Peace Operations Training Institute Integrated Distance Learning Programmes (IDLP and Option 1)

Manual for Administrators

Manual for Administrators

Contents

Welcome

Programme Overview

IDLP

Option 1

Complementary programmes

E-Learning for African Peacekeepers (ELAP)

E-Learning for Peacekeepers from Latin America and the Caribbean (ELPLAC)

Discounted programmes for other Mission staff

Introduction to the Programme

Getting started

Discard old materials

Check your Mission’s programme administration site

Advertise the Programme

Staying up-to-date

IDLP and Option 1 Administration

Enrolment process

Studying process

Examination process

Feedback

Help

The student cannot view their Certificate of Completion

The student is unable to take the End-of-Course Examination

The student failed the first Examination attempt and wants the answers to the missed questions

Glossary

Further assistance

The Peace Operations Training Institute is pleased to present the Integrated Distance Learning Programmes (IDLP and Option 1). We pledge to provide your Mission staff with a positive, valuable, and content-rich training experience. Our course authors are all recognized experts in their fields, and our courses include accepted United Nations practice and doctrine in accordance with the UN Department of Peacekeeping 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 or Option 1, your Mission will provide this training at no personal cost to students. The full list of courses available, and a brief introduction to each, can be found at http://www.peaceopstraining.org/courses.

This manual was written for you, the Mission appointed Training Focal Point (TFP) or other Mission administrator. It explains all aspects of the Programme and will help you administer it at your Mission with a minimum of time and effort.

If you have any questions or concerns, Brian Mitchell, IDLP Portfolio Manager 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.

Programme Overview

This section gives an overview of the Integrated Distance Learning Programme (IDLP) and Option 1, as well as information on complementary Peace Operations Training Institute programmes available for use by Mission personnel.

IDLP

The IDLP provides training to 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 the IDLP Licence and pays a per-student rate based on the Mission’s current strength as listed in the DPKO Background Note dated 31 May 2009.

For the duration of the Licence (one year), students in the approved categories may enrol in any or all of the Peace Operations Training Institute’s courses. Courses are self-paced and must be completed within one year of the end of the IDLP Contract Year during which the student enrolled. To enrol, a student must submit a request through the Mission’s 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 will be needed in order to view or submit examinations.

Once a student’s enrolment is approved, they may:

Download the course text (and print it, if desired)
Request a copy of the course text from the TFP (if the Mission chooses to offer this service)
View examination questions
Submit answers to the examination
Download their Certificate of Completion

A student studies at their own pace, using the End-of-Lesson Quizzes to check their progress and understanding of the material. They may also read supplementary materials on the Peace Operations Training Institute Web site. To pass a course, the student 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 their examination by entering their enrolment number on the IDLP Web page. They are then presented with their 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 their Certificate of Completion (as a PDF), which can be saved and/or printed. If a student fails, they are given the chance to take a second examination once they have reviewed the course material.

Option 1

Option 1 provides a specific number of prepaid course enrolments to Mission personnel. It is up to the Mission training staff to decide who is eligible to enrol in a course. Students will go to the Mission Web page and enrol using the same process as employed in IDLP. It will be up to the TFP to verify enrolments as in IDLP. If a Mission needs to purchase additional enrolments during the year, the TFP or other staff member should contact Brian Mitchell <Mitchell@ peaceopstraining.org>.

Complementary programmes

Not all students are covered by IDLP Licences or Option 1. The Peace Operations Training Institute provides discounted or no cost enrolment programmes for these students. 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.

E-Learning for African Peacekeepers (ELAP)

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 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)

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 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.

Discounted programmes for other Mission staff

Students who are serving on a Mission but are not covered by ELAP, ELPLAC, IDLP or Option 1 can take Institute courses at a substantial discount through one of the following programmes:

Military Contingent E-Learning (MCEL) is for members of formed military units. Tuition is USD120 for all 22 English courses.
United Nations Volunteer E-Learning (UNVEL) is for UN Volunteers and Locally Hired Staff. Tuition is USD120 for all 22 English courses.
International Staff E-Learning (ISEL) is for UN Professional Staff, UN General Service Staff, UN Police, Military Observers, Military Staff Officers at Mission Headquarters, International Contractors, and Other International Staff. Tuition is USD189 for all 22 English courses.

