NUS Internal Blended Learning Online Courses (iBLOCs) for Returning Full-Time National Service (NS) men

iBLOCs are mounted from January 2023 to cater to Returning Full-Time National Servicemen (NSmen) who wish to have a head start in university education and more time to transit to academic life. NUS welcomes NSmen who have places reserved for them in NUS and will be matriculating as undergraduates in August 2023 to apply for iBLOCs, if they wish.

1) Dates of iBLOCs for Returning Full-Time NSmen

Period On-site Examination Dates
9 January to 29 March 2023 [online component] -
29 March to 17 June 2023 [online component and classroom sessions] 13 to 16 June 2023


2) Modules Available

The list of modules to be offered from January 2023 is shown below. Click here for module description. The list of frequently asked questions can be accessed here.

Host Faculty iBLOC Title Module Code Module Type Promotional Videos Main Module Facilitator
Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences Communications, New Media and Society NM1101X Foundation Rosemary Overell
overell@nus.edu.sg
School of Computing Programming Methodology CS1010X Foundation Tan Tiow Seng
dcstants@nus.edu.sg
Faculty of Science Introductory Mathematics MA1301X Bridging Tan Ban Pin
mattbp@nus.edu.sg
Faculty of Science Fundamentals of Chemistry CM1417X Bridging Thyagarajan Saradha
chmthyag@nus.edu.sg

Notes. A foundation module is usually a Level-1000 module which helps to provide foundational training to students before they move on to higher level modules, in subsequent years in their course of study.  A bridging module is to help those without specific ‘A’-Levels modules, to put them on par with those who might have already done so at ‘A’-Level – for example, MA1301X helps students without ‘A’– Level mathematics. 

3) Modules Application

Applicants can apply for the iBLOCs they would like to read through the NUS Online Application Portal. Please consult the user guide on how to submit an application for iBLOCs through the NUS Online Application Portal.

Activity Timeline
iBLOC Online Application 17 September to 21 October 2022
Notification of Outcome via Email Late November 2022

It is important that you check the examination timetables of all iBLOCs you intend to take to ensure there are no clashes. See below.

Students can take iBLOCs to satisfy their Programme requirements or Unrestricted Electives requirements depending on their course of study and if they meet the prerequisites for the module. The offer of a place in an iBLOC will depend on the total number of applications.

The time-table for the face-to-face sessions is shown below:

Module Code iBLOC Title Schedule Start Date of First Face-to-face Lessons
NM1101X
Communications, New Media and Society
Friday 9AM-12noon for 6 weeks from 7 April 2023 to 12 May 2023
07 April 2023
CS1010X
Programming Methodology

7 Jan 2023, 10AM – 12noon: Organization meeting in campus. This meeting is optional but all students are encouraged to attend. 

All lectures are online with pre-recorded videos. There are two phases: 

Phase One: 9 January 2023 till 24 March 2023, online lessons through zoom. 

A. Weekly review of lecture on every Friday evening, 7PM – 8PM. Repeat of this session on Saturday evening, 7PM – 8PM. 

B. Alternate week of online recitation and online tutorial on every Friday evening, 8PM. Each recitation or tutorial is to be repeated on every Saturday evening, 8PM. Each lesson is about 1.5 to 2 hours long. 

Midterm test on 25 March 2023 (Saturday), 10AM – 12noon. 

Phase Two: 31 March 2023 till 1 June 2023, face-to-face lessons in NUS. 

Each week has both a recitation and a tutorial for each student. Both the tutorial (afternoon) and recitation (evening) for a student will be on either Fridays or Saturdays. Each tutorial and recitation lesson is 1.5 hour. 

Practical examination is on 2 June 2023 (Friday), 7:30PM – 9:30PM, and Final examination is on 16 June 2023 (Friday), 2:30PM – 4:30PM. 

31 March 2023

The repeat session of this is on 1 April 2023 evening.  

MA1301X
Introductory Mathematics

5 fortnightly lessions on Wednesday from 2PM to 5PM

  •   29 March 2023
  •   12 April 2023
  •   26 April 2023
  •   10 May 2023
  •   24 May 2023
29 March 2023
CM1417X
Fundamentals of Chemistry
Tuesday 10AM to 12PM for 9 weeks from 4 April 2023 to 30 May 2023 4 April 2023


** While the Introductory Meeting is optional, students taking the module are strongly encouraged to attend the session.


4) Dropping of Module(s)

Students may choose to drop any iBLOCs for which they have registered for without any grade penalty up to the day before the start of the examination period, i.e., by 12 June 2023. However, please note the fee policy that will be applicable for dropping modules within the following timelines:

Drop Module during this period Fee Policy
9 January to 28 February 2023 Fees not payable
From 1 March 2023 Fees payable

To drop an iBLOC, students will have to complete the Drop Module & Withdrawal Form and send it to the Registrar’s Office via email to nghelp@nus.edu.sg with a copy to the main module facilitator. Students who decide to drop all modules will be deemed to have withdrawn from the programme.


5) Fees

For each iBLOC to be offered in January 2023, students will be charged S$820 per module. There will be no refund once fees are charged.

All registered students are also charged the Miscellaneous Student Fees (MSF) to help meet costs incurred by the University in providing services to the student community that are either not covered or only partially covered by the tuition fee and government subsidy. For students reading iBLOCs, the Miscellaneous Student Fees (MSF) payable are shown in the table below:

Miscellaneous Student Fees (MSF) Amount Payable for the January - June 2023 Period
Student Services Fee (SSF) (Non-Exchange) S$38.85
Health Service Fee (HSF) S$43.95

Notes:

  1. All fees shown here are inclusive of prevailing GST.
  2. Late payment charge of S$25 will be imposed for any outstanding fees after payment due date.

