CoHE Publishes New Arrangements for Fight against Global Pandemic - II
June 4, 2020 / Ankara
Important Changes about Distance Learning Principles and Procedures
Due to the global pandemic, face-to-face education was suspended in Turkey, as in the whole world, and courses were started to be offered online. This period has also revealed that, in spite of everything, Turkish higher education institutions were able to make the necessary preparations for carrying out online courses.
In addition, some of Turkish higher education institutions have aspects that need to be improved in terms of infrastructure for teaching via distance learning through digital facilities and academic preparation. However, this also applies to all systems with strong higher education, and to all universities ranked in the top 100 in the world rankings. Therefore, if we make our preparations today as part of future actions, there is an opportunity which makes us hopeful and it is very likely that we will make headway quickly if necessary steps are taken without delay.
- The ratio of courses that can be offered through distance learning in formal education has been increased to 40%
Even though our legislation allows up to 30% of the courses in the formal programs of Turkish universities to be offered through distance education, there have not been any universities that have reached this ratio. This shows that even Turkish institutions, which have a strong will to use digital facilities, also need guidance and support.
In this scope, CoHE has taken important decisions regarding online courses to prepare Turkish higher education institutions for the upcoming actions and to support their works and preparations for online teaching through digital means. They are as follows:
The ratio of courses that can be offered through distance learning in the programs at Associate, Bachelor’s and Master’s degree level in formal education has been increased to 40%. Thus, Turkish universities will be able to switch to the blended learning model applied in many countries of the world if they wish.
- 10% of the courses in formal education programs will be given through distance education
It was also decided to strongly encourage universities to teach at least 10% of the courses of each formal education program through distance learning, so that digital facilities could also be used specifically in programs.
Universities will decide whether these online courses will be taught on a semester basis or throughout the program and whether they will be offered concurrently. However, as the Council of Higher Education, we attach great importance to the inclusion of these courses, which will be taught through digital facilities and distance education, especially in the fall term of the 2020-2021 academic year. This proposal is available for all Turkish state and foundation universities.
- Additional positions could be provided
State universities that have implemented a senate decision they have taken accordingly will be provided with additional positions to be used in distance education centers. Moreover, more research assistants will be employed at universities that have implemented this practice.
These new arrangements will not only help increase the competencies of Turkish universities regarding distance education, but also result in the formation of environments suitable for the new normalization process determined by the Turkish State in the campuses, education and training venues such as lecture halls and classrooms of Turkish universities, and social spaces.
It is aimed to create more comfortable educational environments for students at campuses in the first term of the next academic year.
- It was suggested to divide crowded courses into groups
We suggest that Turkish universities offer the theoretical courses in the practice-oriented programs in the first term and through digital facilities as much as possible and divide crowded courses into groups for the upcoming education period.
- With the establishment of 20 UZEMs, there has not been any state universities left without a Distance Education Unit
Most of Turkish state universities have distance education units. In consideration of the strong expectation that digitalization will gradually become more important in higher education in the future, Distance Education Application and Research Centers (UZEM) were established at 20 Turkish state universities.
Thus, there has not been any state universities left without a distance education center or unit. These centers will be transformed into a structure that supports practices and conducts research on related topics. A special program will be implemented to increase the competencies of the personnel assigned in these centers.
On the other hand, it was recommended that these centers are also established at all foundation universities.
- New works have been carried out for distance education
Besides, the Council of Higher Education has also initiated some works on the following topics:
- A system for redefining and monitoring the standards of distance education applications will be established in the upcoming period. New mechanisms will be established to set quality standards for the opening of programs and the conduct of courses and to evaluate the practices. A new unit was established at CoHE for this purpose.
- The assessment and evaluation methods will not be limited to exams and will be applied throughout the process for the programs and courses conducted through distance education.
- Standards on online assessment and measurement will be determined and universities will be encouraged to establish online examination centers.
- Our joint projects with TUBITAK to strengthen the distance education infrastructure in Turkish higher education institutions have been carried out swiftly and tangible developments in these topics will be shared with the public in the coming days.
As the New CoHE, we will continue to make new regulatory decisions that produce results to gradually restructure higher education and share them with the public in the coming days.