Admission Policies for Undergraduates

 

Admission Policy

A. Eligibility

The PolyU Student Halls were established with major funding support from the University Grants Committee (UGC), hence, eligibility to hall residence has to be set with reference to the UGC guidelines. The University has come up with a set of policies to govern admission of students to hall residence. The following groups of students are eligible for hall residence:

• Full-time Research Students within normal study period (Admission Policy of Student Halls for Research Students)
• Full-time Local Students in UGC-funded Bachelor’s Degree Programmes
• Full-time Non-local students in UGC-funded Bachelor’s Degree Programmes
• Full-time Inbound Exchange Students in UGC-funded Bachelor’s Degree Programmes

For other full-time students with exceptional needs for accommodation, the University will attend to them and make special and appropriate arrangement.

Students who cannot maintain their full-time student status will not be eligible for Hall residence and their hall applications will be invalid. Students who have already checked in will be required to check-out in two-weeks’ time.

 

B. Admission Criteria

All successful hall applicants are required to abide by the Hall regulations, policies, terms and conditions as stipulated in the Hall Homepage of respective Student Halls of Residence.

1. Local Students in UGC-funded Bachelor’s Degree Programmes

Students who have less than one semester of hall residence (excluding summer term) before will be given a higher priority. They will be further prioritized based on the scores of the Point Scoring Mechanism (PSM). Lots will be drawn to decide the order among students with the same PSM scores.

Students who have more than one semester of hall residence (excluding summer term) before will be given a lower priority. They will be further prioritized based on the principles stated below in Part D Normal Readmission.

2. Non-local students in UGC-funded Bachelor’s Degree Programmes

Non-local undergraduate students who were admitted in 2022/23 or before are, subject to the availability of residential places, normally given an opportunity to stay in the University-managed Accommodation (UMA - including the Student Halls and off-campus housing) for their first two years of study (including the period of joining work-integrated-education/internship and/or outbound exchange programme, if any). Non-local students admitted from 2023/24 onwards will, subject to the availability of residential places, normally be given an opportunity to stay in the UMA for their first year of study (including the period of joining work-integrated-education/internship and/or outbound exchange programme, if any).

The provision of accommodation for 2023/24 onward will be based on the following principles:

a.	Top priority will be given to the new intake of students for their first year of study.
b.	Priority will decrease with the length of stay in University-managed accommodations.
c.	Non-local students admitted in 2023/24 onwards and in their first year of study will be prioritized based on the scores of Point Scoring Mechanism (PSM). Lots will be drawn to decide the order among students with the same PSM scores.
d.	Non-local students (admitted in 2022/23 or before) in their 3rd or above year of study and non-local students (admitted in 2023/24 onwards) in their second or above year of study will be prioritized based on the principles stated below in Part D Normal Readmission.
e.	Non-local students are required to re-apply before their residential period expires. Re-admission is not guaranteed and will be processed according to the principles above.

The University shall review the admission policies from time to time to suit the changing needs of university programmes and students. Students should refer to their “Notice of Offer” upon admission for the latest update.

3. Inbound Exchange Students in UGC-funded Bachelor’s Degree Programms
Full-time inbound exchange students in UGC-funded Bachelor’s Degree Programms will, subject to the availability of residential places, be given an opportunity to stay in University-managed Accommodation (including the Student Halls and off-campus housing) for the exchange period. The University reserves the right to assign the residential places within the Student Halls and off-campus housing as and when necessary and appropriate.

4. Special Readmission Scheme (SRS)
The Special Readmission Scheme (SRS) is a discretionary arrangement with the aim to handle the re-admission of hall residents who have made significant contribution to hall life, maintained good student conduct, and sustained satisfactory academic performance (Scheme details).

5. Applicants with exceptional needs
Applicants having exceptional needs (e.g. those students with physical disability or personal hardships) for Hall residence will be given special consideration. The applicants should send documentary proof to establish their special need or in support of their application by email to student.halls@polyu.edu.hk on or before 30 June every year for the following residential year. Late applications without good justifications may not be considered. All details provided will be kept in strictest confidence.

 

C. First Time Admission

Local students who have less than one semester of hall residence (excluding summer term), non-local students (admitted in 2022/23 or before) in their first two years of study and non-local students (admitted in 2023/24 onwards) in their first year of study will be prioritized according to the Point Scoring Mechanism (PSM): 1. Living district; 2. Home environment; 3. Contribution to campus life and hall life. Non-local students will be given the maximum scores for part 1 and part 2. This PSM will be subject to annual review to reflect the changing needs of students.

Criteria	Items	Max. Scores
1. Living district (30%)	Time required for travelling to and from PolyU	36
2. Home environment (20%)	a. Type of housing	14
	b. Internal floor area per person	10
3. Contribution to campus life and hall life (50%)	a. Leadership*	22
	b. Outstanding achievements	14
	c. Participation in Hall Living & Learning Communities (LLC)*	8
	d. Voluntary community work	8
	e. Pairing-up of local and non-local students*	8
Total score:		120

* not applicable to freshmen applicants

1. District (max. 36 points)

The scores are derived from the time required for travelling to-and-from PolyU, based on the address stated in the hall application (subject to verification with the address provided in the University’s central database and home visit may be made when considered necessary) and the use of the fastest mode of public transportation, with reference to the travelling time estimated by "Google Maps".
2. Home Environment (max. 24 points)
a. Type of housing (Maximum score 14 points)

	Housing
i.	Boat house / Squatter area
ii.	Improvised Housing
iii.	Public housing
iv.	Private housing and others

b. Internal floor area per person (Maximum score 10 points)

Full scores will be assigned to non-local students for part 1 and part 2 due to their non-local status.