Available modes of fee payment are:

  • Cash at SingPost
  • NETS at Student Service Centre (SSC)
  • Domestic Cheque / Bank Draft
  • E-Payment (E-NETS/Debit/Credit)
  • Internet Banking

Students can check their Student Bill via Education Records System from 1 March 2023 for the actual amount of fees charged before making the payment by 15 March 2023. Should fees remain outstanding after the fee payment deadline, a Negative Service Indicator (NSI) will be tagged against your student account as a “Hold” and you will not be able to access your online examination results and your NUS transcript will also be withheld.

Financial Assistance Schemes for Payment of Tuition Fees:- Eligible students can apply for the Post-Secondary Education Account (PSEA) Scheme, Tuition Fee Loan and NUS Study Loan (under Financial Aid) for payment of tuition fees. Further details will be provided in the offer letter from Registrar's Office. (Note. The PSEA can also be used for payment of Miscellaneous Student Fees.)

Recipients of the NUS Global Merit Scholarship, NUS Merit Scholarship, NUS Undergraduate (Merit) Scholarship, NUS Sports Scholarship, NUS Performing & Visual Arts Scholarship, Stephen Riady Young Entrepreneur Scholarship Undergraduate Scholarship and the Wee Cho Yaw Future Leaders Award, may apply for the reimbursement of their iBLOC module fees under the scholarships, if they graduate earlier than the typical duration of studies for their degrees and subject to approval. The application must be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid within two months of the release of their final examination results.  

For enquiries on financial aid and scholarship matters, please write to: https://www.askadmissions.nus.edu.sg/

 


6) Examination Related Matters

The dates for examination and release of examination results are as follows:

Activities iBLOC Term for RNS men
Examination Period 13 to 16 June 2023
Deadline to submit Special Consideration Forms 20 June 2023 (6 PM)
Release of Examination Results 3 July 2023 (11 AM)
Deadline to submit Application for Review of Examination Results 5 July 2023 (6 PM)


The examination timetable is as follows:

Date Time Module Code Module Description Venue
13 June 2023
(Tuesday)
9:00 AM CM1417X Fundamentals of Chemistry

The exam venue and seat number will be available at the Examination Directory one week before the exam.

14 June 2023
(Wednesday)
2.00 PM MA1301X Introductory Mathematics
16 June 2023
(Friday)
2:30 PM CS1010X Programming Methodology^
^ CS1010X has a practical exam component.

NM1101X will be graded with 100% CA (continuous assessment), i.e., no final exam.

You are expected to be familiar with the Examination Rules, details of which are published in the Examination Directory. Please note that a breach of any of the examination rules will render you liable to disciplinary action.

You may also check your semestral examination results and print a copy of your unofficial transcript via Student Centre in the Education Records System. Your grades will be reflected on your unofficial transcript from the 11th calendar day after the official date for release of examination results.



7) Online Student Feedbac
k Exercise

Students are encouraged to participate in the Online Student Feedback Exercise as it is an important element of the University's process for quality assurance of education. Students will be notified of the specific dates of the Student Feedback Exercise in due course.


8) Access iBLOC Course Materials

All students will have an email account at NUS that will be their official point of contact. Most communications from NUS to students will be via the official email account. To access your NUS email account, proceed to NUS home page at http://www.nus.edu.sg and click on 'EMAIL', located on the top right hand corner of the webpage. Students who are taking iBLOCs from January to June 2023 as a Non-Graduating student will receive Welcome emails from your instructors. Hence it is important that students check their NUS email account at the start of the course on 9 January 2023.

Students must complete their online Registration (Part One) and change their default NUSNET password before logging into the portal. To access the LumiNUS, click on NUS User Login. At the organization sign-in page, please enter your user ID as 'nusstu\your NUSNET user ID' followed by your new NUSNET password.

9) Advanced placement credits with grade

According to the University’s Advanced Placement Credits (APC) Policy, upon admission, you may apply for the iBLOC(s) to be transferred into your undergraduate (UG) student record as Advanced Placement Credits with Grade (APG) if you satisfy the criteria of obtaining D grade or above for the module. With the APG, the grade and credits earned will be computed into your Cumulative Average Point (CAP). However, you may choose to exercise the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading option for the module (if eligible) during the S/U option exercise conducted upon results release at the end of Semester 1, AY2023/2024 together with your other Semester 1 modules. Modules for which students have opted for S/U grading will not impact the CAP and the letter grade will not be shown on the transcript. An 'S' grade will be assigned if you obtain a grade of D or better (i.e., grade point of 1.0 and above); a 'U' grade will be assigned if the grade obtained is lower than a D grade. You will only receive credit towards the degree if you attain a 'Satisfactory' (S) grade and a module with a 'U' grade earns no credit. You should refer to the policies relating to the Grade-free scheme and the number of modular credits which can be taken on an S/U basis here. The S/U option will apply to all Level 1000 modules (with or without pre-requisites) and Level 2000 modules without other NUS modules as pre-requisites, unless otherwise stipulated by the Faculties/Departments.

After the release of examination results, Registrar’s Office will contact students who are eligible for the APG via email to inform them that they may apply to transfer the module(s) which they have achieved a D grade or above.

For enquiries on the APC policy, please write to: advplacement@nus.edu.sg


10) Update Contact Details

You are responsible for updating your mailing address and other contact details via Student Centre in the Education Records System . Please ensure that information is valid at all times.


11) Contact Information

For general enquiries on iBLOCs, please send your email to: telenquiry@nus.edu.sg.
For enquiries related to application, please contact us via nghelp@nus.edu.sg or at 6516 1476.