The University of Newcastle and Hong Kong Management Association (HKMA) welcome the Audit Report by the Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA).

AUQA is Australia's principal national quality assurance agency in higher education with the responsibility of providing public assurance of the quality of Australia's universities and other institutions of higher education, and assisting in enhancing academic quality.

AUQA's audit covered the University's activities in Australia and Hong Kong, and focused on the themes of admission, progression and retention, and internationalisation. Interviews by the audit panel included the University's students in Hong Kong and HKMA staff.

The Report described the University of Newcastle as a 'vibrant and well-managed institution with enthusiastic staff and students'.

Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nicholas Saunders, said "This Report is a tribute to the commitment and engagement of all staff and students of the University and a tribute to our close relationship with HKMA."

The Report applauded the strength and success of the University's partnership with HKMA. It noted praise from graduates about the courses for the Doctor of Business Administration (one of very few programs offered at this level in Hong Kong by a foreign university) and the Master of Business.

Assistant Director of HKMA, Dr Tony Wo, said the successful partnership between HKMA and the University was delivering high quality postgraduate education for senior executives in Hong Kong.

"AUQA's Report and the praise from our graduates is testament to the strong standing of the University's and HKMA's programs in Hong Kong, and a direct result of the valuable partnership we have established."

The Report on the University's and HKMA's activities in Hong Kong highlighted positive feedback on program structure, the strong support for students compared to more self-directed programs by other institutions, the responsiveness of University of Newcastle academics, and the quality of course delivery. The consistent involvement of University of Newcastle academic teaching staff using the same curricula and assessment in Australia and Hong Kong, was also noted as a strength in ensuring comparability of standards.

Overall, the Report contained 11 commendations for the University particularly highlighting financial health, strong benchmarking results with other universities, new processes for onshore and offshore teaching, and robust academic integrity measures. The Report also made seven affirmations and five recommendations including further improvement to teaching and course delivery, and the implementation of better systems to report back to students on their feedback.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Professor Kevin McConkey, said the Report reinforced the direction of the University and added value to its continued growth and improvement. "The audit findings provide impetus for the distinction that we are all building for the University of Newcastle and a key aspect of that in Hong Kong is our relationship with HKMA," Professor McConkey said.

Media comment is available from Professor Kevin McConkey, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic); or Mr Glover Chan, Senior Manager HKMA.

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