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Following is a question by the Hon Ip Kin-yuen and a reply by the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng Hak-kim, in the Legislative Council today (January 8):
Question:
At present, institutions funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC-funded institutions) may admit, through the non-Joint University Programmes Admissions System (non-JUPAS), local applicants who hold non-local public examination results or academic qualifications (doubly non-JUPAS applicants) to funded undergraduate programmes. UGC-funded institutions may also admit non-local students who hold overseas academic qualifications (non-local students) to undergraduate programmes beyond their approved student number targets. It has been reported that the proportions of doubly non-JUPAS applicants and non-local students admitted by some programmes are on the high side. For example, among the 35 students admitted in this academic year to the undergraduate programme of Architecture Studies of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, only 17 (i.e. less than half) were admitted through JUPAS; and the number of non-local students admitted in the last academic year to the three-year and four-year business and administration programmes of the University of Hong Kong accounted for about 30% of the total student intake. The press report has also pointed out that such a situation reflects that doubly non-JUPAS applicants enjoy advantages in applying for programmes with keen competition, thus reducing JUPAS applicants¡¯ chances for admission, and that as non-local students take up the various resources of UGC-funded institutions, the resources available to local students will be reduced correspondingly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the names of the top 10 funded undergraduate programmes, offered by each UGC-funded institution, which admitted the most doubly non-JUPAS applicants (in terms of number and percentage respectively) in each of the past five years; the number of doubly non-JUPAS applicants admitted to each of such programmes, as well as their percentage and median admission score; and the number of JUPAS applicants admitted to each of such programmes and their median admission score;
(b) whether it knows the names of the top 10 undergraduate programmes, offered by each UGC-funded institution, which admitted the most non-local students (in terms of number and percentage respectively) in each of the past five years; the number of applicants of this type admitted to each of such programmes, as well as their percentage and median admission score; and the number of JUPAS applicants admitted to each of such programmes and their median admission score; and
(c) whether it will review the arrangements relating to non-JUPAS, including the method for comparing different academic qualifications, the procedure and criteria for assessing non-JUPAS applications, and if a ceiling should be set for the proportion of non-JUPAS applicants to be admitted by various funded programmes?
Reply:
President,
The Joint University Programmes Admissions System (JUPAS) is the main platform for students sitting for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination to apply for admission to undergraduate programmes funded by the University Grants Committee (UGC). For local students holding other academic qualifications, including sub-degree students of local post-secondary institutions and Hong Kong permanent residents who study inside or outside Hong Kong and sit for international public examinations, they have to apply to UGC-funded institutions direct for admission (commonly known as ¡°non-JUPAS¡±). As regards non-local students, including those from the Mainland and overseas, they also need to apply for admission to UGC-funded programmes through non-JUPAS arrangements. Since these students are primarily admitted through over-enrolment beyond the approved student number targets of UGC-funded institutions, they will not compete for publicly-funded approved student places with local students.
Student admission is within the autonomy of the UGC-funded institutions. On the principles of fairness and merit-based selection, each institution will work out its admission policy and criteria for different programmes to assess students¡¯ applications submitted through the JUPAS and non-JUPAS routes. As a matter of fact, candidates who are Hong Kong permanent residents are all regarded as ¡°local students¡±, irrespective of their admission routes and academic qualifications. They deserve equal opportunities to be considered on the basis of fair competition for articulation to local funded programmes. As for non-local students, institutions should act in accordance with the over-enrolment policy to assess and admit outstanding non-local applicants, having regard to the principles of fairness and merit-based selection.
(a) Overall speaking, the ratio of local student intakes to three-year UGC-funded undergraduate programmes through the JUPAS route remains stable over the latest three years where data are available, ranging from 81.1% to 82.1%. We also anticipate that the relevant ratio for the four-year programme will remain broadly at the same level in the 2013/14 academic year. Hence, it is clear that candidates of local secondary school public examinations continue to be the major source of students for UGC-funded undergraduate programmes. Besides, given the fact that the 2012/13 academic year is a ¡°double-cohort year¡±, the overall ratio of local student intakes to four-year programmes through the JUPAS route was even higher, reaching 92.7%.
Over the past three years, the overwhelming majority of the local students admitted to three-year UGC-funded undergraduate programmes through the non-JUPAS route were those holding local sub-degree qualifications or other local qualifications. Students with non-local qualifications only accounted for between 6.7% and 8.6% out of the total. In the 2012/13 double-cohort year, the relevant ratio in respect of four-year programmes even accounted for only 4.1% out of the total.
Details of the 2010/11 to 2012/13 academic years, including a breakdown by institution, broad academic programme category and admission route, are at Annex I. The UGC does not have data on the breakdown by programme, nor the relevant breakdown before the 2010/11 academic year.
As regards admission scores, according to information provided by institutions, the average scores in selected entry qualifications obtained by local students admitted to UGC-funded undergraduate programmes in the 2012/13 academic year are at Annex II. The UGC does not have similar data on the admission scores of students before the 2012/13 academic year.
(b) Admission of non-local students by institutions is subject to a maximum of 20% of their approved student number targets. The overall ratio of non-local students admitted to UGC-funded undergraduate programmes ranged from 12.7% to 14% between the 2010/11 academic year and the 2012/13 academic year. A breakdown of student intakes by institution, broad academic programme category and whether local or non-local students is at Annex I. The UGC does not have data on the breakdown by programme, nor the relevant breakdown before the 2010/11 academic year. Moreover, the UCG does not have admission scores of non-local students.
(c) According to the institutions, student admission is based on a rigorous and holistic assessment of applicants in a variety of aspects, including their academic qualifications and results, interview performance, personal attributes, non-academic achievements, interests and experiences, as well as programme preferences, etc. As regards academic qualifications, institutions have accumulated a wealth of experiences in assessing applications submitted by applicants with different academic qualifications and will continue to monitor the relative academic results and performance of students admitted with different academic qualifications after admission to ensure that the same admission threshold is applied to students holding different academic qualifications. We understand that institutions do not apply any formula to convert and compare different academic and non-academic qualifications.
Having regard to institutional autonomy in student admission, neither the Government nor the UGC would require institutions to specify a particular proportion of local students admitted through the JUPAS and non-JUPAS routes. That said, we understand that individual institutions have taken the initiative to lay down guidelines which set a ceiling for admission of local students through the non-JUPAS route.
Ends/Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:53
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