A-levels not only route to college
Polytechnic University is expanding its range of programmes, offering an alternative route to higher education for students who do not get the grades needed for A-levels.
New pre-associate degree programmes are being offered in hotel and catering, business and digital entertainment and business and mobile entertainment, creating more than 80 extra places for self-financing students.
The expansion brings the number of such programmes offered by Polytechnic University's School of Professional Education and Executive Development (Speed) to nine. It expects to recruit about 400 students this year, 26 per cent more than last year.
The programmes prepare students who do not get the 14 points in the HKCEEs needed to study A-levels to join courses that lead to employment or top-up programmes towards a full undergraduate degree.
Speed this year is also planning to increase the number of places on its associate degree programmes by about 400 and by 270 places on top-up programmes.
Acting director Dennis Chan Suk-sun said that more than 90 per cent of last year's pre-associate degree programme students had gone on to full-time university study.
Mak Ching-Chung, 23, gained just two points in his HKCEEs, but is now studying at a British university after following Polytechnic University's alternative study route.
'If your results are not good, learn the lesson and look at what opportunities you have,' he said.
HKU Space, which also runs a wide range of alternative degree courses, is offering three new top-up programmes leading to degrees from foreign universities this year.
