Online Learning

In light of the 7 May 2020 memo from Fr. Jose Ramon T. Villarin SJ addressed to the University community, we are pleased to announce the details of the upcoming School Year 2020-21 in the Ateneo School of Government.

 
Our esteemed ASoG faculty have reviewed and reflected on their respective course syllabi and have reconfigured them for online delivery. As such, ASoG classes will be conducted completely online, utilizing a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning activities that have been designed to deliver the same learning outcomes as our physical, face-to-face classes. Each week, students will be given material that they can peruse at their own convenience. These materials include but are not limited to video lectures, narrated Powerpoint presentations, readings, and other online learning content. On most Saturdays, classes will have scheduled, synchronous discussion sessions with their professors, with each session lasting for 2-3 hours.

Platforms for Learning: CANVAS / Moodle and ZOOM 

ASOG is heavily preparing to migrate its classes to Canvas (canvas.instructure.com) along with the Loyola Schools and the rest of the Professional Schools of the University. As such, some Term 1 classes will already be utilizing Canvas for their online learning management system. These details shall be announced as the beginning of the term nears.

ASoG Faculty will continue to utilize the ASoG MoodleHub (mpmleadership.moodlehub.com) for asynchronous learning activities as learning management system. As before, students will be able to find in the respective Moodle pages of their courses various materials such as the course syllabus, reading materials, video and audio content, as well as course assessments (i.e. quizzes, long tests). The Moodle Hub will also continue to be used for submissions and turn-ins.

Synchronous class sessions have been pre-scheduled and detailed on the course list. All such synchronous sessions will be held on Saturdays only, either in the morning or the afternoon. These synchronous sessions will be conducted via Zoom (www.zoom.us). For all such synchronous sessions, recordings will be uploaded into the chosen learning management platform (i.e. Moodle or Canvas) to allow those who missed the session to view it independently, or for review of those who were able to attend.

For all these platforms, students will be required to create FREE accounts using their respective obf.ateneo.edu email addresses. As before, the obf.ateneo.edu emails will continue to be used for official school communications.

Technological Infrastructure Requirements 

ASoG Online Learning Courses will require a more developed technological infrastructure than our traditional, physical, face-to-face classes. Particularly, students who wish to enroll are required to have access to the following:

HARDWARE

• Laptop / desktop + webcam
• Headset w/ microphone
• Internet connection, ideally at least a direct subscriber line (DSL) connection, but a stable mobile data connection may also suffice

SOFTWARE

• Web browser, such as Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Bing, etc, for accessing Moodle or Canvas (Note: Canvas has a mobile app for students in both iOS and Android platforms.)
• Zoom (cloud-based or app)
• MS Office applications
• PDF Reader
• Video / audio apps such as VLC Media, Quicktime, Windows Media Player, or any such app that can play a wide array of media

Tuition and Fees 

There will be no tuition and student fee increases for SY 2020-21 as mandated by Fr. Villarin in the aforementioned memo. As such,the total payable amount for each ASoG course will be thirteen thousand one hundred fiftypesos (PhP 13,150.00) only. While there are expenses that will decrease due to physical distancing, the meaningful transition to Online Learning requires profound course development, capacity building, and technological infrastructure development. ASoG is rebalancing its resources and channeling them to these key investment areas to ensure that we can continue delivering the quality professional education that our students deserve.

Inclusivity 

We in ASoG understand that the transition of classes to online platforms will pose unique challenges to our students, just as it has to the ASoG administrators, faculty, and staff. In the planning and execution of this transition, we have been constantly mindful of such potential challenges, and we commit ourselves to continue to be so. We are confident that the Academic team, in partnership with faculty, will overcome the present challenges through agile adjustments and innovation. We invite our students to closely collaborate with us in this regard. Such collaboration can only serve to make our adjustments more meaningful and stronger. Should you have concerns and issues regarding any of the above (e.g. access to obf.ateneo.edu, technological infrastructure questions), please let us know directly be sending an email to Academic.ASOG@ateneo.edu, and indicate “Term 1 Concern” in the subject line.