Teaching & Learning

The Bachelor of Social Sciences in Public Administration fosters learning of theories and practices focusing on a range of academic areas in public administration, such as political science, public policy, public finance, law, international relations, administration systems and urban management. The programme also promotes interdisciplinary research with an emphasis on economics, social sciences, politics and culture, legal systems and modern public management. Students will be trained as innovative administrative management talent who can apply their academic knowledge to practical work environment, keeping abreast of the latest developments and possibilities across various public sectors.

The programme aims to provide students with systematic and professional knowledge to administrative management, cultivating their humanistic quality, international perspectives, ethics, and ability to apply their theoretical knowledge into practical work by adopting diverse teaching and learning methodologies including case studies, group discussions and internship. Graduates will be competent to take up employment as public service professionals.

Upon completion of the programme, students are expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes in terms of academic contents, disciplinary skills, and attributes. The goal of the programme is to train public service professionals who are competent in administrative management. Graduates are able to begin their careers at the government, private or non-profit organisations, utilising their knowledge in administration or management roles.

Academic contents 學術內容

Disciplinary skills‐ able to 學科技能

Attributes 特質

Mapping of Graduate Attributes to Programme Intended Learning Outcomes & Learning Modules 
畢業生理想特質與課程預期學習成效及學科單元之關聯表

Through lectures, supplementary readings, group discussions, collaborative projects and other learning opportunities, students will acquire the learning outcomes expected from individual learning modules. Scholars and experts in public administration are invited on campus regularly to hold seminars and academic conferences, providing students with a more comprehensive perpective in understanding the public management development worldwide. Field trips, case studies and internship opportunities are provided to students to enrich their hands-on work experience. Students are trained to be active, independent learners.

The programme schedules an annual examination board which considers all student academic profiles and agrees classifications and progression routes. Modules are assessed by a combination of coursework, presentations and final examinations. Explicit guidance on coursework requirement for each module is given, emphasising approaches to coursework of various types and how to avoid plagiarism, together with rules and procedures. Examinations are typically of a three-hour paper undertaken at the end of each semester. Examination papers will be reviewed by internal moderators and then by external examiners. All examination papers go through a moderation marking procedure. Samples of three examination answer sheets (high, medium and low grades) are sent to the external examiners for quality control. Re-sit exam will be given for qualifies students who fail their first attempt at the end of each semester. Re-sit marks are capped at 50%. Normally, students who fail again in the re-sit examination or those who fail to meet attendance requirement will be required to repeat the failed modules.

According to Article 3 of Academic Regulations Governing Bachelor's Degree Programmes of MPU,

1. An applicant shall be considered for admission to a bachelor’s degree programme of the University if s/he 
   a) holds a qualification not lower than Grade 12 or the equivalent, and
   b) fulfils other admission criteria prescribed by the programme of study concerned.
    
2. An applicant of age 23 or above, proven to possess relevant capabilities (especially in the entrance examination(s) of MPU), shall be considered for admission to a bachelor’s degree programme with a waiver on the requirement in item a) of above point.

Each student is allocated a year tutor who provides general academic and pastoral support throughout the four years of study. Year tutors are the first point of contact in matters stated above. Various communication channels are available for students to express their opinions and suggestions, such as via their respective year tutors, student representatives, programme coordinators and assistant programme coordinators, and dialogue meetings on different levels. The dialogue meetings serve as platforms for consultation and discussion between students and respective personnel ranging from the programme, the faculty, the academic support and administrative units, to the university management. Feedback is made by respective personnel to every issue raised by the students during the meeting with follow-up actions tracked. Student surveys are conducted in every learning module on a semesterly basis to collect students' opinions regarding the delivery of the modules. User satisfaction surveys are conducted annually on central student services. Feedback collected via these surveys will be followed up by the faculty or respective departments.

Students will receive an orientation about their four years of study at the beginning of the first year. Year tutors are appointed to individual students upon admission to provide academic and pastoral support throughout the period of study in the programme. Students may seek academic advices from their year tutors or programme coordinators regarding their learning path/plan and registration of learning modules. In individual learning modules, the instructors' office hours and contact information are made accessible to students for any questions regarding their study. Students' learning engagement and performance will be reviewed on a regular basis by year tutors and programme coordinators to identify learning needs and provide relevant support. Students' learning performance and progression will also be reviewed by the programme examination board to ensure their learning is adequately support and their progress is on track. In addition, counselling services, careers services and student support services are accessible to all students through the Student Affairs Office. A wide variety of extracurricular activities (e.g. seminars, workshops, exchange opportunities, field trips etc.) are available via the Student Affairs Office. Students may make full use of the variety of learning oppportunities, both curricular and extracurricular, to develop their academic and holistic capabilities for their future careers or further studies.

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Macao Polytechnic University has in place a university-wide policy to ensure that all student needs are taken care of and a supportive and accessible learning environment is maintained. When cases of special needs are notified or identified, special arrangements are made on a case-by-case basis with the joint effort of the programme and various student support services of the University, such as the Registry, the Student Affairs Office, the Information Technology Department and the Campus Management and Development Department, etc. to provide the necessary support.

The programme has a close relationship with government departments and relevant public administrative organisations, museums, NGOs, as well as educational and research institutions, which provide internship opportunities to students. The programme also works closely with career advisors to locate possible placements, internships and trainings on career development, helping students to reach potential employers. Throughout each academic year, external speakers from a range of employers are invited to conduct workshops and seminars on campus.