Professor Richard Ho, Dean of Undergraduate Education, outlined the University’s proposed curriculum structure for the four-year normative degree at the University Development Forum on 1 March, setting off a campus-wide consultation process.
At the forum, Professor Ho invited feedback from CityU staff and appealed to the campus community to take this opportunity to nurture better students. An on-line survey will be conducted after the forum.
Professor David Tong, Deputy President, said at the start of the forum that after almost 100 years, tertiary education in Hong Kong was undergoing a major transformation with the change from a three- to a four-year degree structure.
“We should strive to provide our students with the best four-year education, one that prepares them for the world of work,” Professor Tong told some 200 members of staff in the Wei Hing Theatre. “We should also provide our students with the necessary foundations for life-long learning.”
Professor Ho opened the forum with an analysis of the many challenges facing education in the 21st century. With its rapid technological advances, rising interconnectivity, and increasing cultural diversity, the new century presents an unprecedented demand on students, according to Professor Ho. They will need broader knowledge in the arts and humanities, law, social sciences, and science and technology, all of which will have a significant impact on socio-cultural and economic development.
“Our future generations will need to be equipped with knowledge, new skills and, most importantly, a new mindset to handle these new challenges,” Professor Ho said.
According to the University Grants Committee (UGC), the four-year curriculum should be integrated and broad, one that enhances students’ learning and meets the needs of students and society in 10 to 15 years’ time. In meeting this goal and producing CityU’s ideal graduates, Professor Ho pointed out that we should be aware of Hong Kong’s strategic position: we are tied, as if by an umbilical cord, to the Chinese mainland, and socio-culturally tied to the west.
CityU’s ideal graduates, according to Professor Ho, should combine rich professional knowledge with the broader skills and self-confidence required for career success and leadership in the community. To nurture such graduates, the proposed new curriculum structure has included a requirement regarding General Education (GE) courses. Of the minimum graduation requirement of 120 credit units, students must fulfil at least 30 units of GE, with the balance to be made up by taking major, minor and free electives. “The General Education courses will broaden students’ horizons and complement their major field of studies, which is necessary in an increasingly global and interconnected world,” Professor Ho said.
Apart from continuing to encourage students to participate in overseas exchanges and internships, the University will also encourage students to enrol in a double major, or take a minor or double minor outside their major discipline. The graduation requirement will range from 120 to 144 credit units, subject to the requirements of faculties and schools.
“A broad knowledge base will equip students with the skills and tools necessary to handle the world’s ever-increasing changes,” Professor Ho said.
The presentation was followed by a Q&A in which representatives from the Action Team of the Four-year Undergraduate Degree Structure, including Professor Johnny Chan, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering; Dr Alice Chong, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences; Professor K K Lai, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Business; Mr Tony Upham, Associate Professor in the School of Law; and the Team’s convener, Professor Ho, answered questions from the floor.
Some staff members were concerned whether the new four-year curriculum would turn into a 3+1 structure. In reply, Professor Chan emphasized that the additional year would be integrated into the curriculum as a whole, in compliance with UGC requirements. To achieve this, the suggested GE credit units would help broaden students’ education, he said.
The audience also raised concerns about how the introduction of the double major degree would impact upon students’ exposure to GE. The Action Team responded by pointing out that a double major degree and broad-based education were not mutually exclusive, adding that students could broaden their perspectives because the proportion of GE in the new curriculum would be higher than before.
In response to a comment on relations between the University and the public, the Action Team said it had considered how the University could make use of this opportunity to project a clearer image to the community. Professor Ho emphasised that CityU’s role was to provide professional and application-oriented education, and Professor Tong added that CityU was dedicated to training students to understand and serve the real world.
Professor Ho agreed with the audience that early preparations were necessary, even though the new curriculum would not be implemented until 2012. To ensure a smooth transition, the University is encouraging departments to offer more minor courses and joint degree programmes and to allow new GE courses to co-exist with the current out-of-discipline courses. Issues such as the influence of the new curriculum on professional accreditation, semester length and tuition fees were also mentioned in the Q&A, and would be brought to the consultation table, the Action Team said.
A forum for students on the same subject will be held on 9 March. Students are encouraged to join and express their opinions.
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