MALAYSIAN UNIVERSITY SELECTION INVENTORY (MUnSyI)
Introduction to MUnSyI
Incompatibility between personality, interest and career choice could give an impact to the career and also individual well-being. The pressure that existed because of this incompatibility could be manifested through excessive sick leave taken, job truancy, lack of commitment etc.(Carmeli & Gefan, 2004). According to Holland (1998), the match between personality and interest with career choice determines motivation, work fulfilment, achievement, productivity and stability in his career. The decision to choose “the right person for the right job” must be given proper attention in choosing student candidates (Parson, 1908 in Sidek Mohd Noah, 2005).
In other countries, the problem of matching between individual and courses applied is solved through the use of psychometric techniques. For example the tests Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI), Self-Directed Search (SDS) and Strong-Campbell Interest Inventory (SCII) were used extensively in the process of staff recruitment and student admission in the United States of America. These tests used the concept of Person-Environment Fit (P-E Fit) which is a concept of matching between individual characteristics and the environment.
The existing instrument is normally developed in western countries where the cultural background is vastly different from Malaysian culture. This cultural difference leads to an instrument developed based on local values and cultures. Hence, an instrument, Malaysian University Selection Inventory (MUnSyI) was developed based on the concept of Person-Program Fit™(P-P Fit™).
MUnSyI was developed based on important criteria in choosing students’ candidates that are career interest, personality, integrity, emotional intelligence and patriotism. These parameters were selected based on the demand of soft skills in accordance with the National Education Philosophy and the Educational Development Blueprint. This instrument was developed by the Malaysian Examinations Council’s panel of experts from five local public institutions of higher learning.
Format of MUnSyI
MUnSyI consist of five sections with 310 items. Section A is about Career Interest; Section B about Personality; Section C about Integrity; Section D about Emotional Intelligence and Section E about Patriotism.
Purpose of MUnSyI
MUnSyI was developed to obtain information about the candidate’s intrinsic qualities including Career Interest, Personality, Integrity, Emotional Intelligence and Patriotism as additional information to candidates’ examination result. The information gathered from this test is used to select suitable candidates for enrollment into various programmes offered by Malaysian universities.