CASE STUDY - ICT IN EDUCATION – SYMBIOSIS, INDIA FOR UNESCO – BANGKOK

USE OF ICT FOR ODL / BLENDED LEARNING / RESEARCH / ADMINISTRATION & MANAGEMENT

By Ms. Swati Mujumdar, Principal Director, Symbiosis Centre for Distance Learning (SCDL), India ACRONYMS ICT Information Communication and Technology IT Information Technology IGNOU Indira Gandhi National Open University, India DEC Distance Education Council, India NAAC National Assessment and Accreditation Council, India MHRD Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India SYMBIOSIS A group of educational institutions comprising colleges, schools and a University

located in Pune, in Western India SCDL Symbiosis Center for Distance Learning, India SIS Student Information System – a software system developed in-house to keep track of

student data and history MIS a type of high level report giving summarized information generated by software systems for assisting top management in decision making LMS Learning Management System Moodle An open source learning management system INTRODUCTION INDIAN DISTANCE EDUCATION In developing as well as developed countries, Distance Education has gained tremendous significance. Policy makers across the world are seriously considering the potential of Distance Education from the stand-point of achieving their objectives of access, equity and reach in education. Distance education being a more flexible and cost effective system, has emerged as a formidable system of higher education in most developing countries. While one must admit that the conventional education system has played an important role in expanding education, particularly in the urban areas, one must accept its limitations as a means of mass education and especially, quality education for the rural areas. New technologies can help distribute education from the world’s best sources to all the people who are in need of education irrespective of age, sex, creed, religion, socio-economic status, who are in need of education wherever, by crossing all geographical and social barriers. Innovations in ICT have played an important role in Distance Education especially to improve quality and extending the reach of education. Through the use of new communication technologies, access to good educational programs can be greatly extended to large audiences especially in rural and remote areas with tremendous flexibility in subject matter content and in locations served. Although the Indian education system is the world’s largest, the country also has the maximum number of illiterates. Distance education in the higher education sector contributes to about 24% of the total enrollment. The Indian Government has ambitious plans of increasing this to 40% by 2012. India has only one central Open University, namely, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU). Each State also has a State Open University setup by the local State Government. In spite of this and due to the need of educating huge population of the masses, many private, un-aided distance education providers have mushroomed in all corners of India. Due to lack of a proper regulatory framework in the distance education sector, Indian students tend to face issues related to quality and credibility of distance education. It is in this context that Symbiosis Center for Distance Learning (SCDL) was

established in 2001, to provide quality education through the Open and Distance mode not only to students from India but also from other countries. The institute mainly caters to the higher education sector and has gained tremendous popularity owing to its pursuit of excellence in distance education. Today, the institute has over 200,000 active students from all States of India and over 40 different countries including US, UK and Middle East. INTRODUCTION SYMBIOSIS SYMBIOSIS - A group of educational institutes was set up in 1971 by visionary Dr. S. B. Mujumdar. ‘Symbiosis’ is a botanical term meaning ‘living together for mutual benefit’. Symbiosis was set up mainly for the welfare of foreign students, to provide a ‘home away from home’. The vision of Symbiosis is to bring about international brotherhood through excellence in education. Symbiosis is a multi-disciplinary, multi-cultural group having schools, colleges and a University under its aegis. It is spread over 13 lavish campuses in central India and has more than 30,000 students studying on its various campuses in the conventional education system. More than 3000 international students from over 70 countries are studying in various programs of Symbiosis. Symbiosis is ranked amongst the top education providers of India and is known for excellence in education. SYMBIOSIS CENTER FOR DISTANCE LEARNING (SCDL) SCDL is a part of the Symbiosis group and is a single mode private distance education provider offering mainly post graduate level programs (higher education sector) in various disciplines through distance mode. SCDL offers programs in Management, Information Technology, Education, Humanities and Law. SCDL is located in a large campus in Pune (Western India). It has state of the art infrastructure with world-class facilities such as video conferencing, dedicated student call center, e-communication center, well equipped labs & classrooms, library, audio-visual halls, conference halls etc. All SCDL centers are connected through a ‘Virtual Private Network’. All activities and operations of SCDL are carried out mainly in a centralized fashion using innovative ICT solutions. SCDL has therefore not created a large network of study centers. The institute has been a pioneer in developing many ICT solutions and facilities to improve the quality, accessibility, delivery and reach of education to thousands of distant learners. SCDL offers blended learning programs combining self-learning material (SLM), e-learning, on-line learning and faculty-based learning. The use of innovative technology solutions has helped SCDL to achieve academic and operational excellence. Today SCDL has active student strength of more than 200,000 students from all parts of India and over 40 different countries that are pursuing various programs through distance mode. SCDL has staff strength of about 150 employees and also utilizes the expertise of over 400 visiting faculty members for various academic activities. OBJECTIVES OF SCDL • To provide a self-pace, self-styled learning environment

