Shorter, cheaper alternatives may encourage workers to study without having to make an extensive commitment
INCREASED OPTIONS will be available to school leavers or seasoned employees who want to pursue a sub-degree qualification while working.
Part-time programmes have not faded from the scene, although institutions have flocked to introduce full-time associate degree programmes since 2000 in response to Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's call to raise the percentage of young people with access to tertiary education to 60 per cent this decade.
The City University of Hong Kong's Community College is offering part-time courses in areas including business administration in accounting, business in general management, translation and interpretation, social work, bilingual communication studies and Web technology. They normally take three years to complete, at a cost of $90,000.
The college will launch more than 10 relatively short programmes in September equivalent to half or a quarter of an associate degree to cater for those who cannot afford the time or costs involved in taking a full-time or part-time programme. Among them will be one on ecotourism, according to college principal Jennifer Ng Glok-hong.
'The short programmes will provide an alternative option to people who do not want to make an extensive commitment. It is always more difficult to recruit students for part-time associate degree courses,' she said.
