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Learning Chemistry At A Distance: The South African Experience • The University of South Africa's distance-learning programs offer the chance to earn degrees in sciences, arts at reasonable cost Lois Ember, C&EN Washington outh African President Nelson R. Mandela put his 28 years of imprisonment under apartheid to good use: In 1989, just before his release, he was awarded a bachelor of law degree. Mandela was able to do this from his jail cell because of something called distance education, the specialty of the University of South Africa (UNISA). UNISA's faculty and administrative offices are located in Pretoria. Its students, however, are scattered around the world, although most are from South Africa. Many live in rural areas that lack higher educational facilities, so UNISA offers them an opportunity to pursue their education beyond high school—and at a cost they can afford. If Mandela were studying at UNISA today, he would be joining more than 127,000 students worldwide working on bachelor and graduate degrees in the arts and sciences. With a student body this size, UNISA ranks among the world's 10 largest distance-learning institutions. It also happens to be the oldest distance-education university, offering programs since 1946, chemist George McGillivray, dean of the Faculty of Science, tells C&EN. In 1962, chemistry became the first experimental science offered by UNISA's Faculty of Science. The chemistry department's focus has always been on producing practicing chemists and science teachers. "UNISA's structure is comparable to any university in the world," explains
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John W. Strain, associate director, International University Consortium at the University of Maryland's University College in College Park, Md. "It is or; ganized on a disciplinary basis and offers undergraduate to doctorate facilities and very traditional degrees. But it offers them at a distance." In contrast, Strain notes, "studying the sciences at a distance is almost nonexistent in the U.S." UNISA's three-year B.S. degree in chemistry places equal emphasis on the study of inorganic, organic, analytical, and physical chemistry. The B.S.-honors degree, a four-year degree equivalent to a B.S. degree in the U.S., is a prerequisite for students planning to study for graduate research degrees. Students seeking a B.S. degree in chemistry are required to take four modules—the equivalent of courses in the U.S.—each year in their major, and an additional four modules each year in a second subject—computer science or mathematics, for example—for a total of 24 modules. To graduate, however, the students must complete another six modules selected from subjects ranging from English to physics. The
honors degree requires an additional 10 modules, all in chemistry. Chemistry instruction is via the written word, employing widely accepted chemistry textbooks. Mandatory assignments, exchanged by mail, are the principal means of communication between students and their teachers in Pretoria. But completing assignments satisfactorily and passing examinations are not sufficient for students to be awarded degrees. They must also complete compulsory laboratory work. For each year of instruction toward a B.S. degree in chemistry, all students, wherever they live, are required to come to UNISA's central campus in Pretoria to spend two to four 40-hour weeks in a laboratory. UNISA students spend the same number of hours in the laboratory as chemistry students taking similar courses at residential South African universities. The distance-education students just do it in a continuous and concentrated format, explains McGillivray. McGillivray notes that such focused laboratory work also is required for other physical science courses, and for the life sciences as well. (Biochemistry is considered to be a life—not a physical—science at UNISA.) Understandably, this intensified period of laboratory work can be very stressful. First, the student is likely to be coming to an unfamiliar and cosmopolitan city from a very rural area—probably leaving his or her village for the first time. Then, the student faces hours upon hours of demanding laboratory work—yet another strange environment, especially for first-year students. Despite these hardships, McGillivray says, "the pass rate achieved in these practical [laboratory] courses exceeds 95%." Equally demanding are UNISA's admission requirements, which are as rigorous as those of any other South African university. And so demanding are McGillivray: many high-tech possibilities UNISA's academic standards that a deAPRIL 8,1996 C&EN
