Future Institute Of Management Technology & Science

Academic independence which gives it the freedom to revise the syllabus with time and follow a schedule which is more suitable for the set curriculum. Exams are conducted by the institute itself and are in accordance with what is being taught during the session.

If an institute has no affiliation from any university / AICTE - then what is that status - is that institute called autonomous institute.

Such institutes:

a) National Institute of Business Management, Chennai

b) Institute of Health Care Administration, Chennai

c) All India Institute of Management & Technology, Chennai

These above said institute says that they are autonomous institute while not having affiliation from any university/AICTE.

When establishing a distance education program, one of the first things considered is the cost of the system. Several cost components factor into the design of a distance education system:

a. Technology - hardware (e.g., videotape players, cameras) and software (e.g., computer programs).

b. Transmission - the on-going expense of leasing transmission access (e.g., T-1, satellite, microwave).

c. Maintenance - repairing and updating equipment.

d. Infrastructure - the foundational network and telecommunications infrastructure located at the originating and receiving campuses.

e. Production - technological and personnel support required to develop and adapt teaching materials.

f. Support - miscellaneous expenses needed to ensure the system works successfully including administrative costs, registration, advising/counseling, local support costs, facilities, and overhead costs.

g. Personnel - to staff all functions previously described.

a. Achievement on various tests administered by course instructors tends to be higher for distant as opposed to traditional students (Souder, 1993), yet no significant difference in positive attitudes toward course material is apparent between distant and traditional education (Martin & Rainey, 1993).

b. Conventional instruction is perceived to be better organized and more clearly presented than distance education (Egan, et al., 1991).

c. The organization and reflection needed to effectively teach at a distance often improves an instructor`s traditional teaching.

d. Future research should focus on the critical factor in determining student achievement: the design of instruction itself (Whittington, 1987).

The following briefly describes the roles of these key players in the distance education enterprise and the challenges they face.

Students - Meeting the instructional needs of students is the cornerstone of every effective distance education program, and the test by which all efforts in the field are judged. Regardless of the educational context, the primary role of the student is to learn. This is a daunting task under the best of circumstances, requiring motivation, planning, and an ability to analyze and apply the instructional content being taught. When instruction is delivered at a distance, additional challenges result because students are often separated from others sharing their backgrounds and interests, have few if any opportunities to interact with teachers outside of class, and must rely on technical linkages to bridge the gap separating class participants.

Faculty - The success of any distance education effort rests squarely on the shoulders of the faculty. In a traditional classroom setting, the instructor`s responsibility includes assembling course content and developing an understanding of student needs. Special challenges confront those teaching at a distance. For example, the instructor must:

• Develop an understanding of the characteristics and needs of distant students with little first-hand experience and limited, if any, face-to-face contact.
• Adapt teaching styles taking into consideration the needs and expectations of multiple, often diverse, audiences.
• Develop a working understanding of delivery technology, while remaining focused on their teaching role.
• Function effectively as a skilled facilitator as well as content provider.

Facilitators - The instructor often finds it beneficial to rely on a site facilitator to act as a bridge between the students and the instructor. To be effective, a facilitator must understand the students being served and the instructor`s expectations. Most importantly, the facilitator must be willing to follow the directive established by the teacher. Where budget and logistics permit, the role of on-site facilitators has increased even in classes in which they have little, if any, content expertise. At a minimum, they set up equipment, collect assignments, proctor tests, and act as the instructor`s on-site eyes and ears.

Support Staff - These individuals are the silent heroes of the distance education enterprise and ensure that the myriad details required for program success are dealt with effectively. Most successful distance education programs consolidate support service functions to include student registration, materials duplication and distribution, textbook ordering, securing of copyright clearances, facilities scheduling, processing grade reports, managing technical resources, etc.. Support personnel are truly the glue that keeps the distance education effort together and on track.

Distance education, distance learning, or D-Learning is a mode of delivering education and instruction, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional setting such as a classroom. Distance learning provides "access to learning when the source of information and the learners are separated by time and distance, or both

The few points given below:

• Sir we have not taken the AICTE approval. There are several reasons behind that. First of all they have certain norms like to run an institute you should have 5 acres of land in an urban area or 25 acres in a non urban area.

• Also your classroom size should be this much and you should have a bank balance of 2 crores. Since we are running distance learning programs what we will do with this much of land.

• Secondly if we take there approval we will lose out on a lot of our strong points.

• In such a case we won’t be able to give 100% assistance.

• As far as UGC is concerned, they give grants to a university and we are not a university.