Learning Support

With a view to offering students a rewarding learning experience that equips them with the necessary knowledge, skills and attributes to progress in their career and make positive contributions to the community, the Faculties/Schools/Academy and a number of support units have been working in collaboration to strengthen the hardware infrastructure and software resources of the University. Apart from these facilities and resources, the University seeks to reinforce its Whole Person Education ethos by providing students with appropriate academic advising, pastoral care and counselling services as well as scholarships and financial aids.

Infrastructure

The University has maintained a Campus Expansion Plan (CEP) since 2007 to improve the physical learning environment for students. Student amenities such as Learning Commons have been set up on various campus sites to provide students with an open, relaxing and conducive environment for self-study, group discussion or interactive learning. To further support Teaching & Learning (T&L), the Office of Information Technology (ITO), the Library and the Centre for Holistic Teaching and Learning (CHTL) together provide end-users with the stable hardware infrastructure, appropriate software resources, and sound pedagogical advice for e-Learning deployment.

e-Learning

HKBU believes that the development and continued implementation of e-Learning is of paramount importance – not only in facilitating teaching but also when seeking to add value to students’ learning and whole person development. The e-Learning Strategy formalised in 2010 provides the following overarching principles:

  • to enhance the diversity and quality of the student learning experience;
  • to encourage, facilitate and support the use of innovative technology for teaching, learning and research; and
  • to guide and inform investment and the deployment of resources and infrastructure for e-Learning.

A one-stop online help guide is available at http://chtl.hkbu.edu.hk/elearning/index.html.

Library resources

HKBU offers students a wide range of teaching and learning resources and facilities, as well as student support services. The Library, for example, plays a vital role in providing staff and students with resources and services for effective teaching, research and learning. Students and teachers, including researchers from outside the University, benefit from the Library’s enhanced services and special learning support.

The teaching and learning support provided by the Library includes the following:

  • Workshops on Teaching and Learning at HKBU;
  • Special collections (e.g.,History of Christianity in China);
  • The Information Literacy Initiative;
  • HKBU Library Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Research; and
  • Digital scholarship and management initiatives (e.g., History in Data and Chinese Medicine Digital Project).

Databases recently developed by the School of Chinese Medicine (SCM), in collaboration with the Library, have greatly enhanced overall teaching and learning effectiveness globally and locally.

SCM Databases (via Library):

Learning Commons

New student orientation/support

Undergraduate Students

New Student Orientation, the first event to greet and welcome freshmen, is held every summer to welcome freshmen. To facilitate freshmen’s transition to the university, peer mentors, who are seniors from different faculties and schools, will be assigned to freshmen of the same course of study. With the support and guidance from peer mentors, freshmen will be able to expand their social network in the university and experience a delightful campus life.

Postgraduate Students

Starting from the Academic Year 2014-15, research postgraduate students are required to complete a Mandatory Common Core Programme (MCCP) within their first year of study.

Postgraduate students who are pursuing a full-time or part-time research degrees, or registered in taught postgraduate programmes can also join the Hong Kong Baptist University Postgraduate Association (HKBUPA), which aims to facilitate intellectual and social communication among the postgraduate students of the University and to establish academic, intellectual and social links between the postgraduate students of the University and other tertiary institutions.

Academic advising/Mentoring

HKBU was commended during the last UGC-QAC Audit for its mentoring and pastoral care for students. Since students of the 4-year cohort admitted to the University are one year younger than the 3-year cohort, the University has strengthened the advising/mentoring system by providing all undergraduate students with a range of Academic Advising/Mentoring services. In addition to the university-wide orientation for freshmen, the University has also implemented (since AY2013-14) Faculty/School/AVA-based orientations for new students before the start of the academic year. Students are supported by faculty members who assume various advising or mentoring roles.

Academic Advising/Mentoring services:

  • Faculty Advising Coordinators assume overall responsibility for coordinating academic advising and mentoring activities in each Faculty;
  • Faculty Advisors/Mentors act as broad-based programme academic advisors at the Faculty level assisting Year 1 students during their transition to university life and in their selection of Majors;
  • Programme/Department Mentors render academic advice to second and later years students in each academic programme/department; and
  • The GE Office staff are assigned to each Faculty/ School/AVA to provide advice to students on GE matters.

