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BOOK NOW

Writing Centre Booking Page
Speaking Studio Booking Page
CAES Plagiarism
Workshop

HOW TO BOOK

Scroll through the slideshow below for a quick guide on how to book our services.​

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General Information (Fall 2022-2023, updated 26th August)

  • As of 26 August 2022, all CSS group workshops and discussions, are being held face-to-face. Students booking 1:1 consultations can choose to meet their consultants face-to-face or on Zoom.

  • Feedback will not be given to students who fail to attend their booked consultation.

  • CSS services are for students of HKU’s UGC-funded programs. If you are a student of a self-funded program (e.g., a taught master’s program), CSS is not able to serve you.

Booking Quotas and Rules

Booking quotas vary based on forecasted demand during each week, and are put in place to ensure equitable access to 1:1 consultations. See below for the number of consultations you may book during different periods of the semester.

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You must use your OWN University ID to book any service. You will be asked to show your ID when you attend consultations, workshops, and discussions. No consultation will be delivered in cases where the HKU ID of the person attending does not match the UID under which the consultation was booked.

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You also must book the correct unit for the service you seek (e.g., writing support for the Writing Centre, speaking or presentation practice for the Speaking Studio). Consultants will exercise the right to not deliver a consultation if the wrong service has been booked.

Online Consultations, Workshops, and Discussion Groups

  • You may choose to meet your consultant online or face-to-face for all 1:1 consultations. If you choose Zoom, please put a Zoom meeting ID, password (if any) and Zoom URL when you are prompted to in the system. You can use your Zoom personal ID, or one created specifically for your consultation. Zoom links should be uploaded no later than 24 hours prior to your consultation; we cannot guarantee that your consultant will meet you punctually online if you do not upload your link at least 24 hours prior. 

  • On the day of the consultation, log in to Zoom and start the meeting.  Your consultant cannot join you if you do not start the meeting on your side. 

  • You MUST turn on your camera at the start of the consultation, and then show your face, along with your HKU ID card, so that the consultant can verify that you are the person who has booked the slot. If your computer does not have a webcam, use the one on your mobile phone to start the consultation. Please understand that we require this to ensure that non-HKU people, as well as non-UGC-funded students, cannot dishonestly use our UGC-funded service. If you do not show your face and HKU ID card at the start of the consultation, the consultation will not be given. If your student ID is not yet ready, you can use your HKID, National ID, etc.

  • If meeting face-to-face please bring your Student ID card for all consultations, workshops and discussion groups. 

Uploading/Sharing Your Work

The DEADLINE for you to upload your text / documents and assignment instructions is at least 24 hours prior to your scheduled consultation, (maximum file size 10MB, with English file names). The file upload function on your slot page will close 24 hours before the consultation; no exceptions will be made to the upload deadline. If you have not uploaded anything before that time, then your consultant will have to use part of the scheduled consultation time to look at your work, and the amount of time left for discussion of your work will be reduced. Please note, links with documents will not be accepted in the goals box unless the link is to include a file that is not a word document thus cannot be altered within the 24 hours (e.g., a video for Speaking Studio). 

 

We impose this upload deadline so that your consultant can adequately prepare to discuss your work with you. We suggest that if you are not finished with your work one working day before, then upload your work in whatever state of completion it is in before the deadline; it is also helpful to upload assignment instructions. Use the “My Consultation Goals” box on the slot page to tell your consultant what goals you want to work toward in the consultation. See below for unit-specific upload requirements.

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Writing Centre Consultations: 

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  • Please directly upload to the booking system any doc files containing your work. No PDFs for your written work, please. You can also upload assignment instructions, and/or readings that you would like to discuss with your consultant (English file name, maximum file size 10MB). Do this by dragging the files into the upload box, and make sure to click the “upload” button.

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Speaking Studio Consultations: 

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  • Please use the "My Consultation Goals" box to share links to any online files you want your consultant to look at (if any) and make sure your sharing settings are set to 'everyone'.

Cancelling

  • Please cancel your booked timeslot not less than 24 hours before your consultation by logging into https://caes.hku.hk/css and clicking “Cancel this booking.” Do NOT email to cancel your session after the 24-hour deadline. If you fail to cancel the timeslot at least 24 hours prior to the consultation, and you do not attend, then you will be recorded as absent. If you are absent from two CSS sessions in a semester without a valid, documented reason (e.g., illness), you will not be able to book for the rest of the semester, and any future sessions you have already booked will be cancelled.  Email documentation of valid reasons for absence to caescss@hku.hk within 24 hours after the consultation slot you have missed, stating the date and time of the timeslot.

Absence of peer consultant

Please email caescss@hku.hk with your UID and timeslot details. We will follow up with you as soon as possible.

Consequences of Misusing CSS 1:1 Consultations

Any misuse of CSS consultations that potentially deprives other eligible students from receiving support will not be tolerated. The following actions will lead to the offending student being banned from booking services for the rest of the semester, and to any existing bookings being cancelled:

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  • Booking consultations under your own UID for others to attend.

  • Attending consultations booked under another student’s UID.

  • Failing to attend two 1:1 consultations, workshops or discussion groups in one semester. Note that if you are late by more than 15 minutes for any session, you will be counted as absent unless you have a valid, documented reason. You will be permitted to attend the remains of the session to which you are late.

  • Booking the wrong unit for the service you seek (e.g., booking a Speaking Studio consultant for support on an essay).

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