MDIS ends partnership with Australia's Edith Cowan University

[MarrickG]

STUDENTS were left confused earlier this month by the sudden news of the end of a partnership between the Management Development Institute of Singapore (MDIS) and Australia's Edith Cowan University (ECU).

First-year MDIS students my paper spoke to said they were told on Tuesday by the school's management that they were no longer recognised as students of ECU.

Mr David Lim, 22, received an SMS from a school official informing him to attend a meeting on Tuesday with ECU staff regarding "course termination".

The corporate secretary at an accounting firm had just started his Bachelor of Business in Marketing programme jointly offered by MDIS and ECU on Oct 4.

At the meeting on Tuesday, students were informed that the contract between both schools ended last Tuesday. As a result, first-year students who had not yet received their ECU matriculation cards were not considered students of the Western Australian university.

Mr Lim said: "We were very confused. We don't know if we can continue studying and, worse, if we should work on our assignments at all."

Students affected by the change said they were told only that arrangements are still being discussed.

Ms Joelle Zhuo, who is in the second semester of the Bachelor of Business in Accounting programme offered by MDIS and ECU, said more should have been done to inform students about the decision.

"Now that this has happened, what am I going to do? Will my first year of studies be recognised?" said Ms Zhuo, 30, a senior accounts officer at a research company.

When contacted, ECU's vicechancellor and president, Professor Kerry Cox, said the decision not to renew its 11-year partnership with MDIS stems from a review of the university's "strategic goals and objectives".

"We have decided in the medium term to reduce the number of offshore partners with whom we deliver our programmes," he said in an e-mail response.

Prof Cox added that the interests of ECU students are "paramount".

"ECU will work with all ECU students at MDIS and continue to cater for them and assist them to fulfil their aspirations as far as is reasonably possible," he said.

He added that senior ECU staff are already in Singapore to meet all ECU students at MDIS to discuss options, but students with any concerns can e-mail him directly at [email protected] MDIS said both institutes "mutually and amicably" agreed not to renew their partnership.

"All students pursuing the ECU programmes will not be affected," said an MDIS spokesman.

He added that the school will meet the students early next week to "ensure that everything possible" is being done to "help our students complete their courses smoothly".

He assured all students that it "is school as usual at MDIS" and that there will be no disruption to their courses.

[email protected]

 

[ivebert]

This is what you get what you pay to get a degree and study in offshore set up

There is always a risk

Go to NUS/NTU lah.

Not good enough, be less ambitious and stay put with your diploma lah!

 

[Robert Half]

NUS / NTU also do not produce any good talents la sometimes they produce a bunch of greedy people that alway looking for higher & higher salaries.

No contribution to the country at all

 

[ivebert]

NUS / NTU also do not produce any good talents la sometimes they produce a bunch of greedy people that alway looking for higher & higher salaries.

No contribution to the country at all

I agree with you, especially those in Technology areas. Just go look at their number of patents Sinkies have written per year.

But at least they pay taxes, support the pigeon hole system and nuture kids that will be better than peasant ones

 

[Royalblood]

I seriously urge any singaporeans who wish to upgrade their qualification via this kind of shady MDIS-ECU sort of arrangement to think v hard before commiting the time and money.

Singapore has too many graduates already. Both local and foreign trash fucks. It is like so many predators going after one piece of meat.
What makes you think that you can secure a decent entry level grad job using this kind of shady degree? Some of these private schools even advertise themselves as "top up degree program for dip holder"....simply wtf
ECU is not even a decent uni anyway. It is a lousy uni located in the white trash mining state of Australia.

Rather, you would be better off working for more experience and/ or take up professional qualification to advance ur career.

No sane employer is going to pay top dollar to a fresh grad of a lousy uni program with limited work exp.... It is not like Singapore is in need of bach degree holders

 

[Ash007]

Not a surprise here, this has happened before. Even a top Aussie university have to pull out of Singapore.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/singapore-retreat-cuts-unsw-losses/story-e6frgcjx-1111113637128

THE University of NSW has saved itself tens of millions of dollars by pulling out of its stand-alone university in Singapore, vice-chancellor Fred Hilmer told the HES yesterday.

