News Articles
▪ Earn a US Bachelor Degree in Business Administration in Singapore? Can!!
▪ This 'average teen' couldn't get into NUS, University president is now honorary member of medical alumni group.
▪ The Center for American Education Offers Bachelor's Degree in Businesss Administration
▪ Like other universities, USF offering classes in Singapore
▪ 2 Year duration and less than S$30,000 Tuition Fee. Polytechnic graduates can achieve an American Bachelor’s Degree in Singapore.
A news article from The Singapore American newspaper dated April 2008
Earn a US Bachelor Degree in Business Administration in Singapore? Can!!
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An online article from The Straits Times, Singapore, dated Saturday 24 November 2007
This 'average teen' couldn't get into NUS
University president is now honorary member of medical alumni group
By Maria Almenoar
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HE HAD mediocre grades, studied in neighbourhood school Beatty Secondary, and felt he could not make it to the local university.
So he went to Singapore Polytechnic and got a diploma. But he did not stop there - he made his way to the United States and eventually earned a PhD in applied science from Harvard.
That 'average teenager'? None other than Professor Shih Choon Fong, the man who now leads the university he felt he could not get into.
Yesterday, Prof Shih, president of the National University of Singapore (NUS), was made an honorary member of the Medical Alumni Association.
He is only the third non-medical member of the association of Singapore medical graduates. The other two are Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and businessman Lee Seng Gee.
'SM Goh was the prime minister and an alumnus of the university. I am neither.
'So I'm very honoured to receive this award... I could not even get into NUS,' said Prof Shih. |
HONOURED: Prof Shih Choon Fong (right), seen here with Health Minister Khaw, was conferred honorary membership of the Medical Alumni Association last night. -- ST PHOTO: LAU FOOK KONG
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He added that, while he was not able to enter NUS, studying overseas helped shape the way he led the university.
'I had the good fortune of meeting people who were enlightened, who understood education as really opening up the mind and encouraging students to think critically and independently and to pursue their passion...
'And so I brought that experience to Singapore and NUS,' he said.
The association's new president, Professor Arthur Lim, said the body had 'great admiration' for Prof Shih.
Under Prof Shih's leadership, NUS students are encouraged to express themselves freely, he noted.
Dr Chee Phui Hung, 85, a past president of the National University of Singapore Society and an active member of the association, recalled he was initially apprehensive about having someone 'not one of us' as president of the university.
'Over the years, he has imbued our medical culture... and we have now come to consider him one of us,' said Dr Chee. The association has about 2,000 active members.
About 600 guests, including guest of honour Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan, attended its 84th anniversary event at the Shangri-La Hotel yesterday.
Besides Prof Shih, Dato Lim Kee Jin, the first chairman of the Malaysian Medical Association, was also conferred the honorary membership.
mariaa@sph.com.sg
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An article in The Singapore American, August 2007 issue
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A newspaper article in Sarasota Herald-Tribune, dated Monday, 18 June 2007
Like other universities, USF offering classes in Singapore USF to offer business degree in Singapore
More than 20 universities have set up programs in the international hot spot
By EMILY MORRIS
emily.morris@heraldtribune.com
University of South Florida Associate Professor Anand Kumar is teaching introductory marketing again this fall, but it will be a heck of commute to class.
Kumar will travel to Singapore in Southeast Asia this fall to teach the first course in a new USF College of Business program.
USF is the latest of more than 20 universities from around the world to set up college programs in Singapore, an international business hot spot on the tip of the Malay peninsula.
The program has several benefits for USF. It gives USF professors a deeper understanding of international commerce, targets a new set of potential students and provides the university with more international flavor and prestige.
And eventually, USF students from Tampa or the Sarasota-Manatee campus could travel to Singapore in a study abroad program.
Singapore, a densely populated city-state, is a small country in Southeast Asia that is home to the world's busiest port and a growing banking center.
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The government of Singapore has been cultivating a "global schoolhouse" for years, encouraging foreign universities to open campuses there.
A private education organization there encourages development of new college programs by handling student recruitment and collection of tuition. The Center for American Education in Singapore uses the $14,000 annual tuition to pay professor salaries, and travel and housing costs. "These programs don't use a penny of state funding," said Bob Forsythe, dean of the USF College of Business.
