Page 244 - Universitas Terbuka Center of Excellence In Asia 2010 and The World 2020 (A Journey Towards a Leading Open and Distance Education Institution 1984-2008)

learning support to the students who need it. So, tutorials are mainly
emphasized on giving explanation about the content of particular courses

they do not understand. Things which are usually asked by the student in
tutorial sessions are as the following.

o The content of the module that is difficult to understand.

o The application of concepts learned from the learning materials .
o Difficult formative tests and exercises.

o Learning preparations for final examination or final project, etc.

• Academic counseling service
Academic counseling service is done for individual students through

letters, electronic mail , facsimile and telephone. They can send letters,
facsimile , electronic mail or make a telephone call to relevant Faculty or

Post-Graduate Program for consultation on course content that is not well
understood. Every student can do written counseling through letters

individually. This kind of counseling has strengths and weaknesses. Its
strengths are it can be done by every student, even from remote areas .

However, it is not very efficient because it takes a long time to get to UT. Not
being able to answer the students' letters in quite a long time can de-

motivate them because they can feel that UT ignores them .
In the meantime, the students who live in the cities that have internet

facilities and those who are willing to make use of these communication
facilities can make academic consultation related to the content of the course

through the electronic mail. The strength of the electronic mail is that they
can receive the answers immediately, because academic staff in the Faculties

or the Post-Graduate Program can· receive the electronic mail only within
seconds after being sent. Therefore, the students can be assisted in learning.

Beside that, the students or their tutors can send files that contain pictures or

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