• To provide educational, skill development and life-long learning programs and courses suitable for

a wide range of learners representing diverse backgrounds, age groups and socio-economic status

• To provide flexible and convenient education delivery & assessment solutions to make the learning and testing process effective

• To provide friendly and affordable student care services in order to create an enjoyable learning

experience for the distant learners

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• To create innovative and value-added learning opportunities by constantly updating content and developing new educational programs in line with market requirements

• To create a virtual campus where learners can come together, share experiences in order to

develop and nurture a ‘learning community’ • To implement cost effective ICT solutions to supplement all aspects of education delivery, content

creation and student care & support services • To achieve academic and operational excellence by defining measurable quality parameters both

in academic as well as administration areas • To effectively manage exponential growth in student enrollment by evolving innovative ICT based

practices rather than increasing manpower and administrative costs.

India Map showing distribution of SCDL students across all States of India (data for 2009 batch of students)

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World Map showing Student representation at SCDL from many different countries outside of India (data for 2009)

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CASE STUDY - SYMBIOSIS CENTER FOR DISTANCE LEARNING (SCDL) USE OF ICT IN IMPROVING STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES AND EVALUATION PROCESS

In distance education, the students are geographically dispersed and come from varied age groups and backgrounds. The institute has experienced exponential growth in student enrollment from about 8,000 students in 2001 to over 60,000 student registrations in 2009. The active student strength of SCDL at present (2009-2010) is approximately 210,000. Due to this sudden growth, the institute faced many challenges such as managing a huge student base without losing focus on quality and student satisfaction. The institute was faced with the issue to quickly scale up faculty and staff strength in order to match the growing student numbers. Increasing manpower and administrative costs would not have certainly guaranteed efficiency in managing the large student enrollment. After careful thought, the institute decided to evolve simple yet innovative and cost effective ICT based practices which would address some of these administrative problems that arose due to huge student enrollment.

I. USE OF ICT IN IMPROVING STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES

One of the important activities in Distance Education is to provide Student Support Services. This area is often neglected in many institutes. When student enrollment increases the first area which needs to be scaled up (for manpower) is Student Support Services. Furthermore, hiring trained manpower to handle student queries is not an easy task in India especially in the education sector as mid-level personnel find high-paying, lucrative jobs in the growing IT sector. SCDL decided that to manage large student numbers, it should create effective Student Support Services by using ICT practices rather than proportionately increasing administrative staff strength. Thus, SCDL setup a Student Care Department, enabled with home-grown ICT solutions. This department consists of two sections – a Dedicated Student Call Center and an E-Communication Center. The home-grown ICT solution is called Student Information System (SIS). The data from SIS is displayed under ‘Student Center’ of the SCDL web portal, which is a sophisticated portal providing students’ with access to many online services.

As I am a working student, time is a major constraint. The Student Support Services provided by SCDL especially the Call Center, E-Communication center & web portal have enabled me to get my queries answered quickly. As such I do not have to spend much time on follow-ups with SCDL for simple issues. I am happy that Symbiosis has invested in providing students with such useful facilities which have made my academic journey quite enjoyable!

- Ms. Meenal Kulkarni SCDL Student

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1. Dedicated Student Call Center

SCDL has introduced specially guided telephonic helpline for students - the Interactive Voice Response System. Earlier students had to call SCDL for even simple queries. However, since complete student record including academic & administrative data is available through this system, students do not find the need to speak to an operator for just getting routine information. Further, while waiting to get connected to an operator, students hear important messages recorded by SCDL on various activities. Our call operators are able to handle many more calls now.

