XIII. THE SECRETARIAT The Secretariat comprises two offices, viz. the General Administration Office (GAO), and the Personnel Office, and is headed by the Vice-President (Administration) and Secretary (VPAS). 1. GENERAL ADMINISTRATION OFFICE The major areas of work of the GAO are as follows: a. Administrative Support to Statutory Governing Bodies and other Committees The Administration and Mainland Academic Links Section (AMALS) renders administrative support to the Council, Court and its Honorary Degrees Committee, the Court as well as the Senior Executive Committee and Space allocation Sub-committee under the Administration. b. Academic Exchange with China The AMALS is responsible for co-ordinating academic exchange activities with institutions of higher education and research on the Mainland, the duties of which include administering various Mainland visiting scholar programmes, making arrangements and liaising with various parties (both external and internal) for official visitors from the Mainland, and managing the Wei Lun Academic Exchange Centre, co-founded by the University and Tsinghua University, Beijing, and located on Tsinghua’s campus. c. Services to the President and Vice-Chancellor's Office The AMALS provides administrative support to the President & Vice-Chancellor, and assists the Vice-President (Administration) and Secretary in compiling institutional responses to enquiries from Government bodies including the UGC, and other external organizations. It also co- ordinates the soliciting of legal advice and direct requests of such, where appropriate, to the University's legal adviser. d. Development of Information Systems The Information Systems Section (ISS) develops information systems to support at various levels the daily operations of the major administrative offices and provides management information to the senior management of the University to assist them in decision making and academic and resource planning. e. Provision of Statistical Data/Reports The ISS also serves as an information centre and provides University statistical data in response to internal enquiries as well as those from Government organizations and other external bodies. In collaboration with other administrative and academic units, the Section conducts space utilization survey on a triennial basis, first year student survey on an annual basis, and teaching load survey on a semester basis. The Section also compiles and co-ordinates the filing of annual statistical returns to the UGC. f. Printing Service The Printing Section provides desktop publishing, printing, collating, binding, and photocopying services to the University community. It also provides graphic and artwork design services for internal publications. g. Other Responsibilities Other responsibilities of the Office include managing the booking of meeting facilities including the Council Chamber and other University-wide committee rooms; publishing the Communication Directory, Committee Directory, Fact Book, Teaching Load Analysis Report, First Year Student Survey, etc.; and assisting in the organization of University-wide Annual Christmas Dinner. 2. PERSONNEL OFFICE The Personnel Office provides administrative support on all matters relating to staff recruitment, appointment review, substantiation, regrading and promotion exercises in accordance with established policies and procedures; assists the Council and the Administration in the formulation and review of terms of service, personnel policies and practices, staff grades and career structure; assists staff in appointment matters and implements/administers various kinds of staff benefits; maintains records of staff; provides staffing information for various purposes; and administers staff development programmes. a. Policy Review Section This Section provides support for policy review matters, such as review on staff grades and career structure, salary scales and allowances, staff benefit packages, terms of service and conditions of appointment, and the establishment of appropriate personnel policies and procedures. In the process of policy review, this Section also services the Staff Affairs Committee and the Personnel Committee of Council. It issues Personnel Office Circulars to Deans/Heads of Departments and Offices to promulgate additions and/or amendments to personnel policies and procedures, and publishes the Staff Handbook on an annual basis. Besides, the Section also maintains a central library on employment law and personnel practices for internal reference, a central subject filing system, and provides central administrative services for the entire Office. b. Senior Staff Appointments Section This Section provides administrative support to the various Faculties/Schools/Offices on the appointment/re-appointment of academic and equivalent administrative staff, professional trainee grades, and instructors, and their benefits administration and service termination arrangements. This Section also provides support for staff appointment matters of all staff grades in the School of Continuing Education, and coordinates and monitors the staff establishment and strength record. c. Support Staff Appointments Section This Section provides administrative support to the various Faculties/Schools/Offices on the appointment/re-appointment of support staff, (clerical, secretarial, technical staff, artisans and executive officers), ancillary staff (workmen, attendants, etc.) and research staff employed on the basis of research grants, and their benefits administration and service termination arrangements. Besides appointment matters, this Section also administers the end-of-probation review for all support staff. d. Staff Records and Review Section This Section keeps physical and computerized personal records of all staff members in the University. For security and confidentiality reasons, the physical personal files of staff are not intended to be borrowed and read outside of the Personnel Office. This Section conducts annual substantiation review and promotion exercises for all grades of staff across the University, orientation and induction programmes for different staff groups, and administers staff development programmes. It also issues the staff identity card and staff dependent cards, and where appropriate, certificates of employment for staff in their application for visa, bank account, government housing, etc. .