| Chapter 9 | Academic Advising and Support, and Learning Resources |
9.1 Academic Advisory System
Under the university-wide Academic Advisory System, Faculty Academic Advisors provide general academic guidance to students. Such guidance ranges from advice on adapting to university studies, study progress, study strategies, to study planning. Academic Advisors also provide a basic level of pastoral care to foster students’ personal growth. Main features of the System are as follows:
- Every Ug student is assigned to an Academic Advisor (Level I Advisor) by the Department hosting the student’s major programme;
- Students with academic problems (primarily those on academic probation or extended probation, or with GPA below a certain programme threshold (between 1.5 and 2.0) are assigned to designated Academic Advisors (Level II Advisor);
- Every Pg student is assigned to a Level I Advisor, usually the RPg student’s thesis supervisor, or the TPg student’s Programme Director; the Head of a Graduate Division may also appoint and assign Level II Advisors to students who need further support; and
- Each Faculty has a Faculty Committee on Academic Advising, chaired by an Associate/ Assistant Dean, to support the implementation of the System within the Faculty.
Appendix 9-1 shows the Handbook on the Implementation of the Academic Advisory System. It contains the terms of reference of the Faculty Committee on Academic Advising and the roles/ responsibilities of relevant parties.
Faculties conduct regular sharing sessions on the implementation of the Academic Advisory System; they have to complete a checklist (Appendix 9-2) for each session for monitoring purpose, as well as for sharing of good practices and difficulties encountered for further improvement.
9.2 Improving Postgraduate Learning Programme
The Improving Postgraduate Learning (IPL) Programme, offered by the Graduate School and administratively supported by the CLEAR, contains courses on generic research skills and teaching skills. All Pg students are welcome to attend. Details are described in Section 6.7 of the Code of Practice for Research Postgraduate Studies (Appendix 2-11). The IPL Programme Handbook can be accessed at Appendix 9-3.
9.3 Independent Learning Centre
The Independent Learning Centre (ILC) provides a wide range of resources and learning opportunities for students to improve their academic study, independent learning and language skills. The ILC also provides extensive training and practice opportunities for students to develop skills associated with career preparation throughout the year. It also provides various online independent learning materials to support students’ learning (Appendix 9-4).
9.4 The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Library (CUHK Library) (Appendix 9-5) provides collections, services and study spaces to support T&L.
The Library offers a nationally important research level, bilingual collection with millions of digital and print information resources. Core student learning materials including course packs are available online wherever possible and can be offered through reading list software integrated with the University’s Learning Management System (LMS). Access to the other academic libraries in Hong Kong is made available through Hong Kong Academic Library Link (HKALL) and the Joint University Librarians Advisory Committee (JULAC) card scheme.
The Library offers award-winning study spaces across seven libraries. 24/7 facilities, individual and group study areas as well as technology-rich spaces such as MakerSpace and the Digital Scholarship Lab support innovative pedagogy.
The Library also offers opportunities for students to develop the skills and habits to use data and information critically and effectively. Beginning with Library induction, workshops and training programmes are offered online and face to face throughout the academic year. Often arranged in partnership with faculty, the programmes range from subject specific information resources training to workshops on text mining and data management. In addition, a team of expert librarians offers enquiry services and consultations.
9.5 Student Information System and Learning Management System
CUSIS provides a host of functionalities for students, ranging from course enrolment to scholarship applications, from graduation requirements monitoring to official transcript requests (Appendix 9-6). Likewise, faculty members can view and manage student roster, enter course grades, and handle student requests such as credit transfer and programme change on this platform.
The LMS provides an integrated set of tools to support course delivery, learning communities, content management and assessment. It aims to make available a university-wide eLearning system and keep it up-to-date so as to encourage teachers to utilize technology to meet the University’s mission of excellence in teaching and to enhance students’ learning experiences (Appendix 9-7).
CUSIS and LMS are based on Oracle PeopleSoft campus solutions and Blackboard respectively, which are commercial packages rather than in-house bespoke systems.