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If you are passionate about working with young children, Early Childhood Education (ECE) is the right programme for you. 

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Pedagogical Approach 

The classes are conducted via various teaching and learning styles such as blended learning, face-to-face tutorial, project-based learning, small and large group discussions, field trips, instructional games, and oral presentations.

Diversity in Learning

HELP University is home to international students from countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, and Brunei. Therefore, students can experience an international learning environment. This contributes to their awareness and understanding of other cultures as well as an appreciation of other points of view.

Academic Team

The academic team is a good mix of local and international lecturers who bring with them a wealth of practical experience and expertise in research in early childhood education.

21st Century Classroom

The 21st century classrooms in HELP University are equipped with the latest hardware, software and a centralized control system to create a comfortable and safe learning environment conducive for meaningful communication and collaboration.

A significant feature of the ECE programmes is to train students to be future entrepreneurs in the early childhood industry.

Equipped with relevant business skills and knowledge to set up businesses, students will play significant roles toward providing access to quality education, lifelong learning, and the overall wellbeing of young children.

The Educator-Carer from HELP University acquires knowledge and understanding, skills and strategies, attitudes and values in the following distinctive Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) domains.

The Diploma in Education programme prepares learners to apply broad-based knowledge of teaching and learning, higher order thinking, and reasoning skills in varied educational settings.

• Diploma in Education 
• Diploma in Early Childhood

Bachelor's Degree

HELP’s Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Hons) is aimed at allowing our early childhood specialists to foster a wide range of competencies that cover the development of the young child from birth to junior primary levels.

• Bachelor of Early Childhood Education (Hons)

Master's Degree

The Master of Education (Teaching and Learning) is focused on providing a platform for teachers, aspiring teachers, and other educational professionals to consider, reflect on and change what they do in all activities related to teaching and learning. 

• Master of Education (Teaching and Learning)

HELP University offers the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Education (Mixed-Mode) programme since August 2020. The aim of this programme is to provide learners with a comprehensive coursework cum research study.

Doctor of Philosophy in Education

Global Pathways

Our programme provides global pathways to leading universities in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.

Alumni Testimonial

“My journey with HELP throughout the 3-4 years as a student was a very pleasant experience. Attending lectures and tutorials was among the activities I looked forward to everyday. Lecturers always delivered the topics in engaging and interesting ways. Though the assignments and assessments were often challenging, it kept me motivated and driven to complete them with my strong determination. As cliché as HELP’s favourite tagline ‘University of Achievers’ sounds, it has indeed proven itself to be very true, for it has helped me to achieve my dreams and ambitions."

Denise Duar Xia Shing

Bachelor of Early Childhood Education

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• February 9, 2018

HELP University leads with an edge in education

As the quality of education in Malaysia continues to evolve and advance, the quality of teachers must also grow and develop alongside it. Gone were the days when a general undergraduate degree was sufficient for an educator, especially for those working in the private sector. Teachers must constantly seek to raise their pedagogical competencies and upgrade themselves on the latest developments in the ever-evolving education industry, allowing them to better educate and nurture the children and future of the nation.

To this effect and in response to the Malaysian government’s initiative to enhance the quality of the teachers of the nation, HELP University’s Faculty of Education and Languages introduces the Master of Education (Teaching and Learning) (MEDU(TL)). The aim of the programme is to provide hands-on training and a solid academic research experience for teachers in varied educational settings. The programme also aims to enhance their teaching skills and professional competence, knowledge and career prospects.

“The success of any educational institution is dependent on the quality of its teachers and leadership in the school. As such, it is imperative that those planning to enter into a career in education are adequately prepared to deal with all the challenges of working as a teacher in the 21st century classroom, especially in understanding how to develop curricula that is relevant for their learners, be proficient in the use of technology in the classroom and know how to cater to the needs of the different kinds of learners in an inclusive learning environment,” said Dr Gerard J. Louis, Dean of the Faculty of Education and Languages.

Research is a core element and strength of this programme as it is structured to empower teachers to carry out educational research and action research in varied educational settings. The programme also supports peer learning by encouraging its students to work with other professional teachers from across the country, thus facilitating an environment where students can learn from each other’s experiences.

The programme comprises 10 modules, which can be completed in one and a half years full-time or three years part-time. There are seven core modules, two electives and a practicum and research enquiry exercise. Classes are conducted during the weekends and weeknights to accommodate the schedules of working professionals.

The Faculty of Education and Languages is supported by a team of experienced and dedicated lecturers with proven academic records and a strong background in pedagogy. The teaching team of MEDU (TL) comprises professors with international experience and varied expertise within the education community, and visiting professors from local and foreign universities.

“The integration of research enquiry with practice is a key feature of this programme. The MEDU (TL) graduate is a teacher of high caliber who is capable of continuous professional improvement and carrying out effective teaching. These are two essential qualities much sought after by school heads today,” said Professor Dr Goh Lay Huah, Head of Department of Education and an expert in educational research, especially action research.

“The Master of Education (Teaching and Learning) at HELP will not only enhance my pedagogical skills and teaching competencies, it will also raise my professional credentials. The reputation and prominence of HELP ensures that my postgraduate qualification is recognised and well-received by the educational community,” said Vicky Heng, a Mandarin teacher at HELP International School who is currently pursuing her MEDU (TL) at HELP University.

“I chose to further my education at HELP because of the strong team of dedicated experts in the Faculty of Education and Languages, and for the holistic and comprehensive curricula they provide,” she added.

In conjunction with the latest intake, HELP University will be offering a special launch scholarship in which students who join the February intake can enjoy up to a 50% bursary on their course tuition fees. The upcoming intake will commence on 22 February 2018. Other bursaries and merit scholarships are also available to deserving students.

For more information on HELP’s Master of Education (Teaching and Learning) and education programmes, please call 03-2716 2000 or email Dr Goh Lay Huah (Head of Department of Education) at [email protected] or Ms Azlina (Administrative Coordinator) at [email protected]

Pearsons Excellence Awards Presentation Ceremony 

Datuk Dr. Paul Chan, Vice-Chancellor of HELP University addressing the students and their families at the Pearson Excellence Awards Ceremony at Wisma

HELP Academy produces the most number of A-Levels Pearson Excellence Awards for the Asia-Pacific Region

Friday, 10 June 2022, Kuala Lumpur – The students of HELP Academy recently received the most number of A-Levels Pearson Excellence Awards

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For What It’s Worth: The Value of a University Education

By amy gutmann, president, university of pennsylvania.

Editor’s Note: This article derives from an endowed lecture President Gutmann delivered on achieving the aims of higher education at the Spencer Foundation Conference at Northwestern University and subsequently developed further at the De Lange Conference at Rice University. Revised for publication October 21, 2013.

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In 2010, PayPal co-founder and Facebook “angel” investor Peter Thiel announced he would annually award $100,000 each to 20 young people for them to drop out of college and spend two years starting a tech-based business. “You know, we’ve looked at the math on this, and I estimate that 70 to 80 percent of the colleges in the U.S. are not generating a positive return on investment,” Thiel told an interviewer, explaining his view that we are in the midst of a higher education bubble not dissimilar to the housing and dot-com bubbles of previous decades. “Education is a bubble in a classic sense. To call something a bubble, it must be overpriced and there must be an intense belief in it… there’s this sort of psycho-social component to people taking on these enormous debts when they go to college simply because that’s what everybody’s doing.”

Since his announcement, more than 60 Thiel Fellows have decamped from university—a significant number of them from Stanford, MIT, and Ivy League schools—to follow their dreams of entrepreneurial glory. Thiel says he hopes his program will prod more people to question if a college education is really worthwhile: “Education may be the only thing people still believe in in the United States. To question education is really dangerous. It is the absolute taboo. It’s like telling the world there’s no Santa Claus.”

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This is a complex, but not impossible, question to answer. The simplest response is to tally the added income benefits a university education accrues to its graduates, subtract its added costs, and determine if in fact benefits exceed costs. Some economists have done this quite well. The overwhelming answer is that a college education has paid off for most graduates to date, has increased rather than decreased its wage premium as time has gone on, and can be expected to continue to do so moving forward. If well-paid equates to worthwhile , then the worth of a college education can be settled by the net wage premium of the average college graduate over the average high school graduate—there would be little more to discuss in the matter.

But it would be a serious mistake to equate the value of a university education to the wage premium earned by its graduates. If higher education is to be understood as something more—something much more—than a trade school in robes, before answering the question of whether a university education is worthwhile, we must first address the more fundamental—and more fundamentally complex—question of mission: What should universities aim to achieve for individuals and society?

It is reassuring to those who believe in the worth of a university education—and all the more so in a high-unemployment, low-growth economy—to show that the average person with a college education earns a lot more over her lifetime than the average high school graduate, even after subtracting the cost of college. But even if we are reassured, we should not allow ourselves to be entirely satisfied with that metric, because economic payback to university graduates is neither the only aim, nor even the primary aim, of a university education. Rather, it is best to consider the value-added proposition of higher education in light of the three fundamental aims of colleges and universities in the 21st century:

■ The first aim speaks to who is to receive an education and calls for broader access to higher education based on talent and hard work, rather than family income and inherited wealth: Opportunity , for short.

■ The second aim speaks to the core intellectual aim of a university education, which calls for advanced learning fostered by a greater integration of knowledge not only within the liberal arts and sciences but also between the liberal arts and professional education: Creative Understanding , for short.

■ The third aim is an important consequence to the successful integration of knowledge, not only by enabling and encouraging university graduates to meaningfully contribute to society, but also in the creation of new knowledge through research and the application of creative understanding: Contribution , for short.

Although the challenges of increasing opportunity, advancing creative understanding, and promoting useful social contribution are not new, they take on a renewed urgency in today’s climate. Jobs are scarce. The United States is perceived to be declining in global competitiveness. Gridlock besets our political discourse and increasingly seems to define our national sense of purpose as well. In this environment, it behooves us to remind those who would propose to reform higher education by simply removing some or all of it of the apt observation of the Sage of Baltimore, H.L. Mencken: “There is an easy solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.”

