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Modes of DFL - Centre for Flexible Learning (CFL) |
| DFL@USP: An Overview| DFL History | Modes of DFL |
USP on-campus students learn through face-to-face teaching, just as you probably did at primary and secondary school. With face-to-face teaching, a teacher or a lecturer is physically present to teach a group of students in a classroom or lecture hall.
Face-to-face is one way that you can learn through USP's distance and flexible learning courses. There are several other ways or "modes" of learning as well. The different modes available for distance and flexible learning at USP are:
These ways of learning differ in the way the course material is delivered to you, in the types of support you receive and in the fees you pay. Some may feel strange to begin with, but you will quickly become familiar with them.
For a face-to-face course in distance and flexible learning, a course lecturer teaches you in person at one of the 14 USP Campuses around the region. Classes are held regularly, normally over a full semester. The support given is similar to that for USP's on-campus students.
The range of face-to-face courses available at your own USP Campus depends on whether course lecturers are available to teach the subjects and whether there is enough student demand for them. So if you are interested in taking a face-to-face course, let your local USP Campus Director know as soon as possible.
Using a computer that is connected to the Internet, you can learn, interact with teaching staff and other students, be assessed and gain support throughout your course.
Currently only USP's School of Law and the School of Computing, Information and Mathematical Sciences offer Internet courses at Degree level. For these courses, you have online access to discussion groups, tests, reading materials and electronic databases. In order to complete any of these courses successfully, you need to have access to the Internet and email for at least a certain number of hours during the semester, as well as access to a computer for assignments.
When you study through a DFL print-based course, everything you need to learn is provided in your printed course materials. They contain your course content, study schedule, assessment requirements and any other relevant resources. These materials have been professionally written by your course lecturer and designed by distance learning specialists to enable you to study independently.
You may also benefit from additional learning through:
If you have any questions about your course, these tutorial sessions are a great opportunity to find answers to them. With print-based courses you may be required to do assignments and sit tests to help you and your course lecturer assess your understanding of the course material. At the end of the semester you are normally required to sit an examination.
For a Flexi-school course, your course lecturer comes to your local USP Campus to teach an intensive version of an on-campus course face-to-face. We say that it is "intensive" because over six to eight weeks of full-time study, your lecturer teaches you the same amount of material that he or she would normally teach to on-campus USP students in a 15-week semester.
Flexi-school courses are often offered during USP's on-campus semester breaks. The range of courses offered depends on whether course lecturers are available to teach the subjects and whether there is enough student demand for them. So if you are interested in taking a Flexi-school course, let your local USP Campus Director know as soon as possible.
A number of distance and flexible learning courses can be delivered though audio and video conferencing. Using supplementary print materials as a guide, you learn your course content through listening and watching professionally produced CDs and DVDs and regularly scheduled audio and videoconferencing sessions with your lecturer or tutor. If you have questions relating to this mode of delivery, we advise you to contact your local USP Campus or Centre. They will also provide a schedule of audio and videoconferencing sessions for each semester.
In a blended mode course, you learn in a number of different ways. In the Augmented Foundation programme, for example, students learn through print-based course materials, face-to-face tutoring at their local USP Campus, and online learning applications.
The range of blended mode courses offered by USP depends on whether course lecturers are available to teach the subjects and whether there is enough student demand for them. So if you are interested in taking a blended mode course, let your local USP Campus Director know as soon as possible.
