Limpopo Leader - Spring 2005 - University of Limpopo

Public Health:
ONLINE POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
FOR AFRICA
mMEDUNSA’S NATIONAL
SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
(NSPH) IS DEFINITELY AHEAD OF
THE GAME. Established in 1998
with an initial student intake of
42 postgraduate students, it’s
produced more public health
graduates since then than all
other equitable institutions in
South Africa put together.
Current student numbers are in
the region of 240, of which 142
are Masters students and 11 are
working towards their doctorates.
The balance is doing postgraduate
diplomas.
‘A characteristic of our student
body,’ says Dr Kebogile
Mokwena, director of the NSPH,
‘is that so many of them are from
other African countries.
Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana
and Namibia mostly, but also
some from Zimbabwe and West
Africa. Being a postgraduate
school means that most of our
students are already in jobs.
What makes our reach so broad,
in spite of this and in spite of the
geographical spread of our
students, is that we do distance
learning – but it’s distance learning
with a real difference.’
The difference is that the NSPH
uses a sophisticated Canadian
model of computer-based learning.
It’s called EMBANET; it costs in
the region of R500 000 a year
P A G E 2 4
(but is based on the number of
student enrolments); ‘and it’s
worth every penny – there’s no
doubt about that’, adds Mokwena.
She demonstrates the software
on the computer on her desk. The
main menu comprises several
special functions:
• There’s an ordinary e-mail
facility where students can
communicate with other
students or with lecturers, and
vice versa.
• There’s an NSPH library with
online access to journals,
books, research documents
and other written material.
• There’s a notice board available
to all. On this is posted news
of public health events (academic
meetings, conferences, international
gatherings), and also
movements and availability of
lecturers and other in-school
information.
• Then there are the courses
themselves. Three subheadings
in this function are: About the
Course which provides a
summary of requirements,
objectives and content; News
Flash which contains relevant
subsidiary material that might
become available during the
course, such as printed articles
and upcoming television
programmes; and finally the
Course Material, which is
divided into units, each focusing
on a theme and dealt with in
several lessons. (The course
material has been developed
and written at Medunsa.)
• All submissions of course work
are made and assessed
electronically via a device
called the ‘white board’ or
virtual lecture room. Essays
and tests by individual students,
as well as comments from the
responsible lecturer, are posted
here where access is given to
other students in the group.
This interactive process, which
frequently includes group
discussions via a customised
chat room, enriches the
teaching/learning process.
• A pre-designed course
schedule provides details of
course timelines and due dates
for assignments and gives an
accurate picture of the time
given to complete each
element of the course. In
addition, details of how
students are to be evaluated
and marked are provided.
‘As you can imagine, it’s a
teaching-intensive method,’ says
Mokwena. ‘But for this reason,
dropout rates are low. Even
though it’s not easy to replace the
potential for human interaction
that can be got in an actual