Many external obstacles to educational and economic opportunity exist in the United States—including poverty, broken families, and cutbacks in public support—which warrant our national attention and, in some instances, urgent action. No one credibly claims that greater access to college education will solve all or even most of these issues. But there is good reason to believe that greater access to high-quality higher education is a vitally important tool in building a more just, prosperous, and successful society. We can, and we must , do a better job in meeting the three fundamental goals of opportunity, creative understanding, and contribution to afford the utmost benefits of higher education for both personal and societal progress. Taking to heart the ethical injunction, “physician heal thyself,” I focus here on what universities themselves can do to better realize their primary aims.

Starting with the first: What can universities do to help increase educational opportunity? For low- and middle-income students, gainful employment itself is likely to be the most basic economic advantage of a college degree. A recent Brookings Institution study found college is “expensive, but a smart choice,” noting that almost 90 percent of young college graduates were employed in 2010, compared with only 64 percent of their peers who did not attend college. Moreover, college graduates are making on average almost double the annual earnings of those with only a high school diploma. And this advantage is likely to stick with them over a lifetime of work. Perhaps most relevant is that even in the depths of the Great Recession, the unemployment rate of college graduates was less than half that of high school graduates, and never exceeded 5.1 percent. Clearly, the more affordable universities make their education to qualified young people from low- and middle-income families, the more we will contribute to both educational and economic opportunity. Other things being equal, universities provide even greater value-added opportunity to low- and middle-income students than to their wealthier peers.

It is especially important to note that opening the door to higher education can have profound effects both on an individual’s lifetime earnings and lifelong satisfaction, regardless of whether or not that door is framed by ivy. Less selective two-year, four-year, and community colleges have an especially important role to play here, as selective universities cannot do everything: their focus on cutting-edge study and discovery limits their ability to engage in compensatory education. (The ability to work with a broad range of student readiness is one of the great advantages of community colleges and some less selective institutions, an advantage we risk forfeiting as an ever-higher percentage of the cost of an education is shifted from state and government support to individual responsibility.) Nonetheless, the available data show that selective universities can provide greater access to qualified students from low- and middle-income families than they have in the past.

My concern for increasing access began with a focus on recruiting qualified students from the lowest income groups. Learning more led to the conclusion that increasing access for middle-income students should also be a high priority. At Penn, we began by asking: What proportion of students on a set of selective university campuses (that included Penn) come from the top 20 percent of American families as measured by income? The answer (as of 2003) was 57 percent.

Since all colleges and universities should admit only students who can succeed once admitted, selective colleges and universities also need to ask: What percent of all students who are well-qualified come from the wealthiest 20 percent? Thirty-six percent of all highly qualified seniors (with high grades and combined SATs over 1,200) come from the top 20 percent, while 57 percent of selective university students come from this group. Thus, the wealthiest 20 percent of American families are overrepresented on our campuses by a margin of 21 percent. All of the other income groups are underrepresented . Students from the lowest 40 percent of income distribution, whose families earn under about $41,000, are underrepresented by 4.3 percent. The middle 20 percent, who come from families earning $41,000 to $61,000, are underrepresented by 8.4 percent. Students from the second highest income group, whose families earn between $62,000 and $94,000, are also underrepresented by 8.4 percent.

Increasing access to our universities for middle- and low-income students is both an especially worthy, and an increasingly daunting, challenge in the wake of the Great Recession.

Increasing access to our universities for middle- and low-income students is both an especially worthy, and an increasingly daunting, challenge in the wake of the Great Recession. Before the Recession, taking financial aid into account, middle- and low-income families were spending between 25 percent and 55 percent of their annual income to cover the expense of a public four-year college education. That burden has skyrocketed in the past five years, especially for middle-income students who are ineligible for Pell grants and who attend public universities whose public funding (in many cases) has been decimated. This has led to a situation where a student from a typical middle-income family today may pay less to attend Penn than many flagship public universities!

Yet private universities too have experienced a painful financial squeeze. Only by making student aid one of their highest priorities and successfully raising many millions of dollars from generous donors can most private institutions afford to admit students on a need-blind basis and provide financial aid that meets full need. This may be the reason why only about one percent of America’s 4,000 colleges and universities are committed to need-blind admissions and to meeting the full financial need of their undergraduate students. An even smaller group—just a tiny fraction—of universities are committed not only to meeting the full financial need of all students who are admitted on a need-blind basis, but also to providing financial aid exclusively on the basis of need . Those of us in this group thereby maximize the use of scarce aid dollars for students with demonstrated financial need.

At Penn, a focus on need-only aid has enabled us to actually lower our costs to all students from families with demonstrated financial need. Since I became president, we have increased Penn’s financial aid budget by more than 125 percent. And the net annual cost to all aided undergraduates is actually ten percent lower today than it was a decade ago when controlled for inflation. Penn also instituted an all-grant/no-loan policy, substituting cash grants for loans for all undergraduates eligible for financial aid. This policy enables middle- and low-income students to graduate debt-free, and opens up a world of career possibilities to graduates who otherwise would feel far greater pressure to pick the highest paying rather than the most satisfying and promising careers.

Although much more work remains, Penn has significantly increased the proportion of first-generation, low- and middle-income, and underrepresented minority students on our campus. In 2013, one out of eight members of Penn’s freshman class will be—like I was—the first in their family to graduate from college. The percentage of underrepresented minorities at Penn has increased from 15 percent to 22 percent over the past eight years. All minorities account for almost half of Penn’s student body. After they arrive, many campus-wide initiatives enable these students to feel more at home and to succeed. Graduation rates for all groups are above 90 percent.

It is also important to note that the benefit of increasing opportunity extends far beyond the economic advancement of low- and middle-income students who are admitted. Increased socio-economic and racial diversity enriches the educational experience for everyone on a campus. By promoting greater understanding of different life experiences and introducing perspectives that differ profoundly from the prevailing attitudes among the most privileged, a truly diverse educational environment prods all of us to think harder, more deeply, and oftentimes, more daringly.

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So what does this need to cultivate global understanding in the 21st century require of our universities? Among other things, I suggest it demands that we foster intensive learning across academic disciplines within the liberal arts and integrate that knowledge with a much stronger understanding of the role and responsibilities of the professions. Whether the issue is health care or human rights, unemployment or immigration, educational attainment or economic inequality, the big questions cannot be comprehended—let alone effectively addressed—by the tools of only one academic discipline, no matter how masterful its methods or powerful its paradigms.

Consider, for example, the issue of climate change in a world that is both more interconnected and more populous than ever before. To be prepared to make a positive difference in this world, students must understand not only the science of sustainable design and development, but also the economic, political, and other issues in play. In this immensely complex challenge, a good foundation in chemical engineering—which is not a traditional liberal arts discipline nor even conventionally considered part of the liberal arts (engineering is typically classified as “professional or pre-professional education”)—is just as important as an understanding of economics or political science. The key to solving every complex problem—climate change being one among many—will require connecting knowledge across multiple areas of expertise to both broaden and deepen global comprehension and in so doing unleash truly creative and innovative responses.

A liberal arts education is the broadest kind of undergraduate education the modern world has known, and its breadth is an integral part of its power to foster creative understanding. But it is a mistake to accept the conventional boundaries of a liberal arts education as fixed, rather than as a humanly alterable product of particular historical conditions.

In my own field of political philosophy, for example, a scholarly approach centered on intellectual history ceded significant ground in the 1970s to critical analysis of contemporary public affairs, which was a paradigm common to many earlier generations of political philosophers. Were the liberal arts motivated solely by the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, and not any concern for worldly relevance, then it would be hard to make sense of such shifts. In the case of this important shift in political philosophy, scholars thought it valuable, in the face of ongoing injustice, to revive a tradition of ethical understanding and criticism of society.

A liberal arts degree is a prerequisite to professional education, and most liberal arts universities and their faculties stand firmly on the proposition that the liberal arts should inform the professions. Why then are liberal arts curricula not replete with courses that teach students to think carefully, critically, and creatively about the roles and responsibilities of professionals and the professions? Perhaps we are assuming that students will make these connections for themselves or that it will suffice if professional schools do so later. Neither of these assumptions can be sustained.

For example, we must not assume that students themselves will translate ethics as typically taught in a philosophy curriculum into the roles and responsibilities of the medical, business, and legal professions. The ethical considerations are too complex and profoundly affected by the institutional roles and responsibilities of professionals. Many lawyers, for example, are part of an adversarial system of justice; many doctors are part of a system where they financially benefit from procedures the costs of which are not paid directly by their patients; and many businesspeople operate in what is commonly called a free market, where external interferences are (rightly or wrongly) presumed, prima facie , to be suspect. These and many other contextual considerations profoundly complicate the practical ethics of law, medicine, and business.

My primary point is this: Although the separation of the liberal arts from the subject of professional roles and responsibilities may be taken for granted because it is so conventional, it really should strike us as strange, on both intellectual and educational grounds, that so few courses in the undergraduate curriculum explicitly relate the liberal arts to professional life. This is a puzzle worthy of both intellectual and practical solution.

I propose that we proudly proclaim a liberal arts education, including its focus on basic research, as broadly pre-professional and optimally instrumental in pursuit of real world goals.

This stark separation of the practical and theoretical was neither an inevitable outgrowth of earlier educational efforts, nor has it ever been universally accepted. In fact, it flew in the face of at least one early American effort to integrate the liberal arts and professional education. In his educational blueprint (“Proposals Relating to the Education of Youth in Pensilvania”), which later led to the founding of the University of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Franklin called for students to be taught “every Thing that is useful, and every Thing that is ornamental.” Being a principled pragmatist, Franklin immediately ad dressed an obvious rejoinder, that no educational institution can teach everything. And so he continued: “But Art is long, and their Time is short. It is therefore propos’d that they learn those Things that are likely to be most useful and most ornamental.”

