College: The Faculty System
College: The Faculty System
Under the Faculty system, students are divided across different streams and subject combinations. This heterogeneous arrangement encourages students to interact and appreciate one other’s differences as well as similarities.
Each faculty is led by a team comprising a Senior Consultant (SC), Education Consultant (EC)/ and CCA Teacher. Working very closely with the Civics and Subject Tutors, they oversee the scholastic performance and emotional well-being of students in their respective faculties. The work of the faculties is coordinated and supervised by the PCs/Faculty and Director/Well-Being.
The faculty personnel take on multiple roles. In dealing with the affective aspects of a student’s education, he/she takes on the role of a counsellor, disciplinarian and mentor. The SC/Faculty or EC/Faculty is usually the first person the Civics or Subject Tutor turns to when handling a delicate case. Very often, whenever they arise, such cases are a complex mix of emotional and disciplinary issues, each feeding on each other. The SC or EC is empowered to make decisions on-site to intervene in a timely manner to the benefit of our students. Such a decentralised Faculty system of managing students is more efficient in responding to the individual needs of the students. Programmes can also be more flexibly customised to meet the needs of the students within the respective faculties.
Our Faculties:
| Name in Greek | Pronunciation | Who Am I? |
|---|---|---|
| Apollo | a-pol’- o | God of the Sun |
| Ares | air’- reez | God of War |
| Artemis | ahr’-tuh- mis | Goddess of the Hunt |
| Athena | a-thee’- na | Goddess of Wisdom |
The Faculty Committee
The key reason for the existence of the Faculty system is to take care of the well-being of the student population in Hwa Chong Institution in a personalised manner. A team of student leaders make up the Faculty Committee. The Faculty Committee will be formed by all the CT Reps within the faculty. Amongst them, a Faculty Head and Assistant Faculty Head will be elected from student councillors to lead the team. The Faculty Committee operates independently of the Students’ Council and reports directly to the Faculty personnel in charge. These Faculty Committees are responsible for promoting strong faculty spirit as well as organising and mobilising support for faculty events, song and dance sessions, inter-faculty competitions and Founders’ Day Community Involvement Projects. They also support initiatives carried out by the Students’ Council, ranging from Orientation to the inter-faculty dance competition, affectionately called ‘POP’ or Post-Orientation Party.
The Faculty Committee also provides a platform for the grooming of student leaders. These student leaders organise and mobilise support for events for the Faculty. The aim of such activities are multi-fold – to add variety to the life of students in Hwa Chong; to provide avenues to express their talents and to build a strong Faculty spirit; and through this, a strong school spirit and identity.
The Faculty Committee provides a highly enriching experience for its members. Its strength is in the provision of real-life situations in which student leaders have to harness all their leadership, public relations and administrative skills in order to successfully pull off an event. These provide student leaders in the Faculty Committee an opportunity to build up a strong leadership portfolio. The Faculty may also present certificates/ meritorious awards for significant contributions by any Faculty member at the end of the year.
The Faculty Committees collate and communicate feedback on student morale, problems faced, suggestions for improvement and overall well-being to the faculty teachers-in-charge. Feedback channels and sharing sessions are instituted. Meetings as a faculty of students and teachers are held termly to define strategic direction, ways to strengthen collegiality, and areas for collaboration be in within or across faculties.
