Application for Advanced Standing (Full-time Undergraduates)

What is Advanced Standing?

Advanced Standing is the recognition of prior relevant study completed which may allow students to gain transferred credits towards their programme of study. At HKMU, Advanced Standing can take the form of Credit Transfer, Course Exemption or Block Credit Transfer.

Who can apply?

Types of Advanced Standing

Specific Credit Transfer (SCT-FT) / Course Exemption (CE-FT)
(under both 5-credit and 3-credit-unit systems)

Specific Credit Transfer and Course Exemption are granted for courses completed at other institutions and are considered on a course-by-course basis. Partially completed prior qualification may also be considered.
No Specific Credit Transfer / Course Exemption will be granted for failed and attempted courses in the current programme of study.
Transferred credits/credit-units or exempted courses are NOT included in GPA calculation.
The basis for granting Specific Credit Transfer or Course Exemption depends on a number of factors, including but not limited to, amount of overlap of content, grade achieved, programme structure, course level and course type (e.g. whether the course is a core course or outside-discipline course).
Only (i) students admitted to Year 1, and (ii) students admitted to Year 2 with other qualification(s) not used for meeting the entrance requirement, may be awarded Specific Credit Transfer / Course Exemption, as applicable.

Main distinctions between Specific Credit Transfer and Course Exemption are :

Specific Credit Transfer

Upon approval, the student will earn the credits/credit-units of the corresponding course(s) that contribute(s) towards the award of the programme.
Transfer credits/credit-units will be counted towards satisfying the programme requirements so the number of credits/credit-units needed to be studied will be reduced (i.e. reduced study load).
Transfer credits/credit-units can be used towards satisfying the requirements for one programme only.
Courses for which transfer credits/credit-units are obtained will be shown on transcripts.

Course Exemption

Upon approval, the student will be exempted from taking the corresponding course. However, they will be required to complete another course to satisfy the programme requirements. Thus, the total number of credits required for the academic award of their programme will remain the same.
NO credits/credit-units are reduced (i.e. study load remains the same).
Exempted course(s) will NOT be shown on transcripts.

Block Credit Transfer for English Language Enhancement Courses and/or General Education (GE) Courses (BCT-FT)
(under 5-credit system)

Block Credit Transfer recognises holistic learning achievements of students in their prior qualification and may be considered for English Language Enhancement courses and/or General Education courses. Block Credit Transfer for English Language Enhancement courses (NOT English language courses in the core curriculum) – the prior qualification must have comparable learning outcomes, academic standard, level and duration as the University English courses offered at HKMU. Block Credit Transfer for General Education courses – the student’s prior qualification should contain elements that demonstrate knowledge in areas that differ from the field of study of the student's programme of study at HKMU. Due consideration will be given to the subject area, learning outcomes, academic standard, level and duration of the prior qualification.
Partially completed prior qualification may also be considered.
If students wish to apply for Advanced Standing for English Language Enhancement courses and/or GE courses, they should submit an application for Block Credit Transfer only.
Upon approval, the student will earn the credits corresponding to English Language Enhancement courses and/or GE courses towards the award of the programme so the number of credits needed to be studied will be reduced (i.e. reduced study load).
Only (i) students admitted to Year 1, and (ii) students admitted to Year 2 with other qualification(s) not used for meeting the entrance requirement, may be awarded Block Credit Transfer for English Language Enhancement courses and/or GE courses, as applicable.
Transfer credits are not included in GPA calculation while they will be shown on transcripts.

Block Credit Transfer for University English Courses and/or General Education (GE) Courses (BCT-FT)
(under 3-credit-unit system)

Block Credit Transfer recognises holistic learning achievements of students in their prior qualification and may be considered for University English courses and/or General Education courses. Block Credit Transfer for University English courses (NOT English courses in the core curriculum) – the prior qualification must have comparable learning outcomes, academic standard, level and duration as the University English courses offered at HKMU. Block Credit Transfer for General Education courses – the student’s prior qualification should contain elements that demonstrate knowledge in areas that differ from the field of study of the student's programme of study at HKMU. Due consideration will be given to the subject area, learning outcomes, academic standard, level and duration of the prior qualification.
Partially completed prior qualification may also be considered.
If students wish to apply for Advanced Standing for University English courses and/or GE courses, they should submit an application for Block Credit Transfer only.
Upon approval, the student will earn the credit-units corresponding to University English courses and/or GE courses towards the award of the programme so the number of credit-units needed to be studied will be reduced (i.e. reduced study load).
Only (i) students admitted to Year 1, and (ii) students admitted to Year 2 with other qualification(s) not used for meeting the entrance requirement, may be awarded Block Credit Transfer for University English courses and/or GE courses, as applicable.
Transfer credit-units are not included in GPA calculation while they will be shown on transcripts.

