Read the article below..
somehow.. i feel somethnig's fishy with SMU...
from the straits times:
Jan 6, 2005
SMU fees set to be higher than rival varsities'
Poll shows prospective students and parents willing to pay more for
varsity of their choice
By Sandra Davie
EDUCATION CORRESPONDENT
SINGAPORE Management University, the newest university here, is
setting its own tuition fees, which are likely to be higher than
those of the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang
Technological University.
It is doing so after a survey of prospective students and their
parents, which it had commissioned last year, indicated that they
are willing to pay more for a university of their choice.
Its provost, Professor Tan Chin Tiong, said the survey confirmed
that SMU has differentiated itself from the other two
universities.
'It has certainly defined a new competitive space in the
educational arena and provided significant value options for
potential students,' he added.
However, he would not disclose how much more the 648 respondents
would be willing to pay, saying only that the new fees will be
announced with the survey results by the end of this month.
The first hint that SMU would take a different route came last
month when NUS and NTU raised their tuition fees but SMU did
not.
Undergraduates at the other two universities will pay about 5 per
cent more from August this year. Now, students, other than those in
dentistry and medicine, pay $5,650 a year. The hike raises their
fees by $280, while medical and dentistry undergraduates will pay
an extra $810 a year. p> In the SMU survey, students and parents
were asked how they perceived the five-year-old university relative
to NUS and NTU.
They picked 'creative', 'modern', 'exciting', 'vibrant', 'fun',
'confident' and 'stylish' from the list of adjectives
offered.
NUS was described as 'established', 'familiar' and 'reliable', and
NTU 'traditional' and 'down-to-earth'.
Provost Tan said: 'We're thrilled to have words like 'adventurous'
and 'modern' used for SMU.'p> In a Straits Times survey last
year among junior college students, half of the 833 interviewed
said they would be willing to pay more for a university of their
choice. That poll also showed NUS was most preferred as it was the
most established and prestigious. p> Yesterday, six out of the
10 junior college and polytechnic students interviewed said they
were willing to pay a higher fee for their preferred university if
the difference was reasonable.
Final-year Ngee Ann Polytechnic student Selena Ow, 19, who is
eyeing a place at SMU, said: 'The difference shouldn't be more than
10 per cent. If it was, SMU would have to convince me that what it
has to offer is far beyond that at NUS and NTU.'
