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Policy on Intensive Modes of Course Delivery

Policy 

  1. The university will obtain approval from the UAE Ministry of Education Commission for Academic Accreditation before commencing the modules or programs intended for delivery through the intensive mode and shall comply  with the requirements of Annex 14 of CAA Standards 2019.

  2. Even though intensively-offered courses comply with the in-class contact hours’ requirements and out of class/homework hours, faculty members are required to comply with provisions related to sound pedagogical principles to ensure the development of an in-depth understanding of subject matter and long-term retention. 

  3. The requirement that academic courses must allow sufficient time for preparation, reflection, analysis, and the achievement of learning outcomes for courses that are offered in concentrated time periods, and ensure that: 

 A. The number of credit hours is consistent with international practice in the discipline and level of award, and Comprises a defined amount and quality of work of sufficient rigor.

B. To ensure these two conditions, undergraduate students are not permitted to register more than 6 CH of required courses in a short term. When internships are offered during the short terms, students cannot register for more than 3 additional CH as course load. Exceptions may be allowed on a case by case basis, and must be approved by the Dean of the concerned college.

 

4. UD may offer core and supporting undergraduate courses during these short terms. More advanced (specialized) courses are normally not offered during short terms unless there was an     urgent need by the students. This is to ensure learning outcomes and pedagogical requirements are met in a rigorous manner. As for graduate programs, there are no restrictions on timing              or mode of delivery if the required rigor can be achieved. 

 

5. In accordance with the UAE Ministry of Education standards, Faculties must ensure that: the faculty members must ensure that:

  1. Students are fully informed ahead of time of any modifications that may have been made in UD’s operations or in the delivery of its academic programs in order to accommodate the shortened duration of the course or program;

  2. Students in courses offered through intensive modes of delivery have comparable duration of class contact time, and comparable expectations for out-of-class study time, similar to courses offered during the regular semester or term; 

  3. The full contents of the approved syllabi will be taught during the condensed period including the assignments and assessment schemes;

  4. The study plan is such that learning outcomes of the courses and programs can reasonably be achieved by all enrolled students; 

  5. Internal moderation and quality assurance systems must be sufficiently robust to ensure parity of rigor and standards;

  6. All students’ educational support services such as library access and support, laboratories and other IT support, must be available during the short term. 

 

6. To provide educational opportunities for working adults, there may be a need for faculty members to deliver a course or program exclusively during evenings or weekend hours. These may     or may not involve the shortening of the semester or term. Nevertheless, faculty members are required to comply with the conditions 1-6 listed above.

 

7. Weekend delivery of courses must be included in the calculation of a faculty member’s workload.
 

8. The scheduling of short-term courses must be done in a rational/optimal manner to fit with other offered courses.