- Ms. Devashree Navale, Call Center Head, SCDL

It is seen in many educational institutes that when students call up with some query they get transferred from one department to another before their query is answered. In distance education institutes this problem is compounded due to large number of students and comparatively lesser administrative staff. A simple query results in serious student grievance if not handled properly at the right time. The Dedicated Call Center enables students to address their queries to trained Call Operators. The call operators not only have complete know-how of various academic and administrative policies but are also trained on handling ‘customers’ in this case ‘students’. This customer-centric approach has greatly enhanced the image of the institute amongst its students. Further, various departments of the institute are not required to spend time from their daily work in answering student calls. This has in turn increased their efficiency at work. Periodic training programs are arranged for call operators on various areas such as policy matters (e.g. Fee policies, enrollment policies, admission cancellation policies etc), how to deal with aggravated students and when to escalate such calls to the Call Center Team Leaders or Head, how to provide accurate information over the telephone without consuming too much time etc. Many business processes are implemented and improved upon from time to time within the Call Center to ensure greater student satisfaction. For handling student calls effectively the Call Operators use the Student Information System. The Student View within this system provides complete student details once the registration number of the student is entered into the system. The call operators are able to view fee payment details of the student, demographic details, academic record, emails and other communication and material dispatched to the students by the institute. The Call Center has also implemented an Integrated Voice Response System (IVRS) which provides automated answers to commonly asked questions when a student calls the institute. In order to access his complete record in the system, the student is required to enter his unique registration number and birth date. After this data is authenticated the system provides complete student details to the student using voice response. This system has also reduced the number of calls transferred to the Call Operators. The Call Operators also track complete call history within the Student Information System for future reference. Students whose query may be complex or requires documentation are requested to address their query via email to the E-Communication Center, thus ensuring that the Call Operators are able to handle large number of calls rather than spending too much time on an individual call. The Call Operators and their responses are monitored for quality by the Team Leaders and Head of this center. The Call Center receives about 1800-2000 calls per day which are promptly handled by 21 call operators. The Call Center Head also analyzes the nature and the number of student calls and queries received each month. Such analyses and trends help in giving advice to other departments regarding changes in policies or pro-active communication which may be required in case any areas are causing confusion amongst students. Such practices help in reducing unnecessary student calls and create clarity amongst students. Below some screen shots of Student Information System have been given, namely the Student View, Fee Details tab and Dispatch Details tab. Each of these ‘tabs’ shows complete details and data for a specific student whose unique registration number has been entered into the system.

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Figure 1: Student View This Student View of the Student Information System (SIS) gives complete demographic, contact and program details of the student including his admission status, specialization courses, registration validity period etc. This information is extremely useful to the SCDL staff handling student queries as it is available at the click of a button by simply entering the student’s registration number. Further, the system also allows the SCDL staff to update any information and keeps a history when and who updated this data thus making the whole process completely transparent.

Figure 1 : Showing Student View of SIS – displays complete student details

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Figure 2: Fee Details View/Tab This view of the Student Information System (SIS) gives complete data of fees collected and fees due from the students. The view lists the fee instrument details, the bank from which it was drawn, instrument date etc. On the same screen the ‘Fee Dues’ information is displayed in a separate section. The fee dues are dynamically calculated each time a fee is received from a student. Some fees are payable in installments and the Fee Dues screen also displays the installment amount due from a student enrolled for a particular program. In order to calculate the fee dues it is necessary for the Finance Department of SCDL to enter the program and course fees for various programs at the beginning of each academic year. Separate Master screens have been created for this purpose and provided to the Finance Department for master data entry. However, this master data related to fees requires to be entered only once; at the beginning of each academic year. Figure 2 : Showing Fee Details and Fee Dues of a student

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Figure 3: Dispatch Details View This view of the Student Information System (SIS) gives important information to the students about dispatch details for any material or communication dispatched by SCDL to them. In India, all distance education providers supplement the learning experience by providing printed books in the form of Self Learning Material (SLM) to students for each course of the curriculum. The SLMs are comprehensive, learning guides designed especially for distant learners with tone, content and format suitable for this kind of audience. SLM design, creation and printing are major activities for all Indian distance education providers. Although, many distance education providers have gone to online models with e-books and other aids, in India the printed SLMs are still extremely popular with students and therefore form an inevitable component of delivery. One of the major challenges associated with SLMs is the expenses involved in printing & dispatching them to students whose addresses keep on changing (especially in the case of working students). Guaranteeing timely delivery is also an area of concern due to issues with courier and postal services in countries such as India. In order to cope with this challenge, SCDL created a system which tracks the dispatch of SLMs and other important documents / material sent to students at every point in time. This data is tracked in the system right from its point of dispatch from SCDL up to delivery to the students’ address. The students are able to view this path of traversal through the web portal. In case a student changes his address, the appropriate changes are immediately reflected in the online system and delivery is re-scheduled accordingly. SCDL Academics department creates excellent quality SLMs for each course and also arranges training programs for authors and content developers periodically in order to create standardized, good quality SLMs suitable for distance learners. SCDL dispatches close to 60,000 SLM kits to students in every semester. The Stores department of SCDL manages the complete operations and logistics related to such dispatch and also enters/updates data in the SIS system for student viewing. The automated address label generation facility and online tracking facility have been a great advantage for both SCDL Stores Department as well as SCDL students. The unnecessary expenditure related to re-dispatch has also reduced significantly due to such online tracking facility.

