05-06-2011, 02:04 PM
I am writing this message as part of our on going 2nd Convocation
celebrations. This year, the Convocation is being organized in three
different cities, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore. This way, students
from various parts of the country will be able to participate in
person and enjoy the recognition of their academic achievements that
the convocations are meant to confer and celebrate. You are being
invited to participate in these events and I hope you will accompany
the proud graduates from your various campuses and celebrate the
occasion along with your students.
The progress and growth of the University would not have been possible
without the active support of our private sector partners, which is
you. I would like to formally acknowledge the contributions made by
you, who have taken up the challenge and are doing their part in
promoting the cause of higher education in the country. I cannot
single out any institution by name, but the new and recently
established PVCs would do well to emulate the efforts of their senior,
more successful and well established colleagues. The provision of
quality service and infrastructure is a core requirement for the PVCs
and any extra and co-curricular activities that they organize play a
significant role in the grooming and development of the young minds. I
would like to strongly encourage you to do more in this regard.
As part of the maturity process, the University will start recognizing
outstanding partners at each convocation. The yardstick by which the
performance of PVCs will be measured has yet to be decided and this is
where your input is welcomed. Once we have the measures decided, they
will be published on the PVC portal and campuses will be able to
determine which activities would be most beneficial to the students
while contributing to the overall standing of the campus.
There are, of course, some matters of concern that I would like to
address here. It has been seen, especially for some of the newer
campuses, that the equipment and infrastructure that was made
available at the time of inspection is not properly maintained after
the fact, and in some cases, the equipment has even been removed from
the premises, thereby lowering the quality of service that is being
provided to the students. This is not acceptable. Campuses are
expected to improve their infrastructure over time and at the very
least, they must maintain the minimum required equipment in good
working order in order to function properly as a campus of the Virtual
University.
Finally, some good news in these troubling times. The University is
fully cognizant of the increased cost of operations especially the
increase in electricity and diesel fuel rates. As a result, we are
proposing an increase in the PVC share in the upcoming budget. The
increase will be for both, the fee share, as well as the examination
support that is paid to the campuses. We hope that the partners
recognize that eventually, the entire revenue of the University comes
from student fees. It is a fine balancing act that the University has
to put together to keep its partners, the PVCs, sustainable while not
overburdening the students, most of whom belong to less affluent
social groups. The budget will be presented to the Board immediately
after the convocations conclude and we will endeavor to share the good
news with our partners as soon as we have the approval.
I look forward to meeting many of you during the convocation and wish
you all a prosperous future. I hope you will continue to play your
positive roles in our important nation-building efforts.
Best regards,
celebrations. This year, the Convocation is being organized in three
different cities, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore. This way, students
from various parts of the country will be able to participate in
person and enjoy the recognition of their academic achievements that
the convocations are meant to confer and celebrate. You are being
invited to participate in these events and I hope you will accompany
the proud graduates from your various campuses and celebrate the
occasion along with your students.
The progress and growth of the University would not have been possible
without the active support of our private sector partners, which is
you. I would like to formally acknowledge the contributions made by
you, who have taken up the challenge and are doing their part in
promoting the cause of higher education in the country. I cannot
single out any institution by name, but the new and recently
established PVCs would do well to emulate the efforts of their senior,
more successful and well established colleagues. The provision of
quality service and infrastructure is a core requirement for the PVCs
and any extra and co-curricular activities that they organize play a
significant role in the grooming and development of the young minds. I
would like to strongly encourage you to do more in this regard.
As part of the maturity process, the University will start recognizing
outstanding partners at each convocation. The yardstick by which the
performance of PVCs will be measured has yet to be decided and this is
where your input is welcomed. Once we have the measures decided, they
will be published on the PVC portal and campuses will be able to
determine which activities would be most beneficial to the students
while contributing to the overall standing of the campus.
There are, of course, some matters of concern that I would like to
address here. It has been seen, especially for some of the newer
campuses, that the equipment and infrastructure that was made
available at the time of inspection is not properly maintained after
the fact, and in some cases, the equipment has even been removed from
the premises, thereby lowering the quality of service that is being
provided to the students. This is not acceptable. Campuses are
expected to improve their infrastructure over time and at the very
least, they must maintain the minimum required equipment in good
working order in order to function properly as a campus of the Virtual
University.
Finally, some good news in these troubling times. The University is
fully cognizant of the increased cost of operations especially the
increase in electricity and diesel fuel rates. As a result, we are
proposing an increase in the PVC share in the upcoming budget. The
increase will be for both, the fee share, as well as the examination
support that is paid to the campuses. We hope that the partners
recognize that eventually, the entire revenue of the University comes
from student fees. It is a fine balancing act that the University has
to put together to keep its partners, the PVCs, sustainable while not
overburdening the students, most of whom belong to less affluent
social groups. The budget will be presented to the Board immediately
after the convocations conclude and we will endeavor to share the good
news with our partners as soon as we have the approval.
I look forward to meeting many of you during the convocation and wish
you all a prosperous future. I hope you will continue to play your
positive roles in our important nation-building efforts.
Best regards,