Forum Letter Replies
Why Universities Don't Have Joint Application System
I would like to thank Mr Kwan Jin Yao for his suggestion to set up a joint application system among Singapore’s universities (‘Places in universities: Set up a joint application system’, ST, 22 Mar 10).
Prior to 2005, the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) had a joint application system. However, it limited the universities’ responsiveness to the applicants’ needs as each university had different sets of admissions criteria and employed assessment tools in the form of essays, testimonials and other portfolio information, to select students with the appropriate aptitude and ability for the various courses.
Therefore, the four publicly-funded universities—NUS, NTU, Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and the Singapore Management University (SMU)—decided to develop their own admissions portals, customised to meet both the universities’ and the applicants’ needs.
The universities are very mindful of ensuring that their portals are as “applicant-friendly” as possible, and have streamlined information-gathering where possible. For instance, applicants to NUS, NTU and SMU do not need to fill in their ‘A’ Level grades as these are automatically extracted from the Ministry of Education’s (MOE) database when the applicant grants the university permission to do so.
We appreciate Mr Kwan’s suggestion, and will continue to work with our universities to make the process as convenient as possible for applicants.
Director, Higher Education
“Places in universities: Set up a joint application system”, Mr Kwan Jin Yao, ST, 22 Mar 10)
TERTIARY education is a cornerstone of Singapore’s meritocratic system. With the establishment of a fourth university soon, there will be more options and places for Singapore students, enhancing the vibrancy of the education scene.
Every year, thousands of students go through the hassle of compiling documentation to apply for places in our universities. With the entry of one more university, prospective undergraduates will face a more daunting task in applying for the different courses at the different universities.
Filling out the myriad forms with repetitive information, and securing and collating the relevant documents needed for each university, is a difficult, tedious and time-consuming process. All this pain could be eased with a single step.
It would be a constructive decision by the authorities to introduce a joint application system for places in Singapore’s universities.
For the four universities, it would mean less paper work and fewer administrative staff.
For applicants, the burden would be less and they could focus on bettering the quality of their submissions.
Currently, colleges and universities in Britain and the United States have the Universities & Colleges Admissions Service and Common Application respectively as clearing houses for applications. While the education landscape in Singapore is much smaller, a comprehensive online system can still be viable.
A joint board, with representation from all four universities, could oversee and ensure the smooth functioning of the new system.
There is already a one-stop portal for scholarship applications here: BrightSparks. A joint application system for the universities will help advance Singapore’s global competitiveness as an education hub.