IUC was facilitating the development of Accreditation of Open and Distance Learning Institutions in Higher Education. The Institutional Accreditation comprised of the criteria for the distance and online education offerings which were discussed in the 4^th National Conference of Vice-Chancellor’s of Open Universities on 26^th June, 2014.  A Steering Committee was constituted to draft the assessment and accreditation framework for ODL institutions.

 As a follow up to the 4^thVC conference of Open Universities, IUC had reviewed the various accrediting agencies across the globe especially in the field of open and distance education. Review of the accreditation parameters of various countries was also done. Subsequently one-day meeting of the Steering Committee for the “Accreditation of Open and Distance Learning Institutions" was held on 18^thJune 2015 at IGNOU, New Delhi to deliberate on the parameters for Accreditation of the ODL System. On the basis of recommendations of the Steering Committee, for the “Accreditation of Open and Distance Learning Institutions", IUC developed draft framework for Accreditation System for ODL.

 

IUC being a part of Technology Enabled Education Group (TEEG) was involved in Development Online Admission System- July 2015 along with NCIDE and Computer Division. Online Admission System has been successfully launched on 7th May 2015 and successfully executed for July 2015 and Jan 2016 admission cycles in concurrence with the ‘Digital India’ initiative by the Government of India.  It was available for common prospectus courses. As part of TEEG activities, IUC faculty members were involved in the design, development, implementation and monitoring support services of Online Admission System along with NCIDE, NCDS and Computer Division. 

 The objectives of this project were to:

a.    Develop system to submit student applications for admission as per common prospectus.

b.   Facilitate Regional Centers for application approval processes for both online & offline forms.

c.    Develop a system for online management and maintenance of student data.

d.   Implement & manage centralized student admission database.

e.    Develop various MIS dashboard reports for RSD, SRD, Schools and other concerned Divisions.

 

Through this facility, prospective learners shall be able to submit their application forms online and receive instant confirmation for successful submission of their application form through email as well as through SMS.  There is provision for payment of Programme Fee on-line through Credit/Debit cards by using On-line Payment gateway.

 

Online Re-Registration System has been launched for BA, B.Com, B. Sc, BTS and BSW programmes for July-2016 session. Students of these programmes can now submit their RR form for 2nd/3rd year for re-registration purpose. As part of TEEG activities, IUC faculty members were involved in the design, development, implement and monitoring support services along with NCIDE and Computer Division.

 

The objectives of this project were to:

a.       Develop system to submit student re-registration applications for 2nd or 3rd year admissions.

b.      Provide the systematic validation for compulsory and elective courses.

c.       Integrate & manage centralized system between online and offline RR forms.

d.      Develop various MIS dashboard reports for RSD, SRD, Schools and other concerned Divisions.

 

 SURVEY OF ICT USAGE BY IGNOU LEARNERS: A NATIONWIDE STUDY

IUC studied the ICT usage by IGNOU Learners of Delhi Regional Center in 2013 and has extended this survey in 2015 across all the Regional Centers in India to achieve the holistic picture of the ‘ICT Usage by IGNOU Learners’ and to arrive at generalized profile of IGNOU learners with respect to ICT usages and accessibility. The study was conducted in collaboration with Regional Services Division (RSD).

 The study was undertaken to achieve following objectives:

·         To identify demographic profile of the IGNOU learners;

·         To assess ICT accessibility of learners;

·         To identify ICT usage pattern of the IGNOU learners; and

·         To assess usability of IGNOU website.

More than 2000 responses from IGNOU learners have been received in this study. The report writing of this survey is in progress. The report of this survey will help the University IGNOU in particular and Indian ODL system in general to not only identify the current ICT usage pattern of its learners but also enable us them to forecast future trends in learning behavior.

 

 

IUC has been entrusted with the activity of ‘Nodal Office’ for ‘Sharing of Good Practices’ on the University of Hyderabad’s website as per 'Gist of observations made by Hon’ble President of India as Visitor of Central Universities and Hon’ble HRM during the Vice Chancellors’ Conference held in Rashtrapati Bhavan on 4-5^thFebruary, 2015.

 IUC has already developed a preliminary road map for the implementation of Development of ‘Database of Best Practices in ODL’ as per recommendations of meeting of Vice Chancellors of State Open Universities held on 9-10^thSeptember, 2013.

 As a Nodal Office, IUC developed a standardized template for sharing Best Practices, thus facilitating sharing and customization of best practices within and among ODL institutions.  So far IUC has received several Best Practices pertaining to a range of domain in ODL like Curriculum Design and Development, Learner Support Services etc. A committee has been constituted by Hon’ble VC to identify and review these best practices. On the recommendation of the committee, IUC has posted four Best Practices on the website of University of Hyderabad. The report of this task was also reported to MHRD.

