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CONTENTS 1. Introduction... 3 2. Accreditations: E.KE.PIS. (N.CE.CERT.) Certification - ELOT EN ISO 9001:2008 Certification... 3 3. The purpose of the Program... 4 4. Categories of candidates admitted to the Program - Admission Method... 4 5. The Certificate of Specialization... 5 6. Duration and Cost of Tuition... 5 7. Prerequisites... 6 8. Structure and Method of Course Presentation... 6 9. Teaching of the Program... 7 10. Scientific Help Desk... 8 11. Tests and Grading... 8 12. Other Learner Obligations - Conditions for the Issue of Certificates... 8 13. Authors of the Teaching Material... 9 14. The Academic Coordinator... 10 15. Structure of the Program... 10 16. Model of Provided Certificate... 13 2
1. INTRODUCTION The Vocational Training Centre of the National University of Athens welcomes you to the Supplementary E-learning Program and to the educational course on «Business Economics». The need for continuing education and certification of professional skills led the VTC of the National University of Athens to design these innovative Training Programs, driven by a need to link theory with practical knowledge, mainly by developing the applied aspect of sciences in the respective professional fields. The development of the programs was based primarily on: The UOA's experience from pilot programs, which have been the springboard for the creation of the Supplementary E-learning Programs, the knowledge of its professors and that of the professors in other educational institutions, the practical experience of its specialized internationally renowned scientists, the excellent and modern infrastructure of the Institution. Subsequently, we present the curriculum of the course on «Business Economics» in detail, the requirements for participation and all details that we believe are useful to allow you to get a complete picture of the program. 2. ACCREDITATIONS: E.KE.PIS. (N.CE.CERT.) CERTIFICATION - ELOT EN ISO 9001:2008 CERTIFICATION E.KE.PIS. (N.CE.CERT.) Certification The VTC of the National University of Athens was certified (C.P. 12151701) by the official national body for the development, implementation and monitoring of the National Certification System for Continuing Vocational Training in Greece (E.KE.PIS.), in October 2001. Following the first certification decision, and in accordance with the procedures prescribed for the implementation of the Monitoring and Evaluation System, the VTC receives a Certification Renewal Certificate annually. ELOT EN ISO 9001:2008 Certification As of July 2008, and following its assessment by the Greek Organization for Standardization (ELOT), the Supplementary E-learning Program of the UoA's Vocational Training Centre has 3
acquired a Quality Management System Certification in accordance with the standard ELOT EN ISO 9001:2008. This certification objectively documents the Organisation's ability to provide educational programs with consistency, while ensuring that the requirements of learners are met. At the same time, the implementation of the system ensures compliance with specific processes that guarantee its continuous improvement and compliance with the requirements of the end user of the educational services. 3. THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM The Educational Subject "Business Economics" was developed to provide knowledge to people who want to: identify business opportunities successfully undertake entrepreneurial activity and improve their profitability become acquainted with the role of Information Systems in the context of an organization's management become acquainted with the benefits of applying a Total Quality Management system for the enterprise develop leadership and negotiation skills effectively manage critical situations successfully plan processes for the performance and motivation of human resources The program is aimed primarily at graduates or students of business administration or finance and employees and managers who want to develop professionally by acquiring knowledge and skills that will enhance their competitiveness in the modern business environment. 4
4. CATEGORIES OF CANDIDATES ADMITTED TO THE PROGRAM - ADMISSION METHOD The program is launched through a public announcement (in the press and on the Internet), establishing the procedures required for participation. Application forms can be submitted by: graduates of domestic and foreign Universities and TEI secondary school graduates with work experience relevant to the subject Due to the limited number of participants, the following strict selection criteria shall apply. Criteria for Selection of Candidates Degree of Diploma or Baccalaureate Knowledge of English Additional knowledge and skills (IT skills, participation in seminars, work experience) Applications are submitted electronically via the website http://elearn.elke.uoa.gr/en/ The acceptance or rejection of the application form shall be communicated to candidate students via email. 5. THE CERTIFICATE OF SPECIALIZATION Successful completion of the seven (7) courses of this program leads to the award of a Certificate of Specialization in «Business Economics». There follows a detailed presentation of how learners are assessed. 6. DURATION AND COST OF TUITION The duration of the program is six (6) months and the required "teaching time" is estimated at 180 hours. The organizational structure of the E-Learning Program is based on modules. The estimation of the required "teaching time" aims at facilitating interested parties in calculating the time they will have to spend on the educational program. This derives from the total number of 5
