Bulletin Spring 1990

The overall average living area per person is 7.9 square metres, which is slightly higher than that of the previous year (7.8 square metres). However, nearly 40 per cent of the students do not have a favourable study environment at home. This may explain why close to 74 per cent of the respondents have expressed a strong desire for campus accommodation. Choice of Programmes, Expectations, Extracurricular Activities As many as 97 per cent of the students surveyed have chosen their major programmes out of interest, and 80.4 per cent believe that their chosen major will lead to a promising career. Ex am i na t i on r esu l ts have played a part in the choice of majors for 58 per cent of the respondents, and 22.1 per cent of them have been influenced by family expectations. About 96 per cent of the respondents hope to study a subject of their own interest at university. Some 93 per cent expect to obtain specialized training in university, and 89.7 per cent expect a university education which can assist them in perfecting their characters. Some 79 per cent of the students put emphasis on acquiring an all-round education, and most of them express a keen interest in extracurricular activities. Nearly 90 per cent suggested that they would participate in academic activities outside the formal curriculum. Almost 78 per cent are interested in sports and games, 79.4 per cent in activities related to arts and crafts, and 39.8 per cent in student union activities. Employment Expectations As regards employment expectation 41.3 per cent of the freshmen have cited administrative/ management posts as their top preference, followed by teaching (34.4 per cent), research (30.4 per cent), computer/ data processing (16.8 per cent) and social services (15.3 percent). Freshmen in Part-time Degree Programmes Sex, Age and Marital Status Freshmen in the Part-time Degree Programmes are different f r om t he ir f u l l - t ime counterparts in many ways. They are older, with an age range between 21 and 53 ， and an average age of 29.3 years. Among the 235 new students, 59.6 per cent are male. Unlike their full-time counterparts, a large proportion of them are married (40.4 per cent). Of these, 63.2 per cent have one or more children. Educational Background About 42 per cent of the respondents have at one time or ano t he r a t t ended post- secondary institutions after secondary schooling, while 53.6 per cent are graduates from colleges of education. About 5.1 per cent have taken courses organized by various institutions, such as the extramural courses offered by the two universities. It is apparent that the 1989 entrants to the Part- time Degree Programmes are a g r oup of highly mo t i va t ed learners. Occupation The new part-time students come from diverse occupational sectors. Nearly 60 per cent of them come from the education sector, close to 23 per cen t from commerce and industry, 11.9 per cent from variousgovernment units, 2.6 per cent from public utilities and 0.9 per cent from social servicesorganizations.Most of these students have chosen to enrol in subjects that relate to their work. To illustrate, 71.6 per cent of those enrolled in the Chinese-English Programme, 84.3 per cen t of those in the Physical Education Programme, 94.7 per cent of those in the Music Programme and 97.5 per cent of those in the Primary Education Programme are from the teaching profession. In the Business Administrati Programme, 78.3 per cent of the entrants come from various occupations in commerce, industry and public utilities. Working Experience About 40 per cent of the students have working experience of less than six years, while 34.5 per cent have work d fo over ten years. About 9 per cent of the new stud nts hav monthly salaries below $6,00 0 while close to 50 per cent earn over $9,000 per month, the average being $10,262. As for the financing of university education, over 80 per cent of the respondents report that the major source is their own salary while 8.1 per cent have to rely on their personal savings. STUDENTS I 20