Last May, the Indonesian government organized a plan to implement a new order called the New Normal. This disposition aims people to return to their activities and manage productivity while maintaining to run health protocols during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In line with this government plan, UGM began to examine the possibility of applying face-to-face learning in the Academic Year 2020/2021. The Head of the Center for Innovation and Academic Studies (PIKA) UGM, Dr. Hatma Suryatmojo, S.Hut., M.Sc. said lectures in the odd semester which begin next September will still be conducted online until mid-semester. UGM will conduct a direct activity or face-to-face learning if conditions are possible.
"We plan for the next half-semester to take online learning classes up to UTS. After that, hopefully, we have a direct meeting. But if conditions are not possible, it means we will have one full-online semester," he said on Wednesday (3/6).
Hatma said, before the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic UGM had online learning system facilities including elok.ugm.ac.id and elisa.ugm.ac.id and simaster.ugm.ac.id. for academic administration.
Besides, each faculty and school at UGM also has a task force responsible for supporting the development of online learning processes.
"This is a training program that we conducted last year. So, we already have a supporting system and facilities in all faculties," Hatma explained.
UGM has also begun implementing online learning in line with the imposition of maximum restrictions on activities on campus since last March 23.
In a survey involving thousands of students and lecturers as respondents, as many as 80 percent of students expressed that lecturers were able to deliver material online with a quality similar to face-to-face classes.
Meanwhile, as many as 60 percents of lecturers also claimed to have been quite familiar with the online learning system.
"These results are pretty good, meaning that the UGM fellowship itself is quite agile in handling," he added.
However, to prepare lecturers for the new semester, this June and July PIKA will also provide additional training for lecturers to improve skills and optimize menus in online interactive applications.
"Hopefully, this will provide provisions for college in the coming semester," Hatma said.
According to him, with a variety of facilities already owned, UGM is ready to face a new normal, and the coronavirus pandemic does not become an obstacle for education, research, and community service activities to continue.
If education and teaching activities conducted online or virtual, so does the Students Community Service Community (KKN). Director of Community Service, Prof. Irfan D. Prijambada, said that UGM usually sends students directly and in groups to serve in the villages and stay for two months mingling with the community.
However, amid the Covid-19 pandemic, the Community Service Program's implementation was conducted online from the boarding houses or houses of each student and guided by online supervisors (DPL) with the theme of education tailored to the conditions of the area.
"In general, we conduct online service-learning due to the current impossible condition of students to go to the field directly and stay in the Students Community Service for two months," he explained.
In this inter-semester period, as many as 354 UGM students participated in the Covid-Concern Community Service Program online from May 4 to June 22, 2020. There are 18 of KKN distribution areas located in some villages in the DIY region, including Sleman Regency, Kulon Progo Regency, Gunungkidul Regency, and Yogyakarta Municipality.
Previously, UGM had also conducted Students Community Service online since the outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic has occurred in this country. Up to this moment, Covid-19 online KKN has entered the 6th period.
Irfan revealed the students would be focused on educating the society about Covid-19 prevention, treatment, and mitigation. Yet, the whole program that has been prepared will have an online implementation.
Author: Gloria
Photo: Mind-rakyat.com
Translator: Natasa A