curriculum modules, multiplied by the teaching hours required, in live lecture hours (depending on the volume of knowledge and degree of difficulty), per module. The above are based on estimates and, understandably, the final assessment of the time each learner spends is based on subjective factors, such as their existing knowledge and personal capacity to assimilate knowledge. The total cost of attendance is 1.100 Euros. Tuition fees are paid into a bank account and a receipt is issued in the name of the participant. 7. PREREQUISITES The prerequisites for the attending the Program are: Internet access Possession of personal e-mail Basic computer literacy 8. STRUCTURE AND METHOD OF COURSE PRESENTATION The content of each course posted on the Internet concerns the main theory points and is enriched mainly with the following: examples solved exercises self-assessment exercises case studies on real data additional literature This course presentation method achieves the consolidation of theory in a more constructive way than offered by a "traditional" printed form. Furthermore, the course structure is designed so that the educational material: guides students in their study, promotes student interaction with the learning material, 6
explains difficult points and concepts, evaluates and updates students on their progress, specifies theoretical knowledge using practical applications. 9. TEACHING OF THE PROGRAM The VTC's e-learning programs are taught over the Internet, offering "autonomy" to learners by allowing them to study independently of restrictive factors, such as their physical presence at a particular place and time. The training course material is available in stages, per module, through tailored online classes. During each course, the necessary communications for the proper conduct of the educational process are posted on a relevant link; for example: The timetable for the submission exercises, which includes the dates of module availability and the time of submission of tests, The Study Guide per Module, aimed at facilitating the organization of the learners' study, The Final Assignment, which is available upon completion of the course (if required by the nature of the course) and covers the entire curriculum. After completing the study of each module, learners are required to submit the corresponding test electronically. The tests contain matching correct answers, multiple choices, true/false statements, or uploads where learners will be required to formulate and attach their reply. At the same time, the program provides full educational support as learners can contact their designated instructors (throughout the duration of each course), via an electronic communication system integrated in the platform, for immediate responses to queries related to courses and assessment exercises. Finally, the educational materials are provided in electronic format (e-book), to facilitate students who prefer a print version. 7
10. SCIENTIFIC HELP DESK Through the electronic communication system integrated in the platform, students can also contact the program's Administrative and Technical Support, depending on the nature of their problem. 11. TESTS AND GRADING In each module, learners will be called to solve and electronically submit the corresponding tests, within the deadline given by their instructor. The grades achieved in previous modules are communicated to students prior to the deadline for submission of the test for the following module. The grading scale is from 0 to 100%. Overall, the grade in each course is based 60% on the assessment exercises and 40% on the final assignment, drawn up at the end of each course, if required by its nature. The Certificate of Specialisation is granted when learners achieve a grade greater than or equal to 50% in all courses. If the total score of one or more courses does not exceed 50%, students can be re-examined in these courses after completion of the educational process of the program. The score achieved during this re-examination is final for these courses, provided that it surpasses that achieved during the original educational process. Otherwise, the original score applies. 12. OTHER LEARNER OBLIGATIONS - CONDITIONS FOR THE ISSUE OF CERTIFICATES Apart from the successful completion of the program, the issue of the Certificate requires: The Learner's participation in the Sampling Identification Verification Checks The process of the Sampling Checks for Learners' Identification aims at ensuring the quality of the educational services. Specifically, an authorized officer of the VTC telephones a random sample of learners, to determine if they have participated in the educational processes of the program, whether they have experienced problems with the training material, their communication with the designated instructor, and the overall learning process. The telephone 8
