I would like to propose the research question - “Is the Co-Curricular Activities (CCA) point system effective in the allocation of on campus accommodation?”
At the home stretch of last academic year, NUS witnessed a massive “kick-out” of students from the on campus accommodation, creating mayhem and chaos. More than 1000 NUS students were stunned by the unexpected increase in the CCA cut off point requirements for accommodation. Suddenly on the eve of preparations for the semester finals, many students got to know that they didn’t have a place to stay. This was a matter of panic for many international students who were inexperienced in the business of obtaining off-campus accommodation, being babysat by the university in this regard since their arrival to Singapore.
Students speculated various reasons for the unusually high requirement of CCA points. The official explanation offered by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) was that increased intakes of the previous and current academic years had created a huge rise in demand, since all 1st and 2nd year international students are guaranteed on-campus accommodation. Many in the student community also claimed that the irresponsible and liberal system of CCA point allocation by some committees contributed in creating an unusually CCA point rich pool of students.
Attitudinal survey is required in order to understand how broadly the student body was affected by this upset and to find out whether they consider the CCA point system to have failed. The survey should target 3rd and 4th year international students as well as local students, both living on-campus and off-campus in order to get a detailed picture from people who have been through the system. The survey would also give the students a chance to voice out their opinions regarding possible improvements to the system.
At the home stretch of last academic year, NUS witnessed a massive “kick-out” of students from the on campus accommodation, creating mayhem and chaos. More than 1000 NUS students were stunned by the unexpected increase in the CCA cut off point requirements for accommodation. Suddenly on the eve of preparations for the semester finals, many students got to know that they didn’t have a place to stay. This was a matter of panic for many international students who were inexperienced in the business of obtaining off-campus accommodation, being babysat by the university in this regard since their arrival to Singapore.
Students speculated various reasons for the unusually high requirement of CCA points. The official explanation offered by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA) was that increased intakes of the previous and current academic years had created a huge rise in demand, since all 1st and 2nd year international students are guaranteed on-campus accommodation. Many in the student community also claimed that the irresponsible and liberal system of CCA point allocation by some committees contributed in creating an unusually CCA point rich pool of students.
Attitudinal survey is required in order to understand how broadly the student body was affected by this upset and to find out whether they consider the CCA point system to have failed. The survey should target 3rd and 4th year international students as well as local students, both living on-campus and off-campus in order to get a detailed picture from people who have been through the system. The survey would also give the students a chance to voice out their opinions regarding possible improvements to the system.
1 comment:
Hi Divya,
I was unaware that there was a sudden increase in the CCA cut off point requirements for accommodation in NUS, until I read your blog. This incident must create a chaos among the students living on campus, especially the year 3 and 4 students. They are left with no choice but to find other place to live, due to the increase of the CCA point requirement. Many of them will feel helpless; especially the foreigner students.
An increase in the CCA points really can limit the number of students staying on-campus. However, it had also greatly affected the people who are relying on the stay on the on-campus. Many students had tried their best to gain as many CCA points as possible. But those students who did not grain enough CCA points are forced to leave and the place are left for those year 1 and 2 international students who guaranteed on-campus accommodation. Since NUS is a global university, welcoming not only the local but also the international students, this problem should be effectively solved in order to better deal with the increasing demand on-campus accommodation.
I think this research topic is feasible to be study, provided that the survey questions can voice out the unfairness, concerns among the students that are affected and what OSA should do to improve on the CCA systems in our campus, to provide a more ideal place for the student living on-campus accommodation.
Post a Comment