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INTERNATIONAL gree from the university is accepted throughout the world, he says. The Faculty of Science, the second smallest of UNISA's six schools, has 130 permanent lecturers serving about 6,500 students, one-fifth of whom are practicing teachers upgrading their qualifications. More than 1,100 stu dents are registered in the faculty's chemistry department. McGillivray be lieves this is an astonishing number given that UNISA is "a university with no medical, engineering, or agriculture faculties, which traditionally require service courses in chemistry." Another 750 students are registered to take courses in physics, and still an other 870 students in the life sciences. The Faculty of Science also offers courses in the mathematical sciences and computer science. Over the past five years, the Faculty of Science has awarded, on average, 125 B.S. degrees annually, with a total of 2,215 B.S. degrees having been awarded from 1963 to 1994. In the same time period, the faculty has
UNISA students compress a year of experiments into two to four 40-hour weeks. awarded 971 B.S.-honors, 324 M.S., and 173 Ph.D. degrees. Compared with tuition fees at resi dential universities in the U.S. and South Africa, the UNISA B.S. degree comes at a modest cost: about $850 (in 1995 dollars) per year. The honors de gree is a bit more expensive, at $925
per year. The cost of travel to Pretoria for laboratory work is a separate ex pense for the student. UNISA's tuition fees are about 40% less than fees for equivalent degrees at other South African universities. Even when the cost of travel to and living expenses in Pretoria for laboratory
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work and the cost of postage—unique expenses for UNISA students—are included, a science education at UNISA is much less expensive than one from a residential university almost anywhere in the world. No formal lectures are held on the Pretoria campus. All teaching of chemistry theory is done through textbooks, study guides, so-called tutorial letters, assignments, and examinations. The study guides are not lectures in written form. Rather, they are navigational aids, steering students through tricky shoals in textbooks, directing them to important points, and helping them work through problems. Tutorial letters are the communications link between students and lecturers. The first letter charts the study program for the whole year and includes all assignments the student must complete. Almost immediately after a student sends in a completed assignment, he or
she receives an assignment key from the lecturer. This key includes "model answers to the questions and explains why answers are correct," McGillivray explains. The lecturer then sends the student a graded assignment and a tutorial letter dealing "with further weaknesses and problem areas exposed during the marking of the assignment." This letter may also be used to "reinforce important aspects" of the completed assignment, McGillivray notes. UNISA is only now introducing a system of tutors to further assist students with their studies. The system, of course, depends on the availability of qualified science tutors. Such tutors are plentiful only in urban areas, so the tutor program is an adjunct, not an integral part of UNISA's teaching program. A specified number of assignments must be satisfactorily completed before a student is admitted to the oncea-year examination. UNISA has 472 examination centers scattered through-
out the world, including one in Washington, D.C, that serves the 28 Faculty of Science students residing in North America. UNISA has to be run with military precision. It has to prepare in advance, adhere to a rigid schedule, and develop and maintain a well-oiled infrastructure to ensure effective programs. The numbers for the Faculty of Science tell why. During the 1995 academic year, 5,610 chemistry, 3,864 physics, and 3,078 life sciences assignments were received and processed. If other disciplines are counted, more than 79,000 assignments were processed in the Faculty of Science alone. "For UNISA as a whole, at the height of the academic year, assignments were being received at the rate of 15,000 per day," McGillivray explains. In the laboratory sciences, the learning of theory precedes and underpins lab work because there is no time for detailed discussions of theory during
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U.K., Philippines also offer distance education The University of South Africa (UNISA) is unusual in many ways— it is the oldest and one of the largest distance-learning centers granting traditional chemistry degrees. But it is by no means the only one offering chemistry courses and degrees. According to statistics kept by the International Center for Distance Learning at the Open University, U.K., there are more than 900 distanceteaching institutions worldwide. Keith W. Harry says the Open University center's database has entries for more than 31,000 distance-taught courses and programs, of which "317 are classified as chemistry, which gives a small but neat percentage figure." Unfortunately, Harry's data covers only the U.K. and Commonwealth countries, which means that U.S. and European programs and institutions are not included. There is no comparable database for the rest of the world. The best-known institution in Harry's database is the Open University itself, in the town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It was es-
