Group of NTU students band together to push for greater transparency, more financial aid

SINGAPORE — A group of students, including financial aid recipients, from the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) are banding together to push their university to relook how financial aid is distributed to students.

Among their concerns are that NTU’s financial aid amounts seem lower than other universities', as well as transparency over the eligibility criteria.

They also claimed that bursaries were often disbursed to students after school fees were due, affecting students’ ability to pay their fees.

In response to queries from TODAY, NTU said on Monday (June 5) that officers from the university’s student life and financial aid office met with the group of students, who call themselves NTU Financial Aid Friends, in April this year.

The university did so to understand the students’ concerns and provide clarifications on its financial aid application, review and disbursement process.

“We have reached out to them on May 22 to arrange a follow-up meeting and are awaiting their response,” NTU added.

In a press statement last week, NTU Financial Aid Friends claimed that bursaries were often disbursed to students after school fees were due.

"Students who are unable to pay their school fees on time are penalised through late fees, having their access to online portals revoked and being denied admission to examination halls," the group said.

However, the university denied this, insisting that its bursaries are disbursed before fee payments are due.

It added that financial aid students who face difficulties in meeting fee deadlines are encouraged to reach out to their school’s Associate Chair (Students) office or student care managers for help.

Besides providing bursaries from the Ministry of Education (MOE), NTU also provides needs-based financial support in the form of the NTU Bursary, and 200 donor-funded bursaries based on students’ gross monthly household per capita income, it said.

In the last academic year, more than 7,000 students were awarded NTU and donor-funded bursaries.

About 14 per cent of these students were from the lowest income group and had their tuition fees fully funded because they had the most pressing financial needs, NTU said.

CONCERNS BY STUDENTS

Speaking to TODAY last week, Ms Meghan Poh, a member of NTU Financial Aid Friends, said that the group was formed after several friends who had been discussing the financial aid system at NTU realised that they faced similar struggles.

The 23-year-old third-year student from NTU’s School of Art, Design and Media said: “I think as we had more conversations, we realised it’s not an individual problem. It reflects some systemic issues because these are recurring issues and have to do with transparency and clarity of communication.”

The group, some of whom are on financial assistance, eventually expanded to about 15 students.

They had discussions with more than 30 students on assistance about their experience with NTU’s financial aid system and presented the findings to NTU staff members in April this year.

In its findings, which the group also detailed in its press statement, one of the concerns was that the amount of financial aid NTU disbursed to its students appeared to be lower than what other universities give to students with the same per capita household income.

The group said that based on its discussions, it seemed that most NTU students received only government bursaries and not the NTU Bursary.

Government bursaries are the Higher Education Community Bursary under the MOE for students with a monthly per capita household income of S$1,100 or lower, or the Higher Education Bursary for students with a monthly per capita household income of between S$1,101 and S$2,500.

The NTU students claimed that these bursaries cover only up to 75 per cent of a student’s tuition fees.

They also claimed that National University of Singapore (NUS) and Singapore Management University (SMU) students with a per capita household income of S$1,000 and below receive more financial aid to completely cover the remainder of their tuition fees.

This comparison was based on calculations through NUS and SMU's online financial aid calculators.

The group also said that NTU staff members had informed them in the meeting that the university cannot guarantee that students who fall below a certain per capita household income will receive the NTU Bursary.

LACK OF 'TRANSPARENCY'

The students also flagged transparency as an issue, noting that the university does not publish the eligibility criteria for the NTU Bursary on its website.

Its online financial needs calculator does not enable students to know the total amount they are entitled to based on their per capita household income, unlike the online calculators available on NUS and SMU's websites, they noted.

For example, NTU's calculator helps students tabulate their estimated total expenses a year. However, it does not automatically compute what a student's per capita income is, or how much and what types of financial aid they are entitled to, unlike the other two universities' calculators. 

The students said that incoming students would thus be unable to compare NTU’s financial aid package to that of other schools, which is important for them when deciding on which university to attend.

Ms Poh said that the NTU staff members had agreed to start a task force with some students this month and will hold a meeting on that in due time.

When asked why the students had approached the media even though NTU had agreed to another meeting, she said: “It seems that NTU is only moved to take more effective action when there is more scrutiny... when there is some public attention, which we think is important to hold the university accountable as a public institution.”

She added that the group also hopes to start a broader conversation on how to make education more accessible to everyone.

WHAT AN NTU STUDENT ON FINANCIAL AID SAYS

Speaking to TODAY last week, an NTU second-year undergraduate student on financial aid, who wanted to be known only as Faith, said that she was unclear about financial aid for which she was eligible.

The 22-year-old, who declined to give her full name because she was worried that her financial aid would be affected, said that in her first year of education, she received a government bursary of S$6,200.

She was also given a donated bursary by insurance company Prudential through the school for S$10,000 for the whole academic year. 

At the time, Faith, who is from NTU's College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, had a per capita household income of S$230. 

However, she did not receive the donated bursary the following year, after her per capita household income rose to S$900. She said that it was not clear how to apply and who was eligible for the donated bursary. 

Faith, who is a member of the NTU Financial Aid Friends, also said that earlier this year, her bursary was disbursed after her school accommodation fees were due.

She ended up incurring a late fee for not paying her hall fees on time, even though she was in the midst of asking NTU to extend the payment date for the hall fees.

"At that period of time, I was very stressed out... but to me at that time (the late fee of) S$30 or S$40 was a lot of money," she said, adding that the school eventually waived the late fee.

WHAT MOE SAYS

In response to queries, MOE said that the ministry and autonomous universities are committed to ensuring that no student is denied a tertiary education due to financial difficulty.

It also said that government bursaries cover up to the 66th percentile of households, with those from low-income households receiving more support.

"Significant" enhancements were also made to government bursaries, such as the Higher Education Bursary and Higher Education Community Bursary, in the 2020 academic year to strengthen financial support for Singaporeans, it added.

Universities offer a wide range of student financing schemes to help cover both tuition fees and the cost of living, the ministry said.

The administration of financial aid, including government bursaries and disbursement of income through endowment funds, is handled directly by the universities.

MOE advised students with financial difficulties to approach their respective university’s financial aid office.

In the meantime, NTU has encouraged students who need advice or more assistance to reach out to the university so that it can better assist them in procuring the highest financial aid from the bursaries and other schemes.

Those in need of urgent financial assistance may also consider applying for the NTU Priorities Fund and the OneNTU Fund, it added.

The NTU Priorities Fund, raised from private donations, is for the university’s neediest students.

The OneNTU Fund provides eligible students affected by the Covid-19 outbreak with an interest-free advance of up to S$1,500, which will have to be reimbursed to the university within two years of their graduation.