College General Education and High Table Dinners: How the Nine Colleges Educate

# College General Education and High Table Dinners: How the Nine Colleges Educate

The bottom line: Each of the nine constituent colleges of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) offers its own 6-credit College General Education (College GE) programme^※ (from the 2025/26 academic year, new students must include at least one service-learning course). Non-classroom education is delivered through three institutional mechanisms: assembly attendance, High Table Dinners, and full-residence communal dining. Three colleges—Morningside, S.H. Ho, and CW Chu—mandate four years of full residence with communal dining three nights a week. The other six colleges set attendance thresholds of 2–4 assemblies or round-table events per semester.

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# What is "College GE", and how does it differ from University GE?

The CUHK General Education programme^※ totals 19 credits: 13 credits belong to University General Education (University GE), directed centrally by the university-wide curriculum office; the remaining 6 credits are "College General Education" (College GE), designed and delivered independently by each student's own constituent college. The content, course codes, and assessment methods for these 6 credits vary from college to college, reflecting each college's own interpretation of "whole-person education".

College GE does not duplicate the "four Areas of Learning" framework of University GE. Instead, it focuses on the college's own traditions, the spirit of its motto, and its student-development orientation. As CUHK's official overview of General Education^※ notes, in addition to providing credit-bearing College GE courses, each college also organises non-credit-bearing activities—including assemblies, overseas exchanges, and a range of extra-curricular activities—which collectively form the ecology of college education.

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# How do the mottos of the nine colleges set the tone?

The college mottos embody the founding values of each institution and directly influence the thematic emphasis of their College GE programmes. Below are the mottos and educational orientations of each college:

All college mottos are drawn from Confucian classics or Western collegiate traditions, but the specific shape they give to delivered courses varies considerably—each category is unpacked in the sections that follow.

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# How do the three "fully residential colleges" use communal dining in place of classroom instruction?

Morningside, S.H. Ho, and CW Chu Colleges^※ represent a special type within CUHK's collegiate system, known as "fully residential and communal dining colleges"—all undergraduates are required to live in college accommodation for the entire duration of their studies (four years for a four-year programme, roughly 8 semesters) and to participate in communal dining three nights a week.

Morningside College is the smallest, with just 300 students^※ college-wide (2025 data), the smallest student body among CUHK's nine colleges. Its founding Master was Sir James Mirrlees, a Nobel laureate in Economics. The college's 6-credit College GE is taken in two stages: in Year 1, students take GEMC1001 "Current Dilemmas and Their Histories"^※ (first semester of Year 1, 3 credits), in which College Fellows introduce enduring questions of human existence and Junior Fellows lead small-group discussions; in Year 2 or 3, students take GEMC3001 "Service Learning/Civic Engagement" (3 credits), which requires substantive community service accompanied by a reflective journal. The college also operates a three-night-a-week communal dining system. It is non-credit-bearing but compulsory—the college explicitly calls it "the core of the Morningside Experience".

S.H. Ho College is the largest of the three fully residential colleges, with all 600 students^※ housed on site. Its College GE programme is known for its "bookend" structure: in Year 1, students take GESH1010 "Orientation and Outreach"^※ (an introductory course, 3 credits), which uses outdoor team activities, workshops, and service projects to help new students build a positive attitude; in Year 4, students take GESH4010 "Work and Productive Life" (a capstone course, 3 credits), reflecting on how university education connects to working life. The college also offers two elective service-learning courses, GESH2011 and GESH2012. For High Table Dinners, S.H. Ho College holds 3–4 per semester and requires an 80% attendance rate^※ (e.g., 2 out of 3 in the first semester; 3 out of 4 in the second). Attendance records are entered on transcripts as "PP/FF"; students who fall short must provide an explanation to the Dean of Students' Office.