Figure 3 : Showing Dispatch Details of all material & SLM sent to a student by Symbiosis

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‘Post My Query’ has helped streamline the work of my team considerably. Duplication of work is totally avoided thus increasing our efficiency in responding to students. I am now able to allocate resources appropriately and handle a larger volume of email queries.

- Ms. Juhi Gupta, E-Communication Center Head,

SCDL

2. E-Communication Center

During the earlier years after its inception, SCDL observed that since the students are geographically dispersed and away from the campus / main office, they tend to send their queries using snail mail or post. It was extremely difficult to reply to thousands of student letters received each day. More difficult was to track the student letter as it went from one department to another within the institute and the delays caused at each stage. Ownership of such delays was also an issue. SCDL was unable to keep a history or record of student issues and create any kind of MIS reports out of such student queries as there was no automation in handling student letters. It was decided to setup an E-Communication Center where Communication Assistants would handle student queries received via email with a guaranteed response time of one business day. Students were encouraged to send their queries via email. However, students would have to remember various email addresses, for example a fee query had to be sent to feequeries@scdl.net. This difficulty in remembering multiple email addresses created other problems for example, students would send the same email query to many email addresses of the institute to receive a faster response. It became increasingly difficult to create distinct and standard response to student emails without duplication of effort. A new ICT solution was developed called ‘Post

h is a part of the ‘Contact Us’ feature on the ents to choose a query from a drop down box. The query is then

mail address and Communication Assistant rface has created a user-friendly environment ciency of the student response process. The us admi is Head of this Center. Standard responses have f reply. e s back on day w 3

center a he eived a er oveme or

y ensure u ent n consensus d prom

my Query’. This interface (Figure 4 below), whicSCDL web portal, allows studautomatically forwarded to the appropriate ehandling (specializing in) that query. This intefor students at the same time increasing effiCommunication Assistants are trained on variomonitored for quality by the Team Leaders andbeen created to ensure quality and efficiency oAcademics Department and SCDL faculty repliecenter receives about 1200-1400 emails eachCommunication Assistants. The Head of the different types and volume of queries being recdepartments for policy changes and process imprhandling Student Grievances. This cell not onlissues but also evolves a proper resolution iGrievances are thus dealt with in an effective an

nistrative policies and their response

Academic queries are diverted to thto the students. The E-Communicatihich are efficiently handled by 1

lso analyzes on a monthly basis, tnd is able to provide feedback to othnt. A separate cell has been created fs prompt attention to escalated st d

with other departments. Student pt manner.

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Figure 4 : Post my Query link on SCDL web portal This facility, which is available on the SCDL web portal, allows students to select from a list of commonly asked questions instead of typing their query. Further it allows students to type details in a text box. When the submit button is clicked upon, the query in the form of an email, is automatically sent to the concerned Communication Assistant in the E-Communication Center. This facility which is part of the ‘Contact Us’ section on the SCDL web portal has created tremendous convenience to students who no longer have to remember many different email addresses for sending queries to SCDL. This facility has also helped streamline response handling processes of SCDL and increased overall efficiency of the E-Communication department. Figure 4 : Post my Query link on SCDL web site – allows students to send emails to SCDL

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3. tudent Information System (SIS)

data security. This system today, forms a critical backbone for e smooth working of all SCDL departments. It has also created an implicit workflow

reports from time to time. The MIS reports help the management in taking important decisions and framing policies for the benefit of the students. Figure 5 : Sample screen shot of Student Information System (SIS) Home Page

