NCHE approves Cavendish University Uganda to conduct Online Teaching and Learning

The National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) has approved Cavendish University Uganda (CUU) to conduct Open, Distance and E-learning (ODeL) following an inspection visit made by an NCHE team to the university at the end of July that thoroughly assessed the university’s preparedness for online teaching and learning. In a letter dated 7th August 2020, NCHE granted CUU permission to roll-out emergency ODeL for all its currently accredited programmes. Cavendish University Uganda becomes one of the very first Universities in the country to be officially permitted to offer Online teaching and learning by the NCHE.

A team of officials from the National Council for Higher Education (NCHE) visited Cavendish University Uganda (CUU) on 30th July 2020 and assessed the university’s preparedness to roll out ODeL on various fronts including compliance to Ministry of Health COVID-19 guidelines, distance and e-learning policy framework, staff adequacy, pedagogical and technological framework, student engagement, examinations, and legal compliance, among others. The Inspection visit was aimed at ascertaining whether CUU was prepared and ready to offer Online teaching and learning services to all its continuing and prospective students.

Cavendish University Uganda is one of the few universities in Uganda that did not completely shut down during the COVID-19 lockdown on account of its advanced learning management systems and remote working technology across a spectrum of functions. When the government announced the closure of all education institutions on March 20, 2020, the university complied fully and proceeded to facilitate most of its previous on-campus students to adapt to the new possibilities of online study. The Distance Learning office was enhanced and staff trained and equipped with the necessary tools and skills for remote working, teaching and learning. Remedial sessions were arranged for all students leveraging the already established advanced Cavendish University Learning Platform (CU-LP). NCHE’s ODeL assessment visit was consequently an opportunity for CUU to demonstrate its capabilities, leadership and systematic plans for digital education most of which the university had put in place well in advance to meet the evolving needs of today’s lifestyles, only made more urgent by the COVID-19 environment.

The approval by the NCHE for Cavendish University Uganda to provide emergency Open, Distance and E-Learning (ODeL) per set guidelines will enable Cavendish University to fulfil its mission which is student-centred, at the same time, ensuring maximum safety against the spread of the novel Corona Virus that causes Covid-19. The approval is a milestone as the university positions itself to becoming a model university in Africa that delivers quality digital education that transforms students into responsible, educated, employable and entrepreneurial citizens.

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