[Archive] Statistics on associate degree programmes

LEGCO QUESTION NO.4

Date of sitting: 6 March 2002

Asked by: The Hon Frederick Fung

Replied by: SEM

Question:

In respect of full-time associate degree and higher diploma programmes offered by post-secondary institutions, will the Government inform this Council:

of the tuition and number of places for full-time self-financing associate degree and higher diploma programmes offered by the post-secondary institutions in the last academic year broken down by programme types, and the unit cost for each type of programmes; and
whether it regularly assesses the effectiveness of the non-means-tested-loan scheme and the other financial assistance schemes for local post secondary students; if it has, of the conclusions of the latest assessment?

Reply:

Madam President:

In the 2001/02 academic year, post-secondary education institutions which have met the Government's quality assurance requirements have provided a total of 6 879 full-time self-financing places at sub-degree or above level. Of these, 3 840 are Associate Degree programme places and 2 809 are Higher Diploma (including Honours Diploma and Professional Diploma) programme places. The breakdown of the number of places by programme types and their tuition fee levels is set out at Annex 1.
The Government does not have information on the unit cost of self-financing Associate Degree and Higher Diploma places. Since all education providers of these courses are non-profit-making, and they are operating on a self-financing and cost-recovery basis, the tuition fee level can, to a large extent, reflect the unit cost of their programmes.
Eligible students of publicly-funded full-time post-secondary programmes can apply under the Local Student Finance Scheme for means-tested grants and loans to cover tuition fees and living expenses. They can also apply for the non-means-tested loans. In the 2001/02 academic year, the Government introduced the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students (FASP) to provide means-tested grants or low-interest loans, and non-means-tested loans for students studying self-financing post-secondary programmes.
The objectives of these student financial assistance schemes are to ensure that : (a) no student will be denied the chance of receiving education due to the lack of financial means; (2) public resources are used cost-effectively; and (3) the amount of assistance is adequate in helping students to cover their tuition fees and living expenses. We believe that these financial assistance schemes can achieve these objectives and can effectively address the needs of students with different economic background. We will also review the financial ceilings of the schemes annually.
Although FASP has been implemented for less than one year, a significant number of students have benefited from the scheme and the amount of assistance provided is substantial. Details are set out at Annex 2.

Annex 1

Breakdown of the Number of Places and Tuition Fee of Self-financing Post-secondary Programmes by Programme Type

Programme Types	Associate Degree	Higher Diploma *	Degree
Field of Study	Number of Places	Tuition Fee(HK$)	Number of Places	Tuition Fee(HK$)	Number of Places	Tuition Fee(HK$)
Arts and Social Sciences	590 (15.4%)	43,000-50,000	405 (14.4%)	35,000	90 (39.1%)	42,000
Business&Administration	740 (19.3%)	42,000-50,000	1704 (60.7%)	31,000-38,000	100 (43.5%)	42,000
Science & Information Technology	190 (4.9%)	43,000-52,000	577 (20.5%)	31,000-38,000	---	---
Education and Languages	---	---	123 (4.4%)	31,000-35,000	40 (17.4%)	42,000
General Studies	2320 (60.4%)	39,000	---	---	---	---
Total	3840 (100%)	N.A.	2809 (100%)	N.A.	230 (100%)	N.A

*Including Higher Diploma, Honours Diploma and Professional Diploma,

Annex 2

Financial Assistance Scheme for Students Pursuing Local Self-financing Post-secondary Programmes

Types of Assistance	Means-tested Grant or Loan	Non-means-tested Loan
Total Applications	3 263	2 234
Approved Applications	2 781(85%)	2 213*(99%)
Average Grant (HK$)	37,728	N.A.
Average Loan (HK$)	18,639	61,222
Total Amount of Assistance (HK$)	55,000,000	135,000,000

Note : There are 21 applications being considered