S

This software system is home-grown and developed over 3-4 years by the SCDL Software Department. The system is like an ERP which tracks complete student details from enrollment to graduation. The data stored in this system is also available for student viewing through the SCDL web portal. The system has thus created a completely transparent, accurate and real-time environment which is accessed by both students and staff of SCDL. The system allows for tracking of demographic data, communication data, dispatch details, fee payment details, call and grievance history, academic performance data, etc. The system is role and privilege driven thus ensuring complete thmanagement in order to ensure that the SCDL management is provided with accurate MIS

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4. CDL Web Site / Portal

The institute provides a completely personalized web portal which allows students to get

g counseling for suitable SCDL programs. otential students can track their enrollment status while the admission process is under way nd do not require to call the institute for such queries.

Figure 6 : Sample screen shot of SCDL Web Site Home Page

S

access to a host of online services, e-learning courses, online learning, Moodle LMS, SIS data, post my Query Interface, Live@Edu access etc. The most utilized services are online assignment submissions and booking for on demand examinations. The web portal has a ‘single login’ facility and a ‘Student Center’ which creates a personalized learning environment for each student. The students can view important tracking information such as dispatch status of any material sent by the institute. A ‘message board’ also provides important communication from the institute which is displayed within the student center of the portal. The portal acts as a ‘Virtual Campus’ nurturing a learning community of over 200,000 distant learners. SCDL also plans to introduce internet based virtual classrooms for the benefit of it’s widely spread student community. The web portal provides learning aids such as interactive e-learning courses, faculty chat sessions, archive lectures etc. The web portal also provides a separate environment for potential students includinPa

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5. Student Request Form

SCDL has provided students with the facility of sending their requests for a service or material using the Student Request Form. This automated facility is available on the web portal of SCDL. Students can choose the service/material they desire and send the request to SCDL Student Care Department. The department guarantees processing time of 2-4 business days for any request. The form also displays to the student any supporting documentation which may be required in order for SCDL to process the request. This reduces any possible delays due to lack of proper supporting documentation, resulting in faster processing of student requests. ure 7 : A sample Student Request Form (SRF) – allows students to send their request for ice to SCDL using the web portal

Figserv

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6. Helpdesk System

SCDL is currently using on-line help desk system to manage IT related Incident requests and resource requests of SCDL staff. For example SCDL staff may have requests for change in certain systems, privileges or operation of any part of the SIS. Such requests are routed through an automated Help Desk system. SCDL staff / users can raise a ‘ticket’ for their request or issue and enter the same in this system. This on-line portal helps users to keep track of the status of their requests on their own. The system is also integrated with e-mail system to send updates and a notification on e-mail. SCDL is planning to extend its usage even to track

udent’s queries in a similar manner.

Live@Edu is a worldwide program run by Microsoft, which has enabled SCDL to give students a host of cutting edge communication and collaboration tools; tools which will help them to express themselves and increase their avenues in collaborative learning with students and the faculty. Live@Edu is the ultimate suite of applications - mobile, desktop and web-based - to help students to collaborate on campus and create a community that lasts a lifetime, through.

8. Microsoft Live E-Mail

A 10 GB Mailbox for all students and alumni, branded with SCDL and domain name (e.g.: Reg2010XXXXX@student.scdl.net). Email groups can be easily created and managed.

9. Microsoft Live SkyDrive

Students can have easy exchange of Personal Learning Content, Presentations, Case Studies through an online storage with 25 GB space.

Figure 8: Live@Edu Facility of personalized mail box for students on SCDL web portal

st

7. Live@Edu

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10. Placement Cell

SCDby Leastudregicreawithperi anies and interested students seeking placement can interact with each other in one location.

Figure 9: Interview in Progress in Placement week at SCDL

L is one of the very few distance learning institutes that offer placement assistance to students acting as a facilitator. Many renowned companies such as Wipro, WNS global, Up side rning, Serra International Pre School, Rubikube solutions and many others have placed SCDL ents. SCDL has created online Yahoo group where any student who has a yahoo email id can ster free of charge to this group and get latest updates regarding placements. This is a unique, tive, educative, supportive group and encourages students to apply for placement opportunities varied corporate sector. As on today this group has 1173 registered members. SCDL arranges odic ‘Placement Weeks’ where comp

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II. U LEMENTING LEARNING EXPERIENCES

uters at home or work and periodic access to internet. As a result using such learning aids like e-learning courses or lecture DVDs to supplement the

ly appreciated by them.