CW Chu College's full-residence arrangements are similar to those of Morningside and S.H. Ho. Its 6-credit College GE is split into two credit-bearing courses: GECW1010 "University and Society"^※ (3 credits) in Year 1, and GECW4021/4022 "College Project" or "College Project (Service)" (3 credits) in Year 4. There is also a four-year non-credit-bearing sequence, GECW1000–4000 "Non-formal Learning I–IV", which requires students to attend 5 college activities per semester^※ (students exempted from communal dining must attend 8). High Table Dinners are held twice a semester (the 2025/26 college fee includes 2 High Table charges per semester). Communal dining takes place three nights a week (Tuesday to Thursday)^※, with accommodation and meals bundled into a single charge. The 2026/27 hostel fee is HK$9,154 per semester (twin room)^※.

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# What exactly is a High Table Dinner? Do the rules differ from college to college?

The High Table Dinner originates in the collegiate traditions of Oxford and Cambridge—the High Table is the professors' table, where students and guests dine together in formal dress, creating a ritualised setting for cross-generational intellectual exchange. Within the CUHK context, each college defines the High Table Dinner somewhat differently:

Shaw College holds 1–2 High Table Dinners per semester^※, inviting speakers with distinctive life experiences to share on topics such as community service, arts and culture, environmental protection, and mediation. The college explicitly states that attending a High Table Dinner "is equivalent to attending a College Assembly", with both counted together towards the assembly attendance record for the non-credit-bearing course GESC1000—students who fail to meet the requirement receive an FF grade for the course, which appears on their transcript.

Lee Woo Sing College integrates College Assemblies, High Table Dinners, and WS Forums into a single set of GEWS1000 requirements^※: students must attend any two of these activities per semester. Attendance must be registered by tapping a CU Link card and completing an online evaluation on Blackboard on the same day; both steps are mandatory. Arriving more than 15 minutes late or leaving early counts as an absence. Unexcused absence from a High Table Dinner not only forfeits the attendance record but also incurs a HK$200 meal charge and suspends registration rights for the next activity.

Wu Yee Sun College folds High Table Dinners into its Round Table Lunch/Dinner system, requiring students to register for one "College Forum" or round-table activity per semester^※ to meet the GEYS1000 requirement. Round-table activities offer students the chance to engage in close conversation with the College Master, Associate Masters, and departmental heads. Students must pre-pay a HK$100 deposit, of which HK$60 is refunded after attendance. Forums are held on Friday mornings; a record of over a hundred past sessions shows speakers ranging from Olympic leaders and university professors to directors of cultural institutions.

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# How do the four large traditional colleges replace communal dining with an assembly system?

Chung Chi, New Asia, United, and Shaw are CUHK's founding or early-stage colleges. They are larger in scale and do not operate mandatory full-residence communal dining. They generally use "College Assembly attendance" as the primary non-credit-bearing assessment mechanism for College GE.

Chung Chi College divides its 6-credit College GE into 3 credits in Year 1 and 3 credits in senior years. Year 1 students must take GECC1130 "Idea of a University"^※ (2 credits) and GECC1132 "Learning through Serving" (1 credit). Senior-year students choose one course from options including "Exploration and Discovery", service-learning, servant leadership, and senior seminars. Throughout their studies, students must complete the non-credit-bearing course GECC1000 "College Assembly"—this requires attendance at 4 assemblies per semester (2 of Part A + 2 of Part B; alternatively, 3 assemblies + 1 substitute activity)^※. Students who fail to meet the requirement receive an FF grade. Chung Chi is CUHK's only college with a Christian heritage, and the spirit of "service" and "mission" is particularly prominent in its College GE curriculum.

New Asia College, whose motto 「誠明」 ("Sincerity and Intelligence") comes from the Doctrine of the Mean, likewise operates on a 6-credit standard, with new students from 2025/26 required to take a service-learning course. The college uses Bi-weekly Assemblies and public lectures^※ as its non-credit-bearing assembly mechanism, requiring attendance at 3 activities per semester, of which at least 1 must be a Bi-weekly Assembly. Students engaged in teaching practice or fieldwork for three weeks or more may receive a two-session reduction. Service-learning options include Chinese cultural heritage conservation projects co-organised with the Hong Kong Archaeological Society and the Hong Kong History Society, reflecting New Asia's traditional core of "Cultural China".

