From the 13th to the 15th of April, TKU’s Tamsui and Lanyang campuses were home to the 2011 Institutional Evaluation. This involved the institutional evaluation itself (on April 13 and 14) as well as a ‘Gender Equity Education Appraisal’ and a Campus Environment and Safety Management Performance Evaluation’ (on April 15).

While inspecting the numerous facilities around the TKU Tamsui Campus, the visiting “commissioners” inspected TKU’s various unique features. They viewed the unique and very modern layout of the TKU library, with its wall-less design that makes the active reading and sharing area so special; while visiting the Center of Resources for the Blind, one of the commissioners remarked “It’s very touching! They’ve made the whole study experience so convenient for blind students”. Dean of the Office of Physical Education, Hsiao Shu-fen, showed the visitors the leading edge sports facilities at the Tamsui Campus and the multitude of medals received for their efforts in various inter-university sports competitions. The Dean of the Extracurricular Activities Guidance Section, Qu Quan-yong, described TKU’s clubs and societies, and pointed to two specific TKU clubs that received accolades this year for their outstanding efforts. The TKU Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Gwo-hsin Yu, personally showed the commissioners around the Wind Engineering Research Center and the Center for Water Resource Management and Policy Research.

At 2pm in the Chueh Sheng International Conference Hall, the Gender Equity Education Conference was held. During the conference, TKU President and Chairperson of the Gender Equity Education Committee, Dr. Flora Chia-I Chang, detailed the current status of TKU’s policies on gender equality. Then, at 3:30pm, the commissioners interviewed staff members from TKU’s Tamsui and Lanyang campuses and then held an informal discussion.

TKU’s policies on gender equality encourage male teachers to play a more active part in activities related to gender equality; reward teachers who incorporate gender equality issues into their course curriculum; and involve the hiring of experts to set up gender equality education websites.