The Hang Seng Management College has been granted approval to change its title to the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong.

The Permanent Secretary for Education approved the change in accordance with the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance, after the Chief Executive in Council gave the green light today to the college’s title change application.

Congratulating the institution, Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung said the development of private universities adds diversity to Hong Kong’s higher education system and provides a channel for all sectors to contribute resources and efforts for the benefit of students.

The college is the first self-financing post-secondary education institution to acquire a university title since 2015, when a revised roadmap of criteria for registered post-secondary colleges to acquire a university title was published.

Factors considered include the breadth of programmes offered, research capability, size and scale, governance and management, financial sustainability, academic environment and quality assurance.

The Council for Accreditation of Academic & Vocational Qualifications conducted a review of the college last year at its invitation, and concluded that it met the standards expected of a private university.

Established by the Hang Seng School of Commerce, the Hang Seng Management College has been registered under the ordinance since 2010.

In the 2018-19 academic year, the college is running 19 self-financing locally-accredited post-secondary programmes with more than 4,000 students in total.