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Feb, 10th 2015

 

Online courses, E-Learning.

 

ARTICLE I

Title 

Fatima Open University E Learning through online courses.

 

Objectives

 

A.These Rules and Regulations shall be known and cited as the Rules and Regulations for Implementing Fatima Open University Programs.

 

B.The rules and regulations included here are procedural in nature and define the parameters of implementation of online courses offered by the Fatima Open University registered in New Jersey, USA. They conform to the aspirations, of the trustees and aim at providing education of a high standard to its students, granting them universally recognized qualification, thus achieving its objective of enabling them to apply their knowledge and skills to earn their living  ethically , morally and with due dignity.

 

 

ARTICLE II

 Policy declaration

 

• The fundamental philosophy of Fatima Open University is to promote education for all citizens of the world, irrespective of nationality, beliefs, faith, race, color or creed. This university will harness the best global faculty, latest technology, distant learning models, freedom of availing courses, student centered andragogal approach to provide sustainable, useful, contemporary education to one and all.

 

 

• In order to meet the desired goals, the Fatima Open University will maintain highest moral, ethical and lawful educational system based upon the principles of equity and justice, and service with excellence to all its students.

 

• Fatima Open University plans to build its campus at its site in Catskill, USA in the next few years. In the meanwhile, it shall expand its online courses into various fields. It shall also liaise with many universities in the developed and underdeveloped countries. Students who will obtain a certificate, diploma, or degree will be encouraged to get a transfer to its campus in Catskill on completion of the course.

 

 

ARTICLE III Clarification of terms.

A. University has its permanent offices in New Jersey. While awaiting  the construction of the campus which may take a few years, Online Courses are offered through the process of distant learning, to all those who wish to earn a qualification from a US university , without having to travel to USA, thus making the process of education feasible both economically as well as logistically. 

B.Traditional Pedagogal class room format of education is gradually being replaced by the Andragogal, distant learning methodology. It is however, a carpeted by all educationists that the traditional educational strategies, including the class room teachings continue to enjoy popularity; hence the plan to build a traditional campus  in future. Fatima Open University is a perfect illustration of definition given by Lord Crowther.  An open university is an academic institution that is open as to people, places, and methods. Its main aim is to provide access to higher education to more people, to bring education to them, wherever they live, which in turn requires them to apply/adopt different methods because they cannot achieve their aims through traditional classroom teaching'.

 

C.Fatima Online courses are a perfect illustration of the principle of 'Distant Learning'. It is the most innovative method of imparting education where both the teacher and the taught are located at different places, different continents and different time zones-employing the latest technology such as the Moodle, duly supported by an establishment, administration and IT experts.

 

The Distance and Open Learning Network (DOLNET) is a national network consisting of SUCs, LGUs, NGOs and GOs which the Open University seeks to establish to provide support to the distance education program of CLSU.    

 

The Distance and Open Learning Centers (DOLCEN) are units of the Distance and Open Learning Network (DOLNET). These are the agencies and organizations, like NGOs, GOs, LGUs, public high schools, and SCUs, that will host or serve as venue for the offering of curricular programs of the OU outside of CLSU.

 

D.Fatima Open University will offer a certification course in the inaugural phase. As the university expands, various diplomas, degrees, doctorate, and post doctoral studentship will be offered in different phases.

 

ARTICLE IV

Eligibility for admission.

A.Any student applying for certification course, should at least possess a bachelor’s degree from a recognized university.

B.Further requirements will be posted as the Fatima Open University launches its diplomas or degrees.

 

C.An applicant must submit the following requirements to the Fatima Open University through its administration, duly addressed to the registrar of the university.

 

• Application form duly filled, sighed and dated.

 

• The university would accept notarized copies, if original transcripts cannot be presented. The candidate must possess  a grade point average (GPA) of at least 2.5  or its equivalent % or a First class ) for admission to a certification course. 

• A personal letter of recommendation from the head of the institution, Dean, principal, or senior faculty. 

 

• English is the medium of instruction at the Fatima Open University. It is therefore expected that a candidate applying for admission will present a certificate of proficiency in English or pass an English proficiency examination acceptable by FOU.

 

 

ARTICLE V 

Process of admission.

