Universitas 21 Global

Infobox University
name = Universitas 21 Global


established = June 2001
motto = Graduate School for Global Leaders
type = Private, For-profit
city = Singapore
country = Singapore
students = 5,000+
website = [http://www.u21global.edu.sg/ www.u21global.edu.sg]

Intro

Universitas 21 Global (U21Global) is a Singapore based Online Graduate School owned by a network of affiliated universities of the Universitas 21 network and Manipal Universal Learning International (A Mauritius based education group). A separate external Quality Assurance body called U21pedagogica monitors quality for U21Global programmes and courses. As at July, 2008 U21Global had over 5,000 students from 60 different countries.

History

U21Global was formed in June 2001 at Singapore as a Joint Venture between Universitas21 and Thomson Learning (which later became Cengage Learning). During late 2007 Cengage Learning sold its entire 50% in U21Global share to Mauritius based Manipal Universal Learning International for an undisclosed sum.

Academic and Demographics

The University offers postgraduate degree programmes, certificate courses, continuing education programmes and programmes tailored for corporations.

The average age of U21Global student is between 30 and 40. Most students have full-time jobs and other family commitments. The University has reported that a majority of its student enrollments come from India and South East Asia.

Accreditation

* U21Global's MBA programme is accredited by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) for teChnology-Enhanced Learning (CEL).
* U21Global is also working towards achieving accreditation by AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. It has passed through the eligibility stage, and the U21Global Accreditation Plan has been approved by the Initial Accreditation Committee of AACSB, putting it officially into what is called the Pre-Accreditation phase.

Education Model

Mostly targeted towards working adults and being an online University, the education model is an all-online model. Course work is completed entirely in electronic form. The learning model includes groups of small teams (called course teams) which has discussion questions posted in the forum and students are required to respond. These course teams / student groups are built using the WebCT Learning System software. This helps facilitate interaction among students since they do not have face to face meetings. Course delivery is also done through online meeting tools and via webinars.

Final exams for courses are not the traditional question answer type exam. Its an open book, open web exam. Each participant in a course team is given a unique case study to work on. After the case study is downloaded, students are asked to upload their responses within a specified period of time. Students are required to study the case in detail and come out with their solution. Being an open book and open web exam, plagiarism issues are strictly dealt with. Based on this, grades are allotted.

The university also maintains an online library. The library will also ship books and large manuscripts to students on request. Online subscription of Harvard Business Review is also provided on a program basis.

Awards And Recognitions

* Awarded the 2004 Computerworld Honors Laureate - Nominated for the 21st Century Achievement Award in the Education & Academia category. U21Global is the only Singapore company to be named a 2004 Computerworld Honors Laureate. Established in 1988, the prestigious Computerworld Honors Programme recognises men, women, organisations and institutions for their leading role in the use of Information Technology to benefit society.
* Awarded the e50.startup 2004 - This award is organized by Accenture and The Business Times Singapore, and supported by the Economic Development Board (EDB) and International Enterprise (IE) Singapore.

U21Global's Affiliated Universities

Some, but not all, members of Universitas 21 are affiliated with U21Global.

East Asia

*Fudan University (Shanghai, People's Republic of China)
*Korea University (Seoul, South Korea)
*National University of Singapore (Singapore)
*Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Shanghai, People's Republic of China)
*University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
*Waseda University (Japan)

South Asia

*Delhi University (Delhi), India

Europe

*Lund University (Lund, Skåne, Sweden)
*University College Dublin (Dublin, Ireland)
*University of Birmingham (Birmingham, England, United Kingdom)
*University of Edinburgh (Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom)
*University of Glasgow (Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom)
*University of Nottingham (Nottingham, England, United Kingdom)

North America

*Tecnológico de Monterrey (Monterrey, Mexico)
*University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia, United States)

Oceania

*University of Queensland (Brisbane, Queensland, Australia)
*University of Melbourne (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia)

ee also

*Universitas 21
*Thomson Learning
*Cengage Learning

References

*http://www.pr.com/press-release/61506
*http://www.kv.ae/en/partners/default.asp?cid=2&menu=side&menuid=117
*http://www.moe.gov.sg/media/speeches/2003/sp20030805.htm
*http://www.u21global.edu.sg/Education/About/News
*http://www.u21global.edu.sg/Education/About/Accreditation

External links

* [http://www.universitas21.com/ Universitas21]
* [http://www.u21global.edu.sg/ U21Global] - Official