| 8 Support services, lectures, tutorials and self-study facilities |
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The OUHK will offer the following support services to help students with their studies:
provide various learning media
maintain detailed records of your progress
comment on your progress at regular intervals through the assignments
organize tutorial sessions, surgeries, supplementary lectures, day schools, laboratory sessions and examinations, where applicable
provide study facilities
provide you with a university email account
build contacts with local organizations such as the government and libraries to ensure that you get the maximum benefit from all facilities in Hong Kong.
Courses are delivered through a variety of media, from print to digital, to suit the needs of a diverse student population. The OUHK is currently expanding the digital formats of course materials to facilitate mobile learning.
▌Learning materials
Students on part-time courses will have access to specially structured learning materials such as written texts, assignment questions and other supplementary material. The OUHK also makes use of other media, such as ePubs, video and audio programmes, computer software, CD-ROMs, etc. The learning materials are written by subject experts and the contents are closely scrutinized by both internal and external reviewers to ensure quality.
▌Television programmes
For some courses, television programmes are integrated with the written course materials. The programmes are shown on TVB Pearl. They are generally transmitted at regular intervals during the study year. The Television Broadcast Schedule will be emailed to you at the start of the term.
▌Books
Your course may require the use of set books and other recommended readings. Set books may be available from many booksellers, but we strongly suggest that you obtain all your set books from bookstores of The Commercial Press. The Commercial Press guarantees that the books will be available and that all books sold to OUHK students will be the right editions. Students should note that for Chinese courses, some of the set books are in simplified Chinese characters. You can contact the Course Coordinator for further information about the use of set books.
▌Online support
All our courses are supported by an online delivery system, the Online Learning Environment (OLE) where you will be able to access your course materials. Through the OLE you can participate in online discussion with your tutor, Course Coordinator as well as other students. Other features include online news and course information, links to other websites, online submission and return of assignments. More details about the online components of your course will be provided in the OLE User Guide.
▌Mobile learning — the OUHK iBookcase app
With a view to promoting mobile learning, the University has developed a new mobile app — the OUHK iBookcase. The mobile app is best accessed via the student's tablet. After logging in, iBookcase enables seamless downloading of OUHK course materials onto the student's personal tablet for convenient self-study. The major benefits of mobile learning include increased flexibility as well as enhanced self-study and independent learning. The smart phone version of the iBookcase has been launched in August 2018. More information is available from the iBookcase webpage (www.ouhk.edu.hk/ibookcase).
OUHK provides email accounts to all enrolled students and tutors. Email will be the primary means of communication between university staff, Course Coordinators, Programme Leaders, tutors, and students. All academic and administrative information will be sent to your university email account as far as it is applicable. This includes information about your programme and courses, changes to class schedules, University news, and student announcements. For this reason, it is absolutely essential that you check your email account (http://webmail.ouhk.edu.hk) frequently and manage it well. For further information on how to access email system, please refer to Section 14 'Enquiries and Use of OUHK Facilities'.
█ Tutorial arrangements for part-time courses █
Normally, students are given a choice of tutorial groups, which are conducted by tutors, when registering for their part-time courses. Before the term starts, you can visit MyOUHK via the OUHK website (Current Students) under the section on 'Tutor Details' to view the tutor details. You can also find the periods during which you can contact your tutor for telephone tutoring.
In the OUHK part-time learning system, learning is achieved through the course materials. Your course tutor will help you understand and learn from the course and its assignments. He/she does this by:
providing comments on your assignments and assessing them (see the paragraphs on assignments in Section 9). The tutor's comments on your written assignments provide important advice for maintaining or improving your progress in the course.
face-to-face tuition at tutorials in which participation and interaction is encouraged. At the Pre-foundation and Foundation levels, tutorials are usually held every two weeks. Tutors will be able to advise you on a wide range of matters such as any difficulties you may experience in your studies and your future course choices.
