Analysis
The Quality Assurance Council (QAC) is a semi-autonomous non-statutory community at the University Grants Committee in Hong Kong. Its goal is to help the university promote high-quality programmes and identified the required funded institutions. The audits introduced by the QAC contain information about local academics, and the liberal arts curriculum is one of them (Quality Assurance Council, n.d.). Lingnan University (LU) is able to rely on the audit findings offered by the QAC and choose the best practices in order to achieve the desired progress in delivering liberal arts education.
This curriculum is characterised by critical thinking developed by students and improved with time. Teachers are required to add humanities or social sciences to emphasise the importance of analytical activities, the worth of ethics and morality, and the necessity to deal with a variety of complex real-life issues. According to Godwin and Altbach (2016), the liberal arts curriculum contains the subjects that play a crucial role in future employment and the establishment of a solid job market and graduate school acceptances abroad. Liberal arts contribute to the improvement of students’ skills that can be applied in the current progressive environment.
Causes
One of the causes behind the issue of the liberal arts curriculum is the intention of the facility management to promote professional training. This activity should help to create core classes in such subjects as fine arts and literature (Tachikawa, 2016). In addition, this curriculum focuses on the balance that exists between its breadth and depth (Quality Assurance Council, 2016). As a result, students are able to use their skills and achieve positive results in the job market globally (Godwin & Altbach, 2016). Another cause touches upon interdisciplinary applications and experiences that students get when they choose their preferred academic fields (Becker, 2015).
At LU, a new four-year undergraduate degree is introduced as a part of the liberal arts curriculum to provide students with an opportunity to choose between different subjects in regards to their interests. It becomes easier for young people to think about their hobbies and change their decisions as soon as they discover something new. The liberal arts field underlines the significance of students’ passions and career choices (not imposed but freely identified).
Finally, the reason for this curriculum choice is based on the enhancement of students’ attitudes toward the world. Young learners get access to a variety of sources about law, science, mathematics, or technology and use their interdisciplinary internships to study different topics (Tachikawa, 2016). The initiation of this curriculum will broaden students’ experiences in terms of critical thinking, communication, cooperation, analysis, and evaluation. Within a short period, it is possible to create professionals in composing reports, sending formal emails, and dealing with statistics.
Recommendations
Several recommendations can be given within the resources and time frames identified by the QAC. First, the establishment of a future-oriented style of liberal arts encourages students to understand what skills are necessary for problem-solving and decision-making (Becker, 2015). Second, the promotion of the Information Technology Fluency Programme is a change to strengthen the science sector of the curriculum, as well as to improve transferable skills of learners. About six months and one million dollars are offered to LU to cover the costs of the programme. A new Science Unit and additional art programmes should help to identify the role of different subjects in personal development. At this moment, the university is able to devote about three years to develop a firm background in painting, photography, statistics, or design among students.
References
Becker, J. (2015). Liberal arts and sciences education: Responding to the challenges of the XXIst century. Educational Studies, 2015(4), 33-61. Web.
Godwin, K. A., & Altbach, P. G. (2016). A historical and global perspective on liberal arts education: What was, what is, and what will be. International Journal of Chinese Education, 5, 5-22. Web.
Quality Assurance Council. (n.d.). Audit manual second audit cycle. Quality Assurance Council.
Quality Assurance Council. (2016). QAC audit report number 13. Quality Assurance Council.
Tachikawa, A. (2016). Development of liberal arts education and colleges: Historical and global perspectives. In I. Jung, M. Nishimura, & T. Sasao (Eds.), Liberal arts education and colleges in East Asia (pp. 13-25). Springer.