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 site for their Mission:

http://<mission_acronym>.peaceopstraining.org/

and click on their personnel category.

Introduction to the Programme

Getting started

If you are receiving this Manual, your Mission has funded a licence for the delivery of Institute distance training courses already. The next thing for the Mission will be to identify a Training Focal Point (TFP) to coordinate the programme at the mission level. Ideally it should be a member of the Integrated Mission Training Cell if your mission has one, but the programme is designed to minimize the mission-specific input to the process. The TFP should be conversant with the Mission’s training priorities.

To help start the programme in your Mission, the Institute provides the following information on a Compact Disc:

This Manual for Administrators.
Table of Contents of each course, in English.
Copies of the Course Covers for each available text.
An assortment of promotional material that can be distributed in print or electronic format within the mission, including material designed specifically for your mission.
Copies of all the ancillary video and audio resources associated with the courses.

Discard old materials

All brochures, course books, and promotional materials you have left over from previous years should be discarded since many courses have been revised since last year. Print versions of the courses are no longer offered as the norm so any you have are most likely to be out of date. All students and Mission staff should only use the most current materials as available online.

Check your Mission’s programme administration site

The programme 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 to their TFP, access their courses once approved by the TFP, 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 has been sent directly to you (or TFP or Chief, Mission Training) via separate email. If you have any problems reaching the Mission’s IDLP Web site, please contact Brian Mitchell at the Peace Operations Training Institute.

Advertise the Programme

Posters and promotional pamphlets that advertise the Institute’s training at your Mission have been provided on the CD in PDF format. You are encouraged to distribute these throughout your Mission by printing for notice-boards or by email, to make sure all staff members are aware of the training options available to them.

Staying up-to-date

The Peace Operations Training Institute has updated all course covers during the last year and is constantly revising and updating the curriculum. It is very important that Missions use the most up-to-date course texts available.

When a course is revised, the new edition will be immediately available online to new enrolees. The Peace Operations Training Institute will notify the Mission training office, and an electronic link to the course will be provided upon request. 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 will receive the most current version.

To see which edition of a course is newer, consult the date stamp on the inside back cover. This six-digit number is found at the bottom right under the “About the Author” section and appears in YYMMDD format.

Date stamp on course inside back cover

IDLP and Option 1 Administration

This is the most important section of this manual. It gives complete instructions on how to operate IDLP and Option 1 at your Mission.

To operate these programmes at your Mission, the TFP is responsible for the following:

Liaising with the Institute’s Portfolio Manager;
Verifying potential student eligibility and approving or denying enrolment requests accordingly;
Answering students’ questions about the Programme; and
Publicizing the programmes throughout the Mission, along with other Peace Operations Training Institute training programmes.

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 Option 1 and feel able to answer most questions about the Programmes. If you have a question or a concern not addressed in this section, please contact Brian Mitchell at the Peace Operations Training Institute for further assistance.

Enrolment process

Students enrol in courses by visiting the Peace Operations Training Institute’s Web site for their Mission:

http://<mission_acronym>.peaceopstraining.org/

Visitors are first asked to select their personnel category from the options presented. Based on that selection, they are directed either to the main IDLP site (if eligible); the Option 1 site; one of the Peace Operations Training Institute’s complementary programmes; or one for other students.

The student selects their personnel status

The main Mission site, available in English, French, and Spanish, provides visitors with a description of the available Programme, information on which students are eligible, and enrolment instructions.

An example of a mission’s IDLP home page

To enrol, students must fill out the online enrolment form with the following information: gender, title or rank, full name, email address, nationality, personnel status, and desired course.

