UP Open University in Dubai

GOOD NEWS! para sa mga interested mag distance learning, basahin nyo ito... Matagal na pala eto sa Dubai pero ngayon ko lang nalaman... kya share ko na rin sainyo...
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ok dahil na-edit ung link, post ko na lng ung forwarded email sakin (mahaba haba eto):

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BY MARIECAR JARA-PUYOD

Filipinos in the UAE were given another avenue for higher learning over the weekend, when officials from the Philippines' premier state university dropped by Abu Dhabi and Dubai to promote its 14 year-old distance education system.

Officially known as the University of the Philippines Open University (UPOU), its registrar and associate professor, Dr. Melinda Bandelaria, said the system, the fifth constituent university of the entire UP system, is not only for professionals but for high school graduates as well. This is because aside from 12 graduate programmes and eight post-baccalaureate diploma programmes, two undergraduate programmes, namely the Associate in Arts and the Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Studies, are offered.

The graduate and post-baccalaureate courses are in social work, computer science, research and development management, environment and natural resources management, science teaching, math teaching, language studies, social studies education, development communication, public health, hospital administration, nursing, public management, information systems, and philosophy in education.

UP alumna and Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry data management manager, Marietta Morada, said the move to promote the UPOU more in the UAE is a good one; especially considering the separation anxiety parents and children normally experience when the latter have to relocate to the Philippines for their university studies.

In previous articles published in The Gulf Today, it's been observed that it is not only the separation anxiety that has proven to be a major concern among families but the children's exposure to an environment so different from what they have been used to in the UAE as well. This is particularly true since a big number of them are UAE-born and feel all alone in their home country despite having relatives there.

Morada said, "I called up my son a few days back and he sounded so distressed since it was already late and he was still inside the campus because of the heavy rains. He said he was dripping wet and it was difficult to go over to the light rail transit system terminal even though it was near."

She added the OPOU could be the answer to families who have to face the predicament of sending their children back home or to other countries for higher learning.

However, Bandelaria said that like all applicants to the UP system, all overseas-based high school graduates must pass the qualifying examinations wherein only the top 10,000 to 12,000 out of an average of 80,000 takers a year are considered. Candidates must have achieved high ratings in reading comprehension, language proficiency, arithmetic, and essay writing.

Headquartered near the UP-Los Banos campus in the Southern Tagalog province of Laguna, the UPOU, as of Aug. 15, had 2,500 students. The highest number was from Saudi Arabia at 60 and between 25 and 30 from the UAE. Ten of the 2,500 are non-Filipinos.

Bandelaria also warned of the strict adherence of students to honesty.

She cited one case wherein a student has been suspended even though he has been due for graduation.

As head of a committee tasked to investigate, Bandelaria on her own and with consultation with her members had discovered that this student plagiarised 14 of 20 pages of an assignment, directly copying material from the Internet.

The student alleged that he only submitted an un-edited assignment in haste.

While the OPOU allows its students to study and do their homework at their own pace, Bandelaria said they are allowed to enroll in only a few units at a time so they could have enough "elbow room" for on-line discussions with professors and classmates.

Bandelaria cited a case in which a professional did not listen to her advice of taking it easy, saying she is a magna cum laude from another educational institution. It turned out that at the end of one semester, she got the flunking grade of five in two subjects.

Bandelaria said aside from known personalities who have enrolled and graduated from the UPOU, such as former Philippine Army Capt. Gerardo Gambala (Master of Public Management graduate of 2007, Philippine Military Academy Class of 1995 valedictorian and leader of the Oakwood Mutiny in July 27, 2003), a substantial number of the distance education system are retirees and overseas-based teachers as well as nurses.

"There are OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) who enroll with us because they say it is now their chance to study again after having had their children graduate," Bandelaria said.

Interested parties may log on at the http://www.upou.edu. ph