Supporting New ODL Learners via Face-to-Face Academic Advising to Increase Retention: Sharing Open University Malaysia’s Experience

The last decade has witnessed an increased demand for tertiary education via Open and Distance Learning due to advance methods in technology for educators, administrators and learners that make a difference in effective instruction being delivered at a distance. More people too are beginning to embrace adult education and lifelong learning. Institutions that offer such mode of learning which include the Indira Gandhi National Open University, Islamic Azad University, Anadolu University and Allama Iqbal Open University, have all attained the ‘Mega’ university status with enrolment exceeding 1,000,000 learners. Attrition rate which can be based on completion or graduation rates of their learners is as low as 50 percent to as high as 80 percent. A high rate of attrition is always linked to the learners’ background, which includes their academic and social background, workplace settings, their ability to adapt to the new learning environment as well as their ability to finance their studies. As the cost of attracting learners to an ODL institution is higher than the cost of retaining them, thus the subject of retention has become a widely researched subject until today. At Open University Malaysia, the retention rate is within 69-79 percent among new learners and varies from one faculty to another and also varies for learners from different intakes. Data collected over the last five years revealed that attrition is highest for learners in their first semester as compared to later stages. Thus, several interventions were taken to reach out to new learners to provide support services to engage them actively in learning. Research conducted on 6,141 learners from all over Malaysia throughout a one-year period in 2011 found that early interventions that include face-toface meetings cum Academic Advising sessions conducted by Directors of Learning Centers, have successfully increased the retention rate of first semester learners to 80.1 percent in January 2012. This study is important as early intervention and engagement with new learners will help to improve retention rate and enable an ODL institution to remain sustainable. (abstract by authors

Development of Pre-engineered Geomaterial for Use in Road Embankment and Retaining Structure Backfill

Load reduction effect of using lightweight material in new construction, expansion, rehabilitation or maintenance of transportation facilities provide advantages in term of reduction of total cost, construction time and maintenance work especially in soft ground areas. Lightweight geomaterial composite with controllable geotechnical properties were developed and tested in laboratory. The results indicated that, design mix of the geomaterial composite has significant influence on its strength, elasticity and deformation characteristics. (Authors' abstract

Planning and Implementation of the Bachelor of Education (Engineering) - The Open University Malaysia Experiences

This paper describes the process of designing and developing the curriculum of Bachelor of Education (Engineering) program at Open University Malaysia (OUM

Bachelor of Education (Engineering) Program : The Open University of Malaysia Model

This paper gives an overview of the design and development of Bachelor of Education (Civil / Electrical / Mechanical Engineering) programs for delivery through open and distance learning methodology at the Open University Malaysia. Research was carried out extensively prior to the design and development processes. These programs were tailor designed to train in- service teachers attached to the Ministry of Education, Malaysia, and they constitute an integral part of the Ministry’s plan to ensure that all technical teachers in Malaysian secondary schools possess tertiary education by the year 2010. This paper focuses on the curriculum development, the learning methodology, the laboratory requirements and planning, the courseware development, the e-learning delivery platform, and on the program quality assurance. Besides these, the academic calendar adopted for the program is also discussed since it has a strong influence on the design of the curriculum and on the duration of this program. The programs were designed and developed to introduce some uniqueness that will ensure academic accreditation and at the same time meet the needs of the intended target group. (Authors' abstract

Some aspects and applications of electrically conductive geosynthetic materials

Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:DXN054417 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Kesan pengawetan stim terhadap kekuatan konkrit

Peningkatan kualiti konkrit bukan sahaja pada masa segar tetapi juga sepanjang umur konkrit tersebut. Bagi mencapai matlamat tersebut konkrit mestilah menjalani proses pengawetan yang terbaik dan sempuma. Kajian ke atas kaedah pengawetan yang terbaik perlu dilakukan sebelum konkrit yang dibentuk diawet. Seharusnya kita tidak boleh berpuas hati dengan kaedah pengawetan konvesional iaitu menggunakan air dalam mendapatkan kualiti konkrit yang terbaik. Analisa dan keputusan yang didapati menunjuldcan bahawa kaedah pengawetan menggunakan stim memberikan kekuatan yang tinggi berbanding dengan kaedah pengawetan air dan udara