Monday, August 22, 2011

VU Virtual University of Pakistan

The Virtual University, Pakistan’s first University based completely on modern Information and Communication Technologies, was established by the Government as a public sector, not-for-profit institution with a clear mission: to provide extremely affordable world class education to aspiring students all over the country. Using free-to-air satellite television broadcasts and the Internet, the Virtual University allows students to follow its rigorous programs regardless of their physical locations. It thus aims at alleviating the lack of capacity in the existing universities while simultaneously tackling the acute shortage of qualified professors in the country. By identifying the top Professors of the country, regardless of their institutional affiliations, and requesting them to develop and deliver hand-crafted courses, the Virtual University aims at providing the very best courses to not only its own students but also to students of all other universities in the country.

The Virtual University of Pakistan holds a Federal Charter, making its degrees recognized and accepted all over the country as well as overseas.

The University opened its virtual doors in 2002 and in a short span of time its outreach has reached over sixty cities of the country with more than a hundred associated institutions providing infrastructure support to the students. Pakistani students residing overseas in several other countries of the region are also enrolled in the University's programs.

How VU Works

The Virtual University of Pakistan delivers education through a judicious combination of broadcast television and the Internet. VU courses are hand-crafted in meticulous detail by acknowledged experts in the field. Lectures are then recorded in a professional studio environment and after insertion of slides, movie clips and other material, become ready for broadcast. Course lectures are broadcast over free-to-air television and are also made available in the form of multimedia CDs. They can also be made available as streaming media from the Virtual University’s servers. The multiple formats allows for a high degree of flexibility for students who may view the lectures at a time of their choosing within a 24-hour period. Additionally, students can use the lectures to review an entire course before their examinations – a facility simply not available in the conventional face-to-face environment.

In addition to the prescribed texts, comprehensive reading material / lecture notes in the form of web-enabled content are provided through a comprehensive Learning Management System (LMS) hosted on the VU Web Servers and accessible over the Internet. The full power of hyperlinks is utilized for making the on-line experience a truly powerful one. The LMS also provides an e-mail facility to each and every student as well as discussion boards for interaction within the VU community.

An important feature of the LMS is a Question/Answer board where VU faculty provides answers to questions posed by students on the subject matter covered in the lectures. The Question/Answer board (also known as the Moderated Discussion Board) is extremely fine grained, providing separate sessions for each lecture of each course. In addition, read-only access is made available to previous question/answer sessions and this constitutes an extremely useful study resource for students. VU faculty monitors this board on a continuous basis and answers to student questions are provided within a short space of time.

Assignments are handed out through the LMS and also submitted by the students through the same mechanism. Pop-quizzes and practice tests are also conducted through the LMS.

Midterm and Final Examinations for every semester are conducted in a formal proctored environment at exam centers designated for the purpose throughout the country. Invigilators appointed by the University conduct the exams. The formal examination atmosphere assists in critical quality assurance of the student assessment system.

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE


Master of Science (MS) in Computer Science is a research based degree program being offered by Department of Computer Science at Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar,Multan,Gujranwala,Faisalabad and Sialkot. The program is designed to produce academicians and professionals of high quality throughout the country. Course work designed for MS in Computer Science provides a breadth based knowledge of the field whereas the specialization equips the students with in-depth knowledge of a specific area of computer science. Admission is offered during fall session every year.

Duration

It is a two-year duration program spread over four semesters. Each semester has 18 weeks duration.

Eligibility Requirements

16-year education i.e., BS in Computer Science/ BS in Information Technology/ Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons)/ Master of Computer Science/ Master of Information Technology/ M.Sc. (Computer Science) from a recognized institution. Candidate must have at least CGPA 2.50 out of 4 or first division wherein GPA system not implemented (Note: Limited seats are available on merit basis).

Each candidate is required to pass the NTS – GAT-General test (with minimum 50% marks). Candidate already qualified NTS-GAT-General has to attach attested photocopy of valid NTS result with their admission form.

For detailed information about NTS Test (GAT-General) visit NTS website
http://www.nts.org.pk/GAT/GAT.asp . Virtual University of Pakistan arranges NTS Test (GAT-General) at the time of MS (CS) admission every Fall semester.

Assessment of Study Progress

The students’ study progress evaluation mechanism is based on continuous assessment throughout the semester by giving assignments, online quizzes, Graded Moderated Discussion Boards (GMDBs), mid-term and final term examinations.

Award of Degree

For the award of the Master of Science in Computer Science degree, a student is required to complete the 24-credit hours course work program and six-credit hour thesis research with minimum CGPA of 3.00 out of 4.

Courses of Study

Following are the courses of MS (CS) program. The courses may be revised from time to time as a result of continuous review to bring them at par with courses being taught at top class foreign universities. While reviewing the courses, need of local industry and job market is also given full consideration. MS (CS) program is 30-credit hours program comprised of followings:

Click here to View Study Scheme of MS in Computer Science

(Note: If the schedule of courses pursued by a candidate does not provide adequate background for the degree course, which he/she intends to take up, he/she may be required to make up the deficiency by taking one or more additional course (s) of deficiency level as may be prescribed by the University).

Fee Structure

Fee payable at the time of submission of admission application form is Rs. 13,300/- (includes admission fee, registration fee, securit and NTS test fee). If a candidate has already qualified NTS-GATS-General test then NTS charged fee will be adjusted later. Details of fee structure are as under:

Fee Structure

Amount (Rs.)

Admission Fee (Once)

5,500/-

Registration Fee (Once)

2,000/-

Security Fee (Once, refundable)

5,000/-

NTS-GATS-General Test Fee *

800/-

Enrollment Fee/Semester

4,000/-

Tuition Fee/credit hour

2,500/-

Thesis Fee

14,000/-

Fee payable with Admission Application Form is Rs. 13,300/-

* Subject to change for every fall admission session.

Note: The University reserves the right to chage the tuition fee and other dues from time to time.

Semester (Fall 2011) schedule


Last date to file Admission Application Form : September 7,2011
NTS-GAT-General Test: September 18, 2011
Display of Admission Merit List: September 24, 2011
Orientation: September 26-30, 2011

Commencement of Classes: October 3,2011


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