Strategies for curriculum design and effective utilization of its systems for blended learning at Saudi Electronic University

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought tremendous changes in the way mankind goes along with its day-to-day responsibilities. The world is undergoing a transformation like not been seen for decades before. Academic and educational institutions are also striving to adapt to changing circumstances. IT systems have proved to be a vital tool at hands of academic institutions to continue imparting quality education while ensuring compliance with health and safety guidelines during these times. Blended learning is a new and evolving academic model which emphasizes combining traditional face-to-face learning with the use of IT systems to provide ease of learning while maintaining student-teacher physical interaction intact. The times of the COVID-19 pandemic have compelled Blended Learning institutions to transform their academic strategies as well as increase their reliance on IT systems. Saudi Electronic University (SEU) is one of the largest Blended Learning academic institutions in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. In this paper, we have presented an overview of processes, IT systems, and Infrastructure upgrades carried out at SEU to face the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain the quality of its Blended Learning academic environment.