ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) on Friday convened a Joint Session of its Academic Council and RET/APD which unanimously approved the offering of different new academic programs as well as curriculum revision of existing programs.
The Joint Session was held with the VC AIOU Professor Dr. Zia Ul -Qayyum in the chair, which was attended by deans of various faculties, principal officers, and external members of the Academic Council.
Some of the members participated in the Session via online mode by following COVID-19 SOPs.
Owing to the surge in cases of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was mutually decided to further strengthen online academic operations including admissions, workshops, and examinations, and to adapt them further to HEC guidelines.
The Directorate of Academic Planning and Course Production (AP&CP) was assigned the task to prepare a comprehensive plan of offering of new academic programs and curriculum revisions of the existing ones.
Professor Dr. Zia Ul -Qayyum directed all heads of academic programs not to offer any new course/program without advanced preparation of its instructional/learning material and quality standards of new academic programs should be maintained rigorously at any cost.
The VC AIOU, further, instructed that the curriculum/syllabus must be reviewed after regular intervals of five years.
The Academic Council, also, decided to adopt HEC undergraduate policy gradually as well as gave principled approval of the online offering of certificate courses, postgraduate diplomas, associate degree, and bachelor programs for overseas Pakistanis.
The Executive Council, the supreme statutory body of the University, will endorse all these decisions in its upcoming meeting.
