All distance learners enrolled in distance education courses at AKU-IED have access to the following support services:
- Academic Support
- Administrative Support
- OL Website
- Library Resources
- Contact OL Office
Academic Support
Course participants (CPs) contact their tutors for academic, course-related queries through email, letter or phone. CPs should maintain as regular communication with their tutors as is possible for them. Where possible, occasional face-to-face sessions between course participants and tutors may be scheduled. Most courses incorporate the use of a web-based discussion forum. Discussion forums enable quick and effective interaction between course participants and tutors.
Administrative support
Office of the Registrar
Office of the Registrar caters to the academic needs of AKU-IED's current students, graduates and serves as the primary liaison office between CPs and other departments of the university. Queries regarding enrolment for Certificate courses - any questions about the selection criteria or requirements for courses, the enrolment process, dates, etc. are dealt with by this office. Office of the Registrar maintains regular correspondence with CPs individually as well as via mail. The office of Office of the Registrar is located on the first floor of Block B at AKU-IED.
For CPs of Open Learning MEd electives, the Office of the Registrar provides the same services as it does for CPs of face-to-face MEd electives. This includes assisting CPs in coordinating workshops, school visits, seminars, etc.
The Office of the Registrar also manages receipt of your assignments. Please use the Assignment Cover Sheet when sending your assignments.
In case of additional queries and information, the respective programme officers and other Office of the Registrar staff can be contacted on Tel: 36347611 Ext: 3251. Email: ied.academicadministion@aku.edu
OL Office
The OL Office at AKU-IED serves as the one point of student contact. It responds to most administrative queries and forwards academic and technical queries to the relevant people. Administrative support covers queries regarding the following:
- Materials receipt - questions about when your course materials will be/were sent to you, if you have not received your materials by the expected date, etc.
- Any other concerns, issues, questions or comments that are administrative in nature.
OL Website
This website serves as a mini-portal into the OL program at AKU-IED. The purpose of this site is to provide one place where students can find extensive information on OL courses and can see how taking an OL course could work for them. Any announcements, new courses, updates, are posted on this website. The site also includes a Feedback Area where students can anonymously give feedback, opinions, ask questions, make suggestions, etc.
Library Resources
As a distance learner, you will have access to the following library resources.
Photocopy Requests
Students may request photocopied material from library resources, which includes one chapter from a book or one article from a subscribed journal. Photcopy request forms should be sent 3 working days in advance through either fax, email, or mail. You must provide your student ID number when requesting photocopy service. Please also include the title, author, chapter number, page numbers, etc. of the materials that you would like to have photocopied.
There is a 50-page limit on the number of copies students can have made. The library will keep a record of the number of pages requested by each student.
A Copyright Declaration form is included in the course materials. You must sign and return the form to the library.
Online Journals
The AKU-IED library subscribes to 97 online journal titles through the OCLC FirstSearch service. You can access online journals through the OCLC FirstSearch service website. The OCLC FirstSearch enables you to retrieve full text articles from selected online journals. These articles can be read onscreen or downloaded and printed. A password and guide to using the OCLC FirstSearch service will be provided on request through email.
It is library policy that no books will be mailed out to off-campus students from the AKU-IED library.
Contact OL Office
If you require help or are not sure whom to ask for help, please feel free to contact the Open Learning Office:
Tel: 36347611-4 Ext. 3912
ied.openlearning@aku.edu
If you would like to learn more about AKU-IED or contact other departments, please visit the AKU-IED website.