Students of UCC CoDe complain about the poor academic services offered to them

A College of Distance Education student has lodged a complaint and constructive criticism against UCC CoDe. A complaint (grievances) and a productive criticism concern the poor academic services UCC CoDe has been offering since the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years, respectively.

According to some concerned students, the following are the complaint and grievances of the concerned students regarding the UCC Code:

1. Since the first day we set foot on the various campuses in 2019-2020, there have always needed to be more lecturers to take up multiple courses of study to ensure proper tutoring and success in Academic evaluation.
2. Secondly, we know that it is the sole responsibility of UCC CoDe to provide both lecturers and students with all the necessary course materials (modules) to aid both lecturers in their tutoring process and students in their learning process.
3. This poor academic services UCC Code is delivering to its students nationwide started in the 2019/2020 Academic year. We are now in the 2020/2021 academic year they’ve still not fixed things. We complained and sent out grievances to management, and they seemed not to care.
4. Furthermore, UCC Code increases the cost of the Academic Services they render yearly despite the poor Academic Services they render and even the effect of Covid-19 on us since most of us are teachers. We, distance education students across the nation, pay an expensive amount of fees yearly, and it always stays the same but instead increases annually compared to other distance education institutions.
5. Also, the 2019-2020 academic year has offered 9 and 10 courses per semester (primarily those studying education) since we started. We are treated as regular students, and it's unfair. The courses are too much for us. At least the courses are to reduce as we move on, but it instead increased.
6. In the first year, the first semester, we took 8 courses second semester 9. We are now in the Second Year and 10 courses, yet we are distance students and workers, and many also have families. How can we pass our exams under all this pressure?
7. It also seems the UCC code delights in failing students so that they can earn extra from resistance. How do they expect our students to succeed in evaluation (exams) if we don't give them our course modules? In addition, UCC CoDe is found to suspend the academic calendar every semester and educational evaluation (quizzes and exams).

Students start raising concerns about not receiving their modules whenever quizzes or exams are approaching. Then they will suspend the examination for two weeks and sometimes a month and ask us to be learning at home. We will hear from them. Yet they will not give us our course modules, and the reason for the suspension of quizzes and academic calendars is that students don’t have the materials for learning and preparing for exams. They will not provide the modules during this period as they've suspended the academic calendar. Yet they will resume and set a date for exams. You look at this; it's unbelievable.

As a result of their frequent suspension of the academic calendar and quizzes, we need to catch up. Whereas during the lockdown, our fellow universities provided their students with all their course modules, they were doing online study and writing exams.

OUR CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM

Due to the ongoing poor academic services, we, The Concern Students of UCC CoDe, criticize UCC Code as follows. We think it is 'fraudulent' for a great educational institution like UCC Code to collect a yearly fee of GH¢2,330 first year and 2370Gh¢ second year. Which is for all academic services they render to students, including providing enough tutors and study materials (course modules) for effective learning, but has refused to do that.

UCC Code asks us, students, to trust their guide in the University Logo, which says, "Veritas Nobis Lumen". Is it with these poor academic services of not providing course modules that we should trust the institution to guide us as students? We say to them, they've lost that trust. With what has transpired, and That is still ongoing. 

The institution is not worth being trusted by many nationwide and needs to be more worthy of our trust as its student. How can we, the students, trust the institution that wants us to fail in our academic pursuits?

In addition, because of all that has transpired in the past year and what is ongoing. UCC Code must still be prepared to run the Newly Introduced Distance Education Program. Especially we that are offering Bachelor's Degree In Junior High School Education (BDJHSE) and Diploma In Junior High School Education (DJHSE). Since they can only provide some students nationwide with the course modules to aid us ineffective learning and successful evaluation.

As it stands now, most lecturers don't come to lecture anymore. The reason, we don't know. The concerned student also says we are not coming for lectures and will not write any resist, quizzes, or exams. If our modules will not be given to us.

Besides, All those resist due to their failure to provide us with modules. All fights from First Year till now have to be canceled. Everybody must be scored a Pass Mark.

Conclusively, we call on the government (The President), The Ministry of Education, The Media, Educational Researchers and Institutions, and all other stakeholders of education across the country and the world to come to our aid because it's a shame. From a University of Competitive Choice to a University Of Constant Confusion.

According to the College of Distance Education concerned students, the above complaint and constructive criticism against the institution are not to disgrace UCC CoDe but to put the institution on its toes. Just as they put them (students) on their toes for effective learning and successful evaluation and continue outstanding academic achievements.