Bulletin Vol. 7 No. 9 Jun–Jul 1971

Chairman: Mr. T.C. Lai Director Department of Extramural Studies Hong Kong and Singapore are closely connected in that they have identical problems, and the similar aspiration to achieve economic independence and prosperity. The exchange of experience is designed to promote mutual understanding and cooperation. The Forum generated enthusiastic support both from the academic circle and the public, and it is hoped that future forums of a similar nature will be held on a regular basis to maintain inter-flow of knowledge between the two places. Ma t r i cu l a t i on Results and Cen t ra l i za t i on of Admission Procedure Of the 6,519 candidates who sat for this year's Matriculation Examination, 2,127 passed, representing 32.63% of the total. This year the University is adopting the Centralized Admission Procedure for selection of suitable applicants for admission to the Colleges. The idea of centralized admission among Colleges was first adopted within the British Commonwealth by English universities to enable students to apply to a number of universities/colleges by filing only one single application with the Universities Central Council on Admissions (UCCA). In the case of this University, the procedure is much simpler as the general entrance requirements are the same for all three Colleges. All that is required of an applicant is to complete one standard form of application on which he is to indicate in order of preference the College he wishes to enter and the fields of study (also in order of preference) he wishes to take up, if admitted. He is also free to indicate only one College (or one field of study) i f he is not prepared to enter any other College. Application for admission is received after the Matriculation Examination results are published. This does not only greatly reduce the number of applications but also enable applicants to apply for a course of study to which they have better chance of being admitted. Applicants must indicate their examination result for each subject on the application form for easy reference by the staff responsible for making selection. Application forms will be sent out to successful candidates (through Heads of schools to school candidates) at the same time as the Statement of Results. These forms should be completed and returned (together with the Headmaster's assessment and recommendation in the case of school candidates) to the University Registrar. In view of the need to have essential data concerning the applicants in the shortest possible time, it is necessary to adopt machine processing of the applications. As soon as all the application forms are received, punching of the computer cards will begin and all information required for selection purposes will be fed into the machine. Outputs from the computer will be as follows:- a. List of applicants indicating Chung Chi as their first choice b. List of applicants indicating New Asia as their first choice c. List of applicants indicating United as their first choice Separate lists of applicants selecting different fields of studies as their first choice will be produced so that each Department Head will be able to have a complete list of all applicants who have selected his/her subject as their first choice. Application forms will be sorted out according to Colleges based on applicants' first choice, arranged in the same serial order as that produced by the machine and all information checked. Applicants for one College (their first choice) will be sorted out into two groups, viz. (A) those who opt for a College as their major preference, and (B) those who opt for a course of study. After being sorted out, the applications will be sent to Colleges together with the machine lists. The College Registrars will then conduct a preliminary screening. When all the application forms are returned to the Central Office, the University Registrar will then invite a representative from each College and a representative from the Board of Studies concerned to form a working group for each field of study to examine the applications and to make recommendation for admission. Sequence of selection procedure has been formulated in detail but is subject to review in the light of the experience to be gained in 1971. Ob i tuary Dr. the Hon. P.Y. Tang, Chairman of the Board of Governors of New Asia College and member of the University Council, passed away on 17th June, aged 72. Dr. Tang had served as a member of the University Council since the inauguration of the University and was a member of the Advisory Board to the Lingnan Institute of Business Administration. Closely associated with the University, Dr. Tang rendered tremendous assistance and support in its development, including a donation of three million Hong Kong dollars to meet the construction costs of the University Library, now near completion. - 4 -