Be truthful in seeking scholarship - President of Gordon College advises Ghanaian students

The President of the Gordon College in the United States (US), Professor D. Michael Linsey, has advised Ghanaian students seeking scholarships for further studies in America to be truthful in providing information.

He observed that some African students “make the mistake of presenting their financial situation either better or worse”, advising that: “Don’t ever, during the question and answer time, mislead the institution.”

Interacting with students of the Dominion University College (DUC) in Accra yesterday, Prof. Linsey explained that if any student presented misleading information and it was later found out, that student would not benefit from any scholarship.

Building world-class university

Prof. Linsey, who was at the DUC to speak on the topic: “How to build a world-class university,” indicated that it was much better to be honest, forthcoming with information and be truthful as much as possible.

He stated that in the Gordon College, “as an international student, we require a lot of information on your financial situation because we realise that American high education is expensive and all we do is to try as much as possible to assess what your actual needs are”.

Prof. Linsey said at the Gordon College, 75 per cent of the students worked while studying full time to be able to cater for their financial needs.

Speaking on the topic, he stressed that innovation was the key driving force to building a university to a world-class level, and that was more with private universities as against the public universities.

He observed that adopting technology as a way of innovation was critical, adding that without technology, no university could match up to the pace of development.

Quality versus quantity

Referring to the debate on quantity as against quality, Prof. Linsey observed: “In the United States, we do not believe in terms of higher education that bigger is better.”

“Most of the best institutions of higher learning do not believe in large numbers,” he added, citing for instance that at the Gordon College, the student population was 2,500.

He mentioned that what was important was that the university needed to develop the kind of financial strategy that would enable it to deliver quality education without continuing to add to the cost of education.

Prof. Linsey explained that what was happening in most universities in the US was that they continued to raise their fees on a yearly basis, such that a first-year student for instance could be paying 25 per cent more than the fourth-year student.

On what US students did differently that kept them in employment as compared to their Ghanaian counterparts, he explained that the challenge was that many students were always looking for the perfect job after school and that kept them in the house.

Ideal job

Prof. Linsey advised that after school, students should take up any available job and do it to the best of their ability, citing for instance that even though he was an English major, when he completed his first degree, he worked with a computer software developer.

“Part of it, which is important, is to make a meaningful contribution wherever you work,” he told the students, adding that irrespective of the kind of job they found themselves in, if they did a good job and had a positive attitude, they would always get opportunities.

Prof. Linsey explained that such first-time jobs helped the student to acquire other skills, which could serve him or her later in life.
He also advised the students to identify their passion and seek assistance, citing for instance that they could seek to do internship in areas that they had passion for, or even offer voluntary services.

severious.dery@graphic.com.gh