SINGAPORE — Students in the Singapore Institute of Management-University of London (SIM-UOL) programme are up in arms over having to pay additional fees for their exams in May, as well as having a short deadline to do so.
In an e-mail sent to them on Feb 5, students were told they had to register for the exams by Feb 28 and pay an extra $203 per paper. This is on top of the examination fees, which can differ according to the course and number of modules taken.
Those who fail to pay the additional fees by the deadline would have to pay a late-stage registration fee of $244 for each paper instead. Those who do not pay will not be allowed to take the exams.
But students The Straits Times spoke to said the new fees made little sense because while they have to be at the British Council venue under invigilation, they will still take the exams online.
A final-year student, who wanted to be known only as Eileen, said: "For the past three years, our exams were also done online, except they were home-based because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"But now, we're made to pay extra fees because they're being held in another venue. Why couldn't they be held in school? And if they need us to be present physically, why are the exams still being done online?"
The 23-year-old, who is pursuing a degree in banking and finance, felt that the requirement to be physically present to do online exams is redundant, and would rather the institution let students take their papers on campus, or at home to avoid the extra fees.
SIM is a private educational institution, with partnerships with various universities worldwide. UOL is one of those partners, and students in SIM-UOL study a syllabus set out by UOL member institutions, which include the London School of Economics and Political Science.
According to SIM's website, SIM-UOL has 18 courses offering different qualifications, such as a bachelor's degree or a post-graduate diploma. Exams for each module are held between May and June each year, with a resitting in October and November.
SIM's website shows that students in the same programme as Eileen have to pay $9,720 in exam fees for 12 full modules over three years. These fees do not take into account the newly imposed administrative fees for the examinations.
Besides the exam and administrative fees, they also have programme fees payable to SIM and UOL, and have to pay £10 (S$17) to use the online portal for each exam paper.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, students paid for the programme, and exam and online portal fees, with exams conducted remotely.
In response to queries from ST, SIM said the new $203 fee is an administrative cost imposed by the British Council and payable directly to it.
SIM added that exams were held physically at various locations before the pandemic, with UOL deciding the venue. Students then sat such assessments with hardcopy exam papers.
Previous venues include the Singapore Expo and Marina Bay Sands, where the administrative fees were lumped together with the exam fees as a one-time payment. The deadline to pay for the exam fees in 2024 is the same day as the deadline for the administrative fees.
SIM added that the administrative fees of the previous venues were lower than that charged by the British Council, but it declined to provide details of those fees.
The British Council said in response to queries that the fee amount had been agreed upon with UOL.
A spokeswoman said they reflected the costs of administering the exams according to the institution's specifications at a large scale across different venues for several weeks.
When asked which of its two locations — a centre near Tanglin Mall, and another one in Toa Payoh — would be used, she said neither have facilities to accommodate "very large numbers of computer-based exams".
She added that the exam venues are yet to be confirmed, and that students will be informed later.
However, she acknowledged that some students could have trouble making the payment, and said the British Council is discussing with banks and SIM on how best to accommodate such students.
Meanwhile, a UOL spokesman said the British Council was chosen as it has "extensive experience administering assessments worldwide" for the institution, as well as experience with the software that SIM-UOL students will need to use for their exams.
Students were told to bring their own laptops for the exams, and are allowed only transparent pencil cases with a pen, a pencil and an eraser, as well as a calculator for exams that require it.
"We believe this change will improve the assessment experience for students and provide them with real-time assistance should they need it during their exams," said the spokesman.
In April 2022, Singapore news outlet Today reported university students and graduates admitting to cheating or helping others to cheat in online examinations during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Asked if UOL had found students cheating when online exams were done remotely, the spokesman simply said the decision to return to in-person examinations was to provide "a consistent and academically rigorous assessment experience for our students".
He said that students were informed in November about the administrative fees, although the amount was not specified then.
At the same time, he acknowledged that students would not have incurred such fees in recent memory due to pandemic restrictions, but noted that UOL has always been upfront about them.
Jessica Wee, who is pursuing a part-time degree in business and management, said it would have been more acceptable if the $203 fee was a one-time cost for all her exams.
The 35-year-old, who works in sales, said she was blind-sided by the amount of fees to be paid and the tight deadline.
"It is very last-minute, and there hasn't been much time for us to set aside a budget for this.
"Some of us have other commitments, and we may need the money for something else," she said.
Wee added that she is preparing for her wedding in 2025, and paying off housing loans, but has to pay slightly more than $1,000 in administrative fees for her five exams, in addition to the more than $2,000 in exam fees.
"Since they want the exams to be held at a physical location, then the exams should also be administered through pen and paper.
"Right now, we're just gathering in one place to do what we used to do, only with steep fees. At the very least, I hope that they can extend the payment deadline."
This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.