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TKU Only University to Win MOE’s 2013 Friendly Campus Award

Date 2013-09-09 4235 Clicks

The Ministry of Education (MOE) urges the promotion of student affairs and counseling excellence in outstanding municipal, county, public and private schools at all levels and with distinguished school personnel. The active participation of education personnel in the innovative work of student affairs and counseling is encouraged in order to create a friendly campus, and in particular to earn the Friendly Campus Award. This year TKU was honored with the MOE’s 2013 Friendly Campus Award, and in fact it was the only winner of the award out of all universities and colleges. Moreover, Chen Ruey-Er on the staff of the Office of Student Affairs also received an award for distinguished student affairs personnel. TKU also won two awards, which gives TKU long-term roots as a friendly campus and actively provides confirmation that each student has a considerate and suitable campus environment. In this way, the eternal truth of care, equality, security, respect and friendliness is able to shine!

Campus security, the right to the rule of law and to education, care for the vulnerable, the choice of sex education, student counseling for deviant behavior, establishing a system for a counseling mechanism and channel, and a harmonious organized culture are the major properties of a friendly campus. Student Affairs Dean Ko Chih-En said that student services, student learning and student development are operating goals for sustaining a friendly campus at Tamkang University. These three basic objectives thus formulate an implementation plan based on student counseling, club learning, services learning, career development and spiritual improvement. The specific achievements of the plan then are to increase the quality of student services and improve student satisfaction; to energize student learning and enhance the core competencies of students; and to add value to student development and improve student personality. An information service system has been developed in response to the demands of the Internet generation, such as, a mentoring system, an e-consultation system and an online email address for mental health exercises.

On the subject of friendly campus innovation, Dean Ko said that in regard to curriculum innovation, in order to execute the deepening of learning programs for professional knowledge services, professional theories are applied to services programs that intensify services learning content. The opening of freshman courses promotes measures for counseling that enhance student adaptability and self-discovery skills, establish learning objectives and explore career potential. In terms of services innovation, a joint services center was established to clearly understand student requirements, and in order to curtail the time and distance students spend on related matters, an open-style counter was adopted that has part-time student workers filling shifts to provide consultation and collection services. A health promotion program is planned with the theme of “A good day begins with a healthy diet.” Word of the program will be spread by distributing manuals on campus and labeling food calories to change student dieting behavior. Regarding counseling innovation, the campus offers complete mental health tertiary prevention work, screening for high-risk students, individual follow-up counseling, and improvement of mental health quality. International services learning is promoted to nurture concern in students for international issues and shape their capacities as global citizens. Service regions include Cambodia and Latin American countries. As for environmental innovations, taking the sustainability of health and security as a starting point, a pedestrian friendly campus has been built, a smoke-free, purified campus has been created, and traffic has been improved around the campus.

Chen Ruey-Er was honored with the Distinguished Student Affairs Personnel Award, having served for over 21 years in student affairs and counseling, and she deserved credit for promoting moral character via education, services learning and community development. In particular, diverse and innovative methods specifically manifest moral character in campus life, education and various activities. For example, holding sports events in recognition of moral character allows the athletes to more fully appreciate its importance, such as when running, seven key moral points are formed, “honesty,” “respect,” “responsibility,” “cooperation,” “tolerance,” “empathy” and “piety.” In addition, Ms. Chen guides groups of classmates in helping people struggling with a solitary life in the remote mountainous regions of Tamsui’s Xiaguirou Shan area. One elderly woman was in urgent need of an artificial eye because of pathological damage from inflammation and ulceration to the surrounding tissue of her right eye. However, the costs of the operation are not covered by the national health plan. Therefore, Chen and the group of students raised the funds needed during a Mother’s Day event on warm day in May so that the woman was able to fulfill her dream of getting a prosthetic eye.

Dean Ko Chih-En of the Office of Student Affairs stressed that student affairs work toward the comprehensive development of “a focus on the growth of a student’s body, mind and spirit.” She said that winning the award is the beginning of a heavy responsibility, and that in the future “the TKU friendly campus will grow even friendlier!”

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