A tried and tested four-year formula

Published on

Friday, November 11, 2011

Written by

Luisa Tam [1]

Most of Hong Kong's universities have spent years restructuring their learning programmes under the new 3-3-4 education system. But not Hong Kong Shue Yan University (HKSYU), which has been offering four-year courses for more than 30 years.

All 12 of its full-time bachelor's degrees in arts, commerce and social sciences have been designed, validated, and offered as four-year programmes from their launch.

Established as Shue Yan College in 1971, the founders refused to compromise on their conviction to teach four-year study courses to students even though that meant forgoing government financial assistance for post-secondary colleges. Shue Yan was finally awarded university status in 2006.

To adjust to the new education system, Cheung Kwok-ping, associate administrative vice-president of HKSYU, says courses for Year 1 have be