Modes of Learning

USP is a multi-modal university, offering courses in a variety of modes including print, face-to-face, blended and online. Of the nearly 30,000 students currently enrolled at USP, more than half are studying outside the main Suva campus, many online or by other flexible modes of delivery. For these students, the University’s sophisticated satellite communications network, USP-Net, serves as a gateway for interaction, information, research and higher learning, providing links with USP’s three major campuses in Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu, and 12 smaller regional campuses and centres.

Face-to-face courses are those offered with up to two hours of lectures per week and face-to-face tutorials during the semester of offer; these courses may include the following:

  • Moodle (1-29%); and
  • other forms of learning technologies, for example, mLearning

A blended course is one that blends online and face-to-face delivery. Sometimes blended courses are referred to as hybrid courses. Furthermore, a blended course is one where a substantial proportion of the content, that is, 30-79%, is delivered online, typically uses online discussions, and typically has some face-to-face interaction between student and lecturer or tutor. Blended courses may also have a (print) Course guide or Study guide and can be offered to both Face-to-face- and Distance and Flexible Learning students.

An online course is one where most or all of the content is delivered online and typically has no face-to-face meetings, that is, 80+% is offered in the online mode. All multimedia components of the course will be included in the Learning Management System (LMS) used by the course provider. Moodle is USP’s selected LMS.

Courses offered in the print mode do not offer weekly lectures and face-to-face tutorials during the semester of offer. Print courses are those offered through Distance and Flexible Learning and where the learning materials are provided in a combination of the following course components:

  • Introduction and Assignments book;
  • Course book(s);
  • Course or Study Guide (book);
  • Any other printed materials that are developed by a course writer or subject specialist and the Course Design and Development (CDD-CFDL) team.

Some courses have regional tutors, in which case, there may be face-to-face tutorials at the regional  campuses. However, this is not  generally the case. The majority of print courses have video conference tutorials conducted through REACT.

  • offer satellite tutorials (REACT)
  • may have a regional tutor (in which case, there may be some face to face tutorials)
  • have a Moodle presence (1-29%)
  • may have other forms of learning technologies, for example, mLearning
  • may have selected multimedia, for example, DVD, CDs, etc.

All USP courses, regardless of any mode of study, have a Moodle page, where students can access resources, and communicate with staff and other students. A concise summary of each course is captured in course prescriptions, provided in the University Handbook and Calendar.

Disclaimer: Where an inconsistency or conflict arises from information contained on this website, the USP Handbook and Calendar shall prevail. Users are strongly advised to refer to and use the USP Handbook and Calendar as it is the official source of information pertaining to the University.

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