 

A. Each applicant will be required to submit the prescribed admission form online, duly completed and electronically signed B. Two recent passport size photographs 

C. Copies of transcripts as described above D. Letter of recommendation

• The FOU Registrar will assess the application, and submit it to the Academic council for approval or otherwise. The candidate will be notified of the outcome within a fortnight of the date received.

• Each candidate will then receive a package of information about the course, pass word, fee details , teaching schedule, credits, assessment and evaluation etc.

 

ARTICLE VI

Supervisors.

1.Each subject / department is headed by a Dean. Each course will be conducted by a dedicated faculty, who will guide, advise, monitor, help and assess each pupil during the period of the course. The Dean will be the overall person in charge to develop, maintain highest possible standard of the course offered.

2.The Vice Chancellor will be responsible for all policy making decisions, and chair the academic council, comprising of Deans and Professors. All major decisions will be made by the Academic council and implemented by the Vice Chancellor.

3.Each student is expected to complete the certificate course within the stipulated time. Any one dropping the course for a genuine reason may remain in touch with the supervisor and rejoin the course at a later date.

4.The Academic calendar with specific detail as of the course and time table will be mapped out on the university web page.

 

ARTICLE VII

Academic program

 

1.Fatima online courses are designed with utmost care-harnessing the best minds in respective fields .Each course comprises of a series of instructional, educational exercises targeting the highest learning objectives to meet the needs of the students joining each course.

2.Learning objectives will be clearly defined by each faculty at the commencement of each course.

3.Additions, modifications, alterations in the online courses will be advertised well in advance.

4.Fresh courses will be added on as the university progresses, and diplomas, degrees, masters, doctorate will be added after due publicity and advertisement.

5.Each course will be allotted contact hours and credits following the standards and practices employed in the American universities (Carnegie credit scoring). The details will be provided by the Deans in consultation with the faculty.

 

6.Non-crdit Courses will be allowed by the FOU to the graduate students with a view to give them a taste of a proper accredited certificate course, or indeed as a pre requirement to an entry to a credit worthy course.

 

7.Grading will be as follows: 

A90%

B80%

C70%

F      Fail.

7. Resits and grade improvement will be allowed, with the approval of the academic council. Maximum attempts to qualify for the award of a certificate will not be more than three in all.

 

ARTICLE Viii

Credit transfer from other universities.

 

1. Certificate courses from other recognized universities will be accepted for transfer of credits , provided the grades are not lower than C. The exact transfer credits will be calculated by the FOU Registrar and the accreditation committee, based upon the transcripts submitted. 

 

Article 1X

Addition or subtraction of subjects.

A candidate may change, drop or add a subject. An application in this regard may be filed with the Registrar within a period of two weeks from the first day of the course for change or add a course. Drop out application must be submitted before four weeks of semester close. The approval will be subject to the approval of the Registrar (under recommendation of faculty and the supervisor)

 

ARTICLE X

 

Board of Trustees

This shall be the supreme body responsible for policy making, planning strategies, overall management and good governance of the university per se. Any dispute will be resolved by the trustees and their decision will be final.

Advisory Board

This will be made by distinguished faculty members from all over the world. This board will function to formulate academic programs in coordination with the Academic board.

 

 

Academic Board.

 

It shall comprise of the deans and heads of the departments, chaired by the Vice Chancellor. A lay person of high moral integrity and a retired member of judiciary will be co opted members of this board

This board will function as a bridge between the Academic Council and the Board of Trustees. It may meet at an appointed date as and when needed.

 

Academic Council.

 

The FOU academic council shall comprise of the Deans, heads of the department and senior faculty members. It will supervise the day to day activities of the faculty, courses, examinations etc. It may meet periodically at an appointed date as advertised on the web page, giving sufficient notice for participation. 

 

 

 

ARTICLE XI

 

Distant Learning 

FOU will identify and harness the latest technology to impart education through its distant learning programs. Currently MOODLE appears to be the best suited for our purpose. Moodle, is a highly flexible, free software, open source learning platform. With comprehensive, customizable and secure learning management features, it can be used to create a private website for dynamic online courses. Moodle (acronym for modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment), (stylized in lower-case as moodle) is a also known as a learning management system, or virtual learning environment. Moodle was originally developed by Martin Dougiamas to help educators create online courses with a focus on interaction and collaborative construction of content, and is in continual evolution. The first version of Moodle was released on 20 August 2002.