2. E-learning Courseware SCDL has created a user friendly interface and developed more than 80 e-learning courseware of international standard. The e-learning courses act as a supplementary learning tool to the Self Learning Material and form an integral part of the blended learning programs of SCDL. The e-learning courses are interactive and based on case studies, examples and scenarios thereby providing an enjoyable learning experience to students. The courses are available both through the SCDL web portal as well as on CDs for those who may not have access to continued bandwidth. These e-learning courses have become extremely popular learning aids as they enhance understanding of key concepts of the concerned subject matter rather than re-iterating theory or definitions. SCDL’s E-learning department engage themselves in continuous development of such excellent quality e-learning courses with the help of Subject Matter Experts for general benefit of students. The figure below shows a sample screen of an e-learning course for a Management Program. Figure 10: Sample E-Learning Course Interface

SE OF ICT IN SUPP

1. Asynchronous Learning Aids SCDL experimented by introducing two learning aids, namely, e-learning courseware and pre-recorded lecture DVDs. Both these learning aids are developed in-house by SCDL with help of ICT facilities and technical experts. Over the past 6 years SCDL has pioneered in India the development of such ICT based learning tools which have immensely benefited the student community. A recent survey of over 16,000 SCDL students suggests that they find such modern technology based learning aids quite useful and interesting. Students located even in remote areas do have access to comp

learning experience is not only possible for students but high

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3. Pre-Recorded Lecture DVDs SCDL has created another asynchronous learning aid in the form of pre-recorded lecture DVDs. Lectures from expert faculty are recorded in a high quality format on DVDs for various courses. SCDL has created over 35 lectures DVDs to date. The user friendly interface developed by SCDL not only provides the faculty’s lecture but also provides the faculty notes and presentation to students. Students can go backward and forward by topic. The interface also provides glossary and reference links for further reading to students. What started as an experiment in learning has become quite successful and students find this form of learning extremely useful, although asynchronous in nature. The lecture DVDs are in great demand and SCDL plans to produce many more such DVDs for a variety of courses in future.

rded Lecture DVD User Interface

Figure 11 : Sample Pre-Reco

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4. oodle Learning Management System

ser Interface or home screen available to students when they log-in to the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS). Moodle is an Open Source Learning MathroassifeedStuwithconbenLM enefit of its

udents.

Figure 12: Moodle LMS User Interface Home Screen

M

The Figure 12 below displays the U

nagement System. The Moodle system has been customized and implemented at SCDL ugh the web portal. This system allows students to upload project report files, submission and gnment files. The uploaded file is then allocated to the concerned faculty for evaluation and back. Both the grade and feedback given by the faculty can be viewed by students online.

dents can also check the status of their submission at any time and can interact via the system concerned faculty or other co-students. This online environment has provided tremendous

venience and flexibility to SCDL distance learners. At the same time SCDL students can efit from the interaction with faculty and other co-students. Instead of spending on expensive S, the open source system has been effectively used by SCDL for the larger b

st

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I have my own business and am pursuing a program at SCDL. The On Demand examination facility has provided me with great convenience. The ability to appear for any exam from any available location as per my schedule has offered complete flexibility which is essential for a working student. It is due to these innovative facilities that I am able to complete my program in time and get leverage in my business and career.

- Akshay Dhoka PGDIB Student,

Proprietor, Anand Travels

ESSMENT

years. Furthermore, the quality of evaluation and monitoring of evaluation faculty who are spread all across India became an extremely difficult task. It was also seen that students

n of answers while submitting such paper d due to the large number of students and

qually large number of faculty who were required to be retained for evaluation purposes. oduce Objective Assignments which were based on a ‘random test

generation’ model. SCDL introduced a sophisticated Assessment Engine which takes as its input thousands of objective test items or questions. It then generates a random test paper for each attempt based on the rules provided to it. The Assessment Engine was put up on the SCDL web portal thereby allowing students to attempt objective tests or assignments in an online manner 24 X 7. These assignments are self correcting and provide a detailed feedback and score card at the end of each assignment. The students can also re-attempt an assignment in order to improve their score. The online assignments provide an extremely flexible, self-paced and convenient learning environment for students. Since the test is randomly generated the chances of copying or other mal practices have been completely eliminated. In spite of the assignments being objective in nature, students find the assignments quite challenging and in fact like to re-attempt assignments with higher difficulty levels. The questions are usually based on application and comprehension levels of learning. The Academics Department of SCDL continuously engages itself in developing good quality objective questions and arranges periodic training programs for faculty and staff on various instructional models such as Blooms Taxonomy, which can be used to develop such objective questions.

