The University of the South Pacific says it is conducting a survey among their students to see whether they have sufficient resources to access the online materials.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia says at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and during the lockdown period, the USP converted almost 300 face-to-face courses, to online courses, whilst meeting the required quality standard of online learning and teaching delivery.
Professor Ahluwalia says from the initial set of data they have received, about 89% of their students have some electronic equipment or gadget such as Laptop/PC, Tablet, or Smart Phone.
He says they are still receiving feedback and this figure may change.
Professor Ahluwalia says they have formed a Learning and Teaching Continuity Team that is tasked with monitoring the quality of their online delivery.
He says USP has a long experience in flexible learning and teaching and since 1970, the USP distance education programme has expanded tremendously in both the number of courses it offers and student enrolments.
He adds that all their students have experience with online learning and teaching.
Meanwhile, the USP Students’ Association President, Joseph Sua says network traffic has been all time high in Fiji and the eLearning platform will be affected.
He says they are doing their best in every way to facilitate student requests/issues from all their branches to appropriate authorities at the University.