interviews are conducted at the end of each program, while the average duration of this process is about 2-3 minutes. If a learner does not participate in the sampling process for identification checks if requested, or if they are not identified through this, they are refused the Certificate of Studies, even if the points scored in the program should allow this. Participation of learners in the evaluation of the proposed educational subjects The proposed educational subjects are evaluated electronically via the link http://elearn.elke.uoa.gr/eval, where participants can see a brief description of these programs, and submit their classification form electronically, based on their degree of preference. It aims to study and plan actions towards covering real educational needs, in accordance with the philosophy of the E-learning Program of the University of Athens. Participation of learners in the evaluation of the services and the effectiveness of the educational programs The services and the effectiveness of the educational programs are evaluated electronically via the link http://elearn.elke.uoa.gr/evalprograms by students after the completion of the educational process. This evaluation process aims both to improve the quality of the services involved in the learning process as regards educational, secretarial and technical support, and also to design and plan actions towards the continuous improvement of the e-learning programs of the University of Athens, through the development of new educational tools for the effective assimilation of available knowledge and to ensure their practical application in real working conditions. Repayment of the sum of tuition fees Student must have no outstanding debts. If there are such, the Certificate of Studies is kept in the Secretariat archives for a reasonable period of time until the pending amount is covered. 13. AUTHORS OF THE TEACHING MATERIAL The authors of the educational materials are faculty members of the University of Athens and specialists or experts with particular literary acclaim, who have a very important role in the 9
program's implementation. They author the main texts have assumed the scientific responsibility for the transformation of the educational material into an e-learning format. 14. THE ACADEMIC COORDINATOR The Program's Academic Coordinator is the Professor at the National University of Athens Panagiotis Petrakis, who is responsible for the planning, implementation and monitoring of the program's academic process. 15. STRUCTURE OF THE PROGRAM ENTREPRENEURSHIP ANALYSIS Module 1: Entrepreneurship Module 2: Uncertainty, Risk and Performance Module 3: Innovation and Entrepreneurship Module 4: Identifying Business Opportunities Module 5: The Business Advantage Module 6: The Personal Characteristics of the Entrepreneur Module 7: Society and Entrepreneurship Module 8: The Business and Economic Environment Module 9: Business Sustainability and Business Planning Module 10: The First Steps of Entrepreneurial Initiative Module 11: Business Difficulties Module 12: Successful Entrepreneurship STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS Module 1: Data, Information, Knowledge and Information Systems 10
Module 2: Importance of Information Systems and Knowledge Management in an Organization Module 3: The Strategic Role of I.S. in the Management Levels of an Organization Module 4: Information Systems Management - The Role of Managers Module 5: Information Systems and Competitive Advantage OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT Module 1: The Business and its Functions Module 2: Total Quality Management Module 3: Subsidised Project Management Module 4: The Strategic Development of Innovation and Technological Change MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP Module 1: Leadership and sociocognitive perception procedures Module 2: Leadership Theories based on the Redlel & Vroom - Yetton working models. Practical Applications Module 3: Leadership and Management Module 4: Forms of management practice Module 5: Leadership and Conflict in Business Organization. Module 6: Conflict and negotiation Module 7: Crisis and management Module 8: Effective crisis management HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT Module 1: The role of Human Resource management in businesses Module 2: Organizational Behaviour Module 3: Design and implementation of educational policy 11
Module 4: Evaluation of educational policy Module 5: Selection and retention of human resources Module 6: Staff Motivation and Performance and the Role of Leadership Module 7: Emotional reactions to work MOTIVATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY AND MOTIVATION Module 1: The concept of motivation at work (The theories of needs) Module 2: Modern theories of motivation in the workplace Module 3: Association of motivation with performance STAFF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Module 1: Performance Evaluation & Evaluation of Development Training Needs (Training / Education & Development) Module 2: Performance Evaluation of Training Programs & Trainee Evaluation Module 3: Performance Evaluation & Development of Executives Module 4: Performance Evaluation & Training-Development of Executives II Module 5: Evaluation of Executive Training Module 6: Case Presentation 12
16. MODEL OF PROVIDED CERTIFICATE «Business Economics» 13