Don't know if i'll get into trouble for writing this but I guess my identity will be anonymous. Oh wait...I have a profile page with some pics and details...crap! I just have to say it. I'm very upset with the academic system NTU has adopted. They claim by being transparent with the grading systems students will have a better gauge to what is expected to score for honours. Before my enrolement, NTU was simply a University that awarded alphabetical grades from A to F for subjects. You obtain an F, you repeat that subject the following semester. My time is different...not too long ago (1.5 years ago) NTU incorporated the famed american system into their exisiting system. Yes! The introduction to GPA. Suddenly grades such as A+, A-, B+, B- etc...started appearing and to make things more "transparent" points are allocated to these grades ranging from 0 to 5 for F to A+ respectively. Its a pretty cool system, just that for the sake of transparency an additional requirement was also introduced. Students under the new system had to maintain a CGPA of cumulative GPA of 2.00 to graduate with a normal degree. With such a requirement, they had to instill some sort of counteractive for students who score below 2.00 (C grade = 2.00), this meant that unlike the older batch, getting a D grade or a bare pass is no longer enough to graduate. Yes! I think all of you can see where this is going...this is an obvious initiative by NTU to rise in the global rankings of Universities. Marketing the brand name of NTU is important, adds value to the degree obtained and no doubt we have risen 2 spots from 50 to 48 in the 1st year of adopting the GPA system. You may ask why I am disappointed with the system? Well you might think that i'm just a sour puss blowing hot and cold air but I think students in my situation will agree with me. Remember the counteractive I mentioned above? Well, 3 strikes and you are out. Scoring a GPA below 2.00 will get you an acadamic warning letter (no overloading of subjects), score below 2.00 in the consecutive semester and you get a free upgrade from academic warning to academic probation (no overloading of subjects) and if you screw up in the 3rd consecutive semester, you will be terminated by the school. Imagine students in their last 4 semesters! Screw up 3 times and get terminated before they can embark on their last semester before graduation. I agree its fair that all these is made known to the students and its all for the sake of "transparency" or ranking issues but if NTU can put into action and reap the benefits, why can't they handle the cons in a similar fashion? The cons being handling the more sensitive request of the students at the lower at of the spectrum, the lower cutoff point of the bell curve. Students that fail subjects can submit an official appeal and make a payment of $10.50 (incl GST) per subject appealled. The way NTU handles appeals is not very transparent. All the students gets is a computer generated reply baring unfavourable news. I can understand that appeals stand a low chance to over turn the initial decision...heck I don't think there was even a successful appeal to begin with (based on survey) but a computer generated reply? It really shows how transparent and sincere the school is in handling the request not to mention viewing your own exam papers is a big no no as it goes against policy...so much for being transparent. Think this is what double standards examplifies. Embrace the good and ignore the bad. I've had 2 appeals turned down, 1 I can accept but the other is really gnawing at my ankles...but what can I do?

Another disappointment is with the famed STARS system. Its an online registration system that is manned by the Office of Academic Services. It was alot of rules which usually work out fine but to think they made such a hoo haa with the release of 2 new features. Online appeal function and Swapping index with a friend. Bravo! I appluad you STARS but your basic functions are causing problems since day one. My friend had a situation that got STARS into a deadlock. Don't want to go into details but because of the lack of foresight of the planners, he could not get any of the timeslots he wanted and 0 electives. And of course what the system cannot do, you'd expect humans can...WRONG! Too much red tape governing the individual departments makes NTU just a University where the arms, legs and head don't work together.

Haa I guess you won't find something like thing in the Nanyang Chronicles but where else but here!