Untitled Document

Universities on crash diet
Students, staff suffer

By Kayu Wong & Liza Wang

The University Grants Committee has been cutting the funds of universities in Hong Kong since 1998.
According to data from the Univeristy Grants Committee, the total amount of approved grants to universities is $14 billion for the 2000/2001 academic year, $429 million less than the amount approved for the previous academic year.
From 1998 to 2001, the universities’ portion of the total amount of money spent on public education dropped from 29.2 to 27.2 percent.
Universities have felt the crush.
Example: The Chinese University of Hong Kong launched the bachelor’s degree program in mathematics education in September 2000. It stopped admitting students this year, however.
Prof. Wong Ngai Ying of the program said, “Funding cuts affect the Faculty of Education. After discussion, we chose to stop admissions to maintain financial balance.
“Despite our success, even the best program has to be terminated if there is no finanical support.”
Prof. Tan Chee Beng is head of the Department of Anthropology at the Chinese University.
Prof. Tan said the number of teachers in the department has dropped from eight to six in the past three years. At the moment, the department is still one teacher short.
“We have no extra resources to employ teachers. Funding cuts exerted pressure on us because our department is relatively small.
“The number of students admitted keeps constant every year, but resources keep shrinking. The average workload of each professor in our department has increased to a greater extent than workloads of professors in large departments,” he said.
Ms. Gigi Wong, external vice-president of The Hong Kong University Students’ Union, said the university has suggested merging the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Arts.
Said Ms. Wong: “Combining two faculties is unacceptable, because the two faculties are entirely different.
“In fact, some new programs have been launched in the past few years, such as the bachelor’s degree program in business administration and law, and another one in business administration and information systems.
“This indicates that there are still excess resources. We are worried that subjects of lower market value will eventually be screened out,” said she.
According to a survey conducted by the Social Sciences Society of The University of Hong Kong, most of the 200 respondents, all social science students, oppose the merger of the two faculties.
Fear of budget cuts, poor job prospects and a drop in administrative efficiency are the main reasons for opposing the move.
The results coincide with a poll conducted by the Faculty of Arts. About 80 percent of students interviewed object to the merger of faculties, for similar reasons.
Miss Emily Lau is the external vice-chairperson of the Faculty of Arts at TheUniversity of Hong Kong.
“Although some courses offered by both faculties are alike, and students can choose courses from both faculties, most students are worried that the combination of faculties would restrict the budget shared,” said Ms. Lau.
Prof. Chan Lai Wan, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong, said the university would not reveal the details of the proposal.
“Everything is under preliminary discussion. No concrete proposal or agreement has been reached,” he said.
Other problems resulting from funding cuts are course cancellations and course deferrals.
The head of the Department of Government and Public Administration at the Chinese University, Prof. Kuan Hsin Chi, said his department has not hired new professors to replace some who have retires.
“Tutorial classes for some Year 1 courses, especially those of large class size, have been cancelled due to funding cuts,” he said.
“Besides, about three or four courses have been called off.”
Mr. Chris Lo of Lingnan University Students’ Union said proposals to launch practical science subjects and building laboratories in the University have been deferred also.
He said funding cuts would have a negative impact on the quality of teaching.
“Apart from giving lectures, some teachers have to take up administrative work and tutorial sessions because teaching assistants have been laid off,” said Mr. Lo.
At The University of Hong Kong, teaching assistants are now employed on a contractual basis.
Mr. Lo said this would dampen the morale of teaching assistants, hindering their commitment to courses and students.

Eric Leung

Funding cuts have negative impacts on local universities.

Due to inadequate funding, faculties have had to seek new sources of funds more actively than before.
Providing consulting services, conducting contractual surveys, and donations — all of these are common sources of extra revenue for many department now.
Raising funds from the public is more difficult, however.
Prof. Arthur Li Kwok Cheung, vice-chancellor of the Chinese University, said, “Nowadays, businessmen and commercial corporations prefer donating to schools on the Mainland.
“Price levels in China are much lower than those in Hong Kong. The same amount of money can contribute more on the Mainland than in Hong Kong.
“Besides, university students in Hong Kong are criticized for their deteriorating quality. Students on the Mainland are said to be superior and more diligent than we are.”
Fund raising is not yet a long-term solution to insufficient funding.
At the Chinese University, donations are usually used to support scholarships, specific research projects or equipment purchases.
“It is impractical to use donations to finance routine operating costs,” said Prof. Li.
“Our total annual expenditure is about $3 billion. Even if we could raise $100 million, which would be already incredible, this would be only 3 percent of our cost.”
To save money, it is common to re-structure administrative offices.
Prof. Li said, “There were originally seven staff in my office, but now there are only four — including me.
“We focus on the downsizing process on the administrative level rather than the teaching level because we don’t want to affect teaching quality.”
Implementing a voluntary resignation scheme for non-academic staff is another way to reduce administrative costs.
“Government wants us to practice corporatization, but a university is not a profit-seeking enterprise,” Prof. Li said.
“We cannot use profits and losses to evaluate the success of a university. Instead, we are concerned about the quality of our students.
“If funding cuts continue and force us to slim down, teaching quality must drop.”
To ensure high quality teaching, the Centre for Learning Enhancement and Research at the Chinese University was formed this year.
The unit helps academic staff adopt teaching techniques targeting Hong Kong students.
It also provides feedback to teaching staff on their performance in order to enhance teaching quality.