The pullout will cost the university at least $17.5million in money already spent, but the cost would have been "absolutely prohibitive" had it stayed the course, the vice-chancellor said.

"The only thing worse than closing would have been not to close it," Professor Hilmer said.

"We had an unsustainable financial position that had the potential to pull the university down in the sense of soaking up all our uncommitted free reserves of under $200million.

"It would have left us with no capacity to develop anything else here (in Sydney)."

The university had borrowed a further $140 million to finance the building of the greenfields campus, but that loan was not drawn down.



Singapore students left in the lurch by the withdrawal are planning to sue the university, Singapore newspaper The Straits Times reported. They said students and staff were still being recruited even as the UNSW administration in Sydney was drawing up the retreat plans.

Professor Hilmer yesterday rebutted their claims. He said: "Things were put on hold; staff who were coming were warned not to make those arrangements and we haven't made offers to students. We sent them holding letters."

UNSW pulled out of its much-vaunted Singapore university last week, barely three months after opening the doors to its first students. Classes were held in temporary premises while the new campus was being built. Earthworks were completed and foundations had been sunk, but building work has now been called off. Professor Hilmer said projected enrolments were not met in the first intake and were unlikely to be met later. The 148 students who enrolled in the first year represented less than half the numbers the university had projected.

Cost was a problem, the vice-chancellor conceded.

Fees in Singapore were set at the same level as in Sydney, in Australian dollars, and a change in currency values inflated the cost for Singapore students.

Also, a spokeswoman said, UNSW could not compete with the Singapore Government's 75per cent fee subsidy for many students. "So we were charging up to four times as much (as the subsidised students were paying to go to a Singapore university)."

"The prices were out of whack," Professor Hilmer said.

"If we had reduced the price but made the student numbers, we would have had the same financial problem."

The Singapore Economic Development Board rejected UNSW's last-minute, scaled-down plans for a smaller student body with a longer build-up: "They said, 'This is not a plan we want to continue with'," Professor Hilmer said.

Asked if heads would roll, the vice-chancellor said: "I don't think so. This is a new university council, a new VC and a new chancellor. Our job is to look forwards.

"If you play the blame game, you will never take a risk. If you're going to move forward, you have to take risks and from time to time you have to live with failures."

UNSW has flown in advisers to help students, who will be offered places in equivalent programs at UNSW in Sydney to start in the second semester. They have also been offered financial help for travel and accommodation.

International education executive Michael Cope, who has worked in Singapore for 13 years, said many students were unable to make the move.

"A fair proportion of them don't want to go to Sydney," Dr Cope said.

"UNSW has offered subsidies for them to go to Sydney, but they don't trust the university."

One Singapore resident, Lee Chin Ser, said her sister was in a bind after joining the UNSW foundation course for its fast-track to university.

"Students have been advised to move to UNSW's Sydney campus or join a distance program. The former will be a financial stretch for the family while the latter is not comparable to a UNSW degree," Ms Lee told The Straits Times.

UNSW has been criticised for its projections of 15,000 students by 2020 in a market dominated by big Singapore and US universities.

Higher education analyst Simon Marginson, of the University of Melbourne, said: "It is possible to set up a stand-alone campus if you have a sympathetic regulatory environment and a market, and you do it modestly.

"The scale they were after in this case, 15,000 students, was a very big ask.

"You can't set up such a big venture without an established stream of income because you can't subsidise the majority of your costs for very long."

The only country that could supply that income stream was China, he said: "But why would they go to Singapore? As a business plan it didn't make sense."

Some other Australian universities with interests overseas said the keys to success were knowing the market and going in modestly.

RMIT University's Vietnam campus, Monash University's Malaysia and South Africa campuses and Curtin University's Sarawak (Malaysia) campuses were all performing well, vice-chancellors said.

 

[ivebert]

I seriously urge any singaporeans who wish to upgrade their qualification via this kind of shady MDIS-ECU sort of arrangement to think v hard before commiting the time and money.

