In the last several decades, the aim of higher education has been to train specialists to meet the needs of the country. In more recent years, when social development was felt to be dependent on the development of human resources, higher education was considered as the means to this end. As a result of using new educational methods, a considerable number of young people have been admitted to universities both at national and international levels and have benefited from the advantages of higher education. A good example is Payam Noor University, which makes use of new educational methods to teach degree courses to students who study at home or only partially attend classes. Using these methods makes students able to depend on their own resources and to be able to compete with students studying at regular universities.
The increasing growth of technology, the necessity to expand higher education, an increase in the demands to enter higher education, the growth of the young population in Iran, all these have resulted in the increasing use of electronic education, which has revolutionized, both quantitatively and qualitatively, the higher education system, making it possible for more and more people to take benefit from the advantages of higher education.
Some of the advantages of new methods are as follows: students are not required to attend classes; teachers are more available; there are less costs; new and more effective educational methods and tools are used such as slides, audio and video files; there are more supervisors and counselors to guide students; there is better access to libraries; students’ time is not wasted; textbooks change educational materials into smaller and more systematic chunks. In line with these aims, Canadian University of Dar Al-Hekmah, having obtained license from the related ministry, established an electronic university in 2004. The following regulation only consists of the generalities. The cases not mentioned here may be looked up in the detailed educational regulation of graduate programs.
For the purpose of the present regulations, the following definitions are adopted:
University: a higher education institute, to be used for educational or research purposes, governmental or non-governmental, holding its classes during the day or in the evening.
Faculty: a section of the university offering subjects in a certain branch of science, such as faculty of law and faculty of sciences.
Educational department: a section of a faculty which is active in one or several related subjects, such as the department of law.
Period: The period of time in which the student enters the university, studies a certain subject and graduates. Master’s program: a period in which students enter after they finish their bachelor’s program, receiving a master’s degree.
Professor: a faculty member or any other person whose responsibility is to teach and manage a course, either theoretical or practical.
Subject: a student’s main subject at a university, which is distinct from other subjects in terms of content and results in certain proficiency. Educational council: In the present regulations, by the educational council is meant the educational council of the electronic educational university.
Chapter 2: admission and enrolment
Article 2: To enter the master’s program of electronic education, the candidate should meet the following qualifications:
2.1 bachelor’s degree confirmed by the ministry of sciences, research and technology, or an equivalent seminary degree related to the subject the candidate wishes to study
2.2 The candidate should meet the following general conditions for entering higher education programs:
2.3 having the physical fitness required for the subject
2.4 passing the entrance test
2.5 having no legal problem in connection with military service based on the rules and regulations of the Islamic republic of Iran
2.6 Passing all the stages of admission
2.7 paying the fixed and variable tuition fees based on the current rate
Note: An equivalent bachelor’s degree (that is, one obtained not by participating in the nationwide universities’ entrance test) is not valid.
Chapter 3: courses
Article 3: The total number of credit units in the discontinuous graduate program, including thesis, is 32.
Note: Candidates first take at least 8 credit units. If they pass the courses successfully, and obtain a passing grade, the courses will be considered as the passed courses toward the total number of courses to be passed in the graduate program.
Article 4: If the educational council decides that candidates should pass certain bachelor courses as pre-requisite, they are required to take these courses and pay for them. The number of pre-requisite courses shall not exceed 24.
Article 5: The number of credit units for the master’s thesis equals the least credit units for the thesis as mentioned in the course description.
Article 6: The graduate student can take courses representing 8 to 14 credit units.
Note: In the last semester, the student can take courses representing less than 6 credit units.
Chapter 4: attendance
Article 7: If the student fails to attend an exam with no good reason, he will receive zero for that course.
Note: In case the university considers the students’ absence in the exam justified, the course will be omitted. This is decided by the educational council.
Article 8: The student is required to actively participate in all scientific activities defined by the university. If the student fails to participate in at most 3/16 of the activities, the course will be omitted. The educational council is the authority to decide whether the reasons offered are justified. In case of omission, the tuition fee will not be refunded.
