Universitas 21 Global
Encyclopedia : U : UN : UNI : Universitas 21 Global
Universitas 21 Global (U21Global) is a completely online graduate school owned by 18 member universities of the Universitas 21 consortium and one of the world’s largest publishers, Thomson Learning. As long-established institutions, the universities were particularly concerned with preserving their international reputations, hence, a separate external quality assurance body, [U21pedagogica] (U21p) was set up to monitor quality control. This decision has had a very strong bearing on the direction taken by U21Global and has perhaps prevented it from becoming one of a number of celebrated eLearning failures (e.g. UKeU and [NYU online]).
In the first two years of operation, U21Global attracted over 1000 students to its flagship program, the MBA, from more than 50 different countries. These students are working adults, the large majority of whom hold middle management positions. The average age is 35 years old, average work experience is 11 years, and the majority are married (72%). No fewer than 83% travel to other countries in the course of their jobs.
These characteristics have been taken into consideration in the design of the courseware and the learning environment that is provided for the students. There is a determination to provide these adult distance learners with a holistic environment in which knowledge is presented in an authentic and engaging context. In terms of pedagogy, there is a strong commitment to constructivism, and a learning design favouring a case-oriented, problem-based learning approach.
In 2005, U21Global became one of the first institutions, along with the UK Open University, to be awarded the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Certification of e-Learning [(CEL)], the worldwide accreditation of e-Learning supported programs in the field of management education.
[Universitas 21 Global]-Official
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