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SINGAPORE: An institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS) will fund the grants for three master’s programs for entry in January 2021, after SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) withdrew aid for the courses.
The three programs are the Master of Technology in Enterprise Business Analysis, the Master of Technology in Intelligent Systems and the Master of Technology in Software Engineering, all offered by the NUS Institute for Systems Science (NUS-ISS), said a spokesperson. from school on Thursday. (November 19th).
Many of the modules in all three programs were supported by grants from SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) between 2018 and 2020, resulting in lower fees for Singaporeans and Singaporean permanent residents during that time, NUS-ISS said.
However, as of January 2021, those modules will no longer be eligible for the government subsidy as the financing agreement with SSG has ceased, he added.
JOB PLACEMENT GOALS NOT MET
In a statement Thursday, an SSG spokesperson told CNA that funding for the courses was withdrawn because NUS-ISS failed to meet job placement goals under its funding agreement.
“As part of the funding agreement with training providers such as NUS-ISS, SSG sets goals in job placement to ensure that training leads to tangible job outcomes,” said an SSG spokesperson.
“NUS-ISS has not met job placement targets under its funding agreement with SSG. Therefore, as of January 2021, SSG is withdrawing funding for courses supported by this agreement,” the spokesperson added.
Students who have already enrolled as part of the 2020 intake or earlier will not be affected, NUS-ISS said.
“NUS-ISS will fund the January 2021 incoming admission grant for the entire duration of their course. They will pay tuition fees of S $ 20,000 to S $ 21,000 for the course, the same as stated during the application period of the course from June to September 2020.
“We have reached out to all affected students to update them accordingly, extend our apologies for the inconvenience caused, and assist with any queries,” he said.
STUDENT CONCERNS
Students who joined the master’s program initially expressed concern after seeing their school fees double just two months before the first semester begins in January.
Students said that when they were doing their research on the graduate program, the fees quoted for the Master of Technology in Business Enterprise Analytics (MTech EBAC) for the previous academic year were between S $ 19,951 and S $ 21,376 for Singaporeans and permanent residents. , after grants.
An archived version of the NUS website from October confirms this.
A screenshot from an archived version of the NUS website detailing the cost of the Master of Technology in Business Enterprise Analytics program in October.
On November 13, the total fees for the same course as of January 2021 were updated to between S $ 44,100 and S $ 49,770 for Singaporeans and permanent residents, not including goods and services taxes and miscellaneous fees. This applies to full-time and part-time students.
A screenshot of the updated rates and notice on the NUS website taken on November 13, 2020.
A 27-year-old software engineer who applied for the program in August told CNA he was concerned to learn in his first offer letter from NUS on November 4 that the fees were under review.
In the original offer letter seen by CNA, NUS told students, “Please note that fees and subsidies for the MTech EBAC program are currently under review. Fees for the January 2021 cohort will be posted on the site web as soon as possible. ”
A note on the NUS website on Nov. 4 also stated that students “should be prepared to pay full fees in the event that no grants are available.”
“I emailed them to check what the rates would be like, because they said we had to accept the offer before November 10. Basically, as the deadline approached, we really had no choice, so we accepted the offer first. offer, “he said. the software engineer, who declined to give his name.
A screenshot of the notice on the NUS website on November 4, taken by one of the students accepted into the program this year.
A 30-year-old analyst said he chose the NUS institute program because it was more affordable than other alternatives. The analyst said he felt the way the rate adjustment was communicated was “unfair.”
“The point is that we have already missed all the other alternatives that we have. The reasonable approach if there is a rate increase of such magnitude is that they tell us during the application process,” he told CNA.
Another student, a 27-year-old engineer, who applied for the program said he did so because the price was “reasonable” and much lower than similar master’s programs in Singapore.
An email sent by the NUS institute to him on September 1 in response to inquiries about the course and subsidies indicated that the total fees for Singaporeans and permanent residents taking the program part-time would be S $ 19,951.22 to S $ 21,376.46.
There was no mention of fees and grants being reviewed.
All three CNA students spoke to have full-time jobs and had applied to take the course part-time. They said they withdrew from the course after receiving news of the fee adjustment, but will now continue their studies after receiving a new offer letter.
In an offer letter dated November 16 and seen by CNA, NUS-ISS informed students of the 2020 admission that it would continue to offer the “previously published” rates.
“If you previously declined our offer or withdrew from the program, we strongly encourage you to reconsider your decision,” the new offer letter read.
“I was not expecting (for rates to be lowered) initially. I expected it to happen, but I didn’t put much hope on it,” the software engineer said.
“It was a pleasant surprise overall that I could still get the title. But overall, I feel like all of this could have been avoided.”