These are groups of features within Moodle, usually completed by a student to interact with other students, or with the teacher. 

• Assignment submission

• Forum for discussion  

• Chat for instant messages  

• Database as a bank of record entries  

• Glossary, list of definitions  

• Survey, for gathering data from students

• Online quiz

• Wiki module

• Gamification

Modus operandi:

I.All the courses will be uploaded and made available to the registered students and the faculty through a secure password.

II.Tutorial sessions will be conducted by the faculty on individual basis.

III.Webinars will be arranged to encourage group teaching, with active participation of each participant.

IV.On line and internet teaching as well as telephonic consultation with the faculty will be the tools employed by the FOU.

V.Various instructional strategies will be provided in the form of online packages for tutor based teaching as well as for self study.

VI.Assessment and evaluation will be carried out by the faculty through a double blind method, thus avoiding any form of bias, or favoritism.

 

 

 

 

 

ARTICLE XII

Award of certificates, diplomas and degrees.

1.Each candidate shall be awarded a certificate, diploma, or degree on successful completion of the course. 

2.It will be signed by the Vice Chancellor and the Registrar of the university.

 

 

ARTICLE XIII

Miscellaneous factors.

Fatima Open University will retain the rights to develop, design, add, subtract, modify or do any such measure to its rules and regulations, which shall help it gain a top position in the field of E Learning in the future.               

                                         

 

          

ARTICLE XIV

Fatima Open University has already acquired a  250 Acres of land in Catskill, NY. The campus will be built in due course of time.

 

Those students who may wish to transfer to the campus after acquiring a certificate or a diploma, for the purpose of improving, adding or gaining higher degrees through on site educational programs will be provided all forms of assistance, guidance, immigration counseling etc to join the campus from anywhere in the world according to US rules. 

 

 

Article XV 

Role of students in online environment

 

As a student we are all well-versed with etiquettes in an educational and professional setup. Same behavior may be applied and is expected in the digital surroundings. Here is a thought-provoking discussion for the emerging digitalized culture:

 

"Etiquette in technology governs what conduct is socially acceptable in an online or digital situation. While etiquette is ingrained into culture, etiquette in technology is a fairly recent concept. The rules of etiquette that apply when communicating over the internet or social networks or devices are different from those applying when communicating in person or by audio (such as telephone) or videophone (such as Skype video). It is a social code of network communication.

 

Communicating with others via the Internet without misunderstandings in the heat of the moment can be challenging, mainly because facial expressions and body language cannot be interpreted on cyberspace. Therefore, several recommendations to attempt to safeguard against these misunderstandings have been proposed."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article XVI  Netiquette

 

Certain rules of unspoken etiquette should be followed when using the discussion forums and webinar rooms.

• Read the rules, guidelines and FAQ's established by the community before asking a           question. 

• The most important rule of netiquette is, "Think before you post". If what you intend to   post will not make a positive contribution, do not post it!

• Before creating a new topic thread, search to see if a similar topic already exists.

• Follow standard grammar/spelling rules and try not to use slang.

• Post in the correct section.

• Include as much technical information as possible if posting a technical inquiry.

• Stay on-topic.

• Avoid double posting.

• Do not reply to a post and change the topic within the thread. If your issue is a new   topic, and hasn't been covered already, start a new thread. If a thread is getting too long,   it may be an idea to start a new thread with the same topic but add "Part 2". 10.  Avoid the use of all CAPITAL LETTERS in posts. (All CAPS is considered 

                                 "shouting")

• Do not resurrect a very old topic if you have nothing extremely significant to add.

• Constructive or positive feedback on other student discussion postings should be   implemented at all times.

• Personal attacks, whether directed at individuals or groups of people, will not be  tolerated.

• Respect for online staff and other online students should be displayed at all times.

• Try to refrain from lashing back at a poorly behaving member or participating in a   flame war; instead, notify the message board's staff by e-mail of the event.  Do not post   a follow-up to the offending post. Be polite. The author may not have realized his or her   mistake. 

 

 

Role of the instructor

The instructor leading a course is a qualified subject matter expert (SME) and will bring together the course materials, files, assignments, projects and all study resources. They may be supported by course coordinator as well.