The following is issued on behalf of the University Grants Committee:
The University Grants Committee (UGC) today (February 25) announced the launch of the Student-Athlete Learning Support and Admission Scheme (SALSA Scheme) in the 2022/23 to 2024/25 triennium, with a commitment of up to $100 million.
Showcasing their partnership with the UGC and in support of the SALSA Scheme, heads of the eight UGC-funded universities signed signifying documents with the Secretary-General of the UGC, Professor James Tang, in the presence of the Chairman of the UGC, Mr Carlson Tong.
Building on the successful outcome of the Memoranda of Understanding between the Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) and the UGC-funded universities over the past few years, the SALSA Scheme will facilitate the admission of outstanding Hong Kong athletes to the UGC-funded universities. Providing focused, multi-pronged and personalised learning support to the athletes, the universities will introduce direct admission schemes or streamline existing admission channels targeted for prospective students with remarkable achievements in sports.
The UGC will allocate additional funding to the universities for offering personalised support to student-athletes at central and individual levels, such as the appointment of Student-Athlete Support Co-ordinators for one-stop guidance and support from admission to graduation, as well as additional personal teaching assistants to enhance academic support for student-athletes at the individual level.
Under the Scheme, each university will receive $1 million for central support and $150,000 for individual support in respect of each qualified student-athlete in active study for undergraduate programmes in each academic year.
Mr Tong said, "With the remarkable achievements attained by our outstanding athletes in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the 14th National Games, as well as the announcement that Hong Kong will co-host the 15th National Games with Guangdong and Macao in 2025, it is an opportune time for the UGC to go hand-in-hand with our funded universities to further improve the regime for supporting outstanding student-athletes, who are the pride of our community.
"We believe that the SALSA Scheme will help tackle the two overarching challenges facing student-athletes, namely getting admitted to universities without formal academic qualifications and their need for special learning support while they are away for competitions and training. The SALSA Scheme will also help effect institutional changes at our universities to allow more outstanding athletes who aspire to pursue dual-track career developments become successful in both their academic studies and their athletic careers."
The SALSA Scheme will benefit qualified athletes supported by the HKSI as well as recognised national sports associations. To enhance transparency, the number of students with non-academic talents admitted to UGC-funded undergraduate programmes of each university through direct admission schemes will also be released on an annual basis.
The UGC-funded universities will publicise the new or enhanced admission arrangements for athletes through the HKSI and other established channels.
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