As Franklin’s intellectual heirs, we recognize that something educationally significant is lost if students choose their majors for either purely scholastic or purely professional reasons, rather than because they want to be both well-educated and well-prepared for a likely future career. The introduction of distribution requirements for all majors is one way of responding to this potential problem. The glory and strength of American liberal arts education is its enabling undergraduates to keep their intellectual sights and their career options open, while cultivating intellectual curiosity and creativity that will enhance any of the career paths they later choose to follow. These are among the most eminently defensible aims of a liberal arts education: to broaden rather than narrow the sights of undergraduates, and to strengthen rather than stifle their creative potential.

I propose that we proudly proclaim a liberal arts education, including its focus on basic research, as broadly pre-professional and optimally instrumental in pursuit of real world goals. At its best, a liberal arts education prepares undergraduates for success in whatever profession they choose to pursue, and it does so by virtue of teaching them to think creatively and critically about themselves, their society (including the roles and responsibilities of the professions in their society), and the world.

So what can we do to bolster this optimal educational system, as envisioned by Franklin? As 21st century colleges and universities, we can build more productive intellectual bridges between liberal arts and professional education. We can show how insights of history, philosophy, literature, politics, economics, sociology, and science enrich understandings of law, business, medicine, nursing, engineering, architecture, and education—and how professional understandings in turn can enrich the insights of liberal arts disciplines. We can demonstrate that understanding the roles and responsibilities of professionals in society is an important part of the higher education of democratic citizens.

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These are discoveries such as those made by Dr. Carl June and his team at Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center, with contributions from colleagues at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Their pioneering research with individualized cancer treatments produced a reengineered T-cell therapy. Just in time, too, for young Emma Whitehead, who was stricken with advanced leukemia when she was just five years old. Under Dr. June’s care, Emma, now seven, has beaten her cancer into remission. She’s back at school, laughing and learning and playing with her friends. Her miraculous recovery not only means a renewed chance at a long, fulfilling life for her and her parents— it promises renewed hope for so many who are ravaged by cancer.

In university classrooms and laboratories across the country, the brightest minds are leveraging research and discovery to contribute to the social good. Most of these stories are not as dramatic as Emma’s, but each in its own way has changed and will continue to change how we live and work and understand our world. The full tale of the benefits that universities bring extends far beyond technological and medical advances. We help governments build good public policy based on robust empirical data, garnered from university research. We build better international cooperation through the study of languages and cultures, economic markets, and political relations. We strengthen economies by fostering scores of newly discovered products, markets, and industries. We safeguard our collective health and well-being with insight into global phenomena and systems such as climate change, shifting sea levels, and food supply and agricultural production. All the vital basic and applied research being conducted by universities cannot be accounted for in any one list—the sum is too vast. What I can sum up here is this: If we do not do this research, no one will. Colleges and universities also contribute to society at the local level by modeling ethical responsibility and social service in their institutional practices and initiatives. Their capital investments in educational facilities contribute to the economic progress of their local communities. Colleges and universities at every level can be institutional models of environmental sustainability in the way they build and maintain their campuses.

While the core social contribution of universities lies in both increasing opportunity for students and cultivating their creative understanding, the analogous core social contributions of universities in the realms of faculty research and clinical service are similarly crucial. And both are only strengthened by better integrating insights across the liberal arts and the professions. An education that cultivates creative understanding enables diverse, talented, hardworking graduates to pursue productive careers, to enjoy the pleasures of lifelong learning, and to reap the satisfactions of creatively contributing to society. The corresponding institutional mission of colleges and universities at all levels is to increase opportunity, to cultivate creative understanding, and— by these and other important means such as innovative research and clinical service—to contribute to society.

At their best, universities recruit hardworking, talented, and diverse student bodies and help them develop the understandings—including the roles and responsibilities of the professions in society—that are needed to address complex social challenges in the 21st century. To the extent that universities do this and do it well, we can confidently say to our students and our society that a university education is a wise investment indeed.

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Should university education be free?

Education has positive benefits for the rest of society. If university education is left to market forces, there may be under-provision, and the economy may suffer from a lack of skilled graduates. Furthermore, in a free market, higher education would become the preserve of wealthy families who can afford to send their children to university. Therefore there is a strong case for the government providing higher education free at the point of use.

However, others argue the positive externalities of higher education are limited, and the prime beneficiaries of a university degree are the graduates who can command a higher paying job. If the external benefits of many degrees are limited, government spending may be misallocated in offering relatively expensive university education. Rather than fund 3-4 year university degrees, governments may be able to get a better return from spending money on primary education and vocational training – training which is more relevant to the needs of the economy.

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In recent years, the UK government has sought to increase the amount students pay for studying at university. In the UK, the government have phased out grants and introduced top-up fees. With tuition fees and rising living costs, students could end up paying £50,000 for a three-year degree, and leave university with significant debts.

Some argue this is a mistake. Charging for university education will deter students and leave the UK with a shortfall of skilled labour – and arguably this will damage the long-term prospects of the UK economy. Furthermore, charging to study at university will increase inequality of opportunity as students with low-income parents will be more likely to be deterred from going to university.

Arguments for free university education

• Positive externalities of higher education . Generally, university education does offer some external benefits to society. Higher education leads to a more educated and productive workforce. Countries with high rates of university education generally have higher levels of innovation and productivity growth. Therefore, there is a justification for the government subsidising higher education.
• Equality . There is also a powerful argument that university education should be free to ensure equality of opportunity. If students have to pay for university education, this may dissuade them. In theory, students could take out loans or work part-time, but this may be sufficient to discourage students from studying and instead may enter the job market earlier.
• Increased specialisation of work . The global economy has forced countries, such as the UK to specialise in higher-tech and higher value-added products and services. The UK’s biggest export industries include pharmaceuticals, organic chemicals, optical and surgical instruments, and nuclear technology (see: what does the UK produce? ). Therefore, there is a greater need for skilled graduates who can contribute to these high-tech industries.
• Education is a merit good . One characteristic of a merit good is that people may underestimate the benefits of studying and undervalue higher education. Government provision can encourage people to study.
• Young people facing rising costs . In recent years, we have seen a rise in the cost of living. House prices and rents have risen faster than inflation. This means young people are struggling to meet living costs – even in work. The thought of student debt on top of high living costs, may dissuade people from studying. Free tuition fees is a way to restore the income inequality across generations.
• Non-economic benefits of education . It is tempting to think of university education in purely monetary terms. But graduates can also gain skills and awareness of civic institutions which offer intangible benefits to society.

Source: Times Higher Education

Higher Learning, Greater Good: The Private and Social Benefits of Higher Education (2009) Professor McMahon examined the “private non-market benefits” for individuals of having degrees.

This includes better personal health and improved cognitive development in their children, alongside the “social non-market benefits”, such as lower spending on prisons and greater political stability.

• If you wished to evaluate this point, we could ask – is it university education which causes these civic virtues or is it because university education is dominated by middle classes who are more likely to have better health e.t.c. already?

Arguments against free university education

• Opportunity cost . If we spend billions on free university education, there is an opportunity cost of higher taxes or less spending elsewhere. Arguably, there is a greater social benefit from providing vocational training – e.g. so people could become plumbers, electricians e.t.c. There is often a real shortage of these skills in an economy. The UK Commission for skills and education report significant skills shortages in the basic ‘core generic skills’ such as literacy, numeracy and communication skills. These skill shortages are prominent in industries like building, health care, plumbing, social care and construction. The problem is not a shortage of graduates with art degrees, but a shortage of lower-level vocational skills. (See: BBC – skills shortage in the UK ) Therefore, there is a case for charging students to study at university – allowing higher public spending to tackle more basic skill shortages.
• Do we have too many graduates? In recent decades there has been a rapid rise in the number of graduates. But many graduates are now leaving university to take jobs which don’t require a degree. A study by the ONS found that nearly 50% of workers who left university in the past five years are doing jobs which don’t require a degree. ( Telegraph link ) Therefore, it is a mistake to continue to fund the public expansion of university education because the economy doesn’t need more graduates as much as other vocational skills.
• Higher quality of education . The rapid rise in university numbers means that greater pressure is being put on university resources. Since the government is struggling to increase real spending, there is a danger that university education and research may suffer, causing UK education to lag behind other countries. If universities can charge students, it will help maintain standards, quality of teaching and the reputation of UK universities.
• Makes people value education more . If people have to pay to go to university, you could argue that they would value education more. If higher education is free, it may encourage students to take an easy three years of relaxation.
• Signalling function of higher education . Arguably, higher education acts as a signal to employers that graduates have greater capacity. As a consequence, people who gain a degree, end up with a relatively higher salary. Therefore, if they financially gain from studying at university, it is perhaps fair they pay part of the cost. This is especially important for middle-class families, who send a higher proportion of people to higher education.

Another issue is whether we need 50% of 18-year-olds to go to university . The increase in student numbers is a significant contributory factor to the increased financial pressures on universities. Rather than encouraging students to automatically go to university (as some schools do), it may be better to encourage more students to take vocational training and avoid three years of academic study. If less went to university, it would mean the cost per student would be relatively lower.

Another issue is how do you charge students for going to university? If students leave university with large debts, this has negative consequences. But, if we finance university education through a graduate tax paid when graduates get a decent income then it may be less of a disincentive.

Abolition of Tuition Fees

In the 2017 and 2019 election, the Labour party proposed to abolition tuition fees. This is estimated to cost £16 billion.

• How should university education be funded ?
• Arguments for Free Education
• Arguments against Free education

48 thoughts on “Should university education be free?”