Singapore has too many graduates already. Both local and foreign trash fucks. It is like so many predators going after one piece of meat.
What makes you think that you can secure a decent entry level grad job using this kind of shady degree? Some of these private schools even advertise themselves as "top up degree program for dip holder"....simply wtf
ECU is not even a decent uni anyway. It is a lousy uni located in the white trash mining state of Australia.

Rather, you would be better off working for more experience and/ or take up professional qualification to advance ur career.

No sane employer is going to pay top dollar to a fresh grad of a lousy uni program with limited work exp.... It is not like Singapore is in need of bach degree holders

An analogy will be

A prostitute will always be a prostitute

Even if she spent $20,000 to repair her hymen or do cosmestic surgery on her cheebye so that she can appear to be a virgin, she will still get fucked for a cheap $200

 

[Robert Half]

I seriously urge any singaporeans who wish to upgrade their qualification via this kind of shady MDIS-ECU sort of arrangement to think v hard before commiting the time and money.

Singapore has too many graduates already. Both local and foreign trash fucks. It is like so many predators going after one piece of meat.
What makes you think that you can secure a decent entry level grad job using this kind of shady degree? Some of these private schools even advertise themselves as "top up degree program for dip holder"....simply wtf
ECU is not even a decent uni anyway. It is a lousy uni located in the white trash mining state of Australia.

Rather, you would be better off working for more experience and/ or take up professional qualification to advance ur career.

No sane employer is going to pay top dollar to a fresh grad of a lousy uni program with limited work exp.... It is not like Singapore is in need of bach degree holders

The only good one in MDIS is University of Bradford.

Its BSc (Hons) in Accounting & Finance is accredit by ACCA.

Up to 6 fundamental papers can be exempted for taking ACCA

 

[johnny333]

A better alternative is to go to foreign Universities who are in Malaysia e.g. Monash

I heard you can start by studying in Malaysia & save $$$, then go to Australia for the more senior levels.

 

[ivebert]

A better alternative is to go to foreign Universities who are in Malaysia e.g. Monash

I heard you can start by studying in Malaysia & save $$$, then go to Australia for the more senior levels.

And then after that?

After you spend $100,000 to $200,000, what opportunities are available?

Come back to Singapore and take up a $2k job and compete with the FT??

Please lah... if Diploma holders are not smart, don't be so ambitious and go for paper qualifications. It only make you less employable since you will go to a low-ranked university anyway and incur more debts

 

[Robert Half]

A better alternative is to go to foreign Universities who are in Malaysia e.g. Monash

I heard you can start by studying in Malaysia & save $$$, then go to Australia for the more senior levels.

Not a smart way... must go London UK find a high profile university & study a honours degree on-campus there.

 

[Robert Half]

And then after that?

After you spend $100,000 to $200,000, what opportunities are available?

Come back to Singapore and take up a $2k job and compete with the FT??

Please lah... if Diploma holders are not smart, don't be so ambitious and go for paper qualifications. It only make you less employable since you will go to a low-ranked university anyway and incur more debts

What you said is right...for those cannot enter NUS, NTU or SMU.

Only available option is SIM & MDIS to acheive a degree.

For Diploma holders that are not smart... it is better to stick a job for say 10 years & above. Forget about climbing the corporate ladder or switching jobs for higher salaries because staying in the same workplace may earn more ...considering bonus & increments

 

[johnny333]

And then after that?

Some people don't have the $$$ to go oversease for 4 years. By choosing to attend Monash's Malaysian campus & then finishing in their Australian campus will save students $$$.

Monash also has a campus in Jkt. Know someone who went there 1st & then to their Australian campus. Now working in Spore in one of the big accounting firms.

I for one think an Australian degree is much better than a Spore degree. You get a chance to experience to live outside the 'fish bowl' .

Not forgetting that they also get an oppurtunity to apply for Australian PR

 

[johnny333]

Not a smart way... must go London UK find a high profile university & study a honours degree on-campus there.

Living expenses & tuition will be cheaper if students start off in Malaysia then go on to Australia. Don't know how good Monash really is but it will be cheaper than those ivy league places like Oxford, Cambridge,...

