A New Era Begins 1975-78

Terms of Reference The terms of reference for the Working Party, briefly stated, were to consider and to make recommendations on the following: (1) “ A l l such basic policy matters relating to the educational policy of the University wi th particular reference to the undergraduate programme"; (2) "The structure of the University including that of the constituent Colleges, w i th particular reference to the academic organization, administrative machinery, and the various governing bodies"; (3) " Any other basic matters that the Working Party feels are relevant to the future development of the University". The Working Party began its deliberations on 27th February, 1974 ， and over a period of about 16 months it held 60 full committee meetings and a number of sub-committee meetings. Serious effort was made to obtain and consider the views of all members of the academic community, and in response, the Working Party received 63 submissions from various groups and individuals. Early in 1975 the Working Party published a Preliminary Report (in Chinese on 27th February and in English on 21st March). A questionnaire on the Report was then sent to all members o f the academic and administrative staffs, and after consideration of the generally favourable response, the Working Party issued its Final Report on 12th July, 1975, to which was attached as Appendices a series o f statements from College Boards o f Governors/Trustees and from other groups and individuals. Major Recommendations The major recommendations of the Working Party were stated as “basic premises" in its Preliminary Report, as follows: (1) The University should maintain a federal system, but in order to vitalise its constituent parts certain substantial changes should be made in its present structure. (2) Departments belonging to the same discipline but at present assigned to different Colleges should be integrated i n to a single department for re-assignment to a College/School according to several possible patterns, namely the Area-based System. (3) " Fu ll participation in University government by teachers" should be adopted as a basic principle, that is, teachers should play an important role in the decision-making process o f the University at all levels. Two Phases of Change Regrettably it is not possible to review here the many institutional issues judiciously discussed in this comprehensive Report. Our discussion must focus chiefly on its two major recommendations, namely, full academic participation in University governance, and the integration o f departments, together w i th the problem of their re-assignment to the Colleges. These two issues constitute the most important link between the internal self-study conducted by the Working Party and the external 18