Procedural Guidelines on Handling Requests for Use of Facilities

Upon receipt of the CUHK Facilities Requestors’ request, the Facilities Manager shall make a decision as soon as practicable by reference to the following non-exhaustive examples of relevant factors: 

a) Eligibility for use of the campus facilities (for example, a person who is not eligible for sports facilities has made a request relating to a particular sports centre);

b) Safety, health and medical considerations (for example, fire regulations prevail over other principles in these Guidelines; in facilities for medical treatment, health and medical considerations prevail);

c) Personal circumstances of the CUHK Facilities Requestors (for example, the specific needs of the following individuals subject to medical evidence (if applicable): individuals with disability using transport facilities; pregnant women using rest facilities; transgender individuals using lavatories; persons of a particular racial group using specific facilities; breastfeeding in public space or reasonably equipped facilities; and so on);

d) Implication to all related stakeholders (for example, a ramp installed to allow wheelchair access for a particular person might benefit other persons with similar needs as well as those moving goods around the site; certain dormitory rooms might, for reasons for privacy, be assigned to a specific gender whose right might be weighed against other general factors in these Guidelines);

e) Cost and resources, including one-off cost, recurrent expenditure, feasibility of alternative arrangements and structural hardships (for example, adding an elevator to a particular type of multi-storey buildings might not be financially or technically feasible; a changing room in which no partitions of any kind can possibly be installed where serious embarrassment would be caused, or where users are likely to be in a state of undress, might not accommodate the needs of all CUHK Facilities Requestors);

f) Specific design or purpose of facilities (for example, a diving tower for the sports of diving might be designed to be inaccessible to a person on wheelchair).

To facilitate prompt resolution of the requests based on the principle that “like cases should be treated alike”, the following practice shall be adopted:

a) Where a request is amicably resolved, the Facilities Manager shall make a written record containing the following information: (i) the date; (ii) the venue; (iii) the request; and (iv) the relevant considerations and the subsequent resolution (see Annex). The collection, dissemination and retention of any personal data of the CUHK Facilities Requestors by Facilities Managers shall be handled in accordance with the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance. All such records shall be kept in an easily accessible manner as precedents for the Facilities Manager’s future reference. 

b) The record shall also be copied to the Diversity and Inclusion Office (DIO) for record as soon as practicable to ensure consistency of principles across the campus. 

c) The Facilities Manager shall refer to the precedents when making any initial decision. The respective department will keep the record internally for future reference and a central registry of past requests is available from DIO. Where there is any conflict between the precedents and the Guidelines, the latter shall prevail. 

d) If the Facilities Manager initially decides that the CUHK Facilities Requestors’ requests will not be accommodated, the former is advised to report the incident to DIO in writing for record as soon as practicable. DIO may consult other relevant parties and/or the designated Pro-Vice-Chancellor/Vice-President, and/or seek external legal or professional advice, and give advice to and assist the Facilities Manager to seek resources required for reasonable accommodation if it deems fit.