Academic advising/mentoring is provided to undergraduate students by all Faculties, Schools and the Academy of Visual Arts (AVA). Details on the Academic Advising/Mentoring Programme under each Faculty/School, AVA can be found at:

Self-development

Arts & Cultural Education Programme

Pastoral care

Each year the Chaplain’s Office organises a series of training seminar/workshop or co-organises with the Department of Religion and Philosophy for students to enhance their self-understanding and to strengthen their critical and multi-perspective thinking skills. Last year, a series of seminar on the identity of citizenship was held to inspire students to look at different issues from universal and Christian perspectives. Such training is important to equip students with better knowledge and up-to-date reflection on current social issues and broaden their mind set on multi-perspective thinking.

The Chaplain’s Office provides counselling services including personal counselling, counselling workshop and personality test. All these services contribute to the Whole Person Development. Students are empowered with better self-image, self-acceptance and self-value. In addition, family relationship is also improved.

Other than counselling services, the Chaplain’s Office also launched the Spiritual Direction Programme which is on a one-to-one basis. Students are invited to meet Spiritual Directors regularly to review especially the mental and spiritual dimension of his or her personal life.

Baccalaureate Service helps to nurture students’ sense of gratitude to the University at large as well as to our Holy God. It also helps students to put their thankfulness into practice and to strengthen their sense of belonging to the University.

Students build up their leadership skills by participating in the Christian student organisations and by serving in the cell groups. Through performance in different contexts (e.g. leading different meetings and preparing various events), students are able to enhance their organising and leadership skills.

Chaplain’s Office also organises different leadership training camps and workshops to ensure that students are well equipped to provide excellent services.

Each year, many overseas trips (e.g. Taiwan, Laos and Cambodia) are organised by the Chaplain’s Office/Christian Choir so as to broaden students’ serving horizon and to enhance their sense of globalisation.
http://www.chap.hkbu.edu.hk/eng/index.php

Personal growth

Counselling and Development Centre of the Office of Student Affairs provides assistance to students in defining and accomplishing their personal and academic goals, fully actualizing their potential in social, psychological, intellectual and professional development:

Leadership development

Leadership Qualities Centre of the Office of Student Affairs provides quality leadership training programmes and ample community service-learning opportunities for the student body:

Career guidance

Business Entrepreneurship Support & Training (BEST) programme

The BEST programme at HKBU has completed the second year of its three years’ Strategic Development Fund (SDF) funded period and the Knowledge of Transfer Office (KTO) has submitted its mid-term report, which was well received. The Entrepreneurship Seminar Series on 22 October – 6 November 2013 was attended by 455 students, an increase of 228% over last reporting period’s attendance for the same activity; the Entrepreneurship Innovation Lab from 23 January – 13 March 2014 was attended by 123 students, an increase of 308% over last reporting period’s attendance for the same activity; and the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp on 15 March 2014 was attended by 24 invited students. In this reporting year’s E-Challenge competitions, an increase of submissions from the students have been received: 103 submissions (compared to 95 submissions in the last reporting year) have been received to the $500 for 1-Page Business Idea Competition; 95 submissions (compared to 59 submissions in the last reporting year) to the $5,000 for 3-Pages Business Proposal Competition; and 24 submissions (compared to 10 submissions in the last reporting year) to the $300,000 for New Venture Business Plan Competition. Together with the Business Venture incubatee from last year – the Funcon Limited (also known as “Local Ginger”), in this reporting year the KTO E-Space will also incubate two more students start-ups at HKBU, namely the “Shouting Box” and the “Barrier-free School”.

Career Counselling

Career Centre of the Office of Student Affairs offers a wide range of services and programmes, including career advising and counselling to help students plan for their career as well as their job search.

Scholarships and financial support

Financial support in the form of scholarships, grants, and loans are available to both undergraduate and postgraduate students at all Faculties, Schools and the Academy of Visual Arts (AVA). Research postgraduate students are also provided with grants/allowance/loans to support their study in some departments.  Most updated information on scholarships and financial support can be found at the related web page of the Office of Student Affairs as well as the following web links:

For Undergraduate Students

For Postgraduate Students

Sharing of scholarship recipients

 

 

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