United College's motto 「明德新民」 ("Illuminate Virtue, Renew the People") directly articulates the philosophy of its GE programme—character formation and social renewal. College Assembly (GEUC1000) requires attendance at at least 3 sessions per semester. The college holds 6–10 major assemblies per year^※ in large auditorium-scale venues, alongside smaller gatherings. The 6-credit College GE programme similarly consists of credit-bearing courses, and together with the 13 credits of University GE, forms the 19-credit total required for graduation. United College has no mandatory full-residence requirement, but its hostel-place guarantee policy is consistent with the practice of the other large colleges—generally guaranteeing first-year students one year of accommodation.

Shaw College, whose motto is 「修德講學」 ("Cultivate virtue, pursue deeper learning"), offers a diverse 6-credit College GE curriculum spanning humanities, sciences, social sciences, and practical skills—including courses such as "Cantonese Opera Appreciation", "Emotion Regulation and Mental Health", and "Genetic Engineering and Social Impact". From 2025/26, new students must take at least one service-learning course^※, whereas previously completing two GE courses was sufficient. College Assemblies and High Table Dinners are counted together towards GESC1000; students who fail to meet the assembly requirement receive an FF for GESC1000.

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# Can the five new colleges meet college-wide demand for hostel places?

The accommodation supply across the five new colleges established between 2006 and 2012 varies:

The small scale of the three fully residential colleges (300–600 students) is a precondition of their design—only a community small enough can ensure that "everyone dining at the same table" is practically feasible and does not degenerate into a nominal exercise. Wu Yee Sun College has an expansion plan: the new hostel block is expected to be completed in 2027, adding 250 hostel places^※.

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# Where does the "High Table" tradition come from, and what special meaning does it hold at CUHK?

The High Table Dinner form originates in the collegiate systems of Oxford and Cambridge. When CUHK was founded in 1963, its college system was itself influenced by British university traditions—the British advisers to the three original colleges championed the ideal of "whole-person education", and the High Table Dinner was seen as an educational setting that gave equal weight to knowledge and decorum.

In CUHK's practice, High Table Dinners share these common features: formal dress (men are required to wear a shirt and tie) and college gowns; guest speakers are usually community leaders, academics, or professionals; the programme includes a pre-dinner address (usually by the College Master or guest) and a post-dinner Q&A. But the "weight" assigned to High Table Dinners varies by college: S.H. Ho College formally records attendance on the transcript; Lee Woo Sing College imposes a HK$200 penalty for absence; while Shaw College treats it as an activity equivalent to an ordinary assembly—showing that the institutional resources invested in High Table Dinners are not identical across all colleges.

Shaw College, in its introduction to High Table Dinners, explicitly states that it is "part of the informal educational activities of the College General Education programme, inviting speakers with unique life experiences to share", emphasising intellectual exchange rather than ceremonial display. (Source: Shaw College — High Table Dinners^※)

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# What new changes to College GE are coming in 2025/26?

The CUHK Office of General Education^※ has specified that students admitted from the 2025/26 academic year onwards must complete at least one Service-Learning course within their 6 credits of College GE, with the aim of "encouraging students to participate in community service and cultivate civic responsibility through practice and reflection". This requirement covers all nine colleges, but the service-learning courses implemented by each college have different emphases: Chung Chi focuses on servant leadership, New Asia emphasises cultural heritage conservation, S.H. Ho offers two elective service courses (GESH2011/GESH2012), and CW Chu's GECW4022 "College Project (Service)" can also serve as a service-learning option.

This policy change means that there is a version difference in College GE requirements between students admitted in 2024/25 or earlier and new students from 2025/26. When consulting any college's GE requirements, one must identify the applicable study scheme for one's own year of admission.

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# Quick-reference table: College GE and Assembly / High Table requirements across the nine colleges

Note: The above requirements are based on the 2025/26 academic year version of each college's official website. The specific number of activities each semester may be adjusted; the college's own notice shall prevail. The "Full-residence?" column indicates whether the college mandates residential accommodation for all undergraduates. Non-full-residence colleges generally guarantee new students at least one year of accommodation.

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