Application Overview

DEADLINE 23 August 2023 (for the Academic Year of 2023/24)

(1) Study programme requirements to identify relevant course(s) to apply for Advanced Standing

(2) Gather required supporting documents
(Click HERE to read Application Details on preparing documentation)

(3) Fill in the online form and upload supporting documents

(4) Review and SUBMIT the completed application form before 23 August 2023

(5) Await acknowledgement email with payment details

(6) Pay application fee (HK$300/application)

(7) Application result will be issued by email in two weeks

Application Details

Application Period

To apply for Advanced Standing, students will need to submit their online application, together with prescribed supporting documents, no later than 23 August 2023 so that application results can be released in time before the add/drop period. Late applications will NOT be accepted.
If students cannot meet the application deadline this year for valid reasons, they may apply during the next application period in the subsequent Academic Year (relevant dates to be announced in next summer). If such occasion arises, students are advised not to enrol in HKMU courses that they intend to apply for Advanced Standing. If these intended courses are pre-assigned, please drop them during the add/drop period. When the application result in the subsequent Academic Year is unsuccessful for those dropped pre-assigned courses, students are required to add them back during the add/drop period to fulfil the graduation requirement.
For outbound exchange students, the credits earned at the host institutions may be transferred to their academic records at the University. Upon returning from the exchange studies, students should submit an application before the commencement of the next school term, together with prescribed supporting documents for consideration.

Application Procedure

Preparation of Documentation Prior to Online Application

Name ALL files as “student/application number_category'”, e.g. 12031203_transcript, 12031203_certificate, 12031203_syllabus, and 12031203_specification.
Only 1 file of max. 50MB can be uploaded for each section. A file uploaded can be replaced but not deleted.
Under each category (e.g. Award Certificate / Academic Transcript / Course Syllabus / Programme Specification), only ONE file can be uploaded for each qualification. Zip the files if needed. For instance:
a student with 2 previous studies: prepare 1 file for course syllabi of HD in Computing – COMP 1234, COMP3233, and INTG2234; and 1 file for course syllabus of AD in Internet Technology – COMM 2468

Application Result

Students will be notified of the application result by email before the add/drop period.
If students wish to appeal against the application result after the release of notification, they should write to the Advanced Standing and Graduation Team (email: regaso@hkmu.edu.hk) with justifications and additional information/evidence within 14 calendar days upon receipt of the notification. Appeal can only be made ONCE. The appeal result is subject to the sole discretion of the respective School and the decision will be final.
The granting of credits and/or course exemptions shall be applicable to the courses for one programme only as specified in the Result Notification.

IMPORTANT NOTES

Students are encouraged to seek academic advice from the Programme Leader/Department of their studies prior to applying for advanced standing.
Application for Advanced Standing of any types is a one-off exercise during the course of students' study at the University, except for newly gained qualifications after admission.
Any incomplete application with insufficient documentary proof cannot be processed and will be rejected.
Any misrepresentation or provision of false information will result in disciplinary action.
The University reserves the right to verify submitted documents, including but not limited to the requirement for in-person verification of true copies. Shall there be such requirement, true copies will be returned to the applicant after verification on-site.
A course previously completed at another institution may be used to apply for consideration of Advanced Standing against more than one relevant course in an HKMU programme. However, if approved, the course can be used only once towards Advanced Standing for one of the courses applied.
In the case of approved Credit Transfer and Block Credit Transfer, the tuition fee remain the same regardless of the reduced study load.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: I am not sure whether my prior qualification can be used for advanced standing application. Shall I apply first?

A1: Students are encouraged to seek academic advice from the Programme Leader/Department of their studies prior to applying for advanced standing.

Q2: Shall I apply for advanced standing every year during my course of study?

A2: Application for Advanced Standing of any types is a one-off exercise during the course of students' study at the University, except for newly gained qualifications after admission. You do not need to submit applications year-by-year with reference to your course offering.

Q3: I can only find programme information of this year on the web and no syllabus. May I go ahead to apply?

A3: Any incomplete application with insufficient documentary proof cannot be processed and will be rejected. You are advised to consult and seek help from the institution where you gained your prior qualification.

Q4: I may not remember well some information of my previous qualification. What would happen to my application?

A4: Any misrepresentation or provision of false information will result in disciplinary action.

Q5: How the University verify my provided information?

A5: The University reserves the right to verify submitted documents, including but not limited to the requirement for in-person verification of true copies. Shall there be such requirement, true copies will be returned to the applicant after verification on-site.

Q6: Can I use one course of my prior study to apply SCT-FT towards various HKMU courses?

A6: A course previously completed at another institution may be used to apply for consideration of Advanced Standing against more than one relevant course in an HKMU programme. However, if approved, the course can be used only once towards Advanced Standing for one of the courses applied.

Q7: Will I be remitted with tuition fee deduction upon successful approval of advanced standing?

A7: In the case of approved Specific Credit Transfer and Block Credit Transfer, the tuition fee remain the same regardless of the reduced study load.

Enquiries

Advanced Standing & Graduation Team

Tel: 2768-6624

Email: regaso@hkmu.edu.hk