Page 285 - Universitas Terbuka Center of Excellence In Asia 2010 and The World 2020 (A Journey Towards a Leading Open and Distance Education Institution 1984-2008)

assignments, service and other relevant aspects . Information about these

aspects is gained from direct observation, interviews , and questionnaires.
In the first eight years of UT's operation , not many students followed the

tutorials provided by UT. At that time, tutorials were considered having no
significant contributions to students' final grades. Therefore , students paid no

attention to the tutorials . But starting 2001 , tutorials were again initiated in the
form of face-to-Face tutorials specially designed for PGSD programs (teacher

training programs for elementary school teachers) . This time, the tutorial
contributes 30% to students' final grade. Its special characteristic is reflected in
its administration , tutor recruitment, place of tutorial, fees , number of meetings,

assignments , calculation of assignment scores and final scores.

Since 2004, tutorials have been provided for 3 subjects for basic education
(Pendidikan Dasar, or Pendas for short) and non-basic education (Non-Pendas).
The tutorials are offered by UPBJJs , but they are not compulsory for students to

attend them. It means that students of Pendas and Non-Pendas do not have to

attend tutorials but UPBJJs are required to provide them in case of students'
demand. Students will pass if they score high in final exam , even though they did
not attend tutorials. It is quite different from previous tutorials for Pendas, where

students would not pass if they did not attend Tutorials, no matter how good their

final score was.
Tutorials have been implemented in accordance with tutorial manuals as
detailed in UT's Quality Assurance System. Since 2005, assessment of best

tutorial implementation by UPBBJs has been done based on tutorial management
and students' attendance . Best achievement was announced in National

Coordination Meeting (Rakornas) in 2006 . UPBJJ Bengkulu was the best,
followed by UPBJJ Jakarta in the second place, and UPBJJ Banjarmasin in the

third place .

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