2. On Demand Examinations

In line with the online assignments, SCDL also decided to introduce On Demand Examinations for its students in 2004. The On Demand Examination system allows students to attempt an exam whenever they feel they are prepared to do so. The SCDL web portal also provides an online ‘Exam Booking System’. This system provides the student to select a date, time and location for attempting an exam as per their convenience. The student is able to print his Hall Ticket and attempt a proctored exam at any of the SCDL designated exam centers across India and in other countries as well. Due to the On Demand examination facility students do not have to wait until semester-end. As a result students tend to appear for exams through-out the academic year thus distributing the examinations evenly across all months. Every student attempts about 15-20 exams over 2 academic years. As a result every academic year almost 4,00,000 to 5,00,000 exams are

III. USE OF ICT IN EVALUATION & ASS

1. Online Assignments

The second area of concern for the institute with regards to the large student enrollment was evaluation. In many distance education institutes in India, it is seen that students submit all assignments and exams in the traditional paper back mode. However, in distance education sector, since the number of students is large, the corresponding number of assignments and exams to be evaluated is also very large. In the case of SCDL, each student submits on an average 20 assignments and an equal number of exams over a period of two to three years. With yearly enrollment figures running into about 60,000 students, SCDL faced a huge challenge to evaluate about 1,00,000 assignments and 1,00,000 exams submitted over two to three

resorted to malpractices such as copying or replicatioback assignments. These problems were compoundeeSCDL decided to intr

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n Demand Examination facility has enabled SCDL to manage thousands of exams in an efficient manner, at the same time maintaining quality of assessment.

The table below shows the number of on demand exams attempted by students enrolled in the

attempted by all SCDL students (each batch). The O

July 2009 academic year for the months of December 2009, January and February 2010. This data indicates that students of SCDL are able to fully utilize the on demand exam facility and the total number of exams being attempted in a year are evenly distributed across each month as compared to a semester-end system.

Figure 13: Table showing number of exams attempted by 2009 batch of students over 3 months

Month No. of exams attempted December 2009 50883 January 2010 53275 February 2010 60516

Figure 14: On Demand Exam Slot Booking System available on SCDL web portal

oth these systems, namely Online Assignments a completely flexible and convenient testing envast few years suggests that SCDL students are aithin the prescribed duration of their program andalidity normally provided to all distance learninelated to assessment evaluation have also reducedot been compromised at all.

B nd O ed a ironm the p ble to cow do not have to use the extended registration v g students. SC ds r significantly w as n

n Demand Examinations have provident for the students. The data over

mplete their academic requirements

DL administrative overheahile quality of evaluation h

CO

number of students (SCDL has over 200,000 active distance learners) without compromising on quality and without scaling up staff

• to motivate & create a positive attitude in existing staff members & academic faculty

• to gather man od nd online learni onents as part of t el of SCDL

• To develop, purchase and implement appropriate IT solutions only where necessary

and ensure proper fund allocation by controlling unnecessary costs associated with implementation of expensive IT solutions

demography, academics, fees, submissions, examinations, profiles etc.

• To maintain a culture of professionalism, customer focus in order to treat every student as a customer and to ensure high efficiency at all levels of administration and management

OUTCOMES AND IMPACT

The ICT implementations at Symbiosis have resulted in

• higher student-satisfaction ratio • lowering the drop-out rate amongst distant learners enrolled with the institute

• Accurate tracking of student data related to academics, fees, administration etc.

• Ability to provide real-time, accurate MIS reports to management on various aspects

of academics, administration and finance

• Ability to provide relevant data to assist management in taking key strategic and policy decisions from time to time

• Create dynamism, robustness and scalability in the systems and processes • Self-paced learning environment providing ultimate convenience and flexibility to

students

large number of students without compromising on quality and

without proportionately increasing manpower

NSTRAINTS AND CHALLENGES • To effectively manage large

strength proportionately. • to train existing staff on required IT skills and obtain trained manpower from time to

time

members in order to train them on the use of ICT, e-learning, online teaching etc.

agement support for intrng comp

ucing and implementing IT solutions ahe education delivery mod

• To continuously track, manage and maintain complete data related to students

• Lowering costs / overheads associated with manpower, administration, evaluation, dispatch and postage

• Enhancing learning experiences of students & creating a virtual community of students

• Effectively managing

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FUTUR PLANS

• nefits

which will be implemented soon such as social networking, community based activities etc.

