The Peace Operations Training Institute is pleased to present the Integrated Distance Learning Programme (IDLP). We pledge to provide your Mission with a positive, valuable, and content-rich training experience. Our course authors are all recognized experts in their fields, and our courses teach accepted United Nations practice and doctrine in accordance with the Standard Training Modules (STMs) which are maintained by the UN Department of Peacekeeeping Operations Integrated Training Service (DPKO ITS).
Our goal is to provide these self-paced distance training courses at little or no cost to Mission staff. By purchasing an IDLP Licence for 2008–2009, your Mission will provide this training at no cost to members of specific personnel categories.
This manual was written for you, the Training Focal Point (TFP) or other Mission administrator. It explains all aspects of the IDLP and will help you administer the Programme at your Mission with a minimum of time and effort.
If you have any questions or concerns, the staff at the Peace Operations Training Institute will be glad to assist you. Help and contact information may be found at the end of this document.
Welcome.
Your 2008–2009 IDLP kit contains the following items:
All brochures, course books, and promotional materials you have left over from previous years should be properly discarded. Many courses have been revised, and all students and Mission staff should only use the most current materials.
The IDLP operates from a special Web site created for your mission, which can be reached at:
http://<mission_acronym>.peaceopstraining.org/
Students visit this site to submit enrolment requests, access their courses, and take their examinations. The TFP and other designated Mission staff use the administrative section of the Web site to track students’ activities, approve enrolments, et cetera. The administrative section of the site may be reached at:
http://<mission_acronym>.peaceopstraining.org/enrollment_management.php
Please log in to the administrative site to make sure that your password works. Your password may be found included with your IDLP kit, or it may have been sent separately. If you have any problems reaching the Mission’s IDLP Web site, please contact the Peace Operations Training Institute promptly.
Your IDLP kit contains posters, promotional pamphlets, and folders, all of which advertise the Institute’s training and the IDLP at your Mission. Please distribute these throughout your Mission to make sure all staff members are aware of the training options available to them. Your kit includes a CD with PDF copies of these materials, so you can easily print more if necessary. You may also request additional copies by contacting the Peace Operations Training Institute.
The Peace Operations Training Institute is constantly revising and updating its courses, in addition to developing new ones. It is very important that Missions use the most up-to-date courses available.
When a course is revised, the new edition will be immediately available to new enrollees. The Peace Operations Training Institute will notify the designated contact in your training office and supply an updated copy of the course. All outdated copies should be properly discarded. Students who have already enrolled may continue to use older course texts, but students who enrol in the future should receive the most current version.
To see which edition of a course is newer, consult the date stamp on the cover. This six-digit number under the title gives the revision date in YYMMDD format.
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This section gives an overview of the Integrated Distance Learning Programme (IDLP), as well as information on other Peace Operations Training Institute programmes that complement it.
The IDLP provides training to certain categories of Mission personnel at no personal cost. A Mission chooses one or more personnel categories (e.g., United Nations Volunteers) to be covered by its IDLP Licence and pays a per-student rate based on the Mission’s authorized strength.
For the duration of the Licence (one year), students in the approved categories may study Peace Operations Training Institute courses at their own pace. To enrol, a student must submit a request through the Mission’s IDLP Web site. The TFP or other designated Mission staff reviews enrolment requests to verify that the applicant is in the correct personnel category. The TFP then approves or rejects the enrolment.
A student receives an enrolment number for each course, which she will need in order to view or submit her examination.
Once a student’s enrolment is approved, she may:
A student studies at her own pace, using the End-of-Lesson Quizzes to check her progress and understanding of the material. She may also discuss course material with other students on the Peace Operations Training Institute message board. To pass a course, she must complete the End-of-Course Examination. Examinations consist of fifty multiple-choice questions selected at random from a larger collection of questions developed by the course author. Each student receives a different version of the examination.
A student views her examination by entering her enrolment number on the IDLP Web page. She is then presented with the examination questions. A submitted examination is immediately and automatically graded, and the score is immediately displayed to the student. To pass, the student must achieve a score of 75% or higher. A student who passes may view her Certificate of Completion (as a PDF) which can be saved and/or printed. If a student fails, she is given the chance to take a second examination once she has reviewed the course material.
