IGNOU launches Web Enabled Academic Support for ODL Programmes

Srinagar, Jan 13:Prof. Srikant Mohapatra , Pro-Vice Chancellor, IGNOU launched the newly developed 13 WEAS Programme Portals along with the WEAS specific websites for 13 Schools in a virtual meeting organized by the NCIDE on January 13, 2023. WEAS portals for 32 ODL Programmes and 4 disciplines were already implemented for the students. With this launch, total 45 ODL programmes and 4 disciplines are being supported through WEAS portals.

Web Enabled Academic Support, commonly known as WEAS, is a scheme initiated by the National Centre for Innovation in Distance Education (NCIDE) at IGNOU aimed at providing an interactive one-stop programme portal to help the distance learners in getting academic support on the programme they are enrolled in.

WEAS is an interactive one-stop programme portal for providing academic support to the distance learners, with components like learning content in the form of digital self-learning material, learning resources like audio books, videos, articles, OER, weekly quiz, and FAQs related to the programme. E-mentoring, collaborative learning through discussion forum, and interactive virtual classroom are some other useful components of the portal. The distance learners of different programmes, particularly low enrolment programmes have extensively used the Web Enabled Academic Support platform for accessing different types of online resources and for interaction with their teachers and peers. The WEAS portals also hosts the recorded sessions of web-counselling conducted for various programmes by the faculty members.

It also facilitates the students of the programmes with large enrolments like BSCG programme of School of Sciences. It caters to the learning needs of thousands of learners and has a pool of learning resources including links to available virtual labs. https://sites.google.com/ignou.ac.in/bscgToday, WEAS portal  hosts about 45 programmes and 4 disciplines. The number of WEAS portal is increasing day by day. Objective is to develop WEAS portals for all the ODL programmes being offered by the IGNOU. The  WEAS portal can be accessed through: https://sites.google.com/ignou.ac.in/weas

The Programme was attended by the Directors of Schools of studies, Regional directors and Programme Coordinators of WEAS. Dr. Oum Prakash Sharma, Director, NCIDE, Dr Jyotsna Dikshit, Deputy Director, NCIDE and WEAS Coordinator and Dr. Sujata Santosh, Assistant Director, NCIDE and WEAS Coordinator hosted the event.