Related news on higher education 

 

• The six college experiences that determine whether you thrive as an adult (Posted Oct 3, 2018)

“It appears that what students do in college is far more important than the type of institution they attend,” the report says, quoting M.J. Mayhew, one author of How College Affects Students: 21st Century Evidence that Higher Education Works. The 2014 survey found no relationship between college selectivity and either broad measure of life satisfaction, arguing that what seems to matter is “what students are doing in college and how they are experiencing it.” The report compiles six college experiences that have an impact on how fulfilled employees feel later: Taking a course with a professor who makes learning exciting; Working with professors who care about students professionally; Finding a mentor who encourages students to follow personal goals; Working on a project across several  semesters; Participating in an internship that applies classroom learning; Being active in extracurricular activities.

• Commentary: Help our 'graduate poor' break out of the underemployment trap (Posted Apr 10, 2018) 

It is one thing if you did not have access to good education, but to have access to it and not receive returns for it should be treated as a problem that is worth investigating. If education is the ladder to social mobility, we need to find out exactly how it can grant people that mobility and ensure that nobody falls off the ladder completely. The key is to guard ourselves as much as we can. Keeping abreast of how jobs are changing and new jobs are being created under the Industry Transformation Maps (ITMs) is a good start and seizing the opportunities to reskill or upskill would steer us in a safe direction.

• E-Portfolios and Badges Help Make Students Future-Ready (Posted Mar 6, 2017)

Ultimately, the goal of higher education is to prepare students for their future careers — be that an analyst, a zoologist or hundreds of occupations in between. However, a survey by the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that just 23 percent of employers felt recent graduates were prepared to work. This was in direct contrast to the 59 percent of students who reported that they felt prepared.

• Expanding the Future for All Students (Posted Jun 15, 2016)

Schools need to utilize every possible tool, from technology platforms to in-person support, to help students make the best choices for life after high school.

• Singapore economy must transform, like Disney's shift from Mickey to Star Wars: Ong Ye Kung (Posted Jan 18, 2016)

"For the young, their biggest concern is their jobs and their career. What are the opportunities for them?" he said on Monday (Jan 18), his mind on the projected slowdown in economic growth in the coming years and Singapore's drive to restructure its economy to keep growing.

• We must prevent paper chase for its own sake: Ong Ye Kung (Posted Oct 14, 2015)

"The rethinking of the meaning of higher education must include the fact that the collective good is attained, or in fact, can only be attained by the ability of individuals to pursue their own talents and passion," says Acting Education Minister for Higher Education and Skills Ong Ye Kung.

• As graduate numbers grow, a hard truth: Not all degrees are equal (Posted Aug 22, 2015)

Human resource experts advised Singaporeans to be more selective in the type of degrees that they pursue. Increasingly, employees have to diversify their skills sets to stay relevant to the labour market, they said.

• Help Wanted: 11 Million College Grads (Posted Jun 3, 2015)

For many years colleges measured success by how many students enrolled in their institutions and not whether they were training students for jobs that were in demand in the marketplace.

• Chance and Circumstance (Posted  Nov 28, 2008)

“It is not the brightest who succeed,” Gladwell writes. “Nor is success simply the sum of the decisions and efforts we make on our own behalf. It is, rather, a gift. Outliers are those who have been given opportunities — and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.”