Student
In general, you may refer to Academic Registry’s guide on subject registration
Yes. In general, all PolyU undergraduate students have to complete the service-learning requirement. You should double-check with your home department for more information, including when you are recommended to take your SL subject.
Yes, though your department may have some recommendations as to when it would be best for you to take your SL subject. In general, you may register in an SL subject whenever you want, with the exception that Year 1 students on Bachelor's Degree (4-year duration) are not eligible to take service-learning in their first semester.
Some departments may require their students to complete a DSR service-learning subject within their own department, e.g. SO and RS. Other than that, all students have to enrol in a service-learning subject by themselves.
The Service-Learning and Leadership Office (SLLO) will send emails on subject registration for service-learning subjects before the subject registration period for each semester. You should check your emails frequently and ensure you can receive emails from SLLO.
In addition, SLLO also holds information sessions before subject registration periods. These information sessions are also announced via emails.
Some basic subject information can be found on SLLO’s website here. For more details on subject arrangements and requirements, please get in touch with the subject teachers or departments directly.
Service-learning subjects which DO NOT require pre-selection of students (that is, they are first-come-first-served) are open for registration during the subject registration, adjustment before semester commencement and add/drop periods, just like other subjects. You should take note of AR’s announcements.
Some service-learning subjects require that students go through a selection process rather than first-come-first served. These subjects will be open for application during the indication period for service-learning subjects which require pre-selection of students. The email on the indication of interest for service-learning subjects requiring pre-selection of students is always sent before the indication period. You should check your emails frequently and ensure you can receive emails from SLLO.
Usually this happens for four reasons:
- You have a timetable clash with other subjects that you are already registered in;
- You have already exceeded your maximum credit load;
- The subject is already full and does not have any vacancies;
- The subject is restricted to students from specific faculties/departments/programmes.
For technical issues related to the subject registration system, get in touch with the Academic Registry for help at ar.subreg@polyu.edu.hk.
You can waitlist the subject and the system will register the class for you via the auto-top up process when vacancies are available. For more details of the waitlisting function, please refer to the AR website.
You should discuss your study plan, workloads, etc., with your academic advisor or your programme leader at your own department.
Graduating students are assigned an early subject registration start time by AR, meaning that they will get to choose their SL subject before the other students do. Pay attention to the subject registration timeline provided by AR. Use this early subject registration start time to register for an SL subject as early as possible. If you need more advice, please speak with your academic advisor or the programme leader at your own department.
You should discuss your study plan with your academic advisor or your programme leader at your own department.
The information about credit transfer can be found HERE.
All PolyU undergraduate students can indicate their interest. Some subjects however may be restricted to certain faculties or departments (check the subject information here). Also, first-year students on Bachelor's Degree (4-year duration) are not eligible to take service-learning in their first semester.
The email informing students about service-learning subjects requiring pre-selection of students is always sent before the indication period. You should check your emails frequently and ensure you can receive emails from SLLO.
Information sessions are also held before/during the indication period. Notification emails are sent beforehand as well.
Some basic subject information can be found on SLLO’s website here. For more detailed subject arrangements and requirements, please get in touch with the subject teachers directly.
Service-Learning subjects that do not require pre-selection of students will be open for registration during the subject registration, adjustment before semester commencement and add/drop periods, just like all other academic subjects.
Some basic subject information can be found on SLLO’s website here. For more details on the subject arrangements and requirements, please get in touch with the subject teachers directly.
Some subjects may have more than one service project and/or have different teachers and class arrangements. For easier management, these subjects sometimes create separate subject groups. If you are interested in two subject groups, indicate your interest for both groups separately via the subject group selection. They are counted as two indications.
Some subjects arrange for their student recruitment directly via their academic departments without using the AR’s indication system. Please watch out for emails from SLLO and/or the academic department(s) concerned.
Indicating that you are interested in taking a subject that requires pre-selection of students does not automatically enrol you into the subject. The subject offering department will get in touch with you regarding the selection process. For example, they may ask you to submit a video, or attend an interview.
You can always drop a service-learning subject like other subjects. HOWEVER, if the subject arrangements do not fit your needs, we highly recommend that you do not enrol in these subjects in the first place, as SL subjects that require pre-selection of students will not be open for other students’ online registration. This means that a class quota will be wasted and another student who wants to take the subject may not get a chance. Also, since SL subjects serve the needy people in the community, reduction in the number of students providing the service may also adversely affect the service quality and arrangements.
We strongly suggest that you speak with your department academic advisor, and/or your programme leader to work out your study plan.
No. Only the service activities assigned and arranged by the subject teacher are eligible to be counted into the 40 service hours as required by the subject.
- Study all learning materials in Units 1 to 4
- Complete all learning activities
- Complete the End-of-Course Test and obtain 50% or more from the Test
- Complete the Course Evaluation Survey
Staff
Committee on General University Requirements (CoGUR)
- To be responsible to the Academic Planning Committee for the development and implementation of GUR subjects.
- To endorse, monitor and review these subjects on offer, including their quality and implementation.
Sub-committee on Service-Learning Subjects (SCSLS)
- To be responsible to CoGUR
- To consider and to recommend to CoGUR subjects to be offered under the SLR.
- To monitor and review the SL subjects on offer, including their quality and implementation.
