A tale of success
Hong Kong program marks a proud 20 years

By George Mauzy

To say that Ohio University's Hong Kong program struggled during its first years might be an understatement. Students had to adjust to taking classes in a foreign language; they lacked the convenience of classrooms, libraries and other facilities; and they had to communicate with their professors in an unusual way -- by overseas mail.

However, that didn't discourage administrators and staff, whose perseverance helped the program become the success it is today. The Hong Kong program now enrolls more than 500 students, and this year celebrates its 20th anniversary.

Students say they appreciate the unique opportunities it offers.

"An Ohio University education is definitely an exceptional experience that you should not miss if you want to earn an American degree while living in Hong Kong," says Ida Wong, who received two degrees, an associate degree in 1995 and a bachelor’s in individualized studies in 1996, through the Hong Kong program.

A partnership between Ohio University Lifelong Learning and Hong Kong Baptist University, the Hong Kong program was created in 1985 for this very purpose: to bring an American education to Hong Kong students.

It was a bold move, as Ohio University was the first overseas university to offer on-site courses and degrees in Hong Kong. At the time, Hong Kong had few universities and educational opportunities to offer its high school graduates and aspiring professionals, says Joe Tucker, who served as associate vice provost for lifelong learning at the time of the program’s creation.

That's part of the reason the program struggled. It offered only a few courses at first, and students found that submitting assignments and waiting for their return through mail -- there was no e-mail or fax then -- created a significant barrier to their learning.

"It was tough enough for students to overcome the language barrier," Tucker says, "but they also had to overcome the lack of a support system to help them attain success in a correspondence program."

For students accustomed to the immediacy of traditional classrooms and student-teacher relationships, it felt like learning in slow motion. More than 70 percent of the students dropped out the first two years, including 90 percent the first quarter.

"The program wasn’t even making any money because the retention rate was so low," says Michael Mark, formerly a Lifelong Learning administrator. "We knew significant changes had to be made to keep the program alive."

The turning point came when Mark traveled to Hong Kong to evaluate the program. His orders were to find a way to fix the problems or abolish the program. After Mark's evaluation, it was recommended that the host school, Hong Kong Baptist, take a more active role by improving the learning atmosphere, providing comfortable academic quarters and increasing library facilities.

They also made two crucial changes: First, they added an on-site program coordinator to provide counseling and assistance to students navigating the administration structure of an American university. Second, they changed the curriculum from correspondence courses to on-site courses taught by Ohio University faculty.

In 1987, Emilene Yong became the program's first full-time, on-site coordinator and is widely credited with saving the program.

"The addition of faculty and an on-site administrator provided the program with a personal touch," Yong says. "These two things helped grow the enrollment to more than 100 students per quarter during the early 1990s."

Thanks to Yong and her staff, the program began to better meet the needs of the students, and enrollment grew to more than 200 students per quarter by the late 1990s. It had a record graduating class of 56 in 1999-2000.

"The ability to design my own degree was very appealing to me," says Wallance Lam Kam Shun, who graduated in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences.

Students also began to travel to Ohio University in Athens for some courses, which improved the quality of their education, says Muriel Ballou, who coordinated the Hong Kong program from 1993 to 1997.

"The program took a huge leap forward when several students from Hong Kong began taking summer courses in Athens," says Ballou, who now coordinates the Ohio University Without Boundaries program on the Athens campus. "The exchange of faculty and students was very important for the credibility of the program."

"When I first arrived in Hong Kong, my office was in an old run-down building off campus," she adds. "Before I left, the program had moved into the new David C. Lam Building on campus. It was a nice facility and is a reminder to me of how much the program had grown and improved while I was there."

Currently, the program enrolls mostly working professionals who take classes whenever they can accommodate them in their schedule, according to Director Roger Kenworthy.

"The flexibility of the program is what attracted me most,” says psychology major Maisy Chung Wai Yi.

There is a new internship program under way as well as on-site GMAT preparation sessions. The program has a 12-member alumni council that helps Kenworthy make important decisions and a quarterly news bulletin that keeps students and alumni informed. There are also three new adjunct instructors for the popular psychology program.

"The program is still growing," Kenworthy says. "It has benefited greatly from a great administrative staff, outstanding professors and hard-working, intelligent students. Much of our success has come from listening to our alumni. It has always been our goal to involve them in the growth of the program."

George Mauzy is a media specialist with University Communications and Marketing.

Related link

Ohio University Hong Kong Program