[18 January 2005]
Singapore Management University Revises AY2005 Tuition Fees
- Fee increase reflects more commensurate cost of premium education

The Singapore Management University (SMU) is revising its tuition fees for all its undergraduate courses in Academic Year (AY) 2005 from its current S$5,650 to S$6,500. This is the first fee increase that SMU is implementing since the university was incorporated in January 2000.

The new AY 2005 tuition fees more accurately reflect the unique and differentiating pedagogy of the university which aims to groom outstanding business leaders and creative entrepreneurs capable of excelling in a rapidly changing and dynamic world. The university offers a broad-based curriculum with flexibility in subject choices and subject combinations, seminar-style pedagogy with low student to teacher ratio and a high level of interactivity, the emphasis on and opportunities for internships and personalised attention for each student. Student care and attention extend beyond the classroom to the provision of out-of-classroom support such as comprehensive career management and other enhancement programmes. The highly selective student intake is deliberately kept to a size that allows SMU to provide for that level of student-faculty interaction and close attention to individual student development that generates the most beneficial educational experiences for students.

Said Professor Howard Hunter, President, SMU, “We have deliberated on the fee increase taking into consideration the university's various sources of income and university endowments, as compared with the costs of running a premium university. The Board of Trustees decided on the quantum based on SMU's need to continue to attract world-class faculty and staff, develop and deliver first-rate and rigorous curricula, produce high standards of research and academic works and provide cutting-edge technology and other infrastructural support. All these are hallmarks of the premium brand of education that SMU has established a reputation for and students can expect to receive.”

The new city campus, into which the university will move in the middle of the year, plays an integral role in supporting SMU's teaching approach to encourage active learning, critical and independent thinking and adaptability to business dynamics. The campus will boast technological connectivity which reflects the global drive for technological advancement, state-of-the art seminar-style classrooms and break-out rooms that facilitate stimulating exchanges and an innovative and well thought-out layout, which fully integrates the university into the buzz of the city district while at the same time blending into the park land on which it is sited. The campus infrastructure completes the holistic university experience which is unique to SMU and which must necessarily be reflected in a modest premium.

Students and prospective students can be assured that no deserving students will be deprived of an SMU education because of the fee revision. Qualified students with financial difficulties will have a comprehensive range of financial assistance packages to benefit from. The university provides work-study schemes, tuition loans, scholarships and bursaries which complement other government financial aids such as the Tuition Fee Loan (TFL) Scheme. There will, in fact, be an increase in the number of scholarships in AY 2005, with a total of more than 100 scholarships for the new intake. This means that effectively one in nine admitted students will have a chance to qualify for a scholarship. Additionally, the university will open a student employment unit to assist students find off-campus part-time employment to help with their educational expenses.

Added Professor Hunter, “Rest assured that the revision of tuition fees for AY 2005 is not a substitute for prudent financial management and other cost-containment measures which the university has always practised. Rather, it is to ensure that the university continues to be able to provide that quality of education that has come to be expected of us.”

For more information, please contact:

Sharon Tan
Director
Corporate Communications
Singapore Management University
Tel: 68220217
Email: sharontan [at] smu.edu.sg