印象解读
关于新加坡非政府院校相关答疑
每当谈到新加坡的高等教育
人们总是会把自己的选择分为两类
政府院校/非政府院校
而对于人们对于非政府院校的印象
依旧存在一些刻板印象和疑问
因此一家来自新加坡本地的新闻媒体平台
邀请了詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区
学术院长Abhishek Bhati教授
就他们所收集到的一些印象及疑问进行回应
Professor Abhishek Bhati
The Campus Dean and Head of Learning, Teaching, and Student Engagement at James Cook University, Singapore (JCU)
Q1:非政府院校的学费比较于政府院校会相对昂贵？
A:
“第一点是非政府大学在学费补贴方面没有政府的支持，因此这可能会对学生自己所需支付的学费有所影响。
第二点是在政府大学，学生可能需要三年半或四年时间才能完成学业，而在我们詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区的学生最快只需要两年或两年半时间就能完成学士学位。
换而言之，虽然 JCU 的学费可能较高，但由于学生可以更快地毕业并更早地进入工作，机会成本也随之降低。”
“The first point of course, is that when you say private university, that means that there is no government support in terms of fee subsidy,” replied Abhishek.That may have an impact on the fees that the students have to pay.
The second point the Dean wanted to make in response to this sentiment has to do with JCU’s fast-tracked programs.What might take three and a half, or four years in a public university, our students at JCU can complete in two or two and half years.”In other words, while tuition fees at JCU might be higher, the opportunity costs are reduced as students graduate faster and enter the workforce earlier.
“我们詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区所提供的这种快速课程在完成了两年服兵役后开始上大学的男生中特别受欢迎。
因为他们需要在国家建设上投入两年的时间，他们可能会认为同龄的女孩们在时间上会有一定的优势。所以当他们完成了服兵役，他们来到了詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区进行学习，就可以追赶上这两年的时间差距。”
National Service （NS）
由于新加坡政府规定，当地所有年满18周岁的男性公民和永久居民，不论种族，国籍，家庭背景，都必须应征入伍。男生需要完成两年的服兵役。
“These fast-tracked programs, said Abhishek, were especially popular with male students starting university after finishing two years of National Service (NS).
“Once they do NS, they might think that the girls have an advantage because they’ve invested two years in nation building, which is a very important thing to do in my opinion.
But the moment they finish NS, they come to JCU, and they catch up; they can make up for those two years.”
Q2:在这么短的学制时间内能够学习到足够的知识吗？
A:
“这是一个很重要的问题。我们大学提供的快速课程确可以缩短时间跨度，但是只针对于那些期望可以快速完成学业的学生。对于那些希望可以慢慢来的学生，他们依旧可以以自己期望的速度完成课程。虽然在詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区完成课程的最短时间是两年，但学生依旧可以灵活地选择在三年或四年内完成课程。学生有权利决定他们学习生活的最佳节奏。”
“That’s an important concern,“Yes (our courses) are fast-tracked. But they are only fast-tracked for those who want to be fast-tracked. If they want to take it slow and easy, they can do that too.”The seasoned educator pointed out that while the minimum time to complete a course at JCU is two years, students have the flexibility to take that same course over three or four years instead — just like at a traditional university.Students have the liberty to determine what the best pace for their learning experience is.“
Abhishek教授还强调了詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区拥有授予经国际认可的学位的能力。这包括心理学—拥有澳大利亚心理学认证委员会认可的学位，会计学学位被许多国际会计机构认可，比如英国特许公认会计师公会（ACCA) 和澳大利亚特许会计师协会、以及大学的指导和咨询硕士课程，该课程被新加坡咨询辅导协会认可。
这些认证证明了虽然詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区缩短了学习的时间跨度，但学生仍然可以掌握在工作场所取得成功的必要技能。
Abhishek also emphasised the university’s ability to award accredited and internationally recognised degrees.
This includes its Psychology, degree accredited by Australian Psychology Accreditation Council, its Accountancy degree — recognised by a variety of global accounting bodies like the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and Chartered Accountants Australia — and their Master of Guidance and Counselling programme which is recognised by the Singapore Association for Counselling.
The accreditation, he explained, is the evidence that while duration of study may be shortened at JCU, students are still being equipped with the necessary skills to be successful in the workplace.
Q3:非政府院校会更容易进入吗？
A:
“这个问题提出了政府资助教育机构和非政府资助教育机构之间的一个重要差别。一个政府资助的机构的学习空间是有限的。举个例子来说，一个会计课程可能有60个名额的资金。只有60个名额可供争夺。而非政府院校不受这一点的限制，我们可以为更多的人提供学习的机会，而不是仅仅局限于一小部分人。这是一种更具包容性的模式。”
For Abhishek, this brought up a crucial distinction between publicly and privately funded institutions.A publicly or government-funded institution will always have limited spaces to study,Take for example, an accounting course which may have funding for 60 places. There would only be 60 places up for grabs, explained the Dean. “We are not limited by that. We can offer opportunities to a larger group of people to study and not limit it to a small group. It’s not an elitist model, but it’s a more inclusive model.”
但是，Abhishek教授同时也强调了大学并非大家印象中的所有人都可以入学。詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区拥有着明确的入学要求，以确保进入该课程的学生具备成功所需的基础知识，如进入学士课程的高中证书。
Abhishek was quick to stress, however, that the university does have entry requirements to ensure that students entering the programme have the foundational knowledge needed to succeed such as high school certification for entry into undergraduate courses.