Chapter 5: length of the study, educational leave, educational system
Article 9: The length of study is the period of time in which the student is supposed to pass the courses and the thesis according to the regulations. The length of study of the discontinuous master’s program is 2 years.
Note: The educational council may, if they deem necessary, add two other terms to the student’s length of study, in which case the student will be required to pay the related tuition fee.
Article 10: Each term begins and ends in accordance with the university’s calendar which is announced each year.
Article 11: To enroll in electronic education programs of Dar Al-Hekmeh University, candidates may refer to the university in person or refer to the website of the university. The admitted students whose names are available in the website of the university can pay the tuition fee, both fixed and variable, for the courses they have chosen, into the university’s account and send the bank receipt to the university. The university confirms the enrolment once it receives the receipt and sends a password to the student’s internet address. From then on, the student can enter the university’s website and to officially start their studies when the new term begins.
Article 12: A graduate student can take educational leave for a term at most, in which case he is required to pay the fixed tuition fee. The period of leave will be considered toward the length of study. The request for leave must be submitted in writing to the university two weeks before the enrolment. The educational council will announce their agreement or disagreement in writing within two weeks.
Note 1: If the student drops out for one term without good reason, he will not be given permission to continue his studies.
Note 2: The student can announce his unwillingness to study at any stage of his education. One month after the student submits his decision, his request for dropping out will be considered as finalized and he will not be considered a student of the university any more.
Chapter 6: The educational system
Article 13: In the electronic education program, the student is provided with a set of educational materials and the related software through the internet. Using his password, the student can enter the network at any time and place and use the educational materials. In addition, the student can receive the educational materials for each course using online learning, chat rooms, email and CDs.
Note: For each course, there is a certain time during the week in which the student can contact the professor and ask his or her questions. In other times, the contact is made possible through email.
Chapter 7: Evaluation
Article 14: After the student takes a course, he is introduced to the professor who is responsible for the course. The professor supervises the student’s activities until the end of the year. The professor also constantly evaluates the student’s activities and records them in a table. The student can contact the professor at any time using email and online communication and receive the necessary guidance.
Article 15: The passing score for each course is 12 and the least acceptable average for each term is 14.
Note 1: If the student’s term average is less than 14, the student’s enrolment for the next term will be conditional. If the student enrolls conditionally for two terms, he will not be given permission to continue his studies. The student who enrolls conditionally can only take 8 credit units.
Note 2: The scores of the pre-requisite courses will be recorded in the student’s record of achievement but will not be taken into account in calculating his term average and G.P.A.
Article 16: In cases where the student’s score will, at the discretion of the professor, depend on the completion of certain activities that cannot be done in that time, the student’s score will be announced incomplete. The professor will have to complete the score by at most the end of the following term.
Article 8: The thesis
Article 17: Writing a thesis is the last stage of the graduate program in which the student is required to do a research under a supervisor on a related subject.
Article 18: The supervisor is selected at the suggestion of the student and the confirmation of the educational council. The supervisor is required to have a PhD degree (at least assistant professor). In exceptional cases, the supervisor can be a teacher with a master’s degree with at least ten years of educational or research experience.
Article 19: The student is required to choose, in consultation with his supervisor, the subject of his research after the end of the first term and before the end of the third term.
Note: To write his thesis, every student can take benefit from the guidance and help of a reader as well.
Article 20: In the defense session, the student’s thesis will be evaluated by a board of examiners consisting of the supervisor, the reader, representative of the office for graduate programs, the examiner and two observing professors. The thesis will be granted one of the following four ranks, which will be taken into account in calculating the student’s G.P.A.:
Score 18 to 20, rank: excellent
Score 16 to 18, rank: very good
Score 12 to 16: acceptable
Score less than 12: unacceptable
Article 21: Until the student has not completed his thesis, he will be required to enroll at the beginning of each term and to take the course thesis. The thesis score, however, will enter the student’s record of achievement in the last term and will be taken into account in calculating his G.P.A.
Article 22: If the board of examiners evaluates a thesis as unacceptable, the student can complete his thesis during the time remained of his length of study and to present it again to the board of examiners. If he fails to successfully defend his thesis, he will not be given permission to continue his studies.
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