Service-Learning and Leadership Office (SLLO) To provide professional and executive support to SCSLS:
- To implement the policies and guidelines laid down by SCSLS/CoGUR on quality assurance of SL subjects.
- To facilitate and support the call for, and the vetting of, subject proposals.
- To coordinate the offering of SL subjects in each semester.
Committee on PolyU Community Service Fund (CoCSF)
- To oversee the use, execution and administration of the Community Service Fund
- To make the funding decisions on applications
Service-Learning and Leadership Office (SLLO)
To provide professional and executive support to CoCSF:
- To facilitate and support the call for, and the vetting of, funding applications
- To monitor the progress of approved projects
- To liaise with applicants, project leaders, the Office of Institutional Advancement and Finance Office (FO)
Service-Learning subjects are funded by the University and the money will be allocated to the one-line budget of the subject offering departments each year. In view of their unique nature, SL subjects are getting higher funding support than normal GUR subjects, so as to cover the extra costs required in carrying out the subject-related service projects. For details, please contact SLLO via sllo.info@polyu.edu.hk or (852) 2766 4376.
The funds allocated to SL subjects are to be used on subject-related expenses only, including both the teaching and project expenses. While normally departments should not recruit part-time staff to teach SL subjects, departments may consider using the funds to hire part-time staff to supervise students in service projects, if necessary, to facilitate the smooth running of SL subjects and the related service projects. When hiring part-time staff, the prevailing human resources policies of the University should be observed. Departments can also collaborate with SLLO or community partners in sharing out some of the training or project supervision work.
Yes. The PolyU Community Service Fund (CSF) was set up to support servicing initiatives, both local and offshore, by PolyU staff and students. There are other funding opportunities and the latest information can be found HERE.
You are strongly recommended to get started by reading the "Guidelines for Subject Development"? Please feel free to discuss your ideas with your SLLO Faculty Liaison Officer. There are workshops jointly organized by the SLLO and CoP-SL on the topic of developing SL subject proposals. Please watch out for notices.
The Sub-committee on Service-Learning Subjects considers and recommends SL subject proposals to the Committee on General University Requirements (CoGUR). CoGUR then endorses and recommends SL subject proposals to the Academic Planning and Regulations Committee and the Senate for implementation approval.
The Committee on General University Requirements calls for SL subject proposals from time to time. Please watch out for email notices.
Given the large number and variety of credit-bearing SL subjects offered by different departments and the large number of staff involved in teaching and assessing students in those subjects, there is a strong need to ensure that:
- There is consistency in the criteria and standards for assessing students’ performance to maintain parity and fairness in grading across different SL subjects;
- All the common intended learning outcomes of SL subjects are properly assessed and students’ attainment of those outcomes are reflected in the overall subject grade awarded.
Please click HERE for details on PolyU’s General Assessment Regulations as applied to SL subjects, and a set of sample rubrics for assessing students’ achievement with regard to the four common learning outcomes of SL subjects.
SL subjects/projects involve out-of-classroom activities in different settings and places. PolyU staff, students and the related parties such as the service recipients may be exposed to risky situations that warrant special attention.
Please refer to the Risk Management Handbook, which aims to provide the SL subject/project leaders essential information and resources on risk management of SL activities. It helps the SL subject/project leaders to draw up a practical and effective risk management plan.
Yes. We have a SL Handbook and other resources for colleagues. Please check out HERE.
Service-Learning and Leadership Office
Office Hours:
Monday to Friday (except public holidays)
09:00am - 12:45pm
14:00pm - 17:50pm
Address:
TU428, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2766 4376
Fax: (852) 3400 2938
Email: sllo.info@polyu.edu.hk
Service-Learning subjects in the time of COVID-19 pandemic
As you can see, the pandemic is making it rather difficult to plan and to anticipate. However, SL teachers have had semesters’ worth of experience dealing with these unanticipated changes and they will already have a Plan B in place in case unexpected changes come up. If you are already enrolled in an SL subject, your SL teacher will have more details — remember to check in with them and do make sure that you read all the emails and announcements on Blackboard! If you are looking to enrol in an SL subject, you can find the subjects on offer and their subject/contact information HERE. Please also watch out for the email announcements concerning Learning and Teaching Arrangements, subject registration, etc. issued by the Academic Registry. If you need further information on the subject themselves, please approach the subject-offering departments directly.
If you have obtained special approval to study outside Hong Kong from your programme hosting department, as you will not be in Hong Kong, you should not register into service-learning subjects consisting of learning and teaching activities that require mandatory f2f participation. Subject teachers will provide information about the subjects e.g., whether the subjects require essential learning and teaching activities (e.g. service projects) that require mandatory f2f participation. The information will be available from the Academic Registry before the subject registration exercise begins. You must attend to the subject registration information carefully, and contact the subject-offering departments if you have any questions. If you have questions regarding your studies for the coming semester, please contact your programme hosting department directly.
For more details of the subject registration arrangement (e.g. subject registration schedule, subject registration procedures, FAQ, etc.), please refer to the Subject Registration Section of Academic Registry's website. If you have any queries on the subject registration arrangements, you can also contact the Academic Registry at (852) 2333 0600 during office hours or via email at ar.subreg@polyu.edu.hk (as well as at the special hotlines of (852) 2766 5599 / 2766 5191 / 2766 5172 operating during office hours of the subject registration and add/drop periods).
