University college Dublin(Kaplan)

[Omg]

I'm thinking of taking up a a degree in management at Kaplan under this uni.
Can anyone advice me if it's recognize in stat board like CPF, WDA etc I hope to obtain a degree ASAP. Like 18mth n recognize By WDA

Originally Posted by Omg

I'm thinking of taking up a a degree in management at Kaplan under this uni.
Can anyone advice me if it's recognize in stat board like CPF, WDA etc I hope to obtain a degree ASAP. Like 18mth n recognize By WDA

Nope.. Defintiely not recognise.. Only 18months, wat can you learn?? Equivalent to a diploma holder.. The stat boards usually hire short express-term degree holders who spent took less than 2years studing if they went overseas on campus as a fulltime student...

Originally Posted by Omg

I'm thinking of taking up a a degree in management at Kaplan under this uni.
Can anyone advice me if it's recognize in stat board like CPF, WDA etc I hope to obtain a degree ASAP. Like 18mth n recognize By WDA

Very few stat boards accept foreign and corresponding degrees like those from Kaplan.

Though few, there are still some considerations:

a) People's Association: they accept foreign degree taking from corresponding places such as MDIS, SIM, Kaplan, MDS, etc etc etc. However, depending on your grades, you may be offered a pay quite low. Most importantly, you need to work from the ground (with GRLs)

b) Hospitals: Tan Tock Seng, SGH, in executive posts that supports the auxiliary and main medical team. They don't pay too shabbily.

c) WDA: I have some friends who have corresponding degrees from Kaplan, but I think they got in under very special circumstances because of their experiences and useful contacts that are needed at work. But that's my guess.

d) LTA: I also have friends who are being referred inside, who have foreign degrees. But they are very few of them.

e) SMRT: this may not be a stat board, but govt-linked company nonetheless. You can have a foreign degree there.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Nope.. Defintiely not recognise.. Only 18months, wat can you learn?? Equivalent to a diploma holder.. The stat boards usually hire short express-term degree holders who spent took less than 2years studing if they went overseas on campus as a fulltime student...

so you can't learn anything if it is a short course in singapore, but it is not an issue if you studied on-campus? hmm...

let's be realistic.

if you study at NUS, NTU, etc, the fastest degree is probably 3 years
and that is normally without honours.

if you want a respectable degree that
has value enough to open nice doors for you
in the corporate or public sector,
you not only need to put in the time and effort,
but also good results at the end of the course,
else you can buy one from a degree mill.

Took this UCD degree in Kaplan....and got into one of the stat boards u mentioned...it all depends on luck....and ur interview skills. There's no such thing as recongise or not recongised.....it all depends on the person selecting the candidates if he/she had preferences for local or foreign grads...and how well the candidates perform on interview day

Originally Posted by Unregistered

so you can't learn anything if it is a short course in singapore, but it is not an issue if you studied on-campus? hmm...

There is no contradition here.

If it is a distance learning or external degree course via a medium such as MDIS/Kaplan or even SIM, the degree will never be comparable to studying for the degree at the University itself. Even if the external degree providers claim that course is accredited by ABC agency or XYX University, it is inconsequential. It is not even a poor cousin to the foreign University which it is trying to peg. And if one takes time to examine the quality of students enrolling in such courses, the entry criterion and the learning environment, it is not hard to discern why they are a far cry from NUS/NTU/SMU.

But there are compelling reasons for their existence though. There is a sizeable pool of people who arent able enough to study in local uni and not rich enough to fly half the globe to read overseas degree (God knows how exhorbitant the fees are). And between a MDIS degree holder & poly graduate, i would think the former has an edge. Furthermore, SMEs and a significant number of MNCs do consider such "graduates", so the demand is there. And not forgeting the fact that we ought to provide a conducive environment for those who want to upgrade for the betterment of their future.

not recognised in ministries... there was once when HR told me to reject this internal-transfer job applicant (mso/diploma level) with MDIS p/t degree.

ministries also reject those who flunk O'level english and math, even if they have obtained a p/t overseas degree...

i understand if they do this to protect our local graduates from NUS/NTU/SMU... but pity late bloomers...

singapore can be quite cruel...

