Page 58 - FSTE A5 Handbook

Chapter Three
General Education Curricula in
the Community College Sector

(2) Recognition of GE courses
GE credit transfer has evolved from an initial course-by-course basis to a block transfer system
in recent years. Sub-degree programme graduates may usually be exempted from 30% to 70%
of the GE requirements in UGC-funded programmes (see Chapter 4). 100% GE exemption (38
credits) is available only to CIE AD graduates when they articulate to HKBU, as the CIE GE
courses were designed in accordance with HKBU GEILOs and were approved by the HKBU GE
Office.

Summary
The common feature of AD programmes (at least 60% generic content) allows the colleges
to provide more GE courses (compared to HD programmes). Considerable diversity in GE
structure in AD programme providers is highlighted in this chapter, perhaps due to differences
in perspective when their GE programmes were designed. In terms of learning approaches, it is
noted that there is a growing trend toward interdisciplinary learning approaches in GE delivery.

With the rapid development in AD/HD programmes, articulation between AD/HD and degree
programmes draws immense attention from all stakeholders, including students, teaching
staff, colleges and universities. At the moment, there is not a unified way of recognizing GE
credits of an AD/HD programme because of the variations in the GE structures among colleges
in CCS and among universities. As a result, challenges are imposed when AD/HD students seek
articulation to degree programmes offered by different institutions. To facilitate articulation of
sub-degree programme graduates, it would be desirable to consider the following measures:
(1) Work out a common GE framework in the CCS, to facilitate the credit transfer process
(2) Build a pool of common sub-degree GE courses (to be used on a voluntary basis
within the CCS)
(3) Set up a sector-wide networking platform to facilitate discussion and sharing of good
practices of GE course development and delivery
(4) Enhance further transparency of GE practice and credit transfer arrangements
The next chapter will provide further discussion on credit transfer practices.

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