COURSE DETAILS: PENNSTATE BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN LETTERS, ARTS AND SCIENCE (BA LAS) PROGRAMME

The 123-credit (minimum) Letters, Arts and Sciences Bachelor of Arts Degree programme (BA LAS) is offered by The College of Liberal Arts, The Pennsylvania State University. The degree is a liberal arts/ general studies degree that gives you a wide and solid educational base. Multidisciplinary in nature, areas of study include writing/speaking skills, the arts, humanities, social and behavioural sciences, natural sciences, and quantification. There is strong emphasis on developing organisational leadership skills. The direction towards an education that is generalist in scope is in step with the direction the Singapore education is heading towards at the tertiary level; there are plans to introduce and implement a common curriculum upon entry into the local university, to cover a wide-encompassing general education courses, patterned after the American system, before students embark on their specific fields of study. A liberal arts curriculum that comprises the arts, natural sciences, social sciences is therefore ideal, holds to key to preparing people for "work befitting a free man" (Liberal Arts translated from Latin "art_s liber_l_s"), as we meet challenges of the knowledge economy, where creativity and continuous learning will thrive in uncertainty. The degree programme consists of 15 core courses (45 credits), 16 general education courses (48 credits) and 10 electives (30 credits). There is a 2nd language requirement of 12 credits under the Bachelor of Arts (Baccaluareate) Associate Degree level. Singapore students, however, in lieu of their 2nd language pass at O-level, would normally have this requirement waived. They will still need to take 12 credits of electives to replace the 2nd language requirement. Individual courses under the Certificate Programmes and General education being offered in Singapore may be used to fulfil any of the 30-credit requirement for electives. As much as these individual courses under the Certificate Programmes and General Education may be taken as electives, please note, however, the transferred credits that holders of polytechnic diplomas, A-level and specialist courses (e.g. National Service courses) receive would normally help to fulfil in part or in whole the 30-credit elective requirements.

MODE OF DELIVERY NON-COHORT COURSES: Some courses are considered "rolling" which mean that you are able to start in a short time upon registration. Once your tuition is paid and your registration is confirmed and materials sent to you, you are ready to proceed. COHORTS WITH MINIMUM ENROLMENT BUT NO SPECIFIC START DATES: Some courses run on a cohort with a minimum enrolment number required before they can start. In other words, these courses will not start if the minimum number per cohort is not met. For example, if the minimum number per cohort is 18, and there are 15 students who have signed up so far, the start-date will be postponed indefinitely until the 18th place is registered for. Therefore, you may not be able to start immediately upon registration for a course due to this. Most Certificate Programmes courses are run in this manner.

WHAT CONSTITUTES AN ACADEMIC CREDIT OF COURSEWORK? (This question applies more critically to a course conducted as a 15-week cohort) One credit of coursework, as a full-time student, is equivalent to about one hour of work you would need to put in, as it were, in a "classroom" per week. If you take up a 3-credit course, you can expect to put in an equivalent of 3 hours of "classroom time" per week. Given that a semester at Penn State is 15 weeks long, you would then have spent 45 hours of classroom work. In addition, it is anticipated that you will spend an additional 3 to 6 hours weekly outside of class for preparation and self-study.

COURSE DURATION When you sign up for a course, you will be assigned academic advisor who will serve as a guide to Penn State. Assessment may be by a combination of examinations, tests, and assignments. Since you are taking up Penn State courses part-time, you should take into consideration your other commitments (e.g. full-time work, family etc) before committing yourself to a course of study. For courses that are offered as cohorts, e.g. core courses in the Baccalaureate Degree Programme, which are fifteen weeks long, and the average load would be two courses, 3 credits each. For others, specifically non-cohort courses, you may take up to eight months to complete upon registration. If for reasons beyond your control, you are unable to complete a course of work within the prescribed time, you may request, in writing, for a two-month extension. Ten months is the maximum for any course. A fee of US$40 (subject to change without notice) will be levied for the 2-month extension. Before an extension is considered, students must, however, have completed a minimum of 75% of the course lessons.

COURSE ASSESSMENT The Distance Education programme follows the same grading system as the Penn State resident programme. The system is as follows. The grades of A, B, C, D, and F indicate the following qualities of academic performance: A (Excellent) Indicates exceptional achievement B (Good) Indicates extensive achievement C (Satisfactory) Indicates acceptable achievement D (Poor) Indicates only minimal achievement F (Fail) Indicates inadequate achievement necessitating a repetition of the course in order to secure credit The grades of A, B, C, and D are assigned the following grade-point equivalents: Grade Grade-Point Equivalent A 4.00 A- 3.67 B+ 3.33 B 3.00 B- 2.67 C+ 2.33 C 2.00 D 1.00 F 0 Universities, or colleges, as they are usually referred to in the US, compute student performance on a Grade Point Average system. For example, a student may take up 2 courses - B LOG 301 (3credits) and ACCTG 211 (4 credits). At the end of the semester, he/she gets an A (4 points) for B LOG 301 and a B (3 points) for ACCTG 221. His/Her grade point average is computed as such: B LOG 301 ACCTG 221 3 credits + 4 credits Total number of credits taken = 7 credits B LOG 301 3 credits x 4 points = 12 grade points ACCTG 221 4 credits x 3 points = 12 grade points + = Total grade points taken 24 grade points His/her Grade Point Average = Total Grade Points taken divided by total number of credits 24/7 = 3.43 GPA (or a B+ average) Some courses e.g. elective courses may be taken on a pass-fail basis. This means that the academic credits earned (3 credits for a 3-credit course) but the latter grade is not taken into account, and will not affect overall GPA performance.

