Universitas 21 Global

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Universitas 21 Global


Motto:	Graduate School for Global Leaders
Established:	June 2001
Type:	Private, For-profit
Students:	4,000+
Location:	Singapore, Singapore
Website:	www.u21global.edu.sg

1 Intro
2 History
3 Academic and Demographics
4 Accreditation
5 Education Model
6 Awards And Recognitions
7 U21Global's Affiliated Universities
8 See Also
9 References
10 External Links

[edit] 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 May, 2008 U21Global had over 4,000 students from 60 different countries.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Academic and Demographics

The University offers post graduate degree programs, certificate courses, continuing education programs and programs 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.

[edit] Accreditation

U21Global's MBA program is accredited by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) for teChnology-Enhanced Learning (CEL).
Its MBA program is not accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), which happens to be one of two accrediting organizations of business schools recognized by the US Department of Education. However the University website mentions that they are an International Member of the AACSB but there is no explicit mention of its accreditation from them.

[edit] 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.

[edit] Awards And Recognitions

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 .