Governance, Accountability and Autonomy in Higher Education in Hong Kong

Abstract

Governments in Asia have exerted serious efforts and concentrated resources on helping a few select universities to improve their global standing. These efforts have resulted in the gradual growth of Asian universities and their steady high rankings in various university league tables. At present, universities are being encouraged to collaborate with the industry or business sector and to engage with the community to promote innovation, knowledge transfer and entrepreneurship. In view of the intensifying competition for global university rankings, in 2014 the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) started a critical review of university governance through the University Grants Committee (UGC)—an advisory body formed to oversee the strategic directions and macro-policies that govern higher education development in Hong Kong—in order to enhance the global competitiveness of its publicly funded universities. An independent task force led by Sir Howard Newby, former Vice Chancellor of the University of Liverpool in the UK, completed a comprehensive review in 2015.