Tertiary Education Shopping: Students Beware

Following on my current theme on things to look out for, for students who have just completed their SPM and STPM examinations - see articles here and here - I'll blog here additional "experiences" related by former students cited in the Star on Sunday.

The quote which caught my eye, something which I've been harping on continuously on this site:

“When we look at their website and brochures, they promised to deliver first-class education and facilities. For the money we paid, all we got was disappointment.”

Here's a list of some of the other typical complaints of the local private colleges:

• No clear entry requirements resulting in course switching midway

Many students in M Radha’s programme were forced to switch to another course because they couldn’t fulfil the requirements. “The requirements were not made clear to us. They kept saying they hadn’t finalised the details”

• Differing standards between local university college and foreign partner university

... the students were only told in their second year that the overseas university had different grading standards, which resulted in their marks being adjusted downwards... As a result, Radha and Michael, along with many other coursemates, have switched to a local degree programme with the same university college.

So does the switch imply that the local degree programme is of lower standards than the foreign partner programme?

• Unexplained fees

S. Reena*, who is in her fourth year of a biomedical programme with a university college in Selangor, is extremely frustrated because the miscellaneous fees she pays do not seem justified. “We pay an annual fee of RM550 which includes library and computer lab fees, activities and insurance. During our registration, we also paid for e-learning facilities and the alumni association. However, I don’t think I am getting my money’s worth.”

Reena says there are not enough computers considering the number of students, while the e-learning promise never materialised. Although they continue to pay the insurance fees, their insurance cards have expired, but the college keeps assuring them that they are still covered.

“As for the activities and alumni fees we pay, we have yet to see anything organised! On top of that, we still pay membership fees when we join any society. So I don’t understand what they’re charging us for,” she says.

During registration, no one pays attention to these details, says Reena. Once they are already in the college, most students prefer not to make a fuss out of concern for their grades. “I would advise others to really find out, and even scout around the college and speak to students before registering,” says Reena.

• Always verify the advertised facilities

Like most students, Mei Shan and Yi Jian assumed they would get what they paid for. Little did they know that the nightmare had just started. They had to share a computer with four other students during workshops.

Yi Jian says she could barely hear what the lecturers said. “The hall was huge and there were more than a hundred students. Besides, the lecturers merely read from the slides on the projector,” she says.

So once again, please be extremely cautious in your route to tertiary education and your choice of institution. Always remember that providing top quality education isn't always a priority among Malaysian private colleges as commercial considerations and profits do often get into the way.