| Chapter 1 | The Institution |
1.1 History
The Chinese University of Hong Kong is a self-governing institution founded in 1963 through incorporating, by Ordinance, three existing Colleges: New Asia, Chung Chi, and United (founded in 1949, 1951, and 1956 respectively). The introduction of the CUHK Ordinance in 1976 led to further streamlining of the University’s operating structure. A fourth constituent College, Shaw College, was founded in 1986. To cater for the new four-year Ug curriculum introduced in 2012, five more Colleges were established: Morningside, S.H. Ho (both in 2006), C.W. Chu, Wu Yee Sun, and Lee Woo Sing (all in 2007), adding to a total of nine constituent Colleges in the University.
1.2 Mission, Vision and Strategic Planning
The University’s mission is to assist in the preservation, creation, application and dissemination of knowledge by teaching, research and public service in a comprehensive range of disciplines, thereby serving the needs, and enhancing the well-being, of the citizens of Hong Kong, China as a whole, and the wider world community.
The University’s vision is to be acknowledged locally, nationally, and internationally as a first- class comprehensive research university, whose bilingual and multicultural dimensions of student education, scholarly output and contribution to the community consistently meet standards of excellence.
The University’s Strategic Plan (Appendix 1-1) spells out its long-term goals and strategies.
1.3 Organizational Structure
The University is governed by the Council; its chief academic and administrative officer is the Vice-Chancellor and President, who is responsible to the Council for the overall quality and academic standards of the University’s provision. Appendix 1-2 shows the University’s management structure and the well-defined reporting chain.
The Senate is the body that oversees education and research. It is served by several bodies: the Senate Academic Planning Committee (SAPC) (in effect the Senate’s executive committee), the SCTL, the Undergraduate Examinations Board (UEB), and the Graduate Council (GC). Appendix 1-3 shows the composition and terms of reference for these bodies, other Senate Committees and the Executive Committee of the GC (GCExCo).
The University comprises eight Faculties (Arts, Business Administration, Education, Engineering, Law, Medicine, Science, and Social Science) and nine Colleges (see Section 1.1 above). Every Ug student and every teacher is affiliated with a Faculty and a College, with the exception of students in interfaculty programmes, and some teaching staff in Research Institutes or Centres. Pg students in general are not affiliated with any College.
Academic Departments/ Schools (henceforth, “Department”) under the eight Faculties (see Appendix 1-4 for full list) offer disciplinary Ug studies. They also offer research postgraduate (RPg) programmes at doctoral and master’s levels, as well as taught postgraduate (TPg) programmes (including those at diploma level). The Colleges provide College General Education (CGE) courses, informal education, pastoral care, and residential accommodation to Ug students.