SINGAPORE — Part-time undergraduates enrolling in Nanyang Technological University (NTU) this August will be able to graduate sooner — within four years instead of the current five years — as the university rehauls its part-time degree programmes.

Currently, the academic year consists two semesters, with a three-month term break in May. Going forward, there will be three semesters within a year, with courses being offered during the term break.

Students will have up to six years to complete their part-time degree, down from the current maximum duration of eight years.

The revamp, said Senior Associate Provost (Undergraduate Education) Professor Kam Chan Hin, is meant to make part-time degree programmes more attractive to time-strapped undergraduates balancing work and studies.

Most lectures and course materials, re-packaged into bite-sized segments by a team of learning designers and learning technologists, will also be moved online gradually. With this, undergraduates will be able to half the number of days spent on campus to one or two times a week.

Professor Kam said: “This approach encourages deeper learning and more substantive discussions to take place during face-to-face (tutorial discussions).”

Tuition fees will increase by about three per cent, said Professor Kam, as the university moves away from a flat-rate system to a per-credit system. Currently, part-time students pay S$40,000 in tuition fees.

Currently, NTU offers two part-time degrees — electrical and electronic engineering and mechanical engineering. Come August, the university will be adding another degree — computer science — to its stable.

A new Office of Professional Education has been set up to oversee the coordination of part-time degree programmes and handle matters such as time-table scheduling and student queries. It will also offer counselling services to students.

Associate Professor Stephen Lee, who heads the office, said that one of his tasks is to reduce the drop-out rate of part-time students. In recent years, the university has seen 30 to 40 per cent of its part-time undergraduates quit school after two years or less.

There are under 1,000 part-time undergraduates enrolled in NTU, with some 200 students in each batch. In the coming years, the university will be increasing its intake at a rate of 50 students per year, to hit its target of a 500-strong cohort.