In my perceptive the government must allow free education system for two category only. One is the children comes merited and secondly for lower class people

Aka free collage to welfare state

Dear Tejvan Pettinger,

You misspelled Subsidizing*

The E-Time Guy

Subsidizing is American-English spelling. But I use British-English ‘subsidising’

I don’t think you realised/realized that EconomicsHelp is a British-founded website.

Lmao! He must have felt well chuffed with himself…until you pointed that out!

Wouldn’t it be hard to manage that sort of, uh, selection?

Just give everyone a free college degree. No debts, no tax dollars to send Timmy off for free 4 years of living. Free college = tax payer pays to get more competition for his job. Free college = college degree is pointless cause everyone has one

• Pingback: Should Higher Education be Available for Everyone? – /lacher-prisee/

The best way is to offer relatively large number of places free of charge, for instance, 80% of overall demand in the economy to be free/state paid places.

The entrance competition must be held to get the place. The rest will be private places.

Erm..we just that read that…but I guess thanks for repeating it…

I agree that education improves how productive people are in the workforce. A friend of mine is majoring in computer science and they are much more adept because of what they are learning. If governments cannot offer compensation for education then I hope that companies will.

Education has positive benefits for the rest of society. If university education is left to market forces, there may be under-provision, and the economy may suffer from a lack of skilled graduates. Furthermore, in a free market, higher education would become the preserve of wealthy families who can afford to send their children to university. Therefore there is a strong case for the government providing higher education free at the point of use. However, others argue the positive externalities of higher education are limited, and the prime beneficiaries of a university degree are the graduates who can command a higher paying job. If the external benefits of many degrees are limited, government spending may be misallocation in offering relatively expensive university education. Rather than fund 3-4 year university degrees, governments may be able to get better return from spending money on primary education and vocational training – training which is more relevant to the needs of the economy.

plagiarized from another article but great response (next time cite)

Great post and interesting argument here. I have to say that with everything there is going to be advantages and disadvantages. If you offer free university education, it will devalue those who already have a university education. I think if there is a plan to offer free university education, then there needs to be guidelines around it – such as certain state schools, specific courses, etc.

Sorry, I’m not so sure I understand what you mean by “devalue” here. I think university is an opportunity and surely the value in an opportunity is in what you gain out of it, not its availability?

“devalue” as towards the degree itself, not the user. The more of anything (“degrees”) lowers the value, supply and demand. I’m a pretty lefty guy (51. Male, UK) but this one I’m not for, students seem to think degree courses were free before the fees were started under Tony Blair, they wernt, I applied and was refused due to my grade not being good enough. Only a set number of people were given grants. Now after working my way up the slippy pole, I would feel cheated if I have to pay extra tax for someone else to go to Uni. However it this was fully funded from a wealth tax (which I would not pay as I dont have much wealth), then yer go on do it.

I think the university fees should not be free. Maybe exceptions can be made for students from more poor backgrounds and they pay lesser fees but it should not be free because then there is no point. No one would take it seriously anymore & if u paid for something you value it more and work harder You should work hard for something you want and not expect everything to be handed on a silver plater

It’s not being handed on a silver plate – you still have to work to be accepted and work to graduate. Making uni free doesn’t devalue its certification.

I totally agree when you said that it would be hard for low-income parents to send their children to universities. This is the actual problem of my cousin which is why he is lucky that his dad is a military because there might be assistance for them. I will suggest this to them since they might not be aware, and he will be going to college in two years time.

all the Arguments against free university education written here are silly and nothing to do with how things work in real life, you can see it in all quality countries that have free tertiary education, like in northern europe. or in any other europe country, you can check it out.

I don’t get the argument about too many people going to university and getting a degree? Or am I the thick one here?

We’re not handing out free degrees, we’re giving everyone an equal OPPORTUNITY to get a degree, and a higher education for their future. So many people would’ve made very useful citizens had they have had a chance to fully develop their skills, and we forget that making uni free doesn’t make it any easier to get into and to graduate from.

Making uni free doesn’t devalue its certification btw

Very interesting, good job and thanks for sharing such a good blog.

Everyone grows up going to school and unless it is a private school, the government funds it once we enroll and all we need to do is show up. Once we graduate high school or get a GED, suddenly the price for a good quality education sky rockets and everyone starts scrambling to find a job, or get as many grants, scholarships, and loans as they possibly can to cover the ever growing debt most people will have once they graduate college. The debate on whether or not to make college free or at least more affordable has grown, and more and more people including politicians are looking for ways to make this happen. With every good idea there will be problems that are solved, but new ones will arise. Some reasons people want college level education to be free is it will give everyone a chance for education past high school, it avoids student debt, and it was free when they first made colleges, but the downfalls might include raised taxes, a sacrifice of standards, and financial irresponsibility from the students. Most of the people that attend college are from wealthier families because they are able to pay the bill. When colleges were first made, they were all actually free due to the lack of students and establishments under the Morrill Act of 1862 (Beelineweb.com et al.). This act allowed colleges to be created by the state on federal lands to make a higher education system available to all who desired it regardless of class or income. Now the sum that these schools require is absolutely outrageous. Even the wealthy are not able to afford quality education without taking out a loan. With all the loans, people are acquiring more and more debt, but without the cost of tuition, that debt would decrease dramatically (Pettinger). Many people that need loans currently, would be able to attend and get a quality education without worrying about the debt that will follow them for a long time. Along with that, more people that are not able to go to college now will be able to attend just because they want to instead of forgetting about college as even an option because it costs an arm and a leg (Ayres). Free college education would open many doors that have been shut due to financial struggles. With all the good that would come from free college level education, there are quite a bit of issues that might arise with it. Although free college-level education might seem great, there quite a few things that would be sacrificed with the elimination of tuition costs. With the sacrificed costs, some of the quality of education might be sacrificed as well (Ayres). Without the constant funds coming in from the enrolled students, the facilities might go a while without very necessary updates and repairs. There is always going to be a need for money to pay for all the things colleges provide and if students are not paying for it, the costs would shift from being a personal expense to a societal expense (Beelineweb.com et al.). The reality for everyone would be the increase of taxes to cover the necessary costs. Students would have their tuition covered by the government issued taxes. Without the need for loans, students might lose their financial responsibility because they will not have needed to manage their money to pay for their classes and take their education for granted (Amit Kumar). Some might actually devalue their diploma because they did not pay for the classes. The diploma would have the same value as a high school diploma. Although these things are factors that need to be considered, having education that is at least partially free would be good to allow more people to get the opportunity for getting a better education. Hopefully we will be able to find a way where we are able to go back to when colleges were first made, give everyone an equal opportunity for their education, and avoid debt, but also avoid some of the downfalls from taxes, sacrificed standards, and financial irresponsibility.

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HELP University

No. 15, Jalan Sri Semantan 1, Off, Jalan Semantan, Kuala Lumpur

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• Private Status
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• 498 Int'l Students
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HELP University was founded in 1986 by its President, Paul Chan Tuck Hoong, and CEO Chan-Low Kam Yoke to provide affordable quality educational opportunities for deserving students from Malaysia and around the world. It has since developed into a leading institution of higher learning in Malaysia with an international reputation among universities, research organisations, scholars, business, corporate leaders, and governments. HELP University offers a wide and diverse range of programmes covering business, law, management, economics, IT, the social sciences, and the humanities at undergraduate and graduate levels. HELP University is located in two campuses, one in Damansara Heights, and the other in Subang Bestari. The university was awarded the Premier Digital Tech University (PDTU) status in 2019 by the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), a Malaysian government owned institution. The status is a recognition that HELP University is one of Malaysia’s leading digital tech focussed tertiary institutions. To prepare for the future, HELP is transforming to become an Analytics-Driven Entrepreneurial University.  HELP’s effort is recognised by MDEC which conferred the Premier Digital Tech University (PDTU) Award to HELP in 2019.  HELP also received the specific MDEC Recognition for the Faculties of Business, Economics and Accounting (FBEA) and Computing and Digital Technology (FCDT) and for the Certificate Training in Data Science for students. For over 3 decades, HELP has explored and experimented with innovative ways to evolve our education philosophy, principles and practices in terms of critical thinking, entrepreneurship, leadership and management (ELM) programme (ELM), and business analytics, to distinguish the core education culture of HELP University, as prepare our students to be IR 4.0 future ready. BUSINESS ANALYTICS AND TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION CENTRE (BATIC) HELP invested RM25 million in the Business Analytics and Technology Innovation Centre (BATIC) which would be used to innovate and incubate techno-entrepreneurship. The Phase 4.1 expansion of HELP’s Subang 2 campus, incorporating the signature Green-Digital Technology Campus, has commenced. Besides using analytics to drive our management and teaching, HELP is also building its research capability in analytics application, with part of the research grant from the Ministry of Education and internal funding allocated for analytics research. HELP collaborated with Bloomberg in setting up the largest Bloomberg Finance Lab in Malaysia to boost the economics, business, financial and analytics training in our FBEA, the ELM Graduate School and the FCDT.  Additionally, HELP has internship collaborations with AI companies and techno-entrepreneurs.

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What you need to know about higher education

UNESCO, as the only United Nations agency with a mandate in higher education, works with countries to ensure all students have equal opportunities to access and complete good quality higher education with internationally recognized qualifications. It places special focus on developing countries, notably Africa. 

Why does higher education matter?  

Higher education is a rich cultural and scientific asset which enables personal development and promotes economic, technological and social change. It promotes the exchange of knowledge, research and innovation and equips students with the skills needed to meet ever changing labour markets. For students in vulnerable circumstances, it is a passport to economic security and a stable future. 

What is the current situation? 

Higher education has changed dramatically over the past decades with increasing enrolment, student mobility, diversity of provision, research dynamics and technology. Some 254 million students are enrolled in universities around the world – a number that has more than doubled in the last 20 years and is set to expand. Yet despite the boom in demand, the overall enrolment ratio is 42% with large differences between countries and regions. More than 6.4 million students are pursuing their further education abroad. And among the world’s more than 82 million refugees, only 7% of eligible youth are enrolled in higher education, whereas comparative figures for primary and secondary education are 68% and 34%, respectively ( UNHCR) . The COVID-19 pandemic further disrupted the way higher education was provided.

