Overview of Program
E. Feedback Mechanisms
National Taiwan University attaches great importance to feedback of opinions from both on and off campus on our efforts to implement effectively the ATU Project. The establishment of feedback mechanisms include: 1. direct e-mail feedback to the university president via the university feedback system; 2. direct contact with responsible persons via e-mail or telephone via NTU's Top 100 University Web page; communication in written form or as riders to supervisory units via regular teaching staff or administrative unit meetings. In addition, NTU will conduct a satisfaction survey of university students and faculty in December 2007, using random questionnaires to understand degree of approval of various components of the program as a vital reference for future program revisions and budget allocations. The following is a brief outline of these feedback mechanisms.
As the head of the university's ATU Project, NTU president Dr. Lee Si-Chen takes suggestions and criticisms of the implementation of the project from colleagues and all quarters of society very seriously. In most cases, Dr. Lee responds directly to all questions from faculty, students, and staff members regarding general university aff airs or the ATU Project. For more specifi c or involved questions, the president forwards correspondence to colleagues in charge of the concerned program for the unit's head to elucidate or refl ect upon. Between October 2005 and 30 September 2007 the suggestion system received 965 communications, dispatching 927 of them for a response rate of 96.06%. The president's e-mail address is sclee@cc.ee.ntu.edu.tw
The URL for the ATU Project is http://top100.ntu.edu.tw, which can also be accessed from the NTU homepage. This Web page presents the current outcomes of the project's strategies and measures in seven sections, namely Teaching Excellence, Research Innovation, Campus Culture, International Exchange, Infrastructure, Administrative Streamlining, and College Development, each of which is divided into several or up to more than a dozen sub-sections. Regular progress reports are uploaded by participating units for university students and faculty and members of the public to view at their leisure. Questions or suggestions regarding any subsection may be addressed directly via e-mail or telephone to the on-line data contact person, who forwards the correspondence to the manager in charge, who in turn determines the most appropriate response. The project's homepage is also equipped with a Feedback button, which can be used to contact the Webmaster via e-mail or telephone with questions or feedback not addressed to a specific unit. The webmaster then directs the feedback to the Dean of Academic Affairs or responsible supervisor.
Every Level One unit involved in the ATU Project is required to establish decision-making and performance control mechanisms and conduct review meetings at irregular intervals. Any colleague (including student representatives) from implementing units may raise questions about any aspect of the project for discussion or proposal at formal meetings to enable timely resolution of errors or oversights. For example, a college may propose at a meeting of colleges that the university permit fl exible discretion of "balanced development" funds allocated to each college as incentives for publication of papers in academic journals, not subject to unitary university-wide restrictions. This matter can be brought to the university decision-making body through formal channels for resolution in order to clarify the college's questions concerning budgetary provisions.