CAMPUSES & CENTRES

INSTITUTE OF DISTANCE EDUCATIONProfessor C.W.S. Sukati - DirectorVISIONTo be an International Centre of excellence in distanceeducation access, delivery, practice, research and lifelonglearning.The MISSIONTo increase access to tertiary education by providingdemand driven educational and training opportunities toindividuals (employed, self-employed, unemployed andschool leavers) by offering them quality short and longtermcredit and non-credit courses using the distanceeducation delivery mode.OBJECTIVESThe objectives of the IDE are to:Produce human resources at the middle to high levelswith relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes necessaryfor the labour market and for self-employment;Initiate, plan, design and offer demand driven universityprogrammes and other professional programmes toindividuals through distance education;Develop and promote distance education strategies andthe use of ICT’s in all operations;Utilize up-to-date methods and systems to developteaching and learning materials that are of high qualityand relevant to the needs of students and society;Produce high quality graduates, capable of learning andthinking strategically, independently, creatively andcritically in the ever-changing environment;Undertake research in distance education and disseminatethe findings for use by stakeholders;Provide consultancy and advisory services tostakeholders and participate in community service; andEstablish links, collaborate and network with internaland external organisations and institutions and otherstakeholders in pursuit of its activities.EXECUTIVE SUMMARYThe objectives of the Institute are, to a great extent, beingmet. The only exception is that the Institute’s unit costshave risen as a result of few students being admitted and/orstudents not awarded scholarships to pursue their studiesin IDE.New initiatives and courses in IDE are: (a) The introductionof the Certificate Programme in Psychosocial Support, (b)The introduction of the revised Bachelor of Commercedegree and the abolition of the Diploma in Commerceprogramme; (c) The introduction of the HIV Prevention,Infection and Management of AIDS course.Challenges faced by the Institute are: (i) Fewer students thatenroll in IDE programmes because of lack of funding; (ii)Difficulties in some Departments, e.g. Science Education,in getting course modules written and completed as a resultof staff members having a heavy teaching load in their ownDepartments; (iii) Inadequate funding to support IDEactivities such as Writers’ Workshops that are conducted toproduce the required teaching materials.63REPORT OF THE VICE-CHANCELLOR