Bulletin Spring 1988

have been introduced with the support from the grants of the Old Dominion Foundation. Each colleg e develops an average of twelve seminars a year in the college for course credits. There are nearly 100 courses offered ， all of them went through a careful selection and approval process tha t involves a College Committee, under the direction of the Master and consisting of both the Fellows and students, many other committees, and finally the Yal e College Faculty. The seminars are conducted by people from a wide spectrum of background, and have attracted many scholars in the Yale community , academic teachers from other institutions as well as people outside the academic life such as artists, writers, civil servants, newspaper and television personalities, etc. A new programme, Science in a Residential College, which was presumably introduced in 1986, is to offer special educational experience to a selected and limited group of freshmen who intended to major in any one of the natural sciences. In addition to participation in the course, once fortnightly the students also meet and have lunch with Fellows of the college and other guests to discuss various aspects of science, ranging from current research interest to career structure. UCSC is the only universities we visited that put general education well on the map. In addition to various requirements from the university, each student must meet the general education requirement , the major part of which should be completed within the first two years. Although all courses are optional, each student is required to take two courses from each of the three disciplines — humanities and arts, social sciences, and natural sciences respectively; three courses from topical courses which are of interdisciplinary nature; one of each from the following courses: a quantitative course involving advanced algebra, statistics, or calculus; a writing-intensive course; a composition course; an arts course; and a third-world course that involves the ethnic minorities in USA or a non-Western society. All colleges in UCSC only conduct a core course for freshmen, and all of them are only for one quarter with the exception of the Stevenson College which runs a ‘Self and Society' that lasts for three quarters. There are three quarters in each academic year. The second role of a college should be to provide, for the students and teachers, a smaller but more informal setting fo r their study. As a smaller unit, the college offers opportunities for a more informal and relaxed contact. The college premises, her library, cultural activities, and dinners, help to reduce the all-too-common feelings of ‘a small fish in a large pond', and to build up identity, friendship, unity and confidence. I s it not the success of any alumni built on the basis of such strong sense of belonging? Even when the alumni meet, we were told in Yale that they are not only proud of their own club membership, but their own colleges and university as well. The third role of a college should be to look after her students, scholars, and staff in a warm and meaningful way. The college should see that her junior and senior members are well looked after. This could be accomplished by providing counselling for students with personal problems or requiring career advices; and financial assistance t o those in real hardship. All the colleges have exchange programmes for their scholars and students, and our colleges here are unique in providing funds for teachers to attend conferences overseas. The colleges within a collegiate university thus assume the educational, social and welfare roles, all of which are carried out with one major objective in mind, that is, to assist the university in achieving the best quality of university education. Acknowledgment We are grateful to Professor Ma Lin whose inspiration and assistance have helped in making such a trip possible, to Drs. John Starr and Mark Sheldon and their staff at the Yale-China Association for their hospitality and assistance, and to all those scholars and students who shared their experiences with us. CNC wishes to thank the Robinson College for a Bye-Fellowship. We were travelling on a special grant from the Shaw College. References: Cambridge Tutorial Representatives and Contributors, Cambridge Admissions Prospectus 1988-1989 (1987). Carroll, R.C. (Ed.) The Residential Colleges at Yale University. Office of the Secretary, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. (1977). Yale University, Yale College Programs of Study 1986-1987. Bulletin of Yale University, p. 9, Series 82, No. 8 ， August 1986. University of California, Santa Cruz, General Catalogue 1987- 88 （1987). University of Durham, University of Durham (1984). University of Durham, General Prospectus October 1988 Entry. Old Shire Hall, Durham (1987). 12