Australia teaches Indians online

IN CONVERSATION

on what OUA has to offer. Excerpts:

It has been six months since you started operations in India. What has been the response so far?

As on date, we have enrolled 117 new students in addition to the existing Indian students we registered prior to to the launch of our pilot programme in the country. We will soon start enroling students for our next study period that commences in August.

What are the pre-requisites?

There are no pre-requisites or entry requirements. If you are a student who has not done very well in school, we would still enrol you.

We would package a course for those type of students from across any of our partner universities keeping in mind the interests that the student has.

However, a high level of English language proficiency in both spoken and written language is assumed.

Which subjects are popular in India?

Indian students are particularly interested in business-oriented units. They are interested in achieving qualifications that have an international focus and prepare them for today's global economy.

For this part of the world, we have made specific with Indian examples in the subjects being offered in the Indian sub-continent.

The online education system still has impending disadvantages. Kindly comment.

While there are no face-to-face commitments in our system, students are expected to interact and participate in discussions with their fellow students through online discussions boards, and in many units this is part of the course structure.

While there are online tutors to assist students they could also learn from their peers through these online discussion boards.

One cannot ignore some of the attractive benefits of online education compared to offline education "� speed of delivery; collaborative tools; online discussion; up-to-date materials; flexible learning as opposed to on-campus learning: capacity to combine work and family life with study; and eliminates travel and accommodation cost.

Online education provides the perfect mix of both online and offline. You have the flexibility of studying whenever you have the time. Distance learning also enables you to develop the capacity to self-discipline and organise oneself.

The cost of acquiring a degree from Australia has discouraged many. How does OUA tackle this?

There is no application fee to study units through OUA. Students pay for studies on a unit-by-unit basis. However, the cost of a degree will vary depending on the discipline area and discipline mix.

For example, arts, humanities, communications, criminology, education and language will cost A$720 per unit. Whereas, accounting, business law, economics, financial planning, computer science and information technology, logistics, management, marketing, mathematics, most sciences, sports administration and tourism will cost A$790 per unit.

A student who is successful in studying 24 units that make up the structure of the undergraduate degree will pay between A$17280 and A$18960 for the entire degree.

How do you plan to reach to a wider audience?

We are working with IMS Learning Resources (IMS) in New Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata. IMS will distribute information about OUA, and will also provide the venue for optional access to registration and study orientation sessions. Broadband Internet access will also be available in all these centres.

We plan to work with the other 70 IMS centres across India. Indian students can study online in India and have the flexibility to get university education "� in part or whole.