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Makale Özeti:
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Indira Gandhi national Open University (IGNOU) is an apex body for open and distance
learning (ODL) system in India. The university has nation-wide operation and pioneer in
distance education. IGNOU has an hqrs, 67 Regional Centres and about 3400 Study
Centres throughout India. The study centres are the academic contact point for distance
learners and the university engages around 54,000 academic counsellors for giving
learner support to the heterogeneous distance learners.
In IGNOU, the academic counsellors are mostly drawn from the formal higher
educational system and the exposure towards ODL system therefore, is minimal.
However, the academic counsellors are the pivotal link between the ODL institution and
isolated distance learners in IGNOU. Their role in handling face-to-face academic
counseling sessions at the study centre is very important. The academic counsellors in
IGNOU are drawn from the conventional system of higher education. Though, periodical
training is given to them by IGNOU, it is a difficult task to train such a massive number of
counsellors across the country. In fact the role of an academic counsellor is multifarious
and requires both tutoring and counseling. For maintaining quality in academic
counseling, the accumulation of multi-dimensional skills, attributes and information is
essential on the part of the cunsellor in ODL. Among these, possessing information at
various levels about ODL system is an enabling factor to effectively support isolated
distance learner.
Therefore, a comprehensive Information System is felt the need of the hour for the
capacity building of the academic counsellors in supporting distance learners and for the
quality assurance process. This work explores and builds a comprehensive information
system for the academic counsellors in an ODL system, keeping IGNOU as the context.
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