Page 103 - FSTE A5 Handbook

The above mentioned policy indicated that students can be admitted directly into the final year
of (for example) the BA Business Studies with credit from another university or an overseas
institution because their previous education may be recognized and can be used to fulfil the
year 1 and 2 degree requirements. However, credit transfer is strictly prohibited if the credits
have already been used for redeeming a qualification, except when that the first qualification
is a step towards the current qualification (such as associate degree in Hong Kong). Therefore,
it is possible that Hong Kong associate degree holders might be admitted into the University
of Hull, as well as other UK universities, without completing the first and second year studies.
Australia

The education system in Australia quite similar to the ones in the UK and Hong Kong. On the
one hand, GE programmes are not well established in Australia. Instead, a similar Free Elective
system to that in the UK is adopted. On the other hand, the associate degree programmes
are offered and can be used to articulate directly into senior year of a degree programme,
similar to the situation in Hong Kong, South Korea and the United States. In this section, the
Australian National University (ANU) is used as a case study to investigate the credit transfer
practice.

The Australian National University follows a similar “Free Elective” system to that in UK, where
some programmes have reserved some free electives for students to read non-major related
courses. For associate degree holders, AD graduates can be admitted and articulated into a
Bachelor Degree with up to 60 units of credit transferred. Unlike the case in Hong Kong, a
completion of AD study is normally necessary to be admitted into ANU. Although sub-degree
students can still apply for individual course credit transfer, AD graduates may be granted with
a total of 72 credits for the completed Associate Degree.

Conclusion

It can be seen that universities across the world have various attitudes towards and
understanding of GE. Some universities (such as those in UK and Australia) provide a relatively
limited opportunity for free electives, while other universities provide a more structured and
diversified GE programme and hope to equip students with various fundamental skills to
handle challenges in our dynamic world. An interesting point to note is that most GE-providing
universities, regardless of regions, have included topics to enhance students’ understanding
of their own region. A balance between arts and science is also observed in the design of GE
curriculum to complement the missing half of students’ concentration. Communication skills,
which are an important graduate attribute, are also covered in most GE programmes.

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