CO L LE GE CO RNER
Option 2: Twinning Programmes
Another way to obtain a foreign degree is by
completing a twinning programme in a local
institution. A local university partners with a foreign one to
offer the latter’s programmes in the former’s campus. You may
have seen programmes being advertised as “3+0” or “2+1”;
these are twinning programmes. A “2+1” programme means
the student has to complete his first two years of study locally
before going overseas for his final year. This is akin to a student
exchange programme. It allows students to reduce the cost of
education while still having the opportunity to go abroad and
experience studying and living there.
Another form of twinning programmes like the “3+0”
programme doesn’t require students to go overseas.
Students under this programme will get a foreign degree
upon completion of the three years of study locally. They
will have to register with the local institution as well as
the partner university overseas, and undergo the same
assessment methods locally as it would have been done
at the twin university abroad. This twinning programme is
similar to studying in a branch campus; the difference is the
administrator of the programme.
Both the branch campus and twinning programme options
allow students to obtain a foreign degree at a fraction of the
cost of studying overseas. With these options, more students
are able to pursue the course at their university of choice with
lower investments.
Option 3: Online Degree/Distance Learning
The advent of online technology means students
can obtain their degrees in a virtual learning
environment. Online distance lea