High demand for undergraduate programs encourage CIRP to introduce an October intake!

We found out that Colombo institute of Research and Psychology ( CIRP) has decided to have an October intake, at a time their September intake just started. Considering that some higher education institutes have complained about poor recruiting targets, we were interested in finding out the reasons behind the October intake of CIRP.

Here is the interview we had with Dr.Darshan Perera, Director Academic affairs of CIRP.

Q. Higher education institutes usually have two intakes for a year, September and February. Why did you decide to have an October intake?

Yes, you are correct. Following the traditions of British Universities, we have always had only two intakes. But even after closing the registrations we have received a large amount of applications, especially from the students who received their A/ L results last August. We decided to have an October intake to give an opportunity for these students to join CIRP.

Q. How successful was the September intake?

I should say, very successful. Even with the strict criteria that we use as an entry requirement, it reached the opti- mum number for a batch. we had to tell the student counselors to stop recruiting because of this. Maximum we take for an undergraduate batch is 50.

Q. You mentioned that CIRP has a strict entry criteria, can you explain these requirements?

For the undergraduate degree, passing A/L is a must. If not they have to have completed a foundation program acceptable to Coventry University and CIRP, after completing O/ L. These are usual requirements by any recognized university. But we also have an interview to decide the suitability of a student. During the interview, their language proficiency, academic performance at School, ethical and moral behavior that is required to be a psychology professional is assessed. We received more than 73 applications for September intake and only 50 were selected.

Q. Is the October intake for those who were not selected?

Not at all. It is unlikely that the reasons for not selecting them wo u l d have changed during a month. This is for new students. We mainly get students from international schools and private schools where they do London A/ L. We need to include students from Local curriculum also in our programs, especially to develop the field of psychology in all parts of the country. Therefore, this intake is especially for the local A/L students.

Q. Why do you think there is an increased demand for psychology?

I think the main reason is that psychology is increasingly becoming popular as a higher education option among Sri Lankan students. Even parents have begun to realize that Psychology could offer rewarding, prestigious and satisfying careers. Therefore the number of students attracted to psychology is increasing every year.

Q. You said that is the main reason, are there any other reasons?

I think another reason for the demand for CIRP is that we have maintained our standards of teaching and assessing at a very high level throughout the years, while many of the other organizations who offer psychology have failed to do so. Some have changed their awarding body many times as they have regularly lost their affiliations with the foreign universities, some even have completely stopped their psychology courses due to their inability to attract students. So this also have contributed to the increased demand for CIRP.

Q. What are the reasons that students are particularly attracted to CIRP?

I think the main reason is the values of CIRP. We operate more as an academic institute and less as a business. You cannot provide a high quality education in par with international standards if you run a campus entirely as a profit making venture. Our students feel our commitment for quality. They know that our qualifications are not for sale.

So therefore that, not everyone can graduate from CIRP, which gives them a sense of pride. As a result, we have been successful in achieving quality of the education.

Our partner, Coventry University has contributed significantly to the popularity of CIRP. Having a top 12 British University as our partner gives us a great advantage. Over the years Coventry University has achieved the place of a wellrespected, reputed and a very popular university throughout the world. That renowned brand advantage reflects on us and makes us shine more.

Q. What are the main marketing and advertising strategies CIRP use?

To be very honest, we do not do much advertising. More than 70% of our students are referred by our old students. Therefore, heavy advertising is not necessarily going to benefit us. We are more interested in maintaining our quality and enhancing our facilities to increase student satisfaction. That is our strategy in terms of promoting CIRP.

. That is a very high referral rate. Why do you think that your past students recommend CIRP that much?

Well I think the main reason is that students believe in us because our commitment for quality and our efforts in developing the field of psychology in the country. We started very small. We are not perfect. I mean one area we have to improve is student administration processes. But students know and have seen that we are continuously improving our processes and facilities. While doing that, even after growing from a place of 50 students to 600 students at a time, we still genuinely care about our students. They feel it and that is why they are loyal to CIRP.

QWell it is not just numbers, we keep a batch at 50 to ensure that the students receive the optimum attention, opportunity to ask questions and other advantages of having medium sized classes. Student to lecturer ratio is very important for quality of education. Therefore we will not increase the size of a batch even if the number grow further.

Q. Would there be jobs for all your graduates?

Sri Lanka is still in the infant stages of psychology. We have very few clinical psychologists, ratio is almost 1 psychologist for about a million people. And we have less than ten child psychologists, one or two business psychologists and forensic psychologists. Therefore even if we produce 1000 psychology graduates a year, it will take decades to reach the minimum number required for the country. On top of that psychology professionals are in demand throughout the world, so employability will not be a problem.

I think the main reason is that psychology is increasingly becoming popular as a higher education option among Sri Lankan students. Even parents have begun to realize that Psychology could offer rewarding, prestigious and satisfying careers. Therefore the number of students attracted to psychology is increasing every year.