The opportunities for face-to-face meetings with tutorial staff will vary from course to course. Try to keep in touch with your tutor especially if you are unable to attend tutorial sessions. Tutors are anxious to maintain regular contact with their students and they need your active participation to maintain contact. Tutors will be pleased to discuss either general or specific matters relating to your studies. Do not hesitate to contact your tutor by telephone, email or through the OLE. If you experience difficulties in contacting your tutor, please call your Course Coordinator, who will be able to resolve the problem.
You can email your tutor at any time as both of you will be provided with a university email account. For telephone tutoring, your tutor will set times in the week when he/she is available to answer your call. It is helpful to make a list of questions you want to ask before you call in order to allow a valuable way to discuss information or problems. To facilitate communication, you may complete the Student Contact Details Form, listing out the periods during which your tutor can contact you by telephone, and return it directly to your tutor. The form is available in MyOUHK under the section on 'Tutor Details'.
The OUHK encourages you to communicate and interact with your fellow students, tutors and Course Coordinators through the Discussion Board on the OLE. Here you can participate in academic discussion, share your experiences and post any study problems that you may have. Your tutor and fellow students will respond to your questions.
You may receive information about courses at other institutions which provide tuition relating to OUHK courses. The OUHK is not involved in decisions made by other institutions to provide such courses and is not responsible for their content and organization. Attendance at these courses is not necessary for completing OUHK studies, but the OUHK will not discourage you from taking them if you wish to.
▌Day schools
Many part-time (distance learning) courses include a number of voluntary day schools. Your Course Guide, which is part of the course materials sent to you, contains full details.
In some courses, you will have to participate satisfactorily in different forms of compulsory day schools or tutorials in order to pass the course. For further information, refer to the detailed course descriptions on the University's website and your Course Guide.
If you cannot attend the compulsory day school for your course before the examination date due to illness or forced absence from Hong Kong, you may be granted permission to defer completion of the day school requirements until the next presentation of the course. In these circumstances, a pending result will be awarded. The OUHK will release your result only when you have satisfactorily completed the attendance requirements.
Use Form T-DD to apply for deferment of your compulsory day school attendance. You should not wait until the last day school before you apply for deferment. The completed form should be sent to the Registry as soon as you know that you will not be able to complete the day school requirement. Please read the explanatory notes on the form carefully. They describe the day school deferment policies and application procedures.
The OUHK will contact students who have been granted approval to defer their day school attendance requirements, and will inform them of the dates of the next day school to be presented.
▌Laboratories
Some courses (e.g. science and computing courses) involve the use of laboratories which is an important part of your studies.
▌Surgeries and Supplementary Lectures
In addition to the scheduled tutorial sessions with your own tutor, the OUHK arranges surgery sessions and supplementary lectures on a course-by-course basis for part-time courses. During surgery sessions, one or more tutors will answer questions from students who require extra help with the course. Supplementary lectures may be given by Course Coordinators or tutors.
▌Class schedule
Normally, classes for most courses are held at the OUHK campuses.
Before the term commences, you can visit MyOUHK via the OUHK website (Current Students) under the section on 'Class Schedule' to check the confirmed class schedule, which shows your tutorials, day schools, surgeries and supplementary lectures, etc. Students should only attend classes of their groups. Class schedule for practical laboratory sessions (if any) will be provided by your school separately. As the timetable may change during your course of study, you should refer to the most up-to-date timetable when attending classes.
Students are encouraged to set up informal meetings among themselves to discuss their studies. To begin a self-help group, one should suggest a meeting time, meeting place, prepare an agenda, topics for discussion and so on. Although informal conversation is enjoyable, a self-help group is most effective if most of the time is spent on specific matters related to the course material. Your tutor may be able to help you in forming such a group or you can discuss the idea with other students at tutorials or day schools.
█ Tutorial centres and self-study facilities █
The OUHK provides a network of tutorial centres (for classes that are held off-campus) and self-study facilities including on-campus discussion rooms and self-study rooms. Discussion rooms and self-study rooms are located in the Main Campus, Jockey Club Campus and Kwai Hing Campus. Details of locations, opening hours and room numbers can be found in Appendices A and B. You should also pay attention to the regulations governing the use of tutorial and self-study facilities in the 'General Regulations'.
Modified Date: Jun 03, 2020
