Teaching & Learning

Bachelor of Social Work offers students with sound theoretical knowledge and practical skills to help them acquire a comprehensive understanding on individual, family and community levels. It is the first of its kind in Macao positively reviewed by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ), Hong Kong. Students are able to have substantial acquaintance of various community resources and professional knowledge, practical skills and diversified working approaches to assist needy or marginalised sectors of the community. Graduates are qualified to be registered social workers in Macao.

The programme aims to nurture professional social workers who are equipped with high ethical standards and an inclusive and liberal attitude to serve local community and neighbouring regions. In line with the Macao SAR's ten-year development strategy, the programme has a strong emphasis on elderly and rehabitation services so as to enable students keep breast of the latest governmental and social development.

Upon completion of the programme, students are expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes in terms of academic contents, disciplinary skills, and attributes. Graduates are capable of working in different service settings such as government organisations and NGOs as social workers, student counsellors, centres-in-charge, team leaders and other supervisory positions.

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, group projects, role plays, case studies and other learning opportunities, students will acquire the learning outcomes expected from individual learning modules. The programme fosters a friendly and cooperative learning environment for students. Teamwork is required in most of the module assignments so as to strengthen students' team spirit and communication skills. Fieldwork practice is a crucial part of social work education. Students work as intern social workers in social service organisations so that they can apply their academic knowledge to real-life cases under supervision.

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, essays, projects, case studies 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 exam 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 exam or those who fail to meet attendance requirement will be required to repeat the failed modules.

In addition, students are required to undertake fieldwork placements so as to assess their ability of putting knowledge into practice. They will receive feedback from supervisors throughout the practicum. At the end of the practicum, a summative performance is evaluated based on students' activity log, reflective journal and portfolio. The continuous assessment occupies 100% of students' overall performance and no final examination is to be arranged. The results in three fieldwork placements contribute to the calculation of student GPA.

The programme is delivered over eight semesters spanning four years. Students are required to acquire 148 credits for graduation. The first year covers fundamental knowledge in psychology, sociology as well as in the relevant supporting disciplines, such as information technology and languages. The second year is the broadening year, in which students will accumulate more knowledge in social work, at an intermediate level. The third year is designed to strengthen students’ skills in social work theories and fieldwork practice on a larger scale and on a more advanced level. The final year is designed to enhance students’ practical experience and studies on various selected topics. Students are required to complete three fieldwork practice during their studies. During the first, third and fourth years, students will be able to choose electives that they are interested into acquire more in-depth knowledge in history and culture, philosophy, social work across various communities and social welfare.

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 supported 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. In addition, during the fieldwork practice, a supervisor is assigned to each student so as to provide feedback to students' performance.

N/A

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 established a close network with various social service organisations, government departments and NGOs to provide students with fieldwork opportunities.