I used to work in a ministry where my work was to evaluate people coming in with overseas/distance learning degrees.

There are three reasons why civil service and stat boards do not appreciate overseas/distance learning degrees:

1. Protectionism - local graduates must have jobs. The government cannot control who the private sector hire but they definitely can control who the civil service and stat boards hire.

2. Protectionism 2 - the civil service and stat boards are filled with local graduates, and when they are asked to hire someone, who do you think they will hire? Someone who graduated from a familiar local university or someone who graduated from an unfamiliar overseas university?

3. Lack of understanding of overseas education system - unlike Singapore which aims to have only 25% university graduates, and hence the small number of universities, first world countries' philosophy is educate their people to their fullest potential. Hence they have a lot of universities. Not every university can be Harvard or MIT. There are first tier, second tier universities and so on.

There is no department in the civil service to evaluate these overseas universities and tell the ministries and stat boards which are good and which are bad. The decisions are left to the HR department of each ministry and stat board. Some HR kiasi and thus reject all overseas/distance learning degrees to play safe. Moreover, their directive is to hire local graduates, so why waste time on researching overseas universities? Some HR is more open minded or had done their research on overseas universities. It is because of this that we always read about different experiences encountered by overseas / distance learning graduates at different government employers.

In the private sector, aka the real world, your performance is more important. If you can't perform during the probation period, you will asked to leave, local graduate or not.

So my advice to people who can't get into local universities is not to hear from the naysayers. If you can afford it, go overseas for your degree. If you can't, a distance learning degree is just as good. What's more important is the knowledge you learn from it and how to apply it in your career. If your aim is just to pass and get a paper certificate, then no university can help you. Lastly do your research on the foreign university, whether it is a first tier university in their home country.

I beg to differ with regards to the phrase "a distance learning degree is just as good". I would say, that is it "better than nothing".

For those who manage to fly overseas to top tier Univerities like Carnegie Mellon, Imperial, Edinburgh, McGill....i would say, the sky is the limit for u

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I used to work in a ministry where my work was to evaluate people coming in with overseas/distance learning degrees.

There are three reasons why civil service and stat boards do not appreciate overseas/distance learning degrees:

1. Protectionism - local graduates must have jobs. The government cannot control who the private sector hire but they definitely can control who the civil service and stat boards hire.

2. Protectionism 2 - the civil service and stat boards are filled with local graduates, and when they are asked to hire someone, who do you think they will hire? Someone who graduated from a familiar local university or someone who graduated from an unfamiliar overseas university?

3. Lack of understanding of overseas education system - unlike Singapore which aims to have only 25% university graduates, and hence the small number of universities, first world countries' philosophy is educate their people to their fullest potential. Hence they have a lot of universities. Not every university can be Harvard or MIT. There are first tier, second tier universities and so on.

There is no department in the civil service to evaluate these overseas universities and tell the ministries and stat boards which are good and which are bad. The decisions are left to the HR department of each ministry and stat board. Some HR kiasi and thus reject all overseas/distance learning degrees to play safe. Moreover, their directive is to hire local graduates, so why waste time on researching overseas universities? Some HR is more open minded or had done their research on overseas universities. It is because of this that we always read about different experiences encountered by overseas / distance learning graduates at different government employers.

In the private sector, aka the real world, your performance is more important. If you can't perform during the probation period, you will asked to leave, local graduate or not.

So my advice to people who can't get into local universities is not to hear from the naysayers. If you can afford it, go overseas for your degree. If you can't, a distance learning degree is just as good. What's more important is the knowledge you learn from it and how to apply it in your career. If your aim is just to pass and get a paper certificate, then no university can help you. Lastly do your research on the foreign university, whether it is a first tier university in their home country.