HKUST 2008-2009 Annual Report
13
教與
Teaching and Learning
Undergraduate Education
P
roviding top quality undergraduate education for our
6,000 undergraduates is our core mission. To deliver
this, the University has built up a portfolio of 40 well
designed programs of undergraduate study and is also
offering a multi-cultural campus experience to students to
complement their academic studies.
HKUST attracts some of the best students in Hong Kong,
as well as top academic achievers from the Mainland
and overseas. Locally, HKUST is one of the top choices
for secondary school leavers. Most of our new intakes
are recruited based on the results of their Hong Kong
A-level examinations, while 20% of our intake have
other qualifications and about 10% are from outside of
Hong Kong.
One of the main reasons HKUST is able to attract top
students is the high quality of our academic programs and
faculty members. On the whole class size has remained
small, with an average class of 40 students. HKUST is fully
committed to developing students’ full range of skills and
personal attributes. The hours spent in small-class tutorials
for English and Chinese languages have an important
pay-off, with HKUST students’ average scores in the
International English Language Testing System showing a
steady increase over the last five years from 6.44 to a very
creditable 6.72. The continuing improvement is also due
in part to the internationalization of campus life.
Dean of Undergraduate Education
The Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Education was
established in 2008 to lead and coordinate University-
wide undergraduate programs and initiatives that span
the entire student lifecycle. The Office works closely with
academic units, faculty and students to create a vibrant
and stimulating learning environment. Core functions of
the Office include:
•
Recruitment and admission
•
University Common Core and General Education
•
Credit-bearing co-curriculum activities
•
Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
•
Scholarship and award
•
Internationalization of the student body
•
Undergraduate curriculum development
•
Career development
New Undergraduate Programs
Maintaining the quality and momentum of the three-
year undergraduate programs during the lead-up to
the four-year degree is an important challenge for the
University. A new inter-disciplinary program — the BSc
in Risk Management and Business Intelligence — was
offered starting in September 2009, and a BSc program in
environmental management is planned for 2010. The
hallmark of these programs is their interdisciplinary quality
and the effort to mobilize and integrate the strengths of
all the Schools to provide a holistic education.
Internationalization
Internationalization has been a major initiative of the
University and is a core component of our strategic plan.
It comprises a wide spectrum of activities to prepare
our students to live and contribute to an increasingly
global society.
