Online Admission
Hello Haldwani 91.2 FM
One of the major aims of distance education is to promote and encourage independent learning amongst learners. To motivate a learner to continue his/her education and secure satisfaction, learning environment conducive to distance learning is essential. It ensures learner’s needs and keeps his/her interest intact. To improve the educational standards of learners and provide them a complete educational experience similar to that of conventional system, mechanism of Counselling Sessions or Personal Contact Programs plays vital role in distance learning as it overcomes the academic alienation of learners. Hence For any distance learner, the academic counselling sessions are very important. The counselling sessions enable personal interaction among participants and motivate them to enjoy their studies. It facilitates them to achieve the learning objectives and guide them in the use of various Information Communication Technology enabled educational tools. In the counselling sessions, learners come into direct contact with the counsellors and other learners. The counselling sessions are planned in two ways-
- Guidance Oriented: such counselling is usually arranged as pre-admission counselling, induction programmes and routine briefing before the start of examinations. Such a counselling is information-cum-guidance oriented and it has the elements of counselling but it is different from academic counselling.
- The academic counselling sessions include academic tutoring and counselling of the learners. Such sessions are carried out to enable the learners to have proper understanding of the subjects.
The academic counselling comprisesof a range of pedagogic methods envisioned to guide and facilitate the learners and make learning process easier and interesting.
Counselling Policy
The Uttarakhand Open University is offering programs at various levels like Certificate, Diploma, Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D. Degree. The University has developed counselling design based on ODL norms for study hours. For instance, a learner has to work for 16 credits (1 credit=30 study hours) for six months’ certificate programmes whereas the workload for study is 32 credits for programmes of one year duration. In case of programmes of more than one year duration, the study work load is in multiples of 32 credits (i.e., 3x32 =96 for Bachelors’ degree programme.). Hence the learner has to complete 10% of the study hours out of the total study hours in terms of credits defined for a particular program through the face-to face academic counselling at the Learner Support Centre.The remaining study hours are to be covered by the learners through self-study with the help of SelfInstrectedLearning Materials (SILM), writing assignments, gettingmultimedia support etc.
Counselling Formats
Academic Counselling sessions are the integral part of ODL. Keeping in view the local conditionsi.e. remoteness, inaccessibility and paucity of infrastructural facilities in the state, the Uttarakhand Open University has developed a unique mechanism of support systems for the learners to provide counselling.Unlike teaching, academic counselling is basically learner and program-centric. Therefore university is currently using following formats for counselling –
Face to Face Counselling |
In this format learners interacts with counsellors directly in the class room and discuss their problems. UOU draws counsellors form the formal system of higher education, where subject specific faculties have expertise in pedagogy. It helps learners to clear their doubts and get motivated while interacting with their peer group. |
|
Counselling through Telephone |
The learners may contact the counsellor over phone at their study centre to discuss their doubts while preparing the assignments or for general queries. In Uttarakhand Open University, Program Co-ordinators actively participate in this activity to guide learners. |
|
Counselling through Broadcasting (Community Radio/ Internet Radio/ Hallo Haldwani Mobile App) |
University’s Community Radio plays significant role in advising, guiding and counselling the learners. Discussion forums, and interactive sessions are organised on designated topics and learners are encouraged to hear these broadcasts and post questions through telephone calls. A daily schedule of broadcast is displayed in the university website. |
|
Counselling through Web Interaction |
|
|
Counselling through assignment |
Writing assignment is another format through which counselling is carried out. Learners interact with their counsellorswhile preparing assignments. Learners are asked to write assignments in their own hand writing. Program coordinators/ supervisors interact and guide them in case of any difficulty or clarifications. |
(Photographs / Schedule of counselling sessions conducted by the LSCs are available at: …………………….)
Special Counselling Sessions
The Special Counselling Sessions are a unique feature of academic counselling mechanism of the University. While routine counselling sessions are conducted by LSCs, the University makes extra efforts to impart quality education for enhancing academic standards of the learners and organizes especial counselling sessions of 7 to 10 days in different locations of the State.These special counselling sessions are classified into two categories,i.e., mandatory and voluntary. In view of the specific nature of some of the programs (like Yoga, Sciences, Education, etc.) special counselling has been made mandatory. But in some other programmes of study like Management Studies, MSW, and Journalism, etc., this special counselling is voluntary to strengthen the academic counselling support provided to the learners during their routine counselling sessions at LSCs.
- Mandatory Counselling: In view of the practical nature of the programmes offered by the Department of Yoga, Departments of Physics, Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Geography, Department of Education, special counselling sessions have been made mandatory. In these special counselling sessions,internal faculty of the University play the major role but experts from outside are also invited to share their knowledge and expertise with the learners of the University. (Photographs / Schedule of special counselling sessions conducted by the University is available at: …………………….)
- Voluntary Counselling: These special counselling sessions are non-mandatory. The basic purpose of arranging these special counselling sessions is to augment the academic counselling support provided to learners by their respective LSCs. It helps the learners to acquire the required competencies and skills for quality project work/ filed-work.
Monitoring Mechanisms
There is a well-established monitoring system for RCs and LSCs in the university. The day to day functioning of LSCs and RCs is monitored by Regional Services Directorate from the headquarters. LSCs are asked to submit monthly progress report on prescribed sheets and RCs submit quarterly report on the activities carried out by LSCs of their respective regions. The data of progress report is also collected online so that it can be used for analysis and assessment of the institution to enhance academic quality.