the few weeks a year students actually conduct experiments. Students are required to complete a group of core experiments that are assessed quantitatively. Once those compulsory experiments are successfully completed, students may undertake additional, qualitative experiments that McGillivray says "are designed to stimulate interest." Demonstrations of laboratory technique are on videos that students can view repeatedly. These videos are prepared by the staff members who supervise the laboratory but give no live demonstrations. The Faculty of Science is exploring the possible use of nonretumable kits that chemistry and physics students could use to carry out simple experiments at home. Many distance-education institutions, such as the U.K/s Open University, already use such kits in their chemistry courses. For working chemists studying for an M.S. or Ph.D. degree, McGillivray says UNISA "offers a highly sophisticated form of in-service training." If a corporation or research institution agrees, an employee can use his or her research, conducted under the supervi48
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tablished by royal charter in 1969. In 1995, more than 150,000 students were registered, making it the largest single teaching institution in Britain. From its inception, the Open University has offered undergraduate and graduate degrees. And through 1994, about 157,000 students have been awarded B.A./B.S. degrees, including thousands from the Faculty of Science & Technology, one of six schools. The Faculty of Science & Technology offers a wealth of chemistry courses. But curiously enough, "it does not offer analytical chemistry as one of the options in the chemistry program/' notes George McGillivray, dean of UNISA's Faculty of Science. In more recent times, the University of the Philippines (UP) has set up its Open University. In 1988, the diploma in science teaching program began accepting science and mathematics teachers seeking to upgrade their teaching competence, explains Cristina D. Padolina, chancellor of UP's Open University. More than 300 students are today
sion of a senior chemist at the place of employment, for a graduate degree. A UNISA faculty member comments on the research project, but primarily supervises coursework and the writing of the thesis. Although many distance-learning institutions around the world are relying less and less on the written word, UNISA has not yet moved away from textbooks and letters. "Obviously," says McGillivray, "the electronic age has opened up tremendous possibilities for distance education, and UNISA is well aware of this. However, we also have to bear in mind that many of our students do not necessarily have access to the necessary technology" at the receiving end. "In fact," he adds, "some students don't have electricity." Despite the handicaps, UNISA is slowly beginning to enter the electronic era. It now is setting up three regional offices in South Africa equipped with "picture tel" audio video conferencing systems and computer laboratories. The ISDN (integrated systems digital network) compatible conferencing system allows for two-way synchronous audio and visual transmission. UNISA plans to use it initially to train tutors.
registered in this program, 60 of them in chemistry and another 78 in physics. These students are taught by 55 faculty members from the College of Arts & Sciences, UP-Los Banos. Instruction is still by means of the written word. But Padolina says there is "an immediate plan to set up ... [a] telecommunications network system for use in instruction and management operations." Residential summer classes are arranged for those courses, like chemistry, that require laboratory work. In addition to a chemistry lab, the student is also required to take a laboratory course in science and society, and another on the development of educational materials. All UP-Open University students must attend once-a-month learning sessions at one of 13 designated centers. At these centers, students submit assignments, take examinations, and meet with tutors. Since 1990,125 students have been awarded the degree of diploma in science teaching. Another group of students will receive the degree this month.
Recently, McGillivray says, UNISA tested its system from Pretoria to Cape Town, and will soon set up links to Durban and Pietersburg. The Faculty of Science has set up a computer laboratory with 80 workstations in Pretoria and is planning similar, but smaller, facilities at the regional offices. For the longer term, UNISA "is looking at a number of high-tech possibilities. One is a satellite with a footprint over the whole of sub-Saharan Africa," McGillivray explains. Even without high technology, UNISA has proven that in an era of escalating costs and decreasing subsidies, distance education is a cost-effective solution to serving students living in remote areas—or in jail cells. As Jane T. Stutsman, deputy assistant director in the National Science Foundation's education & human resources division tells C&EN, "Distance learning is one of the ways we're trying to make science and science education more accessible to students in rural areas. If s a way of closing the gap between what is available to those in rural areas and to those in less geographically challenged areas." •
