The Review 2006

The Review 2006 The Review 2006 G ROWING WITH the T IMES Important progress was made towards extending the Main Campus and recruiting new staff as we prepared for the 2012 introduction of a four-year undergraduate curriculum. We also continued to reform our organisation to make it more efficient, and appointed our first Archivist. The University is approaching two significant milestones, our centenary in 2011 and the adoption of a four-year undergraduate curriculum in 2012. While these represent superb opportunities to celebrate our achievements and enhance students’ learning experiences, they also require enormous levels of support. Efforts are gathering pace to meet this demand and the ambitious deadlines we face. Our most urgent task is to ensure we have the necessary facilities and staff available for an additional cohort of undergraduate students. In 2006 we put forth proposals on campus expansion to key stakeholders in the University and Hong Kong. We also continued with efforts to enhance efficiency and accountability under reforms that began in 2004. Our commitment to openness will ensure that the changes we are now undergoing are conducted in a transparent manner, with input from the whole community. Centennial Campus and Recruitment The Government’s decision to increase the normative length of undergraduate education in all Hong Kong tertiary institutions to four years means our student population will rise by at least one-third from September 2012. This is both an opportunity and a challenge for the University. We welcome the many possibilities this opens up for the curriculum, as outlined in the Preparing for Change chapter. However, we already experience space constraints with the existing student population. We now need to press ahead urgently with plans for an expanded campus. A westward expansion has been earmarked that would increase space in the main Pokfulam estate by 50 per cent. Our vision is that this new campus be sustainable, promote both formal and informal learning and