FEATURE /
NEW RULES, BUT STUDENTS DON'T KNOW RACHEL TENG |
21.10.2011
|
Credit: NUS Overseas College programme
Undergraduates from the National University of Singapore can expect more flexibility when applying for the NUS Overseas College programme, with most of the previous restrictions possibly lifted in future.
The NOC programme usually spans over a year, with students having the opportunity to be full-time interns overseas while taking courses at the respective partner universities so as to complete a technopreneurship minor at the end of the programme.
Previously, students had to return to NUS for another semester upon completion of the programme, delaying their graduation by at least half a year.
According to new rules soon to be announced, students may be able to graduate at the end of the overseas programme, without having to return for another semester before graduating.
An additional restriction implemented just last semester by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, preventing year three non-honours students from embarking on the year-long programme, will also be revoked.
Tan Eng Chye, provost and deputy president of academic affairs, said, “I had a discussion with my colleagues on the FASS policies for NOC. The current restrictions by FASS will be lifted and we will standardize this across the University.”
The removal of these restrictions may be good news for future applicants but the current batch of third-year undergraduates, especially those from FASS, will still not be able to benefit from it – these changes may have come too late as they might have graduated before the change kicks in.
Some students also felt that there is the problem of a lack of communication between the school administration and the students.
FASS applicants, in particular, were frustrated by their faculty’s restriction and the lack of information passed on to them.
Koo Ruiqi, who was not be accepted for the programme due to FASS’ restriction, shared that she had initially not been informed of the reason she was rejected. Third year applicants like her only found out that they could not join the programme at the end of the whole application process, after getting referrals and going through two rounds of interviews.
She felt that since FASS’ restriction was put in place only last year, the current third year students should not be bound by this restriction.
As most students usually apply for the NOC programme in their third year, some students were also unhappy that this restriction had not been stated clearly on either the FASS or the NOC application websites.
“At the very least, there should be announcements made to the whole FASS population through their website and via emails. And I feel that NOC should state on its application page about this, so that students do not have to waste their effort,” Koo said.
Brenda Toh, a science applicant in her third year, felt that earlier notices would have allowed students more flexibility in seeking alternative arrangements instead.
Addressing this issue, the provost commented that he understood that these restrictions were agreed upon between FASS and the NOC Office, and that “the Faculty could have used a broader platform to inform students of this change.”
However, he is confident that the lifting of these rules could bring an end to frustrations that students have had.
This also brought up the issue of transparency in the way the school administration carries out its decision-making.
Having had changes made just last year to restrict final year students from participating in this programme, the upcoming lifting of these rules made students question how such decisions came about in the first place.
Previously, students were puzzled about the reason why FASS disallowed third year students from participating in the year-long NOC programme.
Despite having to extend an extra semester upon returning from the programme, they would still not exceed their maximum candidature of four years for a Bachelor’s degree.
When told that the FASS office implemented the restriction due to fears of students overstaying their candidature thus having to pay the full school fees without the Ministry of Education’s tuition grant, Koo pointed out that “in the first place, the MOE grant allows students to study for four years.”
She felt that since the maximum candidature given by the university has not been reached, students should be entitled opportunities to participate in school programmes that they were interested in.
The provost had clarified that it was an initiative taken by the FASS office in anticipation of delays in obtaining results from NOC. Without these results, students will not be able to file for graduation; hence these delays might deem it necessary for students to extend their candidature beyond four years.
This however, may not be justifiable to some as it was a rare occurrence.
And with the new rules to be implemented soon, students are left wondering how the school had made its decisions then and now.
Even with a revision of rules for the better, the impact of the previous restriction may already have had its effects, as evident by a smaller pool of applicants for next year. Notably for the NOC programme in Beijing, estimated figures given by alumni showed that the number of participants has dropped from nine and five in the last two semesters to none for the next batch.
If the new rules were to be implemented with immediate effect this year, more students such as the current third year undergraduates may still have the opportunity to participate in the year-long programme. And as Tan’s recent blog post reads, the school can indeed be a platform for the “global readiness of NUS graduates”.
