to the Government’s projection, people aged 65 or above will increase from 17% in 2016 to nearly one-third (32%) by 2041 and people aged between 15 and 64 will fall from 72% to 59% in the same period. The supply of labour force in Hong Kong has become stringent, and hence there is a pressing need to train up the younger generation to provide quality work force for our society. Expansion in Healthcare Services The rapidly ageing population puts tremendous pressure on the health care services. As set out in the Policy Address 2016, to cope with the ageing trend, the Government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has decided to allocate more resources to strengthen the provision of public healthcare services in coming decade. New initiatives include building new hospitals / redeveloping existing hospitals, providing some 5,000 additional public hospital beds and over 90 new operating theatres, constructing ambulatory care centres and large day hospitals, promoting preventive care and more attention to personal health. These initiatives, together with the current problem of manpower shortage, create strong demand for well-trained health professionals in the coming 10 years. 3 The Higher Education Sector TWC is operating in a highly competitive higher education sector which is full of challenges ahead. It is widely recognised that the sector is entering into a “severe winter” stage in coming years as it faces the serious problems of shrinking demand and over-supply. Shrinking Demand On the demand side, the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (DSE) student population keeps on declining. In 2013/2014, there were 66,500 DSE candidates but the number dropped to 62,100 in 2014/2015 and decreased further to 57,000 in 2015/2016. According to the Education Bureau’s projection, the downtrend will continue till 2022. It is foreseen that the total available degree places o°ered by both University Grants Committee (UGC) institutions and self-financing institutions would soon exceed the number of DSE candidates meeting the “3-3-2-2-2” minimum entry requirements. Each self-financing institution is using di°erent means to compete for students. The competition will become increasingly