Private education institutions in Singapore are now being encouraged to focus more on student outcomes than just the quality of education provision alone.

At a packed Biopolis Auditorium, Senior Minister of State for Law and Education Indranee Rajah stated that whilst the quality of education in the private sector had improved significantly over the last few years after a regulatory overhaul, more could be done to gauge student outcomes.

Singapore was once host to a handful of unscrupulous institutions that, after suddenly shutting down, left students with no qualifications and no compensation. However, we have now seen a 20% reduction in complaints made against the sector as we enter the forth year of this new regulatory regime.

It was also noted that local students make up 56 per cent of the private education sector in Singapore, with international students making up the rest. Most of these (70 per cent) come from China, Vietnam, India, and Indonesia. There are 17,500 academic staff in total, with 5,800 courses on offer. And one in three PEIs now have the EduTrust Award, since being introduced in 2009.

Currently, there is no clear process for positive student outcomes, meaning that PEIs are unaccountable for the success of their alumni after graduation. In America, a study of private education institutions showed that those that are only profit-focussed lead to misleading marketing, poor student support, and poor outcomes. Rajah noted that the CPE wanted to prevent this by creating a clear process.

It was also noted that 40 per cent of programmes are Business-related, and that PEIs should not simply copy the successes of competitors, but to seek to fill gaps that have not yet been provided, in addition to establishing partnerships with higher-ranked institutions.

A few key carrots for PEIs are the availability of grants from organisations like SPRING Singapore, an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which helps Singapore enterprises grow and builds trust in Singapore products and services.

During the conference, it was highlighted that some of the tools to measure student outcomes included qualification completion rates, student satisfaction (especially through social media, because students can give immediate feedback on the quality of their learning experience), employment rates after graduation, employer satisfaction rates, and salary level. It was noted however, that salary level cannot be the only benchmark for employment satisfaction as this is not a true and comprehensive marker.

Other points raised were that PEIs would likely generate more revenue if students and employers are satisfied, leading to better reputations. One foreign PEI analysed was Navitas, that started out by partnering with Edith Cowan University, and now has 55,000 students from 85 countries, and many international partnerships. Its market capitalisation is worth AUS$1.6 billion. The success of Navitas has partially been linked to its successful integration of students with different cultures.

For smaller PEIs, it was noted that there is a requirement for them to be able to adapt quickly to the changing market, to increase efficiency in teaching and learning, to consider learning on the go, and to keep courses relevant to industry.

In summary, the CPE is encouraging PEIs to look beyond student protection and quality of learning, and focus more on student outcomes. They are also encouraging the PEIs to set up a framework for quality and excellence, as well as towards higher-ranked university partners.