Prospective students visiting the Hong Kong Polytechnic University's (PolyU) open day had mixed feelings about changes to its design courses. The existing five bachelor's degree programmes in fashion, graphic, industrial, interior and photographic design will be replaced by a single BA (Hons) degree course starting from the 1998- 99 academic year. Students visiting the open day had varying opinions about the changes. Ng Yin-kuen, 17, a Form Five student from St Catharine's School for Girls, said she preferred the previous course structure. 'It provides more specialised training,' she said. 'Yet, we can learn other aspects of design under the new arrangement which allows more flexibility in making our choice.' Although less specialised than the previous separate courses, the new degree course allows students greater freedom in choosing electives in the five areas of design . Cecilia Ma Pui-sze, 17, also a fifth-former from Heep Yunn School, said: 'It's better. It gives a clearer idea of design and its different aspects.' Both girls, who are interested in studying design at university level, attended the open day hoping to get more information about the range of courses offered by PolyU. The two said they had to decide between their own interests and earning a living when choosing a course. They said they were worried whether they could find a job related to their discipline after graduation. Staff from the university's 26 departments and the General Education Centre were on hand to answer visitors' inquiries. The day was aimed at those applying for full-time degree and sub-degree courses under the Joint University Programmes Admissions Scheme and the Joint Admissions Scheme for Post-secondary Institutions' Courses. Seminars were conducted for Form Four and Form Six students. In addition, guided tours were organised to some of the departments and workshops. The PolyU offers postgraduate research programmes leading to MPhil and PhD, as well as a variety of disciplines leading to higher diplomas, bachelor's degrees and doctorates. Of these, 115 are government-funded, while 16 are self-financed. About 19,700 students are enrolled on the former.