Source: umagazine
Universities around the world are actively seeking ways to enhance undergraduate education. Establishing a residential college (RC) system has been identified as an effective way to achieve that goal. It is against this background that in the 2014/2015 academic year the University of Macau (UM) founded eight residential colleges, becoming the first university in Asia to have a complete RC system, and making the UM RC the largest such system in the region. The RC system and the improved facilities allow the university to provide a multifaceted education to help students achieve well-rounded development and meet the challenges of the 21st century. Another new initiative the university has implemented is the Collegiate Learning Day, which is designed to help students develop soft skills and become more knowledgeable about themselves and the broader society.
In this issue of umagazine we invite Chair Professor Haydn Chen, UM’s vice rector for student affairs who oversees the residential college system, and Dr Choi Kai Yan, associate master of a new RC currently in preparation, to discuss the unique experiential learning model in the RCs, the relevant requirements and evaluation criteria, and the development of a residential learning community. In addition, a student shares what she has gained from experiential learning in the RC.
(Residential College Series – Part 1) Experiential Collegiate Learning
(Residential College Series – Part 3) Residential Colleges—Where We Learn and Grow
(Residential College Series – Part 4) Service Learning: A Required Course for University Students
