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UNDERGRADUATES at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are illegally buying academic electives from their fellow students, some paying as much as $200 in exchange for popular courses.
my paper found a number of offers and requests for courses posted on NTU's online public- messaging folder for students, and learnt of a number who were also dealing through word-of-mouth.
The lowest offer was $50 for business electives, said a student.
A check done on the online public folder showed at least five such offers put up for courses during the university's most recent semesters.
Jacob (not his real name), a second-year business student, was among those who were willing to fork out cash for choice electives.
He said that he was prepared to pay $150 for a computer-engineering elective for a particular semester as he did not manage to get it during the official registration period.
Jacob said: "The priority for these courses usually goes to my seniors as they are graduating soon, so students like me have to find other ways to get it."
After posting comments on the online public folder, Jacob received an offer from an undergraduate who had registered for the elective.
But before he could negotiate a deal, he had managed to register for the elective when a vacancy emerged. A fourth-year chemistry and biological-chemistry undergraduate - who wanted to be known only as Kenny - said that the more popular electives, such as those in psychology and astronomy, are mostly the ones up for trade.
Kenny said: "The ones with the most number of people on the wait list and the least number of vacancies are pricier."
He added: "Electives which come with multiple-choice question formats in their exams, and those with a good weekly timetable, will also cost more."