 

 IUC is developing e-content for Appreciation Programme on Sustainable Management in Biodiversity (APSMB)of School of Agriculture (SoA). The e-content is at development stage. The principles of e-content development like interactivity, adequate media are being followed while developing the e-content. It is being developed in collaboration with SoA and EMPC. 

 A manual on designing, developing and implementation of E-Learning Programmes is being developed as part of TEEG.  The objectives of developing the manual are to:

·         acquaint the stakeholders with e-learning characteristics, benefits, activities and resources needed to develop an e-learning programme.

·         provide detailed guidelines on designing and developing an e-learning programme.

The manual is in development stage and once finalised all the faculty of IGNOU, SOUs and DDEs can refer to the manual developed to design, develop and offer e-learning programmes.

 INTERNATIONAL RANKING OF ODL INSTITUTIONS

IUC has been entrusted as a Nodal office to develop International Ranking Systems in ODL with reference to ‘Gist of observations made by Hon’ble President of India as Visitor of Central Universities and Hon’ble HRM during the Vice Chancellors’ Conference. So far, IUC has developed broad parameters in this area. The report of this task was also reported to MHRD.

 DEVELOPMENT OF ICT POLICY

IUC being a part of Technology Enabled Education Group (TEEG) was involved in Development of ICT Policy along with NCIDE; NCDS and Computer Division. ICT Policy of IGNOU was drafted by TEEG and is under review stage. The policy envisions use of ICT to enhance the position of the University as a centre of academic excellence in higher education through open and distance learning. The mission of the ICT policy is to set direction and provide guidelines so that the University’s ICT infrastructure, networking system and services are used optimally, effectively, securely, legally, ethically and responsibly. It is aimed to protect users with respect to privacy, rights and freedom of other users and work within the ambit of all applicable licenses, contractual agreements and policies. It will provide norms about acceptable usage and prohibited actions or policy violations. The draft of the policy has thirteen chapters. The draft is under review process.

 FEEDBACK FOR NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY (NEP)

 IGNOU is developing National ODL Policy as a part of National Education Policy. To carry out this project five task groups have been formulated which will focus on (a) Status of ODL policies and corrective measures (b) ODL System (c) ICT Infrastructure (d) Online Education and MOOCs and (e) Feedback from stakeholders. IUC has been assigned to coordinate the development of questionnaire to seek 'Feedback from stakeholders'—Learners, practitioners and employers.IUC developed and collected the feedback, analysed and the report has been submitted.

 SURVEY OF ICT USAGE BY IGNOU LEARNERS

The main objectives of the study were to analyze the pattern of ICT usage by IGNOU learners, its availability, use of ICT by their learning, knowledge of different computer applications and their opinion about ICT use in learning. Besides this, an attempt was made to investigate the:            

·         purpose of internet use by Distance Learners

·         use of Social Networking sites

·         use of IGNOU website

·         use of IGNOU SMS alert service.

The feedback was received from learners of RC Delhi-1,2, and 3. It was found that ICT usage by IGNOU learners was quite high in Delhi region. The report has been submitted.

Social Networking technologies have significantly improved the learning environment of distance and conventional education by increased teacher-student and student-student interaction and reaching to un-reached. To train more and more people in use of social networking for educational purpose, IUC worked on development of “Instructional Training Toolkit for Social Networking in Distance Education”.

One of the major objectives of IUC is “to promote technology enabled education and training for overall development of the country”.  Therefore, IUC provides various technology based trainings to the teaching and non-teaching staff for IGNOU, SOUs and DDEs.  IUC had conducted several workshops/trainings on e-learning, social networking, Web 2.0 tools, development of on-line courses and Teachers' training on technology enhanced learning, etc.  The objective of this study was to find out the impact and effectiveness of training programmes which were conducted by IUC-IGNOU during 2008 and 2011.More than 90% of the participants were satisfied by the trainings. Barrier to effectiveness of trainings were also identified. The report has been submitted.

GIS is a simple but extremely powerful and versatile tool which can be used in solving many real-world problems through mapping, monitoring, planning and management. Use of GIS in education can be a great boon to educational planning – both at micro and macro level. It aids schools/ universities/ organizations/ institutions to answer personal and community questions with local to global implications.

IUC conducted a research study at pilot scale on Geospatial implementation of IGNOU Regional Centers and their study centers for Delhi NCR region. The application developed during the study enabled to identify the location of Regional Centre/ Study Centre along with shortest route to reach to them.