Experience from the implementation of the general university requirements in a university in Hong Kong

Under the new 4-year undergraduate programs in Hong Kong, the duration of study increases from three years to four years. At The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), students are required to take subjects in General University Requirements (GUR) in the additional curriculum space with a total of 30 credits. The present study reported evaluation findings of GUR in its third year of implementation. Based on different evaluation strategies, including objective outcome evaluation, subjective outcome evaluation and qualitative evaluation involving both students and teachers, the findings consistently showed that both students and teachers had positive perceptions of different GUR subjects regarding content, teaching staff, teaching and learning strategies, and benefits. The GUR subjects were also effective in promoting students’ holistic development in terms of five desired PolyU graduate attributes. We also identified some challenges in the implementation of GUR.