What does UNESCO do to ensure access for everyone to higher education? 

UNESCO's work is aligned with Target 4.3 of SDG 4 which aims, by 2030, “to ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university”. To achieve this, UNESCO supports countries by providing knowledge, evidence-based information and technical assistance in the development of higher education systems and policies based on the equal distribution of opportunities for all students. 

UNESCO supports countries to enhance recognition, mobility and inter-university cooperation through the ratification and implementation of the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education and regional recognition conventions . To tackle the low rate of refugee youth in higher education UNESCO has developed the UNESCO Qualifications Passport for Refugees and Vulnerable Migrants , a tool which makes it easier for those groups with qualifications to move between countries. The passport brings together information on educational and other qualifications, language, work history. UNESCO places a special focus on Africa with projects such as the Higher Technical Education in Africa for a technical and innovative workforce supported by China Funds-in-Trust.  

​​​​​​​How does UNESCO ensure the quality of higher education? 

The explosion in demand for higher education and increasing internationalization means UNESCO is expanding its work on quality assurance, helping Member States countries to establish their own agencies and mechanisms to enhance quality and develop policies particularly in developing countries and based on the Conventions. Such bodies are absent in many countries, making learners more vulnerable to exploitative providers.  

It also facilitates the sharing of good practices and innovative approaches to widen inclusion in higher education. As part of this work, it collaborates with the International Association of Universities to produce the World Higher Education Database which provides information on higher education systems, credentials and institutions worldwide. 

​​​​​​​How does UNESCO keep pace with digital change?  

The expansion of connectivity worldwide has boosted the growth of online and blended learning, and revealed the importance of digital services, such as Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and Higher Education Management Information Systems in helping higher education institutions utilize data for better planning, financing and quality. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this transformation and increased the number of providers and the range of degree offerings from cross-border to offshore education.  The Organization provides technical support and policy advice on innovative approaches to widening access and inclusion including through the use of ICTs and by developing new types of learning opportunities both on-campus and online. 

How does UNESCO address the needs of a changing job market?

Labour markets are experiencing rapid changes, with increased digitization and greening of economies, but also the rising internationalization of higher education. UNESCO places a strong emphasis on developing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, indispensable to sustainable development and innovation. It aims to strengthen skills development for youth and adults, particularly literacy, TVET, STEM and higher education to meet individual, labour market and societal demands.  

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What are The Benefits of University Education?

17 Jan 2023

10 Mins Read

“Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it.”  - Marian Wright Edelman                                   Whether you are considering a university education, currently enrolled in a course of study, or received your degree ages ago, you would have weighed the cost of your university studies against the benefits it will offer you throughout your lifetime. It’s a personal decision, a personal commitment and most of all, a personal investment.

In exchange for your hard work, you will benefit from the many rewards of a university education. Let’s review what you can look forward to (or are already enjoying).

Personal Benefits of a University Education

  1. Career Preparation

Some people know exactly what they want to do once they enter the workforce, and some people may need a tertiary education to get to where they need to be. A university degree remains a mandatory prerequisite for many careers. Even if you aren’t sure what you want to do after graduation, it is still worthwhile to go to university. Higher education will help narrow your interests and refine your skill sets, thus allowing you to zoom in on fields in which you are most adept.

Some have skills they haven’t yet discovered or haven’t had the opportunity to develop. Education stretches the mind, exposes students to new topics and pushes them to improve. As a result, students may discover skills they didn’t even know they possessed.

It’s a well-known fact that degree holders have access to more jobs. The unemployment rate is cut in half for graduates of bachelor’s programmes or higher.

2. Income Advantages

Getting a university education will improve your earning potential. When you look at income research, the evidence is clear that university graduates earn more than their counterparts without a degree.

A 2022 study has shown that in Singapore, those with a degree or post-graduate degree  can earn a median monthly salary of $4,200, more than double as compared to those with a secondary and lower education. This median monthly salary is also 62% per cent higher than the $2,600 median monthly salary for those with diploma or A-Level qualitifications 1 .

3. Personal Development

Students will experience personal development while in university. Things such as critical thinking skills, time management, perseverance, communication, and presentation skills are all great assets not only for future work but for personal life as well. University graduates get further in life, not just because of the degree they’ve earned, but the experiences they’ve gone through .

Students are required to go through many types of assignments, discussions, courses, and more during their time in education. Therefore, they end up with a wonderful skill set that is enabling.

A personal benefit to getting an education is the opportunity to grow as an individual, experiment with what you are passionate about, and finding yourself. You will be exposed to a diverse set of people and ideas which expand your mind.

Students are given increasing amounts of responsibility with each year of education they complete. It is the student’s job to manage their time and create their own success, leading to self-discipline abilities for those who succeed.

In addition, from extracurriculars, students learn arts, sports, and more that help them personally in life and to connect with others.

4. Pursuing a Passion and Desired Field

Pursuing your personal passion in the form of a university degree is the path that some people take and it’s a wonderful way to marry passion with profession. If you really love music, study music, then find a way to make a career out of it. With university studies, it will help you get a deeper and more theoretical understanding of your passions and ultimately, the possible career paths and mentors.

5. Cognitive and Communication Skills

University students study hard, and they study often. They are taught to think alternatively and creatively to solve a problem. As a result, university students have high cognitive abilities. Courses often require group work and presentations, resulting in better interpersonal communication skills for grads.

Students are required to submit written assignments, work in groups, participate in discussions, and present in front of others. This leads to excellent written communication, speaking skills, and group communication.

6. Social Experiences

Don’t forget that university life isn’t all about studying. The friends you make during your time in school may be the friends you have for life. They can also act as a social net, lifting you up when you are down and encouraging you to do your best in your studies, your profession, and in your life. Learning to live with others and work well with others enhances your social skills as well.

7. Sense of Accomplishment

Finishing any degree is an accomplishment. Graduating gives students a huge sense of accomplishment and gives them the confidence needed to go out into the world and make something of themselves.

Feeling convinced? There are so much more than just these personal benefits of education we have listed.

Not only will you personally benefit from receiving education when it comes to income, career advancement, skill development, and employment opportunities, your society and community will also benefit from your education.

A society that is well educated feels a higher sense of unity and trust within the community. Educated societies create a feeling of togetherness among all citizens. Societies with higher rates of degree completion and levels of education tend to be healthier, have higher rates of economic stability, and have greater equality.

For more surprising societal benefits of education, read on.

Societal Benefits of a University Education:

There is a distinct relationship between education and poverty. Countries that enjoy a strong education system and a higher percentage of their population with university degrees see a far lower number of people in poverty. Access to education can mean getting out of that vicious cycle. The poverty rate for those with no secondary education diploma is 29%; for those holding a bachelor’s degree or higher, it falls dramatically to 5% 2 .

The new world of digital education is helping those who get an education to connect across the globe with people from other cultures. Students can collaborate across borders, increasing the cultural awareness and worldliness of the individuals. Education offers a global perspective on the world that is not possible to attain elsewhere.

Those receiving an education would have to learn how to manage their time and talents and be productive. After graduation, students will need to carry that productive energy into the workforce and learn how to thrive amidst various challenges.

In Singapore, changes in the education attainment of workers have been the most significant factor in the growth of labour quality over the past 50 years 3 .

4. Critical Thinking Skills Education equips people with critical thinking skills. They are taught to ask questions, reflect, and analyse. These skills will help their local and global communities solve civic, economic, and social challenges. LinkedIn lists Leadership, Business Development Communication, Problem Solving, Management, Strategy, and Time Management as 7 of the 20 most in-demand skills in 2022.

5. Economic Growth When an entire society is educated, productivity increases, average income increases, and unemployment decreases. This leads to the economic growth and stability of a society as a whole. It starts with education.

If one country’s math and science test-score performance was 0.5 standard deviations higher than another country during the 1960s, the first country’s GDP growth rate was, on average, one full percentage point higher annually over the following 40-year period than the second country’s growth rate 4 .

6. Healthier Society

University grads tend to be healthier as well, with a 30% lower risk of heart disease, a tendency towards healthy eating and exercise, smoking less, and living longer. University graduates also tend to have higher rates of participation in political and community affairs, volunteerism, and charitable donations. Not only do healthier lifestyles drive a more ready-to-work labor force, it also reduces the cost of a city or country’s healthcare infrastructure. More resources can then be invested in infrastructure, technology, and poverty alleviation as a result.

7. Environmental Benefits

Climate change is a large part of the conversation today, and society needs to work together to find ways to reduce its impact on the earth. Educated individuals that enter the workforce will put their knowledge of climate change into company policies, leading to increased sustainability. People with degrees are 25% more likely, on average than people with no education qualifications, to adopt pro-environmental behaviours, such as paying more for environmentally friendly products 5 .

Professor Peter Lynn at the Institute of Social and Economic Research (ISER) notes, “more highly-educated people may be more willing to take environmentally-motivated principled actions such as buying recycled paper products or avoiding the purchase of over-packaged products.”

8. Reduces Crime

Education teaches people the difference between right and wrong and exposes children and young adults to the experiences of others. Understanding right and wrong and having empathy reduces the tendency to commit crimes. A higher level of education in society decreases overall arrests – just one year increase in average education levels of a state decreases state-wide arrests by 11% 6 .

9. Promotes Equality and Empowerment

Education provides everyone with a sense of empowerment, the idea that they have the choice to change their own lives and choose their path.

Gender-based violence is lower in communities with high education rates for all genders. Educated persons are more likely to support gender equality and are more likely to make efforts to stop and prevent gender-based or domestic violence.

