University challenges
Universities are facing diverse social and economic challenges: reduced government funding, higher costs to maintain facilities, strikes by students or staff and now the coronavirus pandemic. Such challenges cause disruptions and affect the efficient operation of universities. As a result, higher education institutions search for alternatives to traditional on-campus teaching, to overcome these difficulties. And the best alternative by far is online delivery.
The advantages of online learning
It is a fact that, through technology, universities can increase their outreach and revenue by recruiting students from around the world. In the era of smartphones and Internet on the go almost every school leaver or professional can access online learning. They can study from home, in their own free time, without neglecting work commitments. Also, students can ‘earn as they learn’, using their salaries to fund their studies and provide for their families. They can earn UK, European or American qualifications, highly coveted by employers, without travelling abroad.
Qualifications from internationally recognised universities help graduates in Africa, the Middle East or Asia get better jobs, and advance in their careers. At the same time, studying online with tutors and students from different countries exposes them to the procedures and culture of the multinational workplace.
As higher education providers turn to new countries to recruit students online, they need to overcome another challenge. The high cost of establishing and maintaining a digital platform to facilitate online delivery of programmes. Universities must keep their operation profitable to be viable, and most are in no position to invest millions to have their own digital infrastructure.
Unicaf is the answer
Unicaf, a global higher education organisation, offers a tried and tested solution since 2012. It partners with established universities in the UK, the USA and Africa to facilitate the online delivery of their programmes. Unicaf has professional know-how and state-of-the-art technology to facilitate online delivery of courses globally. In addition, without the cost of maintaining facilities or employing administrators to run a campus, Unicaf can offer partner programmes at reduced prices. Thus, programmes are more accessible, more flexible and more affordable.
Unicaf has years of experience in marketing partner universities’ programmes and recruiting thousands of online students. Partner universities supervise programme content, following strict codes of Quality Assurance, and award the degrees. The Unicaf digital platform provides everything a student needs from registration to graduation, including the Virtual Learning Environment. The VLE connects students and tutors, offers access to e-libraries and networking forums, facilitates programme delivery.
In fact, Unicaf’s user-friendly platform and modern teaching tools like videos, quizzes, podcasts, polls and group projects help students learn faster and retain for longer. Students receive individual attention from tutors, according to how fast they can process the material. They submit assignments, receive graded work and even take their exams through the VLE. They strike friendships and make professional contacts in different countries. After completing their studies online, they can even participate in the official graduation ceremony at the partner’s campus.
Making university programmes available to millions
Thus, Unicaf can provide universities with the necessary technological infrastructure to make their programmes available to millions, via online delivery. Providing an online delivery option is of growing importance for universities in the west, looking to increase revenues and ensure uninterrupted delivery of programmes, especially in challenging times. Unicaf is the answer to these pressing difficulties faced by many universities today.
