Dear Fellow Students,
Updates to Students from the College Management
Welcome to this last issue of College Updates in the academic year 2020/21. We believe most of you are having the summer break and might be unwinding yourself under the sun after a busy year of study.
Before sharing our updates on College operation and development, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to you for the patience and understanding during the academic year when on-campus teaching and activities were not entirely resumed.
Teaching and Learning
Building on previous experience of running the summer semester, the College provides more options of courses this year, covering social work, psychology, counselling and general education. Students concerned have more flexibility to adjust their study plan. Classes are still run in mixed mode, given that the pandemic situation is not at a permissible level for normal operation.
Student Activities
Selection interview of the peer tutors for 2021/22 was completed. Thanks to the support of participants, 10 students were selected to take up the role as the “elder brother/sister” to help newcomers adapt to college life at Gratia. Training workshop and briefing have been conducted before their commencement of duty this summer.
Although campus activities have inevitably been affected under the pandemic, continuous efforts are made to ensure students would not be deprived of the opportunity to acquire different learning experience. On top of the inspiring workshops under the Quality Enhancement Support Scheme, Stewards and Student Development Office have organized more workshops for personal development and to equip students with practical skills and training, such as workshops on CV writing and job interview, and mental health first aid course. The latter was well-received with full enrolment.
As most of you would have months of summer break ahead before the next academic year commences, we encourage you to refresh yourself with new experience and to upkeep the motivation to learn. Opportunities of summer internship and activities/events would be relayed to you. Stay connected and keep check out your mailbox.
For those who are yet to meet the graduation requirement on community service, you are urged to stay tuned for service opportunities referred by the Student Development Office and duly observe the timeline for final completion.
Programme Development and Re-accreditation
The College has finally received the approval of the Chief Executive-in-Council to offer the Bachelor of Christian Ministry Programme, which will be launched in coming September. It is the first bachelor’s degree programme in Christian Ministry accredited in Hong Kong. As a college based on Christian faith, the approval is particularly gratifying.
As announced in previous issues of College Updates, colleagues have been busily preparing for accreditation of new programmes and re-accreditation of existing ones. The imminent exercise is the accreditation of the Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Education Programme to be held on 22-23 July 2021.
We would also like to share with you that the College is developing a one-year part-time Professional Diploma Programme in Property and Facilities Management for accreditation in November 2021. It is designed to meet the needs of working adults for professional development in the field of property and facility management. Currently, a certificate course is running in the evening with positive feedback received.
Payment Facility
To facilitate easy and convenient payment, the College has introduced the use of the Faster Payment System (FPS). Payment for donation and student-related fees could be made through the system with enabled e-wallet or mobile apps by scanning the FPS QR code or inserting the FPS ID. Contact the Finance Office should you have queries on the use of the system.
Concluding Remarks
The College Updates has been released for more than two years. We hope this channel could help you get to know Gratia better and foster a sense of belonging to the College. Let us know if you have any suggestions for improvement. See you in the academic year 2021/22!
With best wishes!
College Management