A good education has considerable power to increase equality between women and men. Education can help tackle gender disparities in wages, poverty, reproductive autonomy, and political power while dramatically improving the health outcomes for women and their children.

The more educated women are, the closer their earnings are to men’s. In Pakistan, women with only a primary education earn around 50% of men’s wages. Women with secondary education earn 70% of men’s wages – still unacceptable, but a far narrower gap 7 .

10. Promotes Good Citizenship and Civic Involvement

Those with an education tend to be more aware of current political issues and are more likely to vote. University degree holders are twice as likely to volunteer and 3.5 times more likely to donate money than high school graduates 8 .

The practical side of good citizenship is developed most successfully in school. It requires an elevated level of teaching where the professor does not merely teach a subject but is always conscious of the subject’s relation to the larger purpose of learning to live.

Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS) views good citizenship and active community involvement of its students and alumni as a core mission. Its motto, Make Your Mark for the Greater Good , encapsulates SUSS’ heartbeat in holistically developing learners so that they can go on to impact the world around them. The university’s unique, interdisciplinary education is designed to impart professional knowledge and a passion for society. When SUSS students graduate, they are inspired to make a mark in their careers, life and community.

While it is understandable for you to consider the personal gains you will realise from a university education, do stop and consider the societal impacts that your university education and that of thousands of others can have on the society in which you live.

So, prepare yourself, prosper in your profession, and pay it forward to your community.

• Tan, T. (2022, December 5). University Grads' median pay is $4.2K, double the $2K of those with ITE, secondary education: Study. The Straits Times. Retrieved January 11, 2023, from https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/community/university-grads-median-pay-is-42k-double-the-2k-of-those-with-ite-secondary-education-study
• DeNavas-Walt, C., & Proctor, B. D. (2015). Income and Poverty in the United States: 2014. Centre for Poverty & Inequality Research . Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://poverty.ucdavis.edu/faq/how-does-level-education-relate-poverty
• Nomura, K., & Amano, T. (2012). Labor Productivity and Quality Change in Singapore: Achievements in 1974–2011 and Prospects for the Next Two Decades. Sanken KEO Discussion Paper. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://www.sanken.keio.ac.jp/publication/KEO-dp/129/KEO-DP129.pdf
• Hanushek , E. A., Jamison, D. T., Jamison, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2008). Education and Economic Growth: It’s not just going to school, but learning something while there that matters. Education and Economic Growth: It’s Not Just Going to School but Learning That Matters. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from http://hanushek.stanford.edu
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). (2011, March 21). When it comes to the environment, education affects our actions. ScienceDaily. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110321093843.htm
• Hjalmarsson, R., Holmlund, H., & Lindquist, M. J. (2014, October 29). The Effect of Education on Criminal Convictions and Incarceration: Causal Evidence from Micro-data. Wiley Online Library. Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ecoj.12204
• UNESCO. (2013). October 2013 girls’ education – the facts - UNESCO. UNESCO. Retrieved January 6, 2023, from https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/sites/default/files/Girls_fact_sheet.pdf
•   Trostel, P. (n.d.). IT’S NOT JUST THE MONEY. Lumina Foundation. Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://www.luminafoundation.org/files/resources/its-not-just-the-money.pdf

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How Federal Pandemic Aid Impacted Schools

• Posted June 26, 2024
• By Elizabeth M. Ross
• Disruption and Crises
• Education Finances
• Education Policy
• Education Reform
• Student Achievement and Outcomes

K–12 schools received nearly $190 billion in federal relief during the COVID-19 pandemic, 90% of which went directly to local districts. Financially disadvantaged districts received the most aid money, but how effective was the money at helping students make up the learning they missed during the pandemic?

Answers can be found in new research which measured the impact of the spending by looking at the average test scores in reading and math from the spring of 2022–2023, for students in grades 3–8. The researchers were not able to assess which intervention strategies were the most effective because school districts were not required to report how they spent the funds they received.

Professor Thomas Kane , economist and co-author of the new report from the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, explains the role that federal relief money played in the academic recovery story in 29 states.

Could you summarize what you found out about the impact of the federal relief money on student achievement during the 2022 to 2023 school year?

We found that $1,000 of federal aid per student that a district spent during the 2022–2023 school year was associated with a 0.03 grade equivalent rise in math achievement (or approximately 6 days of learning) and in reading, the effects were somewhat smaller, a 0.018 grade equivalent (or approximately 3 days of learning). So, the effects were not huge. I think readers might look at that and say, oh gosh, that's a small effect. But what people don't realize is just how strongly related to longer-term outcomes test scores are. So, although the impacts per dollar spent were not large, given the relationship between K–12 test scores and earnings later in life, our estimates imply they were large enough to justify the investment. 

In the conclusion of your report, you say that the average recovery was actually larger than what you expected based on your estimate of the effect of the spending. Why was that? 

We were surprised when we first got the 2022–2023 data and saw the total magnitude of the gains that year. They were 170% as large as the average annual improvement during the last period of rapid growth in achievement, between 1990 and 2013, in math and double the improvement in reading during that time period.

In this report, we investigated the role that the federal aid played in that growth. Our primary challenge was sorting out how much of the growth was due to spending, versus how much of the growth was related to community poverty — since poorer districts received more aid on average. We took several different approaches to doing that — for instance, using state differences in the Title I formula on which the funding was based and finding high-poverty districts which received large grants (because of the state they were in or because of anomalies in the aid formula) and similarly high-poverty districts with much smaller grants but similar prior trends in achievement. We tried multiple approaches and found similar answers each way we looked at it.

We're still surprised, partially because of the news over the past few years of districts spending the federal relief on athletics fields and across-the-board pay raises and the implementation challenges districts faced when trying to implement tutoring or recruiting students to summer school. But the dollars seem to have had an impact.

"Imagine if, at the beginning of the pandemic, the federal government did not even try to coordinate efforts to develop a vaccine. Instead, suppose they took all that money and sent it to local public health departments, saying, 'You figure it out.' Some would have succeeded, but many would have failed. That’s exactly what happened in the K–12 response."  Professor Thomas Kane

In your report you suggested that parental help at home, efforts on the part of teachers and students, and possibly increases in spending at the local level may have played a role in the recovery effort. And it's interesting because I remember the last time I talked with you , you mentioned your concerns about the lack of coordination with the spending of the federal relief money. Is that still a concern? 

Yes, in some ways the federal aid was like the first stage of a rocket — it got us started but was broadly focused and ultimately insufficient to get us all the way there. Part of that was due to a lack of coordination. Each district was developing and implementing plans largely on their own. It could have been much more effectively spent. For instance, research suggests that the cost effectiveness ratio for a high-dosage tutoring program was roughly 10 times as large as the cost effectiveness we found for each $1000 in aid spent.  

In the report, we also recommend efforts states should be doing now to continue the recovery, because it's pretty clear that there won't be another federal package, given what's happening in Washington. It’s alarming, but it’s just not on the radar screen of most governors — including here in Massachusetts, where the highest-poverty districts have actually lost additional ground since the pandemic. States have spent the last few years watching districts spend down their federal pandemic relief dollars, not recognizing that the recovery will not be complete when the federal dollars run out. Simply going back to business as usual will leave a lot of our neediest communities further behind than they were before the pandemic. So, we're hoping that these results become a call to action at the state and local level. It’s in governors and state legislators’ hands now. If they don’t step up, poor children will end up bearing the most inequitable and longest lasting burden from the pandemic. 

The aid did, by our estimates, seem to have a disproportionate effect on high-poverty districts, mostly because they got a lot more money. But that wasn't enough to completely offset the losses. The highest-poverty districts remain behind as well as the middle-income districts. The wealthiest districts we anticipate will be back to 2019 levels soon, not because they received much federal aid — they did not — but because they did not fall very far behind in the first place.

Are there lessons to be learned overall from the pandemic recovery effort? 

I do think it would have been beneficial to give federal regulators and state governments more opportunities to coordinate local efforts — like to plan statewide tutoring programs or to plan statewide summer learning programs. Most of the bigger districts would have had the staff to plan their own efforts, but the medium and smaller districts, they didn't necessarily have the bandwidth to be thinking about planning for major summer learning initiatives and tutoring programs. I think granting states, and the federal government, more say in approving local recovery plans, in ensuring that what districts were planning were sufficient to help students catch up and giving states more money to coordinate efforts would have helped. 

Imagine if, at the beginning of the pandemic, the federal government did not even try to coordinate efforts to develop a vaccine. Instead, suppose they took all that money and sent it to local public health departments, saying, “You figure it out.” Some would have succeeded, but many would have failed. That’s exactly what happened in the K–12 response. 90% of the federal aid went directly to local school districts. Some figured it out, but many did not.

States and districts should have plans on the shelf for what happens in the next pandemic. I'm sure there are individual schools that will say that they know exactly what they would do next time. But there has not been that sort of learning at the state level — since most states just took a back seat. I have not heard much planning at the state or federal level about what they would do differently next time — and how they might plan for a major tutoring initiative or assembling materials for summer learning, etc. We're not going to have better coordination next time unless somebody starts planning now. 

The latest research, perspectives, and highlights from the Harvard Graduate School of Education

Related Articles

Despite Progress, Achievement Gaps Persist During Recovery from Pandemic

New research finds achievement gaps in math and reading, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, remain and have grown in some states, calls for action before federal relief funds run out

To Get Kids Back on Track After COVID: Shoot for the Moon

Where have all the students gone.

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Colleges offer resources to help student-parents find success at home and in school

Editor's Note: The following is part of a class project originally initiated in the classroom of Ball State University professor Adam Kuban in fall 2021. Kuban continued the project this spring semester, challenging his students to find sustainability efforts in the Muncie area and pitch their ideas to Ron Wilkins, interim editor of The Star Press, Journal & Courier and Palladium-Item. This semester, stories related to health care are featured.

Isaiah Kimp is a junior at Ball State University studying secondary education in social studies, but by the end of his freshman year, he'd also become a father to his son, Khepri.

