Slice of Life: KDU Alumni Shares Experience in the USA

PETALING JAYA, 27 October 2015 – Stepping into the familiar lobby, as she had many years ago, was nostalgic for Dr. Cheryl L. Nicholas, an Associate Professor of Communication Arts & Sciences and Global Studies at Penn State Berks (a college of the Pennsylvania State University, USA). Dr. Cheryl took a walk down memory lane recounting the many memories she had while she was a student in the American Degree Transfer Program (ADP) at KDU College, when she visited the Damansara Jaya campus during her short visit recently.

An ethnographer who enjoys doing research in her homeland, Malaysia, Dr. Cheryl’s research is based on how symbolic activity constitutes and is constituted by cultural worldviews. Theoretically, her work is grounded in language and social interaction, and critical perspectives. Her research has been published in many journals such as Sexuality and Culture, Communication Quarterly, and Qualitative Research Reports in Communication to name a few.

Back at the Damansara Jaya campus for a talk with current ADP students at KDU, Dr. Cheryl spoke about studying and living in the USA, as well as her personal experience as a KDU alumni. “It was lovely to see the strong camaraderie between faculty and students. This is what I remember most of my experience at KDU, and it is so nice to see such connections thrive on campus today. The students were not only excited to learn, but were also happy to be part of the KDU community,” said Dr. Cheryl as she recounted her experience in KDU’s ADP back in the 1990s.

Since its inception in 1983, KDU College’s American Degree Transfer Program has prepared thousands of students for transfer to more than 500 universities and colleges in the USA, as well as to Canada and Australia. As the pioneer in the American Degree Transfer Program in Malaysia (1983) – with more than 30 years of experience in the program, the program garners high recognition with transfers to more than 500 US universities since 1984.

KDU offers students confidence and security of credit transferability with over 70 subjects available for 2016. Students enrolled in KDU’s ADP are able to choose to go into the six different streams available namely; business, engineering, computer science, actuarial science, sciences and liberal arts.

Noting on how the ADP at KDU has prepared her for studies in the USA, Dr. Cheryl highlighted the many reasons why ADP in KDU ticked all the boxes on her checklist. From its years of experience in offering ADP, she also noted on the affordable tuition fee rates in KDU. Among others, she stated that one of the most crucial factors was the small class ratio in KDU, which allowed for a more personalised learning experience altogether.

Dr. Cheryl ended her talk stating, “One of the most important things to note is that you need to know where you want to study and what experience you want to get as a student in the USA.” She further stressed, “Therefore, having the right guidance is really vital in tailoring your new experience in the USA”, in reference to the pastoral care she received while studying at KDU.

At KDU’s American Degree Transfer Program, pastoral care is made available to the students in a variety of ways. Academic advisors are available to guide students, and they work hand in hand with a range of U.S. colleges and universities. In addition to that, KDU also places a a lot of effort in custom-tailoring its placement services which are dedicated to matching each student with the best possible program.

Ms. Sathyavathy Rasanayagam, who heads the American Degree Transfer Program, said, “Here at KDU, we aim to invite at least one alumni every semester to talk to our students. This is one of the guidance we strive to provide for our students, helping them to ease the difficulty of transiting to university life in the USA.”

To find out how you can hit the ground running with KDU University College, log on to www.kdu.edu.my or call 03-5565 0538 (KDU University College, Utropolis, Glenmarie) / 03-7953 6688 (KDU College, Damansara Jaya).