Q4:非政府院校的学习环境比政府院校要更好吗？
A:
一些人认为非政府院校的有更有利于学习的条件。而针对于这种观点，Abhishek教授回应到“我不会去对两者进行比较。我想说我们詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区为学生提供了一个不同的学习环境。这也正是我们想表现出来的——与众不同、独一无二的。正因为我们是独一无二的，所以学生们喜欢来到我们大学就读。
On a more positive note, several individuals wrote that they found private institutions more conducive for learning.In response to this sentiment Abhishek was diplomatic; “I wouldn’t compare.I would say that JCU definitely provides a different learning environment. And that’s how we want to come out — as different, unique. And because we are unique, students like to come to us.”
这种独特性的表现之一是詹姆斯库克大学专注于热带地区的使命–地球上大致位于地球中部的地区。这意味着大学努力使其课程与该地区相关，设立涉及热带国家、社会、社区、产业的独特课题，并研究其人民所面临的问题的解决方法。亚洲的大部分地区，发展中国家的大部分地区，都位于热带地区。我们希望通过我们的毕业生和我们的研究，为热带地区的生活做出贡献。比如通过我们的毕业生在热带国家工作，或者通过我们的研究改善热带和其他地区的生活。”
One way this uniqueness is expressed is in JCU’s mission to focus on the Tropics — the regions of the Earth that lie roughly in the middle of the globe.This means that the university strives to make its courses relevant to the region, tackling topics unique to tropical countries, societies, communities, industries and researching solutions to the problems faced by its people.“Most of Asia, most of the developing world, that’s all situated in the tropics,” Abhishek explained.
“We want to contribute to life in the tropics, through our graduates and discoveries. That is through our graduates working in countries in the tropics or through our research improving lives in the tropics and beyond.”
对于那些对充满活力的学生生活感兴趣的人，Abhishek教授还热情地谈到了大学的社团俱乐部，它们分为几个不同的类别: 学术类团体、文化类团体和体育类团体。詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区学生群体的多样性是他作为学术院长的另一个骄傲: “因为在学生群体中，他们相当庞大，社团彼此之间有影响。这会帮助拓宽学生的视野，关于更多地意识到学生周围发生的事情。这是另一种形式的学习，并会为学生带来变化”
For those interested in a vibrant student life, Abhishek also spoke glowingly of the university’s clubs, which are divided into several different categories: academic groups, cultural groups, and sporting groups.Diversity within the student body was another point of pride for the Dean; “because they are sizable, within the student population, they have impact on one another.It’s about broadening your perspective, it’s about being more aware of what’s happening around you. That’s learning. It makes a difference.”
Q5:雇主更喜欢来自政府院校的学生？
A:
当然，对于许多学生来说，大学是通往理想工作的必经之路。因此就业能力在未来的学生心目中占有重要地位。而与此相关的普遍看法是，雇主对于非政府大学的毕业生接受度较低。Abhishek教授表示这是一个非常常见的谣言。“我们大学会每六个月进行一次毕业生就业调查。因此我们可以收到来自行业的定期反馈，根据真实的数据显示近85% 的毕业生能够在毕业后6个月内找到工作。有些学生甚至在毕业前就已经通过大学举办的校园招聘会找到了工作。
The common perception related to this, would be that a private university would be looked upon less favourably as compared to a local university.
“That’s a very common myth,We conduct what’s called a graduate employment survey every six months. So we have regular feedback coming from the industry showing that close to 85 per cent of graduates are able to secure jobs within six months of graduation.”
Some students even managed to clinch employment before graduation through career fairs held at the university.
校园招聘会
我们无法否认一些雇主可能偏爱政府大学毕业生，但是我们确实问过我们毕业生的雇主，他们是否认为在能力和技能方面，詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区的毕业生与政府大学的毕业生会有所不同。而大多数雇主都认为与政府大学相比，我们詹姆斯库克大学新加坡校区的毕业生有类似的甚至更好的工作能力与技能“
Abhishek did admit that some employers may have a preference for local university graduates — “That is something we cannot deny.But in terms of capabilities and skill set, we do ask employers of our graduates whether they find JCU graduates to be different from those of local universities, and I’m very pleased to inform you that most employers have come back saying that our graduates have similar skill sets, if not better, compared to the local universities.”
The Joy of Transformation
当Abhishek教授被问到他即将迎来在詹姆斯库克大学(James Cook University)就职的第13个学年，是什么让他在这个职位上待了这么长时间？
Now heading into his 13th year at James Cook University, I asked Abhishek what had kept him in the job for so long.
Abhishek教授回答道：“让我坚持下去的是与学生的互动,是在学生身上看到转变时带来的喜悦。
What keeps me going is interaction with students,” he said. “It’s the joy of the transformation that you see in students.”
下面是关于一段Abhishek教授作为学术院长为学生录制的“Be the answer”的主题的视频，表达了詹姆斯库克大学呼吁并希望学生掌握可以对世界产生影响的技能的愿望。
The university Dean was recently seen in a video calling for would-be students to “be the answer” — a succinct way of summarising the university’s desire to equip students with the skills needed to have an impact in the world.
“这就像看着自己的孩子成长，培养他们的技能，而这些技能对塑造未来至关重要“
“It’s like seeing your own child grow and develop the skill set that are instrumental in shaping the future.”