---

AUN-1 AUN-2 AUN-3 AUN-4 AUN-5 AUN-6 AUN-7 AUN-8 AUN-9 AUN-10 AUN-11

11.1 The pass rates and dropout rates are established, monitored and benchmarked for improvement.

     The dropout rate of the programme is quite low and all the cases appeared to be because of uncontrollable factors such as family problems and other personal issues. Students in the programme are well aware of the philosophy and the aim of the programme which is research oriented and it takes time to publish in an international journal. However, the programme is well aware of the problem so we established some measures such as setting up time lines and setting a clear schedule for meeting the supervisors to speed up graduation.

     The programme prevents dropout rates by seriously screening the applicants both in terms of academic background and research mindedness. In the interview, the recruitment team makes sure that the applicants understand the programme philosophy and they share the same passion in developing themselves as professional researchers.

Figure 11.1 Pass rates and dropout rates

Academic year	Size cohort	No. of completed first degree in			No. of dropout during
		3 years	4 years	>4 years	1 years	2 years	3 years	4th years & Beyond
2555	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2556	5	-	-	-	1	-	-	-
2557	3	-	-	-	2	-	-	-
2558	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
2559	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

11.2 The average time to graduate is established, monitored and benchmarked for improvement.

     It appeared that most of our students spend more than 4 years to complete. We are well aware of the problem and are concerned about this issue so we established more concrete measures such as setting up time lines and fixing a clear schedule for students to meet the supervisors to speed up graduation. We also provided suggestions for students to start working on the papers as soon as possible. It is very hard to balance ‘learning by publishing in a Q1 level which is very demanding’ and ‘speeding up graduation’ by publishing in any international journals.

11.3 Employability of graduates is established, monitored and benchmarked for improvement.

     Employability of graduates is not a problem. All graduates and the students have jobs and there are opportunities for work in many institutions so right now there is no need for monitoring and benchmarking for improvement. Quality of the programme is the factor that helps keep and ensure the level of graduate employability.

11.4 The types and quantity of research activities by students are established, monitored and benchmarked for improvement.

     Levels and numbers of research outputs and activities have been established and monitored. The programme requires students to publish internationally and Q1 is set as the target. Students are encouraged to send their paper to a Q1 journal first. Only if serious rejection is experienced, they could lower their international publication to a lower quartile. Research clusters and discussions have been set up to monitor students’ learning bout research and the outputs.

11.5 The satisfaction levels of stakeholders are established, monitored and benchmarked for Improvement.

     The programme has monitored the quality of research because it is the key factor of the programme. It is expected that the students graduate within the time required by the programme (3-5 years) with no extension, there are factors which seem to be out of control of the programme such as publication, students’ pace. Because the programme only has a few graduates, we don’t have problems about stakeholders’ satisfaction; so far, they are highly satisfied with the attributes of the graduates. Therefore, the programme has not explicitly set the benchmark for stakeholders’ satisfaction for further improvement. We simply set the aims to keep our quality and the standard of our programme.