Virtual University of Pakistan

Virtual University of Pakistan is a Public Sector University that was established in 2002 with its Head Office at Lahore. It is the first University in Pakistan equipped with modern technology as the only basis of its entire educational framework, that is to say that there are no campuses that hold classes (with students and teachers in a classroom); rather the whole studying procedure is technology dependent. The quality of education is none less than World-Class at the University. One might think that how could the learning quality be world-class without a proper student-teacher interaction (that is practiced in most of the top quality education imparting institutions world-wide), but would soon agree that the inventions of computer and internet leave no shortfalls when properly managed to develop an infrastructure like that of the Virtual University of Pakistan.

Location of Virtual University M.A. Jinnah Campus, Raiwind Road, Lahore:

The Infrastructure of VU

As already said the Head Office of the university is at Lahore (Defence Road). The campuses of the university are widespread within the country wherein there is a complete infrastructure to facilitate the study methodology adopted at the VU. There are Wi-Fi equipped Computer Labs where the students can view the lectures as well as access the internet and their LMS too (which is available at http://vulms.vu.edu.pk/). The campuses of VU are Public (which are owned by the university itself) and Private as anybody having the required standard infrastructure can apply for a “VU Campus”. Each student admitted at the university is allotted a VU campus where he/she has to attend the mid-term and final-term exams of each semester.

The Studying Methodology at VU

Virtual University has a database that manages the overall study progress of the students. This database is called “Learning Management System” or “LMS”. Each student has a profile called “Student ID” at the LMS which he can Login to 24/7. The University has world-class recorded video lectures that were delivered by the top-most acknowledged experts of the Pakistani Institutions in their respective fields specifically for the Virtual University in its Studios. The lectures are aided with slides, movie clips and other material which make them pretty useful for learning and grasping the concepts. Theses lecturers were not permanently hired by the university for teaching purposes, rather their services were only utilized at the stage of developing video lectures or as and when need arises to update/modify the lectures.

Virtual university lectures are aired via the VU TV channels and the Virtual University Radio station. To know more about the lectures aired via these TV channels and the VU Radio station, please click here.

There is a permanent academic faculty at the university only hired for limited purposes such as making and evaluating assignments, quizzes, discussions and examination papers. The availability of these instructors addresses the shortfall of the “direct student-teacher interaction” and hence the absence of a class-room environment is dealt away. Recently, the university also started "Face 2 Face" student-teacher interaction via Team-viewer and Skype. The schedule for these interactive sessions is announced in advance on the student LMS in the announcements section. 

Degree programs offered by the Virtual University

The university offers various degree programs in the fields of psychology, mass communication, computer sciences, business administration, information technology, accounting & finance, banking & finance, management, marketing, commerce and public administration etc. These programs are offered at the levels of MS, Masters, BS, Bachelors, diploma and specialization courses. To learn more about the programs offered by the university, click here.

Weightage of Assignments and Quizzes in Final Exam Marks

The university follows semester system during each of which midterm and final term exams are held. The assignments, quizzes and graded discussion boards collectively have a 15% weightage; while the midterm exam has 35% and the final term exam has 50% weightage in the cumulative marks of each semester. Therefore it is ensured that the students actively participate in the study progress according to the schedule as those who are not active gain no marks in the assignments etc. and thus attain low grades in the Final Exams.

 

Why should you prefer to study at VU?

Some of the reasons may be quite obvious to you! But all the reasons that would make you prefer studying at the VU are:

• First of all it is a Public Sector University chartered by the Federal Government and recognized by the HEC, so there should be no doubts in the minds of the prospective students about the authenticity of the degree they want to pursue. The standard of education is world-class and the degrees of VU are also recognized worldwide.

• There is no “Admission Test” held by the VU nor GAT is the requirement for seeking admission at the university (except for taking admission in MS CS). Almost all the candidates applying for admission are admitted, and in certain cases where the subjects studied in the pre-requisite qualification are not in accordance with the program where admission is sought; the student is required to undergo a “Zero Semester” which is not counted towards the study duration of the program admitted in. In the “Zero Semester” the student has to study those subjects which are “pre-requisite” to study the desired program. 

• The students are allotted a VU campus where they should appear only in the examinations of each semester. Otherwise attending the university is not mandatory, the students can study at home and only must come to the university to appear in exams. For students appearing from foreign, examination centers are allocated in certain countries / locations. The examination system of the university is totally computerized, thus there is no role of handwriting ever in the university from admission till attaining the degree (except marking your attendance on paper). 

• Moreover the Fee Structure of the University is the simplest compared to other universities at the par. Also to mention here that all the Bachelors programs have a per credit hour fee of PKR 500 whereas the fee for all the Masters Programs is PKR 750 except the MS(CS) program for which per credit hour fee is PKR 2500. But the fee structure for foreign students is different. It is $25 per credit hour for the Bachelor Programs and $35 per credit hour for the Masters Programs if one is studying and appearing in university exams from outside Pakistan.

• Usually there are 6 subjects (18 credit hours) per semester, and now in each semester the students have the option to select the number of subjects they want to enroll and study, including the first semester (which was not available in the past). There is a minimum limit of 9 credit hours per semester and maximum of 21 credit hours per semester. This is useful for the job-oriented students who want to reduce their burden of study and at the same time for those too who have plenty of spare time to study more subjects. But keep in mind that continuous use of the minimum limit of credit hours per semester would result in a loss as there is a separate fee structure for the students who have completed the minimum duration of their study program but are yet not finished with all their subjects.

• Despite the Scheduled Study Program, there is no compulsion to attend the lectures at any particular time of the day. There is no check even if you do not absolutely attend any lecture; it is only your loss that is reflected in terms of lower grades in Final Exams if you do not score well in the assignments, quizzes and GDBs during the progress of study. Therefore people with busy schedules like those on the Job are on one hand free to attend the lectures at any time (if they adhere to the schedule) and on the other hand themselves suffer the loss if they misuse this relaxation.

• Another reason to prefer the VU is that the schedule to attend the exam is prepared by the students themselves. The University only announces exam beginning and ending dates, and all the students have to make their “Date Sheet” online within allotted time (otherwise it is automatically scheduled); thus it is the students decision which facilitates them to make good preparation of the subject they are weak in. The students are free to select both the date and time of examination according to their own convenience.

• The admissions are not restricted by location, anybody from any part of the world can take admission in the VU. Applying for admissions is also an easy procedure at the VU, it is online and the fee can be paid in the form of Demand Draft in the Favour of Virtualy University of Pakistan, Head Office, Raiwind Road, Lahore at designated bank branches of HBL / Bank Alfalah. Foreign students are also examined at selected examination centers in the foreign countries.