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Email: edu@mepc.com.my

Local and foreign students in the pursuit of higher education would be spoilt for wide range of study choices, many selections of both local and foreign universities to suit individual preference coupled with affordable education cost. Underlying this is the current trend of reputable universities from UK and Australia setting up Branch Campuses here, whilst various other USA, UK, Canadian, Australian, French, German, Switzerland and New Zealand universities are offering twinning, franchised and external degree programmes in partnership with Malaysian educational institutions. Local private universities also offer comparatively priced and excellent quality degree programmes as an added selection.

Poised as the centre of educational excellence in the Asia-Pacific region, Malaysia’s educational programmes offered by PHEIs are of excellent quality as they are approved by the Ministry of Higher Education. These Institutions of higher learning are governed by various acts such as the Education Act 1996, the Universities and University Colleges (Amendment) Act 1996, Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 and the National Accreditation Board Act 1996. English, the lingua franca, is the medium of instruction making this a plus factor for students who aspire to succeed in their careers.

• Non-university Status:
- Private Colleges
- Private Institutions

• University Status:
- Private University Colleges
- Private Universities
- Branch Campuses of Foreign Universities

• By Private Colleges
- Awarding internal or self-made certificate and diploma qualifications
- Conducting foreign university collaboration degree programmes
- Preparing students for external professional examinations

• By Private Universities and University Colleges
- Awarding their own degree qualifications

• By Foreign University Branch Campuses
- Awarding identical degree qualifications as the host university overseas

• By Distance Learning Centres
- Awarding various academic qualifications (mode of presentation is through video conferencing, telephone and Internet)

A. Internal Awards at Diploma Level
Either full-time or part-time, students can earn their diploma qualifications from the study programmes awarded by private colleges which are recognised by a majority of local universities and many foreign universities for admission into year two of the first degree programmes.

B. Preparing Students for External Professional Examinations
These colleges undertake to provide classes with tutorial support for students and prepare them for the external examinations set by the local or foreign examination boards which will award students with the qualifications upon their examination success. Some of the qualifications are from:

• Professional Associations (MICPA, MIA, ACCA-UK, IEM, Legal Professional Quality Board Malaysia)

• Semi-Professional Examination Bodies (IBBM, LCCIEB-UK, NCC-UK)

• External Academic Programmes at post-secondary level (Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia, GCE ‘A’ Level – UK)

• External English Programmes (University of Cambridge Local Examination Syndicate)

C. Bachelor’s Degree Programmes from Universities in UK, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Germany and France
Students can do their foreign bachelor degree programmes at these colleges in Malaysia, which have an inter-institutional collaborative arrangement with host-universities from overseas. The common collaborative arrangement that these Colleges have with host universities leading to a foreign degree qualification is either the Split Degree or the Entire Degree (3+0) arrangement.

(i) Split Degree Arrangement:
This comes under the Twinning Degree, Credit Transfer Degree or the Advanced Standing (Validated) Programmes.

Twinning Degree Programmes allow students to partially complete the first or second year bachelor degree programme at the local colleges with the remaining years to be completed at the specified foreign partner-university, which will then award the degree qualification.

Credit Transfer Programmes mean the colleges have links with foreign universities and students having met the required credit hours of the subject studied locally, can transfer the credit hours to the foreign university of their choice. This flexible arrangement is most popular among USA university system.

Advanced Standing Programmes mean the private colleges’ Internal Diploma programmes are validated and moderated with ‘Advanced Standing’ entry status by a group of overseas universities for direct entry into the second or third year of their degree programmes overseas. Therefore, upon completion of the ‘recognised’ Diploma course in Malaysia, the student will be awarded with the foreign degree qualification upon successful completion of the remaining portion of the degree programme in the host university overseas.

(ii) Entire Degree Arrangement
The following manners of operation allow the entire foreign bachelor degree programmes to be done in colleges.

‘3 + 0’ Foreign University Degree Programme

External Programme

3 + 0’ Foreign University Degree Programmes

Under this arrangement, some colleges are permitted by the foreign partner university to conduct the entire degree programme in Malaysia for this foreign-partner university, which will then award the degree qualification.