Bulletin Vol. 3 No. 12 Sep 1967

ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE VICE-CHANCELLOR T o facilitate personal contact w i t h i n d i v i d u al staff members of the Un i v e r s i t y, the Vice-Chancellor has set aside every Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p . m. and 2 to 4 p.m., to receive at his office any staff memb er w i t h o ut previous a p p o i n t me n t. T h e announcement was made at the mo n t h ly University luncheon in September. T h e subsequent F r i d ay quite a n umb er of staff members took advantage of the arrangement and visited the Vice-Chancellor. ORIENTATION PROGRAMME FOR SCHOLARS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Eleven Ame r i c an fellows and students f r om the University of California arrived in H o n g K o n g on Au g u st 4 to j o i n this Un i v e r s i ty under an exchange agreement between the t wo Universities. T h e Orientation Programme for these scholars began on Au g u st 8 in a get-together at the Un i v e r s i t y 's Conference Room. Also present were Professor Ma r i on Wenger, Professor of Psychology f r om the same Un i v e r s i t y, who arrive d on Au g u st 6 to take u p the Directorshi p of the University of California H o n g K o n g Study Centre at T h e Chinese Un i v e r s i t y. T h e group was welcomed by M r . T . C . Cheng, the Pro-Vice-Chancellor. M r . H . T . W u , the Un i v e r s i ty Registrar, spoke on the recent developments of the Un i v e r s i t y. L i v e ly discussions and exchanges of opinions occurred d u r i ng coffee break. T h e students called at the Ame r i c an Consulate General that afternoon, where a talk was given by M r . A l an Wh i t i n g, the De p u ty Consul, to familiarize the guests w i t h the local situation. T h e Chinese Language Course for the California group began on Au g u st 19 at the N ew Asia Ya l e - i n- China Chinese Language Centre i n N ew Asia College. On Au g u st 12 ， the Go v e r nme nt I n f o r ma t i on Services gave the students a b r i e f i ng on a question-and-answer basis and showed some films. T h e Orientation P r o g r amme also included visits to the C h u ng C h i and U n i t ed campuses. CONFERENCE ON THE EXAMINAT ION SYSTEMS OF CUHK A three-day Conference on the examination systems of T h e Chinese Un i v e r s i ty was held at N e w Asia College starting f r om July 26. T h e Conference, sponsored by the N ew Asia Student U n i o n and chaired by the U n i o n President, was attended by representatives of various departments in the College, as we ll as observers f r om C h u ng C h i and Un i t e d. T h e purpose of the Conference was to review the existing examination systems of the Un i v e r s i ty and to make suggestions for f u r t h er i mp r o v eme n t. M r . H . T , W u , t h e Registrar of the Un i v e r s i t y, was invited to deliver the opening address. T h e f o l l ow i ng are extracts of M r . Wu ' s speech at the Conference: T h e Un i v e r s i ty Intermediate Examination, as originally conceived, carries various objectives: a) I t is to take the place of some f o r m of Intermediate Examinations given in the Colleges for many years ； b) I t is meant to encourage the reduction of the n umb er of course examinations in the Colleges provided other forms of w r i t t en wo rk are re- quired of the students; c) I t is intended to test the students' general competence in grasping the basic tools or materials in their major fields; d) I t is an i mp o r t a nt device to ascertain whether a particular student may not be well advised to change his major field of study. I n view of such aims, the Un i v e r s i ty does not expect to grade the candidates according to their knowledge of mere facts, i n f o rma t i o n, or in a wo r d, any particular course content. Instead, they are expected to be graded according to the degree of their general competence. T h e system of deciding on passes is not rigid, b u t is flexible and reasonable. F u r t h e r mo re the Intermediate Ex am i n a t i on as a system w i l l be under continuous review. We expect it to be constantly i mp r o v ed as the Un i v e r s i ty gains experience. T h i s practice of continuous review is applied to other Examinations of the Un i v e r s i ty too. T h e Un i v e r s i ty authorities are receptive to suggestions f r om the academic and administrative staff. Suggestions f r om t h em are considered by such bodies as the Senate, the Undergraduate Examinations Board, the Boards of Studies and the Ma t r i c u l a t i on Board. Since some members of the N ew Asi a College Student U n i o n are w i l l i ng to spend a few days i n discussing the examinations system, their reasonable suggestions, as conveyed by the College authorities, w i l l be noted w i t h mu c h interest by those colleagues concerned w i t h Un i v e r s i ty examinations. T h e f o l l ow i ng suggestions are offered for your reference t h r o u g h o ut the Conference: a) Ow i ng to the present situation in H o n g K o n g, statements made by student organizations may have an effect not only on themselves b ut on the c ommu n i ty as a whole. Therefore, all participants of the Conference should have a sense of responsibility in ma k i ng their statements. 2