KOTA SAMARAHAN: Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) will implement a hybrid learning system for two degree programmes beginning from the 2023/2024 academic session.
It will involve the Bachelor of Business Management (Marketing) with Honours and Bachelor of Business Management (Corporate Management) with Honours programmes.
According to deputy vice-chancellor (Academic and International) Professor Dr Ahmad Hata Rasit, through the initiative, university students can attend lectures face-to-face and online, thus be able to arrange learning activities more flexibly.
“This initiative is in line with the announcement of the Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Seri Mohamad Khaled Nordin, on the initiatives and improvements to the country’s Higher Education Institutions (IPT), one of the improvements being a hybrid and flexible education system.
“Unimas is confident that the quality of education can be improved by adapting innovations and technological developments available today,” he said in a press release on today.
He added that the main features of the hybrid system includes blended learning which Unimas started in 2015 and has become a culture in the delivery of teaching and learning at the university.
“Specifically during the pandemic in 2020, a total of 68 programmes involving 13,334 students were successfully conducted online including assessment through the university’s official blended learning platform, namely eLEAP and eLEAP EXAM.
“Unimas will also pursue hybrid learning, combining face-to-face classes and online learning platforms. This approach will give students the flexibility to engage with course material at their own pace, while also encouraging an interactive and collaborative learning environment during physical classes,” he said.
Besides that, he said the other main features of the hybrid system are synchronous and asynchronous learning.
“Students will have the freedom to participate in synchronous learning sessions, where they can interact with lecturers and classmates in real time, as well as asynchronous learning, allowing them to access recorded lecture content and course materials in real time that suits them,” he added.
He also said that with the system, it will also make adjustments to the curriculum structure to be relevant and in line with hybrid system learning.
“UNIMAS is confident that the implementation of the hybrid learning system for these two programmes will provide a holistic learning environment that is student-centred, in producing graduates available in the future who are equipped with the knowledge and skills needed for their careers,” he added.
