MESSAGE ON THE EDUCATION FROM PROF. DR. DILAVER TENGILIMOGLU, DIRECTOR OF GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
24.03.2020

MESSAGE ON THE EDUCATION FROM PROF. DR. DILAVER TENGILIMOGLU, DIRECTOR OF GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES

Dear Students,

Unfortunately, we are experiencing a mandatory interruption in our education activities due to the COVID-19 outbreak . This decision by the Higher Education Council taken as a result of the outbreak affecting global health gravely has affected not only the students of our university, but also students from all other universities. Therefore, to prevent adding to the losses of our valuable students, we are working on implementing the measures in our power as soon as possible, as is the case with other universities.  

In this regard and during the interruption, we have participated in meetings coordinated by our President on the actions to take in order not to prevent you from continuing your education, and a resolution has been reached initially to upload our academic materials onto MOODLE as our “Distance Education Portal”. In line with this process, we have aimed to strengthen the current infrastructure to support live online course presentation, as well as to research infrastructure alternatives and supply them wherever needed, in a timely fashion.

We are aware that learning to learn as an individual is a key skill in the current century, and medium. Therefore, our primary target has been set to make our class material available in its entirety on MOODLE, as the quickest, and the most effective way to provide you with the medium in question. In this scope, we have requested that our academic personnel responsible for academic activities in relation to courses (part-time and full-time) to make their courses accessible on MOODLE, and upload course syllabuses and presentations, and other supporting material (videos, sample problems and solutions, homework and minor short exams, if any) to MOODLE, as well.

The projected uploads of the courses of Spring 2019-2020 of our University are mostly complete. We aim to conclude the uploads for the remaining courses, other than those entailing a direct hands-on approach, within the current week. On this occasion, I would like to remind you that you are required to register to the course in question to be able to view the material by your instructor making their course accessible on MOODLE. Your instructors are to keep you updated via e-mails through the FORUM portal on MOODLE once they upload a course. You are also required to use your University e-mail account to be able to receive the updates through the MOODLE platform.

We are pleased to announce that as of today a new software (ZOOM) has been purchased and available to our instructors, as per a notice by our President.  Our instructors will soon be able to present their courses online, using the new software. We aim to implement these changes as soon as possible. Of course, a preparatory period would be required. Yet, during the preparatory period, it is our expectation that you as our valuable students follow your courses on MOODLE as the quickest and the most effective way of learning.

Lastly, although it is not easy to project how long the current process is to conclude, we hope to leave it behind as soon, and with as less losses as possible. Our greatest aim is that our students and their valuable families leave the current process behind with the least damage. We would like to assure you that we are continuously working on a solution, and hope to see you physically at our classrooms as we used to, as soon as possible.

Prof. Dr. Dilaver TENGILIMOGLU