3. Contribution to campus life and hall life (max. 60 points)

a. Leadership

Student leaders play a major role in the promotion of student activities, enrichment of campus and hall life. The student representatives and executive committee members of recognized student bodies will be regarded as student leaders and will be provided with scores, which vary according to the position. For applicants who hold more than one post, only the post with the highest score will be counted. SAO will solicit the list of office-bearers in all recognized student bodies in the University. Relevant students need not provide such information in their hall application.

b. Outstanding achievements

	Achievements (Won a personal prize or being a member of the prize-winning team in the previous two years)
i.	International competition:1st-3rd prize
ii.	Regional / HK / Inter-tertiary institution competition: 1st-3rd prize
iii.	Competition within PolyU or an institution: 1st-3rd prize

Maximum 14 points will be given to students who have won scholarships, open competitions, or have been given awards for their achievements in the past two years. Please note that reaching a standard of a musical instrument/sport/skill, completion of a course, certificate of participation or reaching a standard of assessment (e.g. first-aid, piano examination, IELTS, language tests, canoe training, LCCI, etc.) will not be recognized. Certificate of participation/attendance/appreciation of a project/program/event is not counted as an award. Certificate for voluntary work or being a helper should be reported in "Voluntary community work" at point (d) below.

Claims without supporting documents will not be considered. Students are required to preserve the original achievement records for three months after submitting their hall application for potential verification. By submitting the hall application, applicants agree to give their consent to SAO to check with the issuing authority(ies) to verify their personal achievements. SAO reserves the right to decide if the claim is justified or not.   

c. Participation in Hall Living & Learning Communities (LLC)

Eight points will be given to co-ordinators / committee members of Living & Learning Community, and 5 points for general members who have participated in various activities regularly in the past year.

d. Voluntary community work

Eight points will be given to students who have completed at least 50 hours of voluntary community work within the last 12 months. Students are responsible to provide documents to support their claims and Students are required to preserve the original achievement records for three months after submitting their hall application for potential verification. By submitting the hall application, applicants agree to give their consent to SAO to check with the issuing authority(ies) to verify their personal achievements. SAO reserves the right to decide if the claim is justified or not.

e. Pairing of local and non-local students

To promote cultural integration, local students whose roommates are non-local ones, or vice versa, for at least 140 days in last residential year, will be given 8 points.

 

D. Normal Readmission

Local students who have more than one semester of hall residence (excluding summer term), non-local students (admitted in 2022/23 or before) in their 3rd or above year of study and non-local students (admitted in 2023/24 onwards) in their second or above year of study may apply for hall readmission. Compare with students applying for the first time admission, lower priority will be given to students who apply for normal readmission.

Selection Criteria of normal readmission

1. The Hall Admission Committee (HAC) considers applications for normal readmission with reference to the following six criteria:

a.	Living district
b.	Home environment
c.	Contribution to campus life and hall life
d.	Academic achievement
e.	Applicants' conduct in the University and Student Halls
f.	Recommendation from their past Hall Wardens, counsellors and/or medical professionals.

2. The weighting of part a) to d) is quantified as indicated in table below. Please refer to the notes of Section C above for details of part a) to c).
3. The HAC may disqualify or set lower priority for students with disciplinary record in the University or in Student Halls.
4. Students may seek recommendation from their past hall warden, counsellors or medical professionals, which will be considered by the HAC as appropriate.
5. Non-local students will be given maximum scores in parts a) & b).
6. The above selection criteria will be subject to annual review to reflect the changing needs of students.

Criteria	Items	Max. Scores
a. Living district (24%)	Time required for travelling to and from PolyU	36
b. Home environment (16%)	a. Type of housing	14
	b. Internal floor area per person	10
c. Contribution to Campus life and Hall life (40%)	a. Leadership	22
	b. Outstanding achievements	14
	c. Participation in Hall Living & Learning Communities (LLC)	8
	d. Voluntary community work	8
	e. Pairing up of local and non-local students	8
d. Academic performance (20%)		30
Total score:		150

 

E. Special Readmission

Special Readmission Scheme (SRS)

Readmission Scheme for CURI Residential College (RSCRC)

 

F. Residential Year

A Hall residential year, in general, commences on the last Friday prior to the start of the first semester and terminates on the first Friday after the closing date of the second semester in the following year. Upon the release of academic calendar for the year, the residential year will be announced accordingly.

Hall admission is for one residential year only. Hall residents who would like to stay on in the summer and/or in the next residential year will need to submit new applications.

 

G. HAC's Authority

The HAC reserves the right to make the final decision on hall admission issues and to revoke any hall offer granted by any channel at any time if considered necessary and appropriate. The HAC is not obliged to provide reasons for, or to entertain appeal against, the final decision.