Sample IDLP enrolment form

After submitting the enrolment form, the student is asked to confirm their information a second time. The accuracy of this information is quite important as the student’s name and title will appear on their Certificate of Completion exactly as provided (including any spelling or capitalization mistakes). Finally, the student is presented with an “Enrolment Complete” message.

An example of the enrolment complete confirmation message

Upon submission of the enrolment form, an email 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 their studies. Only students in the personnel categories covered by your Mission’s IDLP Licence are eligible for courses through IDLP. This is part of the TFP’s responsibility to administer.

If Option 1 has been chosen by the Mission, then the TFP must monitor the number of course enrolments to avoid disappointing potential students on reaching the limit. If a Mission needs to purchase additional enrolments during the year the TFP should contact Brian Mitchell <Mitchell@ peaceopstraining.org>.

The TFP should select one of the links in this email 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.

Sample enrolment management page, showing all IDLP enrolments

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 their name).

Sample enrolment information page

idlp_enrollment_info

If you approve the enrolment and the student then the student will receive a confirmation email message with their enrolment number and instructions on how to download their course as a PDF.

If you deny the enrolment, then the student’s information will be deleted from the enrolment system. The student will receive a notification by email.

Studying process

As described above, the student receives an email notification of their enrolment confirmation. They may then download their course as a PDF, giving them the ability to study it on their own computer or print it for their study.

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 they have mastered all study material, they may complete the End-of-Course Examination. Note that the examination must be taken within one year of the end of the IDLP Contract Year during which the student enrolled. The examination process is described in the next section.

Examination process

When a student is satisfied with their mastery of the course material, they may attempt the End-of-Course Examination. To take the examination, the student should visit the IDLP Web site for their Mission:

http://<mission_acronym>.peaceopstraining.org/

and click on “Examination.” After providing their enrolment number, the student will then be presented with a set of fifty multiple-choice questions, selected at random from our item bank for that course 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.

idlp_exam_sheet

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 their enrolment number again, they will see this same examination again and can select their 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 they will see a page informing them of their success and allowing them to download and print their Certificate of Completion. A successful student may view their Certificate at any time by visiting the examination page and entering the enrolment number for the passed course. A link to their Certificate will be provided on that page.

If the student fails, then they 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 they are confident in their mastery of the subject. When they are confident, they should return to the examination page and re-enter their enrolment number again, whereupon they will be presented with a second examination with a new set of questions.

This means that a student cannot simply review the questions they got wrong. They must study until confident in their understanding of the entire course.

Feedback

Course-feedback-form Students are strongly encouraged to complete the online feedback form for their course. The Institute, and our Course Authors, highly value any input we get from our students, and be assured, they are all considered in the reviews and updates for each course.

Help

The student cannot view their Certificate of Completion

The Certificates of Completion are downloaded as PDFs. If a student is having trouble downloading a Certificate, they should download the latest version of the PDF viewing software.

Adobe Reader can be downloaded for free from http://www.adobe.com/.
Foxit Reader can be downloaded for free from http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php.

The student is unable to take the End-of-Course Examination

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, they have 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 student failed the first Examination attempt and wants the answers to the missed questions

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 questions that were ruled incorrect.

Glossary

Certificate of Completion

Certifies a student’s completion of a Peace Operations Training Institute course. Provided to the student as a PDF, which can be downloaded for later viewing and/or printing.

End-of-Course Examination

Consists of fifty multiple-choice questions. Tests a student’s knowledge of course material. A course is not complete until the student has passed the End-of-Course Examination.

PDF

Stands for Portable Document Format, a way of storing electronic documents. Peace Operations Training Institute courses are provided as PDFs to enrolled students. Courses stored as PDFs can be viewed online, downloaded to a student’s computer for later reading, or printed.

TFP

As used in this manual, refers to the Training Focal Point or other administrator in charge of operating the IDLP and/or Option 1 at the Mission.

Further assistance

If you have a problem or question not answered in this document, please contact the Peace Operations Training Institute at help@peaceopstraining.org or contact the IDLP Coordinator,

Brian Mitchell, directly at mitchell@peaceopstraining.org.

Last updated 2009-07-24