If you don't have $$$ must be practical right?

 

[johnny333]

.

For Diploma holders that are not smart... it is better to stick a job for say 10 years & above. Forget about climbing the corporate ladder or switching jobs for higher salaries because staying in the same workplace may earn more ...considering bonus & increments

A foreign degree gives other oppurtunities. For an australian grads it gives them a chance to work & live there as a PR

I don't know the immigration rules & regulations in Australia, maybe someone who knows can clarify.

 

[hokkienpeng]

Don't know how good Monash really is but it will be cheaper than those ivy league places like Oxford, Cambridge,...

Didn't realize that Oxford and Cambridge are now in the Ivies; must have sold themselves to America after Osborne cut their budget by 40%.

And anyway, it's a mistake to think that the Ivies are more expensive. Ivies and other top places in the US give generous financial aid to students. If your family makes less than 60,000 USD a year, you basically attend Harvard for free — Harvard will not only waive your tuition but will also pay your room and board for four years. As long as your family doesn't make more than 180,000 USD a year, you would receive some amount of financial aid from Harvard. This applies to every student, not just US citizens:

http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do

The financial aid comes with no strings attached (in particular, no "bond" or such nonsense).

The same goes for most other top private universities in the US. In fact, ever since they implemented such generous financial aid a few years ago, the high school students from China have been applying like crazy to these places.

But amazingly most S'poreans are still happily taking up scholarships from S'pore that come with 6-year bonds.

 

[GoldenDragon]

Buyers beware, period.

 

[ps07857]

Didn't realize that Oxford and Cambridge are now in the Ivies; must have sold themselves to America after Osborne cut their budget by 40%.

And anyway, it's a mistake to think that the Ivies are more expensive. Ivies and other top places in the US give generous financial aid to students. If your family makes less than 60,000 USD a year, you basically attend Harvard for free — Harvard will not only waive your tuition but will also pay your room and board for four years. As long as your family doesn't make more than 180,000 USD a year, you would receive some amount of financial aid from Harvard. This applies to every student, not just US citizens:

http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do

The financial aid comes with no strings attached (in particular, no "bond" or such nonsense).

The same goes for most other top private universities in the US. In fact, ever since they implemented such generous financial aid a few years ago, the high school students from China have been applying like crazy to these places.

But amazingly most S'poreans are still happily taking up scholarships from S'pore that come with 6-year bonds.

But also keep in mind that most of the students studying at Harvard had parents or relatives that studied there too (alumni). Alumni donations are also a factor. In any case, it is usually the rich upper class families that can afford all the extracurricular actitivities or support needed to enrich the high school student's chances of entering a prestigious college like Harvard, MIT, etc.
The US is definitely a place where if money is not factor when it comes to study. There are loans, financial aids, scholarships, bursaries to supplement them if needed (sometimes with no strings attached).

 

[ivebert]

A foreign degree gives other oppurtunities. For an australian grads it gives them a chance to work & live there as a PR

I don't know the immigration rules & regulations in Australia, maybe someone who knows can clarify.

Hard now. It has to be employer or state sponsored now AND there are tonnes of PRC chinese competing for those spots.

The immigration high tide is over

That's why I said even if you pay $100,000 to $200,000, you only gain a low chance in Aus. What's the point?

 

[ivebert]

But also keep in mind that most of the students studying at Harvard had parents or relatives that studied there too (alumni). Alumni donations are also a factor. In any case, it is usually the rich upper class families that can afford all the extracurricular actitivities or support needed to enrich the high school student's chances of entering a prestigious college like Harvard, MIT, etc.
The US is definitely a place where if money is not factor when it comes to study. There are loans, financial aids, scholarships, bursaries to supplement them if needed (sometimes with no strings attached).

It is a factor when you GRADUATE with debt and without a job. That's a problem now at least.

You get scholarships when you go to weaker schools. The spots at the top schools are very competitive.

Some schools even give you a full scholarship and these schools are usually private schools. Public universities aren't usually generous with this but their tuition are usually low if you are from the same state.