The first major university in Romania to switch to online courses due to energy costs

All 12 faculties of the University of Craiova will enter the teaching system on line starting from 28 November until 19 March 2023, but the exams will be held face-to-face.

The decision was unanimously taken by the members of the University Senate on a proposal from the faculties, believing that the infrastructure created for this purpose during the Covid-19 pandemic must be exploited.

The University of Craiova enters the online teaching system between November 28, 2022 and March 19, 2023

“The decision to go online was made on a proposal from the faculties. Therefore, in consultation with the 12 faculties of the University, it was decided to adopt the teaching/learning method in a mixed format for the 2022-2023 academic year, which means combine the online system with the face-to-face system for all activities – teaching/learning, research and practical activities.The period we set and which was accepted by the 12 faculties was for the last 4 weeks of the 1st semester and the first 4 weeks of the second semester, more precisely the period from November 28 to December 23 and from February 20 to March 19, in order to meet the quality standards developed by ARACIS. Furthermore, we are below the allowed 50% online ratio by ARACIS standard,” University of Craiova vice-rector for study programs and quality assurance, prof. univ. dr. Nicholas Dumitru.

According to him, the faculties’ decision to go online had in mind the capitalization of the infrastructure created during the two years of restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We unanimously agreed together with the faculties to place ourselves in this online percentage of 25% in the first semester and, respectively, in the second semester. Firstly because ARACIS has allowed us to do so and secondly because we also have the chapter of the cycle of studies of the master’s degree where distance learning really had some facilitations, but in these two years of the pandemic a remarkable job has been done by the academic body and students, materials have been developed that have made it possible to carry out distance learning under optimal conditions, we have platforms, we have equipment, we have the logistics necessary to run this online education system and from my point of view it is a shame to throw away everything that has been done, especially since online teaching in some categories is still it means modern education,” said Vice-Chancellor Nicolae Dumitru.

He points out that the assessment of the students will be face-to-face, as the online system has many disadvantages in this respect. In relation to the savings that the University of Craiova thus realizes on energy bills, Vice-Chancellor Dumitru said that this was also a reason why the faculties wanted to go online during this period.