-a few facts & a few questions j chan

PolyU admitted non-local students to the 3 year undergrad programmes for more than 10 years, growing from the small group of 20+ students to the current cohort of 200+ Foundation Year Students were first admitted in 2005 to a 4 year (1+3) undergrad programme To enable students to have more opportunities for interaction with the Hong Kong as well as PolyU community At the same time the HKSAR government relaxed its policy in 2008 allowing greater flexibility for these non- local graduates to stay and work in HK

The early foundation year students did experience a crisis of Identity as they formed a sub-group having little formal interaction with their Faculty members. The FYS was introduced to help foundation students to cultivate a sense of belonging to their parent departments Thru 14 hours of formal class contact each semester plus a reflective essay, students are encouraged to build up their own identity within the Faculty / School / Dept This is in addition to the 15 credits of general /discipline specific subjects

Orientation of (Non-locals) students to University has many aspects, ranging from helping the individual to move thru the different learning stages, say from the unconsciously incompetent stage to the consciously competent stage and the unconsciously competent stage at the time of graduation On the other hand, university education hopes to inculcate values, esp those which are eclipsed, citing Harry Lewis Preserving the past (vs. creating the future) Cooperation (vs. competition) Transmitting moral values (vs. knowledge) Developing character (vs. intellect) Wisdom (vs. smartness) Humility (vs. pursuit of excellence) Even if we are clear of the WHAT to do,, there is, of course the questions of the HOW, the WHO & the WHEN in the process of delivery.

THE CURRENT SCOPE OF FYS (A) Brief history of PolyU and the Faculty (B) University study and how it is different from studying in secondary school (C) Student-centred learning. Problem-based learning. Active learning. Some examples and sample exercises could be very useful, illustrating what are expected of students in those modes of teaching and learning (D) What constitute a good professional in a discipline (engineering, healthcare, business, etc...)? (E) Well-rounded education and how to achieve that in PolyU (F) How to improve one's language and communication skills in PolyU. Visit to the self- learning resources at the language centres (G) General education at PolyU - expanding one's intellectual capacity beyond competence in a professional area (H) Main areas of studies in the Faculty - each department would take a few weeks to introduce their disciplines via seminars and lab/field visits (I) Meeting with the seniors and establishing one's network of academic support (J) Planning one's study at PolyU

The current foundation year will fade out when HK moves into the 334 era, with non-locals merging with local students in a cohort that is 10x the current size By then we will have about 4 cohorts of 4 year undergrad students graduating. How would their experience help contribute to the future first year curriculum ? Would it not be a good idea to include these consumers in the planning process? Furthermore, we should also engage them in the delivery of the foundation programmes in future.