According to Urban Institute, more than 5.4 million college students, or 1 in 5 college students, in the United States have children, but there are resources for these students made by their colleges and universities to help them thrive.

Kimp said he uses Ball State's resources that are available for all students like Cardinal Kitchen, the student food pantry, Student Success Coaching and the Counseling Center. He uses these resources to better take care of himself and his son.

“Occasionally, you fall hard sometimes, and you need help with getting food, especially when it comes to feeding the little ones,” said Kimp.

Dennis Bowling, who is the senior associate director of student success programs at Purdue University, explained that for their pregnant and parenting students, they have a resource called Span Plan.

“Span Plan is a program that started in the early 1970s, so it’s been around for a long time, and it has evolved tremendously over that period of time," Bowling said. "Back in the '70s, it was really for women returning or starting in higher education under the old-fashioned ideal of people getting married at 20 or 21 and maybe going to college in their 30s or 40s. We have evolved past that now. That umbrella organization serves those folks.”

According to Purdue's Parenting Leave Policy For Students, the university will approve all absences due to pregnancy or childbirth for as long as a student's medical provider states that it is medically necessary, and may approve other absences as appropriate.

One national resource, The Pregnant Scholar, is a project aiming to be the nation’s “first and only legal resource center for pregnant and parenting students.” The team at The Pregnant Scholar provides technical assistance to college and university administrators and those related to the student on Title IX’s pregnancy-related protections and assistances to help support the pregnant and parenting student.

Based on studies conducted by Capella University involving primarily single mothers, researchers found that this population reported feeling stigmatized by the larger campus population, which “resulted in experiences of isolation.”

Bowling explains that Purdue has multiple resources for pregnant and parenting students, who are under the umbrella as “non-traditional students.”

“The first big resource that students take advantage of is our scholarships," Bowling explained. "We have several different scholarships that we offer that students can apply for, and really for us, the scholarship is $2,500 for the year, so it doesn’t cover the whole cost of tuition or anything like that. It’s to give folks a break when it comes to their financial need of the university. If the students are eligible and those are recurring scholarships, they will be over the four years that a student attends."

Purdue also has childcare-assistance scholarships that help to supplement the cost of childcare for parenting students as well as professional counseling to assist with navigating local resources. The university also has child-friendly spaces in their library to help students bring their dependents if they are need to study, along with lactation spaces for students who are nursing.

To better balance being a parent and a college student, Kimp said keeps things pertaining to school and work outside the home so that when he is with Khepri, he can give him his full attention.

“I leave campus, work and life over there, and that leaves us be. It’s hard when I have meetings and I have my son, having to walk away or he’s shouting — it becomes difficult to conduct everyday life,” Kimp said. “There are always moments where you feel like you can’t catch a break. We all deal with real-life situations, but as a parent, you must deal with the realest situations whether it’s missing a class or classes, paying a bill or any type of emergency. It throws off everything. To be in school and not show up to class or not turning in a paper and that effects your grade, whatever the option might be, you have to express that, and it is a lot to deal with as a parent.”

Kimp continues to use the resources provided to him by Ball State counselors and advisors, which he said have helped him immensely as he navigates both responsibilities at hand — being a successful student and being a successfully parent.

Map Options

Education Rankings by Country 2024

There is a correlation between a country's educational system quality and its economic status, with developed nations offering higher quality education.

The U.S., despite ranking high in educational system surveys, falls behind in math and science scores compared to many other countries.

Educational system adequacy varies globally, with some countries struggling due to internal conflicts, economic challenges, or underfunded programs.

While education levels vary from country to country, there is a clear correlation between the quality of a country's educational system and its general economic status and overall well-being. In general, developing nations tend to offer their citizens a higher quality of education than the least developed nations do, and fully developed nations offer the best quality of education of all. Education is clearly a vital contributor to any country's overall health.

According to the Global Partnership for Education , education is considered to be a human right and plays a crucial role in human, social, and economic development . Education promotes gender equality, fosters peace, and increases a person's chances of having more and better life and career opportunities.

"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." — Nelson Mandela

The annual Best Countries Report , conducted by US News and World Report, BAV Group, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania , reserves an entire section for education. The report surveys thousands of people across 78 countries, then ranks those countries based upon the survey's responses. The education portion of the survey compiles scores from three equally-weighted attributes: a well-developed public education system, would consider attending university there, and provides top-quality education. As of 2023, the top ten countries based on education rankings are:

Countries with the Best Educational Systems - 2021 Best Countries Report*

Ironically, despite the United States having the best-surveyed education system on the globe, U.S students consistently score lower in math and science than students from many other countries. According to a Business Insider report in 2018, the U.S. ranked 38th in math scores and 24th in science. Discussions about why the United States' education rankings have fallen by international standards over the past three decades frequently point out that government spending on education has failed to keep up with inflation.

It's also worthwhile to note that while the Best Countries study is certainly respectable, other studies use different methodologies or emphasize different criteria, which often leads to different results. For example, the Global Citizens for Human Rights' annual study measures ten levels of education from early childhood enrollment rates to adult literacy. Its final 2020 rankings look a bit different:

Education Rates of Children Around the World

Most findings and ranking regarding education worldwide involve adult literacy rates and levels of education completed. However, some studies look at current students and their abilities in different subjects.

One of the most-reviewed studies regarding education around the world involved 470,000 fifteen-year-old students. Each student was administered tests in math, science, and reading similar to the SAT or ACT exams (standardized tests used for college admissions in the U.S.) These exam scores were later compiled to determine each country's average score for each of the three subjects. Based on this study, China received the highest scores , followed by Korea, Finland , Hong Kong , Singapore , Canada , New Zealand , Japan , Australia and the Netherlands .

On the down side, there are many nations whose educational systems are considered inadequate. This could be due to internal conflict, economic problems, or underfunded programs. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's Education for All Global Monitoring Report ranks the following countries as having the world's worst educational systems:

Countries with the Lowest Adult Literacy Rates

• Education rankings are sourced from both the annual UN News Best Countries report and the nonprofit organization World Top 20

Download Table Data

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Which country ranks first in education?

Which country ranks last in education, frequently asked questions.

• Best Countries for Education - 2023 - US News
• Literacy rate, adult total (% of people ages 15 and above) - World Bank
• World Best Education Systems - Global Citizens for Human Rights
• UNESCO - Global Education Monitoring Reports
• World’s 10 Worst Countries for Education - Global Citizen
• International Education Database - World Top 20

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Three Generations of Career and Technical Education Teachers Attend Idaho State University

June 27, 2024

Growing up watching her mother and grandmother make a difference in the teaching profession, Elizabeth Danielson always knew that she wanted to be a teacher.

Elizabeth Danielson, who is now pursuing a secondary education degree with an endorsement in family and consumer sciences (FCS) at Idaho State University, is proud to soon be part of a legacy comprising three generations of career and technical education (CTE) teachers.

Danielson’s mother, Teresa Danielson, a certified FCS teacher with over 15 years of classroom experience, now serves as the Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America Manager at the Idaho Division of CTE. Elizabeth Danielson’s grandmother, Rebecca Webster, is a business education teacher (BED) at Thunder Ridge High School in Idaho Falls. Together, both women significantly impacted Elizabeth Danielson’s choice in becoming a teacher. As ISU graduates themselves, Elizabeth Danielson credits her family for inspiring her to pursue secondary education and become a Bengal.

As a student at the ISU College of Education, Elizabeth Danielson works closely with Dr. Brenda Jacobsen, a clinical professor for FCS and CTE, who has helped her since she was in high school. When asked of Danielson and her achievements, Dr. Jacobsen said, “She is a laser-focused rock star; she researched our catalog, planned her courses to include dual enrollment, and entered ISU with enough credits to be considered a sophomore.”

Elizabeth Danielson attends ISU entirely online, and she noted that having the opportunity to be a virtual student while also working has allowed her to further her education in a way that is right for her.

“My program is great, and I love that I know two of my teachers personally because I get to work and learn from people I’ve always looked up to,” Elizabeth Danielson said. “Dr. Jacobsen continues to work with me and is a great resource.”

Throughout her time at ISU, Elizabeth Danielson has learned practical concepts that will prepare her well for the future ahead. “Classes in the secondary education program are designed to guide students to succeed in the field,” she shared. “They’re straightforward and teach you what you need to know to succeed.”

Danielson is eager to work as a secondary education teacher once she graduates, as she believes that high school students are in a crucial phase of their lives just before college. Through a teaching approach that offers guidance and support, Danielson plans to help make the process easier for students graduating high school.

“High schoolers are truly trying to find themselves in the adult world,” she shared. “The FCS curriculum ties into that so much with helping students discover what they want to do in the world. It has real-world career pathways that students can travel down if they want to.”

As a future teacher pursuing a program akin to her loved ones, Danielson said, “I always knew I would be the one to continue the legacy of CTE teachers in my family. As a student, I attended Business Professionals of America (BPA) and Family, Consumer, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) events. I saw my mom and grandma's impact on their communities, schools, and students. I wanted to be just like them and be in the CTE world.”

Elizabeth Danielson says she is grateful for those who have supported her on her journey at ISU, including her mother, grandmother, and mentor in the program, Dr. Brenda Jacobsen. She is set to graduate in 2027. 

To learn more about the family and consumer sciences program or the career and technical education program at the College of Education, please visit isu.edu/olp .

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College of Education University News

N.J. grant will help students learn about climate change

• Updated: Jun. 27, 2024, 4:04 p.m. |
• Published: Jun. 27, 2024, 3:57 p.m.
• Bill Duhart | For NJ.com

Stockton University has received a $650,000 state grant to help K-12 schools teach lessons in climate change.

The grant is from the Department of Education to put climate-change instruction into the classroom. New Jersey became the first state in the nation to integrate climate change across multiple teaching areas, including science, social studies, world languages and the arts four years ago.