Not all students are covered by their Missions’ IDLP Licences. The Peace Operations Training Institute still provides training for students who are not covered under an IDLP. The costs for these programmes are paid either directly by the student or by funds donated to the Peace Operations Training Institute by national governments.
These programmes do not involve the TFP. However, TFPs are strongly encouraged to publicize these programmes throughout their Missions, as they will expand interest in training for a wider body of Mission personnel.
Students who are serving on a Mission but are not covered by the IDLP can take Institute courses at a substantial discount through one of the following programmes:
Tuition payment and enrolment are handled directly by the Peace Operations Training Institute; TFPs are not involved. For information about these programmes, students should visit the IDLP site for their Mission:
http://<mission_acronym>.peaceopstraining.org/
and click on their personnel category.
E-Learning for African Peacekeepers (ELAP) provides distance courses on peace support operations free of charge to all military, police, and gendarmerie personnel who are citizens of covered African nations. The governments of Australia, Canada, Croatia, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom have donated funds to sponsor the cost of this training.
Students should visit http://elap.peaceopstraining.org/ for details.
E-Learning for Peacekeepers from Latin America and the Caribbean (ELPLAC) provides distance courses on peace support operations free of charge to all military, police, and gendarmerie personnel who are citizens of covered Latin American and Caribbean nations. The governments of Argentina and Canada have donated funds to sponsor the cost of this training.
Students should visit http://elplac.peaceopstraining.org/ for details.
This is the most important section of this manual. It gives complete instructions on how to operate the IDLP at your Mission.
To operate the IDLP at your Mission, the TFP is responsible for the following:
The following sections describe the programme of study from beginning to end, starting with the enrolment process, continuing with the studying process, and concluding with the End-of-Course Examination. The role of the TFP is explained at every stage, along with an explanation of the Programme from the student’s perspective.
After reading this section, we hope you understand the details involved with IDLP and feel able to answer most questions about the Programme. If you have a question or a concern not addressed in this section, please contact the Peace Operations Training Institute for further assistance.
Students enrol in courses by visiting the Peace Operations Training Institute Web site for their Mission:
http://<mission_acronym>.peaceopstraining.org/
Because not all Mission personnel are eligible for IDLP, visitors are first asked to select their personnel category. Based on that selection, they are directed either to the main IDLP site (if eligible) or to one of the Peace Operations Training Institute’s complementary programmes for students not covered by IDLP.
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The main IDLP site, available in English, French, and Spanish, provides visitors with a description of the Programme, information on which students are eligible, and enrolment instructions.
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To enrol, students must fill out the online enrolment form with the following information: gender, title or rank, full name, e-mail address, nationality, personnel status, and desired course.
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In addition to her personal information and desired course, the student must also select the desired course format. When the Mission purchases the IDLP Licence, they decide on what formats of the course texts they want to provide at the Mission—one or more choices among “Download,” “CD,” or “Print”. “Download,” the preferred format, means the student can access her course text electronically as a PDF. The course PDF can then be saved to the student’s computer or printed, as desired.
“CD” means a student can request a PDF of the course text on a CD from the TFP. “Print” allows a student without regular computer access to request a printed copy of the course from the TFP. With both “CD” and “Print,” the TFP is then responsible for providing the student with the most up-to-date course book. Offering print or CD-ROM copies of courses is at the Mission’s discretion and expense.
After submitting the enrolment form, the student is asked to confirm her information a second time. The accuracy of this information is quite important. The student’s name and title will appear on her Certificate of Completion exactly as provided (including any spelling or capitalization mistakes). Finally, the student is presented with an “Enrolment Complete” message.
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Upon submission of the enrolment form, an e-mail message is sent to the TFP. This message contains the student’s information. The TFP must verify the student’s identity and personnel status before the student can begin her studies. Only students in the personnel categories covered by your Mission’s IDLP Licence are eligible for courses through IDLP.
