How SMU Will Assess Applications For Admission

Singapore Management University President, Professor Janice Bellace responds:

I read with great professional interest the Insight feature, "Are precious local talents being shut out from NUS and NTU?" by Sandra Davie (ST, Nov 13).

I feel the impact of the Singapore Management University (SMU) with regard to these vital matters must be recognized.

The SMU will begin admissions very soon. When the concept of SMU, Singapore's third university, was mooted and then made concrete by Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan, the hard issues addressed in your article were at the heart of the careful re-think on what Singapore really needs from its graduates. In our case, business-school graduates.

When I accepted the job as President of SMU, I knew that the association with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania was one of those inspired collaborations that occur in a harmony of timing and need.

I was very involved in the design of the undergraduate curriculum at Wharton and I am aware of how business-school-graduates - or indeed university graduates - fall short when they begin their working careers.

Here at SMU, we are determined to adopt a holistic approach to admitting students of ability. Exam grades are a valid assessment measure, but they should not be the sole measure of any applicant's abilities.

Here are my thoughts on how SMU will approach assessing applicants for admission.

Exam results will not be sole measure
No single test instrument can predict success in a career - not A or O levels, or SAT scores, or other school grades. SMU will assess several measures of an applicant’s performance as a basis for predicting success in the Bachelor of Business Management (BBM) degree curriculum and success in the career field chosen.

That is why A or O levels, SAT scores, school grades, teacher recommendations, a personal essay - and for those short listed - an interview, will all be considered for admission.

We are looking for those with the potential for high academic performance, perhaps not immediately identifiable from just exam grades.

We also seek those with a drive to succeed at whatever task they devote themselves to. Those who go abroad to study gain from the exposure to another culture and then, a different educational approach.

Before SMU, those who wanted an American-style business-school education had no alternative but to leave. Now, they have an option to remain in Singapore.

Some students may wish to do their Bachelor's degree here and a Master's degree overseas, or be admitted as an exchange student abroad. Such options add to a broader experience.

At SMU, our fees are comparable to the other two universities, but our approach is different. We are here to give parents and students another choice for those who want a top American business-school approach in university.

SMU not here to handle overflow
I believe that SMU should not grow quickly in size. We made a deliberate decision to start small. We are recruiting top-notch staff from Singapore and overseas, staff who must come together to deliver, for the first time, the Wharton curriculum. You cannot deliver a world-class curriculum and world-class staff without being careful.

So we will focus on working closely with students in small classroom settings.

Let me say this strongly: SMU was not established to handle the NUS/NTU overflow. The goal is to offer another educational choice for students who study in Singapore.

SMU’s business school aims to develop students to be entrepreneurial, innovative and grounded in the core business areas, so that they can lead the enterprises of the 21st century - globally.

We welcome applicants who recognize the value of a unique opportunity when it occurs. After all, that is the particular talent of the entrepreneurs.

We believe now how we assess an applicant for admission will be as much a measure of our sound judgment as the applicant's in choosing us for the kind of training and "real-life" management grooming we offer.