Stockton is one of four universities in the state to win the $650,000 grant. The others are Monmouth, Rutgers New Brunswick, and Ramapo.

• New scandal at controversial N.J. school: Family business cashed in on uniforms at taxpayers’ expense
• How N.J.’s new state budget could affect your your taxes, pensions and wallets
• Indicted lawyer booted from Rutgers Board of Governors by judge

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NASA awards APU nearly $5 million for Microplastics Research and Education Center

By: Alaska Pacific University Published: June 26, 2024

NASA is awarding approximately $5 million to Alaska Pacific University (APU) to help build the Microplastics Research and Education Center. This award was made possible through the Minority University Research and Education Project Institutional Research Opportunity (MIRO). The award enhances capabilities in the sciences and increases workforce diversity, supporting APU’s goal to serve Alaskan communities in its science programs and mission to provide culturally responsive educational programs in partnership with our students, communities, and tribal partners.

The  Microplastics Research and Education Center at Alaska Pacific University will contribute to the research and education needs of Alaskan communities through the exploration and detection of microplastics in Alaskan waterways, with a particular focus on traditional drinking water sources, urban and rural watersheds, glaciers, coastal waterways, ocean column, and high-altitude depositions of microplastics.

Microplastics have been detected in almost every ecosystem globally and in subsistence foods and waterways in Alaska. However, scientists have yet to determine how much these contaminants are in the waterways in Alaska and how much they might impact human, animal, and ecosystem health. The Microplastics Research and Education Center at APU adopts a “One Health” approach to this endeavor, honoring Alaska Native Traditional Ways of Knowledge and braiding this important relationship and understanding of these lands with Western science methods.

A photograph of microplastics obtained by student Na’vid Khizri at 6 meters under the ocean surface in Smitty’s Cove, Alaska using the Fourier Transform Infra Red Microscope.

This program encourages APU students to bring their communities’ knowledge into the sciences, supporting a powerful collaboration with NASA scientists. Our goal is to provide aspiring environmental scientists opportunities to make discoveries that will enable them to continue to serve their communities and NASA environmental science missions. The Microplastics Research and Education Center at APU will offer opportunities for internships, tuition stipends, and funded research projects, including collaborations with NASA scientists and scientists across academic institutions in Alaska and the University of Michigan, to students in the Marine and Environmental Sciences program at APU.

In the first years of the project, the principal investigator, Dr. Dee Barker, with APU collaborators Nate Anderson and Dr. Jason Geck will collaborate with Dr. Denise Thorsen of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Dr. Chris Ruff of the University of Michigan, and Shelly Moore of the Institute of Plastics Research in California, a California Water Board-accredited laboratory for microplastics detection. These collaborators will support the building of instrumental capacity of the Alaska and Arctic Waterways Analytics (AAWA) lab at APU to the level of expertise of microplastics-accredited labs in California. This collaboration will also build capacity at APU for remote sensing ocean surface anomalies associated with microplastics, using Dr. Ruf’s methods and NASA’s SWOT satellite system that flies over Earth’s polar regions.

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Kimball publishes opinion piece in bdn on teachers’ importance.

Ezekiel Kimball, the associate dean for undergraduate and teacher education at the University of Maine’s College of Education and Human Development, published an op-ed titled “Maine teachers do vital work for students, families and communities,” in the Bangor Daily News . The Piscataquis Observer shared the piece.

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Special education degrees made possible through Leeward CC partnership

• June 21, 2024

A unique Leeward Community College partnership has made it possible for many working professionals in the Hawaiʻi Department of Education (HIDOE) to pursue special education (SPED) licensure through a flexible, self-paced model.

The 3+1 online program through Leeward CC ’s teacher education program allows a candidate to earn a bachelor of science in SPED by completing three years at Leeward CC (or equivalent) and the final year at Chaminade University. Through online asynchronous delivery, and funding through HIDOE, the program has resulted in a 90% retention rate of working candidates since its inception in 2017 with a vast majority remaining employed as SPED teachers in local public schools.

To date, 29 Leeward CC students have graduated through the 3+1 online program, and there are 77 Leeward CC students currently in the 3+1 bachelor of science in SPED pathway.

Life-changing opportunities

Recent graduate Evelyn Utai, an educational assistant at Farrington High School, was born and raised in Kalihi. She has always had a passion for her community, and a desire to serve students with special needs. Early in her career, she and her coworkers created a “friends program” for special needs and non-special needs students to meet and interact during lunch. “The general education students’ (including all-star athletes) lives ended up being changed more than the special ed students,” Utai said.

She wanted to do more for the SPED students, and this motivated her to attend online classes for a bachelor’s degree, while still working in the classroom. The 3+1 program also allowed her to count her associate’s degree from Windward CC toward her requirements for the bachelorʻs degree. This enabled her to finish the program in half the time.

Utai said she wouldn’t have been able to pursue her degree without funding provided by a 3+1 program grant. In May, Chaminade recognized her as the 2024 outstanding graduate, and she credits both Chaminade and Leeward CC for providing the support that enabled her to achieve this milestone. Now Utai hopes to get a position as a special education teacher and do more to get SPED students involved and out in the community.

“To my Leeward ʻohana,” Utai said, “ fa’afetai tele lava (thank you in Samoan) for believing in this suga (girl), and I hope I make you guys proud because you made me feel so special.”

—By Tad Saiki

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Foundation Studies

Foundation programmes are one-year preparatory courses for students to pursue an undergraduate degree.

Interested in Foundation Studies?

Foundation programmes are one-year preparatory courses for university that gives students a strong academic foundation. HELP has foundation programmes in Science and Arts.

Students who undergo the HELP Foundation (Pre-University) programmes are also prepared to deal with the demands of university study. They learn to manage their time effectively, develop independent learning skills, and participate in academic discussions, ensuring that they have the academic skills and knowledge they need to succeed in an undergraduate programme.

Furthermore, all students will enjoy HELP’s enhanced curriculum that has been carefully designed to impart the 8 attributes that will give our students the advantage in life and career. These 8 attributes are: Digital Agility, Social Skills, Strategic Communication, Mental Agility, Environmental and Global Literacy, Moral Courage, Resilience and Wellness, and Clarity of Purpose.

The HELP Foundation programme gives students the necessary academic skills and knowledge, develops the skills to thrive in the university environment, and shapes them to be successful in life and career.

Why study Foundation Studies?

The HELP Matriculation Centre provides good quality Pre-University education for a student to obtain a tertiary education.

We are recognised by universities in Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States of America and other countries.

Accredited MQA-accredited foundation programmes in Malaysia.

Our programmes have the flexibility for students to select their choice of a discipline at a later stage rather than at the beginning of the course. We offer a broad-based education, providing exposure to a variety of disciplines and enabling students to make an informed choice when deciding on their future path.

Enriched with additional programmes such as Leadership Training, Study Skills, Critical Thinking and English Language Skills, specially designed by experienced psychologists and trained facilitators.

We prepare our students to meet the demands of undergraduate study. Extracurricular activities as well as good pastoral care are emphasised to ensure that students gain a holistic education.

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• St. John’s University Awarded $3M HECap Grant to Support New Basketball Practice Facility

St. John’s University has been awarded a $3 million  New York State Higher Education Capital Matching Grant (HECap) that will be used to help finance the construction of a new state-of-the-art basketball practice facility adjacent to Gate 4 (175th Street and Union Turnpike) on the  Queens , NY, campus. The new facility will serve the everyday needs of the Red Storm’s  Men’s and  Women’s Basketball programs. The project will be developed in conjunction with a renovation of  Taffner Field House to create a best-in-class campus recreation center for the University community.

“The  Board of Trustees and I are committed to securing the resources needed to provide our Men’s and Women’s Basketball players, coaches, administrators, and staff with exceptional spaces for practice, conditioning, learning, and preparation so that they can compete at the highest level,” said  Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. , St. John’s University President. “This new practice facility will help to accomplish that goal.” 

He added, “St. John’s is grateful for the external support of  DASNY (Dormitory Authority of the State of New York), and in particular to New York State Senator  Toby Ann Stavisky , Chair of the Committee on Higher Education, a HECap Board member, and longtime friend of St. John’s. I commend the internal team that worked to advance this application process.”

As envisioned, the new 50,000-square-foot basketball practice facility will provide high-quality operations and training space to attract top talent to St. John’s and rival the facilities of its  BIG EAST Conference peers. In addition, the new facility will offer necessary resources for Red Storm student-athletes to maximize their potential on and off the court and enhance their experience at St. John’s. The Red Storm’s new basketball practice facility will feature courts, locker rooms, training and strength areas, office and film rooms, interactive recruiting spaces, and more.

St. John’s has contracted  Gensler , a global architecture, design , and planning firm, to immediately begin the design phase of the new basketball practice facility and the campus recreation center. The basketball practice facility is expected to be ready by Spring 2027, while the campus recreation center is scheduled to open in Fall 2028.

In the latest round of HECap funding, $38 million in capital project grants was awarded; St. John’s was one of just 33 private, nonprofit colleges and universities across New York to succeed in the competitive grant program. The $3 million grant is the maximum award eligible in this round of HECap funding and marks the fifth time the University has successfully earned a HECap grant.

The HECap program, created in 2005, seeks to support private colleges, help create construction jobs, and drive economic activity to communities that are home to private colleges. Schools that receive HECap grants are required to invest three dollars in institutional funds for every one dollar received in state funds.

The funds were awarded at the June 26 meeting of the HECap Board, pursuant to a competitive application process. The three-member HECap Board includes one member chosen by the Speaker of the Assembly, one member selected by the Temporary President of the Senate, and a third member chosen by the governor. 

Since HECap’s inception in 2005, the State of New York has awarded $368.1 million in funding to 307 projects at colleges and universities across the state. These awards have resulted in a total of $1.10  billion of investments since the beginning of the program.