The TFP should select one of the links in this e-mail message to accept or deny the student’s enrolment. Clicking a link in this message takes you to the IDLP administration page for your Mission. Enter your password to finish accepting or denying the student’s enrolment.
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You may also view all pending enrolments by visiting the enrolment management page directly:
http://<mission_acronym>.peaceopstraining.org/enrollment_management.php
A student’s enrolment request must be approved before you are able to edit that student’s enrolment information. View a student’s enrolment, then click “Edit this student’s enrolment info.” You may then correct any of the student’s information (including the spelling and capitalization of her name).
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If you approve the enrolment and the student selected “Download,” then the student will receive a confirmation e-mail message with her enrolment number and instructions on how to download her course as a PDF.
If you approve the enrolment and the student selected “Print” or “CD,” then the student must contact the TFP to arrange to receive a printed or CD-ROM copy of the course. Your IDLP kit includes course PDFs that you can print for students who choose this option.
If you deny the enrolment, then the student’s information will be deleted from the enrolment system. The student will receive a notification by e-mail.
As described above, the student receives an e-mail notification of her enrolment confirmation. She may then either receive a printed/CD copy of her course from the TFP or download her course as a PDF.
Each course includes individual lessons of ten to thirty pages, each ending with a self-scoring quiz. Students should use these quizzes to check their progress and knowledge of the course material.
When the student is satisfied that she has mastered all study material, she may complete the End-of-Course Examination. Note that the examination must be taken within one year of the end of the IDLP Contract. The examination process is described in the next section.
When a student is satisfied with her mastery of the course material, she may attempt the End-of-Course Examination. To take the examination, the student should visit the IDLP Web site for your Mission:
http://<mission_acronym>.peaceopstraining.org/
and click on “Examination.” After providing her enrolment number, she will then be presented with a set of fifty multiple-choice questions, selected at random and presented in a random order. The examination is specific to that student; no other student will receive the same set of questions in the same order.
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Students may take as much time as they wish to select their responses. They may refer to the course book or their notes, but they may not receive help from any other person.
The examination may be printed and studied away from the computer. When the student returns to the examination page and enters her enrolment number again, she will see this same examination again and can select her answers.
Once every question has been answered, the student should click “Submit.” The examination page will only accept a complete set of answers; students must submit all answers at one time.
Once submitted, the student’s completed examination will be graded immediately and automatically. A score of 75% or higher is necessary to pass and receive a Certificate of Completion.
If the student passes, then she will see a page informing her of her success and allowing her to download and print her Certificate of Completion. A successful student may view her Certificate at any time by visiting the examination page and entering the enrolment number for the passed course. A link to her Certificate will be provided on that page.
If the student fails, then she will see a page showing which questions were answered incorrectly. The correct answers to the missed questions are not given. The student must then review the course material until she is confident in her mastery of the subject. When she is confident, she should return to the examination page and enter her enrolment number again. She will then be presented with a second examination with a new set of questions.
This means that a student cannot simply review the questions she missed. She must study until she is confident in her understanding of the entire course.
The Certificates of Completion are downloaded as PDFs. If a student is having trouble downloading a Certificate, she should download the latest version of her PDF viewing software.
Two attempts are allowed for the End-of-Course Examination, and a score of 75% or higher is needed to pass. If a student fails the Examination twice, she has failed the course and may not attempt the examination again. The student can be encouraged to enrol in the course again. Students may enrol in courses as many times as the Training Officer decides is appropriate.
It is impossible to submit an incomplete examination, so no student will fail by mistakenly submitting a partial examination. Similarly, students cannot accidentally submit an examination twice.
If a student truly appears to have failed an examination by mistake, the TFP should either allow the student to submit a new enrolment request or contact the Peace Operations Training Institute for assistance (see below).
The examination system shows which questions a student missed, but it does not provide the answers. At no time does the Peace Operations Training Institute release correct answers to students who failed their examination. Students must study the course material again in order to find the answers to missed questions.
If you have a problem or question not answered in this document, please contact the Peace Operations Training Institute directly.
Brian Mitchell is the IDLP Coordinator. His e-mail address is mitchell@peaceopstraining.org.
Last updated 2008-07-07