ACADEMIC HONESTY The Department of Distance Education subscribes to The Pennsylvania State University's policy on academic honesty and plagiarism and treats violations of this policy very seriously. Violators will be prosecuted according to the procedures established by The Pennsylvania State University. Please refer to the Distance Education Student Guide for the University's explanations of academic honesty and plagiarism and procedures for prosecution.

COURSE WITHDRAWAL If you choose to withdraw from a course, you must do so in writing within three weeks of commencement to receive a "W" (Withdrawal). You need to complete the registration/add/drop form, and forward it to your adviser for his/her endorsement. An administrative fee of US$6 (which is subject to change without notice) is levied. Drop period: Week 1-3: a symbol of W (withdraw) is retained on your academic records unless you are receiving a grade in another course for the same semester. In that case, no grade is recorded. To illustrate: Student A takes ENGL 015 and SPCOM 100. He/She earns an A in English, and drops SPCOM, the transcript reads: ENGL 015 A SPCOM 100 No Grade Student B takes only SPCOM 100 and drops within Week 3, transcript reads: SPCOM 100 W Late-Drop period: Week 4-32: a symbol of W (withdraw) is retained on your academic records provided you have late-drop credits. Students on the Baccalaureate Degree programme are allowed to late drop 16 credits. When you have exceeded your limit of 16 credits, late-drops will be recorded on your transcript as the following: WN ñ Withdraw no grade, WP ñ Withdraw passing, or WF: Withdraw failing.

PROCTORING All Examinations for Penn State World Campus in Singapore will be held quarterly at the premises of PBS Marketing & Management Services Pte Ltd. Examination dates will be announced upon the start of each course. To sit for your examination, you may wish to inform PBS in writing (Fax 3381020 Email: pbschool@pacific.net.sg) and fill in an examination request form. To sit for the examination, you must bring along your identity card/ passport as well as your University registration number for verification. Please note that a non-refundable proctoring fee of US$30 per course will be levied.

COURSE FEES With the exception of course under the Certificate Programme in Turfgrass Management (which are chargeable at US$262 per credit regardless of course level) the tuition fee is chargeable on two tiers: FOR COURSES UNDER THE CERTIFICATE PROGRAMMES AND GENERAL EDUCATION: Lower level courses (From 001-299) ñ US $143 per credit (or US $429 per 3-credit course) Upper-level Courses (From 300-400) ñUS $262 per credit (or US $786 per 3-credit course) **It is important to note that some of the certificates listed are at a different tuition rate. The Turf courses are at the $252 level regardless of course level. FOR CORE COURSES UNDER THE BACCALAUREATE (LAS) DEGREE PROGRAMME: Core Courses US $179 per credit (or US $537 per 3-credit course) Tuition fee as reflected above is inclusive of a US$30 processing fee per course. This processing fee is non-refundable. Fees are subject to change without notice. Information Technology Fee: For courses that are web-based, an information technology fee of US$80 applies. This fee is valid for a year, starting the day you sign up for a web-based course, regardless of the number of other courses that are also web-based you may have signed up for. The Information Technology fee helps to support the development and maintenance of the technology infrastructure of the University. Cost of materials and books: This varies from course to course. Please check with PBS. Click here for estimated tuition fee at different entry levels.

REFUND POLICY If you drop or withdraw from an independent learning course from Penn State World Campus, you receive a refund based on the original enrolment date, or Day One (see refund schedule below). If you have paid with Visa, MasterCard, American Express, your account will be credited. If you pay by cheque, it may take up to six weeks for a refund to be processed. Please note that your refund will be based on the tuition fee paid less the non-refundable US$30 processing fee per course. Refund Schedule for GENERAL EDUCATION COURSES Up to 10 calendar days 90% refund From 11 through 21 calendar days 80% refund From 22 through 35 calendar days 70% refund From 36 through 49 calendar days 60% refund From 50 through 63 calendar days 50% refund From 64 through 77 calendar days 40% refund From 78 through 91 calendar days 30% refund From 92 through 105 calendar days 20% refund From 106 through 119 calendar days 10% refund After 120 calendar days No tuition refund For NON-COHORT Courses: DAY ONE is deemed the fifth day upon Penn Stateís receipt of your application to take up a course. For COHORTS with minimum enrolment but no specific start dates: DAY ONE is deemed the first day of class when the cohort starts. Refund Schedule for CORE COURSES (operating on 15 weeks) Within 7 days 80% refund Up to 14 days - 70% refund Up to 21 days - 60% refund Up to 28 days - 50% refund Up to 35 days - 40% refund Up to 42 days - 30% refund Up to 49 days - 20% refund Up to 56 days - 10% refund After 57 calendar days No tuition refund For 15-WEEK COHORTS with minimum enrolment number and specific start/end dates: DAY ONE is deemed the first day of class.

The Penn State World Campus on site in Singapore here BA (LAS) Programme Certificate Programme Estimated Tuition Fees Course Contents and Fees Course Details Registration Frequently Asked Questions>