The General Study Program (GSP) follows the standardized criteria and academic regulations of Canada's higher education system. For academic purposes, a full-time student in the GSP is one who is registered in at least 9 credit hours, or 3 courses, each semester. There are no part-time students in the Special Program.
Admission Requirement
Curriculum and Syllabus
Course Credit
Grading System and Examinations
Admission Requirement
Students enrolled in the GSP must meet all of the entry and eligibility criteria of admitting universities. They will study Canadian curriculum in China for the first two years, including intensive ESL courses for all students expecting to meet the English proficiency requirements of Canadian universities. At the end of the two years students will be assisted in their application to a Canadian university to complete their degree program.
Prospective students applying to the GSP must meet all of the following requirements:
Graduation from a senior high school of 12-years level (or equivalent) and hold a diploma.
Foreign language studied since junior high school (Grade 7) is English.
Passed Chinese National University Entrance Examinations (CNUEE) and received an acceptable college admission score.
Have documented good family financial status to support student's further study in Canada.
Meet visa application requirements.
Be healthy and of good character.
Curriculum and Syllabus
All textbooks used in the General Study Program (GSP) must be original English versions currently in use in Canada. The teaching plans, methods, and course syllabus all meet Canadian universities' criteria and the education quality must remain the same as the overall quality of the University which offers the GSP.
In the GSP, the language of instruction for all credit courses is both English and Chinese. That is, all written teachings, such as textbooks, tests, homework and blackboard writings, will be exclusively in English, however the oral teaching can be in Chinese.
Meanwhile the oral English courses will be given in entirely in English and only teachers whose native language is English will teach these courses. As such, students trained in the GSP are expected to meet the English proficiency requirement for admission by Canadian universities.
Course Credit
Normally, an academic course will be assigned ONE credit if it has 12 lecture hours in class plus 4 additional hours for tutorials and discussions. The total teaching hours for a course with specific credits can be calculated as
Total teaching hours = (12 Lecturing hours + 4 Additional hours) x Credits
Lectures in-class will be given not more than 6 hours per week. Lecturing hours do not involve tutorials, homework, or projects outside of class.
A student can register for no more than 18 and no less than 9 credit courses each semester. A student who fails a required course must repeat the course in the following year.
Grading System and Examinations
Academic Courses
All examination scores for academic courses employ a percentage grading system. A mark of 100% is the full score and a mark of less than 50% is a failing grade.
Each course must give a final examination in which a weight of no less than 30 percent and no more than 60 percent will be assigned. The remaining weight for the course will be assigned to term work including attendance, discussion in class, homework and term assessments. The final course grade can be calculated as:
Attendance Weighting of final grade 5-10%
Discussion in class Weighting of final grade 5-10%
Homework Weighting of final grade 10-20%
Term assessments Weighting of final grade 20-30%
Final Examination Weighting of final grade 30-60%
A student's academic achievement is measured by the Grade Point Average (GPA) of credit courses, Semester GPA (during one semester), Academic Year GPA (during one academic year), and Overall GPA as students complete their study in the General Study Program.
English As Second Language (ESL) Courses
All examination scores of ESL courses also employ a percentage grading system. A mark of 100% is the full score and a mark of less than 60% is a failing grade.
The Grade Point Averages of ESL courses (EGPA) are calculated by a Semester EGPA (during one semester), Academic Year EGPA (one academic year), and Overall EGPA as students complete all ESL courses.
The grades of ESL may be compared with the scores of other international English tests, such as TOEFL. Generally, an overall EGPA of 75% would be equivalent to the score of 550 in TOEFL.
