Page 44 - Open and Distance Education In Asia : Good Practice From AAOU Members

24 OPEN AND DISTANCE EDUCATON IN ASIA
Good Practices from AAOU Members

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT with regional open universities helped to
strengthen the universities efforts. The
Redefining OUM Identity reputation of the university as an esteemed
In the first 15 years since its inception, ODL university made it an ideal choice for
the university branded itself as a teaching consultation and collaborations among other
university. As a private university, developing universities and government agencies.
marketable programmes and supporting
them became the upmost priority. In addition Beyond 2015, the university began to
to programme development, accreditation explore teaching innovations through various
and revision, other key activities were digital content to support its learners; a
development of: (i) appropriate pedagogies Moodle-based learner management system
for ODL through the ODL Pedagogy Centre; (myINSPIRE was introduced in May 2016),
(ii) self-instructional learning material online system to support APEL assessment,
through CIDT; (iii) social-constructivism paperless initiatives (by introducing
based facilitation strategies (Asynchronous e-module in pdf format instead of print)
Facilitation though Online Forum and and broaden its research scope to support
Synchronous Facilitation through Face-to- its postgraduate learners. As a result,
face Tutorials/Seminars); (iv) Formative when the world was hit by the pandemic
and Summative Assessment Formats; (v) at the end 2019, the university was able to
Learn Managing System (LMS); and (vi) transform at ease into digital environment.
Managing Adult Learner. Intensive capacity Nevertheless, the surrounding environment
building activities were carried out in the also changed and became more competitive.
following areas: curriculum design (centred This creates a motivation for the university
around Outcome-based Education since to analyse its status as a sustainable quality
2008), module writing skills (centred around digital education provider and transform
Instructional Designs), tutor training (online itself through research and innovation. In
facilitation and face-to-face tutoring), and 2022, under the new management led by
writing assessment papers and writing the present President/Vice Chancellor 8
effective feedback. Research activities were Strategic Focuses was drafted to reach its
organised based on institutional needs aspiration as a reputable sustainable quality
and learner retention (Latif et al., 2009). digital education provider. Under these
Numerous programmes at various levels strategic objectives, additional focuses and
(Diploma, Bachelor Degree, Master’s Degree, action plans have been drafted to reach
and Doctor of Philosophy) were developed. greater reputation under the national
Later post-graduate diploma and doctoral university ranking exercise. This certainly
studies were included into the list. The demands a change in culture. Finding the
university developed its Quality Management right enabler for a shift in culture require
Systems based on ISO standards as well as the well-planned engagement with stakeholders.
2009 COL Quality Assurance Toolkit Distance The centre for research and innovation has
HEIs and Programmes. Network and linkages drafted action plans under selected areas

Open University Malaysia (OUM)