The University Grants Committee has been cutting the funds of universities in Hong Kong since 1998. According to data from the Univeristy Grants Committee, the total amount of approved grants to universities is $14 billion for the 2000/2001 academic year, $429 million less than the amount approved for the previous academic year. From 1998 to 2001, the universities’ portion of the total amount of money spent on public education dropped from 29.2 to 27.2 percent. Universities have felt the crush. Example: The Chinese University of Hong Kong launched the bachelor’s degree program in mathematics education in September 2000. It stopped admitting students this year, however. Prof. Wong Ngai Ying of the program said, “Funding cuts affect the Faculty of Education. After discussion, we chose to stop admissions to maintain financial balance. “Despite our success, even the best program has to be terminated if there is no finanical support.” Prof. Tan Chee Beng is head of the Department of Anthropology at the Chinese University. Prof. Tan said the number of teachers in the department has dropped from eight to six in the past three years. At the moment, the department is still one teacher short. “We have no extra resources to employ teachers. Funding cuts exerted pressure on us because our department is relatively small. “The number of students admitted keeps constant every year, but resources keep shrinking. The average workload of each professor in our department has increased to a greater extent than workloads of professors in large departments,” he said. Ms. Gigi Wong, external vice-president of The Hong Kong University Students’ Union, said the university has suggested merging the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Faculty of Arts. Said Ms. Wong: “Combining two faculties is unacceptable, because the two faculties are entirely different. “In fact, some new programs have been launched in the past few years, such as the bachelor’s degree program in business administration and law, and another one in business administration and information systems. “This indicates that there are still excess resources. We are worried that subjects of lower market value will eventually be screened out,” said she. According to a survey conducted by the Social Sciences Society of The University of Hong Kong, most of the 200 respondents, all social science students, oppose the merger of the two faculties. Fear of budget cuts, poor job prospects and a drop in administrative efficiency are the main reasons for opposing the move. The results coincide with a poll conducted by the Faculty of Arts. About 80 percent of students interviewed object to the merger of faculties, for similar reasons. Miss Emily Lau is the external vice-chairperson of the Faculty of Arts at TheUniversity of Hong Kong. “Although some courses offered by both faculties are alike, and students can choose courses from both faculties, most students are worried that the combination of faculties would restrict the budget shared,” said Ms. Lau. Prof. Chan Lai Wan, dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of The University of Hong Kong, said the university would not reveal the details of the proposal. “Everything is under preliminary discussion. No concrete proposal or agreement has been reached,” he said. Other problems resulting from funding cuts are course cancellations and course deferrals. The head of the Department of Government and Public Administration at the Chinese University, Prof. Kuan Hsin Chi, said his department has not hired new professors to replace some who have retires. “Tutorial classes for some Year 1 courses, especially those of large class size, have been cancelled due to funding cuts,” he said. “Besides, about three or four courses have been called off.” Mr. Chris Lo of Lingnan University Students’ Union said proposals to launch practical science subjects and building laboratories in the University have been deferred also. He said funding cuts would have a negative impact on the quality of teaching. “Apart from giving lectures, some teachers have to take up administrative work and tutorial sessions because teaching assistants have been laid off,” said Mr. Lo. At The University of Hong Kong, teaching assistants are now employed on a contractual basis. Mr. Lo said this would dampen the morale of teaching assistants, hindering their commitment to courses and students.	Eric Leung



	Funding cuts have negative impacts on local universities.
	Due to inadequate funding, faculties have had to seek new sources of funds more actively than before. Providing consulting services, conducting contractual surveys, and donations — all of these are common sources of extra revenue for many department now. Raising funds from the public is more difficult, however. Prof. Arthur Li Kwok Cheung, vice-chancellor of the Chinese University, said, “Nowadays, businessmen and commercial corporations prefer donating to schools on the Mainland. “Price levels in China are much lower than those in Hong Kong. The same amount of money can contribute more on the Mainland than in Hong Kong. “Besides, university students in Hong Kong are criticized for their deteriorating quality. Students on the Mainland are said to be superior and more diligent than we are.” Fund raising is not yet a long-term solution to insufficient funding. At the Chinese University, donations are usually used to support scholarships, specific research projects or equipment purchases. “It is impractical to use donations to finance routine operating costs,” said Prof. Li. “Our total annual expenditure is about $3 billion. Even if we could raise $100 million, which would be already incredible, this would be only 3 percent of our cost.” To save money, it is common to re-structure administrative offices. Prof. Li said, “There were originally seven staff in my office, but now there are only four — including me. “We focus on the downsizing process on the administrative level rather than the teaching level because we don’t want to affect teaching quality.” Implementing a voluntary resignation scheme for non-academic staff is another way to reduce administrative costs. “Government wants us to practice corporatization, but a university is not a profit-seeking enterprise,” Prof. Li said. “We cannot use profits and losses to evaluate the success of a university. Instead, we are concerned about the quality of our students. “If funding cuts continue and force us to slim down, teaching quality must drop.” To ensure high quality teaching, the Centre for Learning Enhancement and Research at the Chinese University was formed this year. The unit helps academic staff adopt teaching techniques targeting Hong Kong students. It also provides feedback to teaching staff on their performance in order to enhance teaching quality.