USF is also working with Broward Community College, which began offering an associate of arts degree in Singapore 21 years ago. The BCC program was met with high demand. Singapore has almost no natural resources aside from skilled laborers, so higher education is naturally in high demand, said David Moore, associate vice president for international education at the college in Fort Lauderdale.
In addition, students who graduated from BCC were automatically eligible to attend a Florida public university.Administrators at USF were approached by the Center for American Education in Singapore to get a four-year degree program started. The center offers a two-year degree through BCC, but wanted an institution to extend the program due to demand, said Jackie Nelson, director of undergraduate programs at the USF business college.
"It is a unique partnership, a public institution partnering with a private institution," Nelson said.
The visiting professors will have the chance to interact personally with members of the Singapore business community. The cultural insight will be a valuable teaching tool, Kumar said.
"Professors will have the chance to meet with local business chambers and see the industry firsthand," said Kumar.
The student body at the Singapore campus promises to be diverse. The 90 BCC students now enrolled there come from 27 different countries.
The country has a large population of expatriates, many of whom want an American education, Nelson said.
The USF course work will consist of 20 classes taught in three-week increments.
"We are basically providing the equivalent of a junior and senior year," Forsythe said.
Faye Lihn Nguyen, a BCC student, is leaving in August for a semester of study at the Center for American Education.
Unlike a traditional college experience in America, students in Singapore will take only business courses and no electives.
No matter, said Nguyen. The cultural lessons will make up for the lack of electives.
"I hope this trip will go into my (four-year college) application and show that I've had some experiences studying abroad," said Nguyen, an anthropology major. "Any business these days is pretty much globalized."
Links to more newapaper articles:
▪ USF Oracle, June 11, 2007, USF to offer classes in Singapore
▪ St. Petersburg Times, June 7, 2007, USF will set up in Singapore
▪ Polk Voice, June 5, 2007, USF Offers Business Degree in Singapore
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A newspaper article in Xin Min Newpaper, dated Thursday, 5 April 2007
2 Year duration and less than S$30,000 Tuition Fee.
Polytechnic graduates can achieve an American Bachelor’s Degree in Singapore.
In August 2007, graduates from the 5 Polytechnics in Singapore can gain direct entry to Year 3 of the University of South Florida (USF) Bachelor’s Degree program. In less than two additional years, students may graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration for a cost of less than S$30,000.
Mr Chan Chee Seng, Chairman of ISS Education Group, Singapore revealed this news prior to the Center for American Education’s 10th Anniversary Celebration. According to Mr Chan, the degree track is the culmination of 10 years of hard work, and he is proud to have this opportunity to launch the 3rd and 4th year program, allowing Poly diploma holders more educational options. “We understand that more and more Polytechnic graduates are pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree (mostly from Australian and UK programs,) and we would like to offer yet another option for these students - an American Degree. This option will help the Polytechnic grads save money and time, and will allow them to obtain a degree from a highly regarded American university. In order for students to gain entry to the 3rd year, they must have the equivalent of an American Associate’s Degree, which provides the first two years of General Education modules—required courses for all US Bachelor degree programs. Students who graduate with an Associate’s Degree can be admitted into the 3rd Year, and will be on track to graduate with a specialization in Marketing and International Business. “For the past 10 years, our subsidiary, the Center for American Education (CAE), has been the branch campus for Broward Community College (BCC). Approximately, 10,000 CAE/BCC students have successfully transferred to prestigious universities such as Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, UC Berkley and many others. Their success is a great achievement, and reflects on the quality of the Broward program in Singapore,” said Mr Chan. Now our students in Singapore can get their American degree without having to go to the United States. BCC Associate Degree holders and Polytechnic students can enter the USF program together in August at the Center for American Education.
The BCC program at CAE is an attractive option for many other degree-seeking candidates. Students can join the BCC program straight from “O”-levels, and even National Servicemen can pursue their degree while serving NS. Dr Christopher Hamilton, Dean of Undergraduate programs at CAE says, “every semester, we have National Servicemen enrolling for night classes. They make use of their time after N.S. to accumulate credits, and they can complete the first year of their university education, all while serving in NS. These credits are transferable to nearly every university in the United States, and to many others outside the U.S.
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