For now, students can only wait for the impending announcement that is, as the provost says, to bring “good news”.
The NOC programme usually spans over a year, with students having the opportunity to be full-time interns overseas while taking courses at the respective partner universities so as to complete a technopreneurship minor at the end of the programme.
Previously, students had to return to NUS for another semester upon completion of the programme, delaying their graduation by at least half a year.
According to new rules soon to be announced, students may be able to graduate at the end of the overseas programme, without having to return for another semester before graduating.
An additional restriction implemented just last semester by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, preventing year three non-honours students from embarking on the year-long programme, will also be revoked.
Tan Eng Chye, provost and deputy president of academic affairs, said, “I had a discussion with my colleagues on the FASS policies for NOC. The current restrictions by FASS will be lifted and we will standardize this across the University.”
The removal of these restrictions may be good news for future applicants but the current batch of third-year undergraduates, especially those from FASS, will still not be able to benefit from it – these changes may have come too late as they might have graduated before the change kicks in.
Some students also felt that there is the problem of a lack of communication between the school administration and the students.
FASS applicants, in particular, were frustrated by their faculty’s restriction and the lack of information passed on to them.
Koo Ruiqi, who was not be accepted for the programme due to FASS’ restriction, shared that she had initially not been informed of the reason she was rejected. Third year applicants like her only found out that they could not join the programme at the end of the whole application process, after getting referrals and going through two rounds of interviews.
She felt that since FASS’ restriction was put in place only last year, the current third year students should not be bound by this restriction.
As most students usually apply for the NOC programme in their third year, some students were also unhappy that this restriction had not been stated clearly on either the FASS or the NOC application websites.
“At the very least, there should be announcements made to the whole FASS population through their website and via emails. And I feel that NOC should state on its application page about this, so that students do not have to waste their effort,” Koo said.
Brenda Toh, a science applicant in her third year, felt that earlier notices would have allowed students more flexibility in seeking alternative arrangements instead.
Addressing this issue, the provost commented that he understood that these restrictions were agreed upon between FASS and the NOC Office, and that “the Faculty could have used a broader platform to inform students of this change.”
However, he is confident that the lifting of these rules could bring an end to frustrations that students have had.
This also brought up the issue of transparency in the way the school administration carries out its decision-making.
Having had changes made just last year to restrict final year students from participating in this programme, the upcoming lifting of these rules made students question how such decisions came about in the first place.
Previously, students were puzzled about the reason why FASS disallowed third year students from participating in the year-long NOC programme.
Despite having to extend an extra semester upon returning from the programme, they would still not exceed their maximum candidature of four years for a Bachelor’s degree.
When told that the FASS office implemented the restriction due to fears of students overstaying their candidature thus having to pay the full school fees without the Ministry of Education’s tuition grant, Koo pointed out that “in the first place, the MOE grant allows students to study for four years.”
She felt that since the maximum candidature given by the university has not been reached, students should be entitled opportunities to participate in school programmes that they were interested in.
The provost had clarified that it was an initiative taken by the FASS office in anticipation of delays in obtaining results from NOC. Without these results, students will not be able to file for graduation; hence these delays might deem it necessary for students to extend their candidature beyond four years.
This however, may not be justifiable to some as it was a rare occurrence.
And with the new rules to be implemented soon, students are left wondering how the school had made its decisions then and now.
Even with a revision of rules for the better, the impact of the previous restriction may already have had its effects, as evident by a smaller pool of applicants for next year. Notably for the NOC programme in Beijing, estimated figures given by alumni showed that the number of participants has dropped from nine and five in the last two semesters to none for the next batch.
If the new rules were to be implemented with immediate effect this year, more students such as the current third year undergraduates may still have the opportunity to participate in the year-long programme. And as Tan’s recent blog post reads, the school can indeed be a platform for the “global readiness of NUS graduates”.
For now, students can only wait for the impending announcement that is, as the provost says, to bring “good news”.