Browsing by Author "Chand, Rajni"

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    At-Risk Students: An Early Intervention System
    (2022-09) Chand, Rajni; Anzeg, Afshana; Narayan, Sharishna
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations // During the Covid-19 lockdown, the University of the South Pacific (USP) had to close the Face-to-Face (F2F) delivery of lectures, tutorials and Drop-in support services at all its campuses. This included closing the Drop-in sessions at Student Learning Support (SLS) that provide additional literacy, numeracy and remedial support for students studying at USP. Given that all courses changed to online mode, contact with students was only possible using online virtual sessions such as Big Blue Button (BBB) or Zoom. Such sessions were only possible for students who had facilities and resources and could afford to study online. With Internet cafes and USP's Outreach Hubs, computer labs, and libraries closed, it further limited facilities for studying online for many. Realising major accessibility issues for the majority of its students, particularly those who needed support the most, USP formed a working group of SLS, First-Year Experience (FYEC) Coordinators, Information Technology Services (ITS), and Student Administrative Services (SAS) to design a strategy to identify and support the At-Risk Students (ARS). Moodle, the Learning Management System (LMS) used at USP, which records all students' activities became the central platform for this intervention. With SLS and FYE access to student activity and logs across the different schools at USP, the team worked on the design and implementation of an intervention system to help students isolated due to COVID-19 lockdowns. Intervention systems have been successfully used at many universities (Carroll, 2007; Burmack, 2002; Riddle, 2009; Frey & Fisher, 2008; Trilling & Fadel, 2009; Zhang, Fei, Quddau and Davis, 2014), showing a reduction in dropout and a better pass rate. The approach used at USP involved creating regular contact with the ARS studying in isolation or lockdown, supporting them through internet data plans for studying and virtual academic support sessions. The results showed an increase in these students' Moodle activity and better performance in the courses they were enrolled in. This paper discusses the planning, strategies, and results from a primary survey conducted on these ARS' performances. // Paper ID 1292
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    e-Proctoring Exams at a Regional University during Covid-19: Understanding the Challenges
    (2022-09) Chand, Rajni; Hussein, Mohammed J
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations // The ongoing Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has had an effect on most sectors in the countries affected by Covid-19 cases. Even in the South Pacific region, countries were forced to go under lockdown, flights were cancelled, businesses, schools and universities closed. Similar to most institutes in the region that were forced to close, the University of the South Pacific (USP) cancelled its face-to-face (F2F) studies and instead switched to Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) at all its 14 regional campuses. It is undeniable that teaching using ERT has challenges. However, teaching using ERT at a one-campus university may be easier than teaching at a regional university since it brings with it more challenges due to the geographical distance and the gap in support available at these campuses. USP faced similar challenges since academics could not travel to regional campuses for tutorial support. All support, tutorials and lectures were conducted online using BigBlueButton (BBB) or Zoom. That, in itself led to additional online training of staff and students to better familiarize them with online learning and teaching. Courses offered at USP have used Moodle as its learning management system (LMS) since 2006. ERT during Covid-19 lockdowns meant courses that were offered F2F were switched to online. Switching from F2F, courses to Online mode during lockdowns in 2022 and 2021 did not hinder much with the staff and student preparedness since all courses were on the LMS. The only major change that needed to be introduced was the inclusion of online assessments in these courses. One of the components for online assessment included the introduction of e-proctoring as a system to supervise students attempting online exams to meet the requirements of the accrediting bodies. There are various e-proctoring software that can be used for such supervisions. USP used Proctorio during the recent lockdowns. This paper shares the experience of testing, reviewing and getting students ready for online assessments using e-proctoring, as well as adjusting the LMS to support the online assessment navigation system. The paper additionally discusses the success and challenges faced while using e-proctoring for such online assessments. // Paper ID 8930
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    Semester Zero: An Innovative Orientation and Nurturing Program
    (2022-09) Chand, Rajni; Goundar, Raveena; Raj, Pratish
    PCF10 Sub-theme: Inspiring Innovations // The current Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic has affected many universities’ orientation as well as study programs. While some are still contemplating whether to open their doors for F2F studies, others face the challenge of fewer students enrolling due to travel restrictions. The University of the South Pacific (USP) will face a different kind of challenge. USP is a regional university co-owned by twelve South Pacific countries. Campuses and sub-campuses are situated in all these countries. Usually, orientation programmes are held at all campuses, but the majority of students travel early to USP’s main campus in Fiji for the orientation program. Due to Covid-19, students’ travel will be restricted, and the orientation programme will be a very small-scale event this year. Additionally, due to delays in Year 13 external examinations for one of its member countries (Fiji), USP will be forced to begin Semester One later. This means more than 3000 provisional students will have to wait for the University to begin in late March instead of the usual mid-February start. To keep these potential students engaged for close to two months, USP initiated an online orientation programme called ""Semester Zero."" The aim of the programme is to introduce these potential new students to USP using a Moodle platform instead of a traditional F2F orientation program, while at the same time incorporating basic numeracy, literacy, and digital skills necessary for new students. // This paper shares the planning, designing, and feedback from students about this program. Semester Zero employs technology and innovations that have a low carbon footprint. // Paper ID 3941