NTU freshmen to get a second chance in their first year of study; two new halls open

Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students studying in the Lee Wee Nam library. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN
Nanyang Technological University (NTU) students studying in the Lee Wee Nam library. -- ST PHOTO: ALPHONSUS CHERN

SINGAPORE - The 6,000 freshmen entering Nanyang Technological University (NTU) this academic year will be relieved to hear that they will get a second chance if they fail modules in their first year.

To help ease students into university life, NTU will allow its freshmen to drop their failing grades in up to six modules without affecting their Grade Point Average (GPA). In the last three years, about 6 per cent of each freshman cohort did not pass at least one module on their first try.

NTU's senior associate provost of undergraduate education, Professor Kam Chan Hin, announced this and several other changes at a media briefing on Wednesday. Other initiatives that the university is rolling out include five more compulsory modules for freshmen. These include modules on ethics and moral reasoning, enterprise and innovation, as well as career-related courses.

As part of the new academic year, two new residential halls, Pioneer and Crescent Halls, have been opened.

These halls, which will cater to some 1,250 students, will also allow the university to pilot new ways of learning such as setting up "garage spaces" for students' projects and be a testbed for innovative green technologies.

To cater to rising demand for campus living, the university will open six more halls from 2016.

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