• also plans to introduce faculty chat sessions shortly wherein students can avail the benefit of faculty interaction. These sessions will be pre announced via the SCDL

is facility will be available through the SCDL web portal. Virtual classrooms will

ysical boundaries or constraints of time and location.

• s offline career counseling. This facility will very soon provide the students with online career

culty

• HelpDesk system for students w students to raise their issues or address queries using an online

system available through SCDL web portal. This system will provide students to raise scanned copies of any supporting

documentation. Once the query is received at SCDL, it will go through a ‘Work Flow Flow Management System will track the flow of

student query as it goes from the Student Care Department (which will be the em will

display the name of the person and department who is handling each student query, for or the which

e y

ate the need for him/her to call SCDL in this rned the

usly help the students in tracking the status of their

tand which the ery

ill also help the management of SCDL in understanding the quantum and

E

Live@Edu a facility available on SCDL web portal will offer more features & befor the students in future,

SCDL

web portal so that maximum students can take advantage and are able to interact with an expert faculty and clear their doubts or address academic queries.

• Virtual Classrooms SCDL is in the process of evaluating and implementing virtual classrooms. Th

facilitate students and faculty to interact in a classroom environment using internet. This tremendously convenient facility will enable students to have an enriched academic experience without confining to ph

The SCDL web portal section for prospective students presently provide

counseling. Based on students’ education backgrounds and area of interest the fawill suggest programs suitable for them and also guide them in achieving their career goals.

This system will allo

a ‘ticket’ for their query/issue with details or

Management System’. The Work

caretaker for all student queries) to other concerned departments. The syst

how long they have been handling that query and the possible completion date fquery. This information will help the students to understand at what stage or in department their query or issue is being handled from time to time and the possiblcompletion date. This will reduce the anxiety of the student as to when his/her querwill be resolved by SCDL and will eliminregard. The solution/resolution to the query will also be recorded by the conceSCDL staff / department in the system and will be immediately displayed tostudent. This system will tremendoown query and ensure 100% efficiency and transparency. The management of SCDL will also benefit by getting critical MIS reports from this system and undersdepartments or SCDL staff may be taking long time on which type of queries and reasons for delay if any. This MIS will help in process improvement for future. Quanalysis wnature of seasonal queries and possible solutions to reduce them.

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• Payment Gateway for various payments

us convenience of to SCDL students and will also

duce many administrative overheads related to payment transactions. The challenge

CONCLUSION The effective us d quality of studetremendous flex venience to students. Just as muc is equally importa processes are crefficiency of the SCDL has chosen to implement simple, inexpensive yet innovative ICT solutions which have improved ad f education delivery to thousands of students. Due to the use of ICT tCare/Support Seenabled SCDL tstrength grew toscaling up manp It is important nexpensive and eproviding innovsolutions only anew technology

This facility will allow students to pay exam fees, service fees and other types of payment using the Payment Gateway through SCDL web portal. This facility of onlinepayment will provide tremendorecurrently being faced is related to the high volume of transactions owing to the largestudent strength of SCDL. The online payment option will eliminate some of theseoperational challenges faced by SCDL and will create more efficient and fasterprocesses.

S

e of ICT in education definitely improves the quality & delivery of education annt care services. It also lowers administration costs and overheads. It provides ibility and con

h as it is important to develop and implement innovative ICT solutions for education itnt to create and build business process to support such initiatives. Unless such businesseated and old ones discarded one cannot bring about significant change in overall organization and quality of education & delivery.

ministrative efficiency and quality ooday, SCDL is able to provide cost effective, user friendly and quick Student rvices to all its students, irrespective of their geographic location. Use of ICT has also o keep manpower investment and administrative expenses low. Although student huge numbers, ICT based practices provided a viable alternative solution rather than ower.

ot to lose focus while implementing ICT solutions. Often organizations implement xcess ICT based practices resulting in other human resource issues. SCDL focuses on ative student support services and quality education and uses cost effective ICT s and when required. We in SCDL are aware of the need to make the maximum use of with available resources.

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