Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2005

s t u d e n t s are a l l o w e d to i n t e r a ct a n d communicate i n an i n t i ma te e n v i r o nme n t. Each constituent college of The Chinese Un i v e r s i ty has its o w n b o a rd o f trustees, w h i c h is ma i n ly concerned w i t h the ma n a g eme n t of mo v a b le p r o p e r ty a nd college b u i l d i n gs entrusted to it, as w e l l as the p r o m o t i on of scholastic a n d c u l t u r al activities o f the college. Ch a i r ed b y the college head, the assembly of f e l l o w s of a c o l l e ge is r e s p o n s i b l e f o r m a k i n g a n d i mp l eme n t i ng decisions on all college matters f r o m academic a n d c u l t u r al p r o g r amme s to a dm i n i s t r a t i o n a n d s t u d e nt affairs. F a c u l ty members an d full-time undergraduate students can a p p ly for affiliation w i t h different colleges . The students i d e n t i fy themselves w i t h their colleges on c amp us a n d fee l p r o u d of b e i ng C h i n e se U n i v e r s i ty m e m b e rs o u t s i de t he c amp u s gates. T he f o u r colleges each h a ve t h e ir o w n character. N e w A s ia has a s t r o n g Chinese c u l t u r al b a c k g r o u n d, w h i l e C h u n g Chi is rich i n its religious environment; Un i t e d is pragmatic a nd Shaw liberal. Students of the f o u r colleges compete w i t h yet c omp l eme nt each other, d emo n s t r a t i ng u n i ty on a campus o f i mme n se diversity, w h i c h has c o n t r i b u t ed to the f o r ma t i on o f the u n i q u e character a nd spirit of The Chinese University. I n this feature, w e i n t e r v i ewed the heads o f t he f o u r colleges. T h e y e x p r e s s e d t h e ir v i e w s of the college s y s t em of T he Chinese University. Wh i l e w e we re p r e p a r i ng for the feature, the Un i v e r s i t y set u p a Task Force on N e w Colleges. He a d ed b y Prof. P.W. L i u, pro- vice-chancellor, the memb e r s h ip of the t e am i n c l u d e d a college head (Prof. P.C. C h i n g of Sh aw College), a teacher (Prof. Jenny So), an a l u m n a ( Ms. Y an H a u - y e e, L i n a ), a n d a s t u d e n t ( M i s s C h a n S z e - w a h, C a r o l ). I n January, the Task Force v i s i t ed six overseas universities w i t h a successful collegiate system a n d met w i t h t h e ir staff a n d students. T h ey were: C l a r emo n t M c K e n na College, H a r v ey M u d d College, Princeton Un i v e r s i ty a nd Yal e U n i v e r s i ty i n the US, a n d the U n i v e r s i ty of C amb r i d ge a n d th e U n i v e r s i ty of O x f o r d i n the U K . The six institutes represented three different models of college education, b ut they h a d three t h i n gs i n c ommo n: t h ey ar e sma l l w i t h most h a v i ng a student p o p u l a t i on of 300 to 600, a l mo s t all of w h o m l i ve o n c amp u s, a n d d i ne t o g e t h er i n d i n i n g halls. The Task Force has c o m p i l ed a r e v i ew r e p o rt of their f i n d i n gs a nd observations, a n d released it to members of the University t o solicit their views. The p l a n n i n g for n ew college(s) is one of the major features of the University's Strategic Plan. The Un i v e r s i ty has stated explicitly that ' T h e p r o p o s ed e s t a b l i s hme nt o f a n y n e w college must therefore start w i t h the educational m i s s i on t h a t the college espouses.’ A n d the mission shall contribute 'to the education a nd we l f a r e o f the students of the college a nd is c o n s i s t e nt w i t h t he o v e r a l l e d u c a t i o n al objectives of C U H K . ’ W i t h the a d d i t i on of n e w c o l l e g e s, t he c o l l e g e s y s t em o f T h e Chinese Un i v e r s i ty w i l l u n f o ld another era of d e v e l o pme n t . The origin of ancient Chinese colleges can be traced to the royal service that was responsible for the editing and publishing of books, and providing tuition to the emperors and princes in the Tang dynasty (7th to 10th century). Colleges became a place for studies and lectures in the Song dynasty (10th to 13th century), either privately run or set up by the government. Located mostly at sites of beautiful scenery, the Song colleges were managed by professionals many o f wh om were famous scholars of the time. The Qing dynasty saw the ‘corruption' of college s as the once glamorous institution became centres to train students for the civil examinations . In the West, collegium mean t an endowed residence hall for students in most universitie s in the later Middles Ages. The colleges grew strongest at the University of Paris and at Oxford and Cambridge in the 13th century. Few students lived outside colleges, which had their own libraries and scientific instruments and offered salaries to scholars and tutors wh o provided guidance to students. Colleges declined in continental Europe during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic periods. Those at Oxford and Cambridge continue d to function and evolved to become a unique higher-education model. The College System of The Chinese University 5