Distance Learning Coordinator
- Qualification: 12th Arts / 12th Arts + Maths / 12th Commerce / 12th Commerce + Maths / 12th PCM + B / 12th PCM / 12th PCB
- salary: Rs. 5,50,000 /year
Who is a Distance Learning Coordinator?
A Distance Learning Coordinator is a person tasked with coordinating day-to-day operations of distance learning programs and schedule courses. Many students opt for distance learning nowadays for the flexibility and convenience it provides.
Distance learning coordinators ensure that these distance learning programs offered by institutes function as desired, in terms of student registration, dispersal of teaching duty, adhering to the course schedule and so on.
What does a Distance Learning Coordinator do?
A Distance Learning Coordinator is usually required to supervise the staff conducting the distance learning programs, train the teachers, implement the distance learning curricula, register the students and the like. In short, it is their job to ensure that the distance learning student gets the learning experience they’d been promised when they enrolled for their distance learning course.
A distance learning supervisor must always try to stay in the know about the latest trends in the distance learning sector. It enables them to evaluate the technology and practices used by their distance learning program and make necessary changes/updates to it, to make it as effective as possible.
Who are eligible?
Anyone who has passed class 12 (any stream) can do the course. You need to complete a Bachelors degree in any field post which a skilled course in a complementary field is required.
What are the skills required?
Most distance learning coordinator jobs require the candidate to be well versed in curriculum design and learning software. Prior work experience and a master’s degree in any field are preferred when hiring for this role. Some institutes also like their distance learning coordinators to have some amount of teaching experience, but this is not a prerequisite for all such jobs.
Other skill requirements are –
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Strong communication skills
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Familiarity with the classroom as a teacher/member of faculty
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Computer knowledge
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The quality of being a patient listener
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Competitive organizational ability
Top colleges offering courses on Distance Learning Coordinating
Distance Learning Coordinating is not an academic subject of study in India. If you wish to pursue a career as a distance learning coordinator, you may complete your Bachelor’s Degree in any subject and then proceed to study at the Master’s level or complete a certification course.
A certification course in complementary skills such as curriculum design or data analysis could help you land yourself a job as a distance learning coordinator. If you are able to acquire experience in online learning, it will help improve your chances of being hired in this job profile significantly.
Sometimes, institutes hiring for a distance learning coordinator want teaching experience in their applicants. If you wish to meet this requirement, you could study for a B.Ed degree after your graduation.
Career Scope
A distance learning coordinator has a lot of scope for career growth in the educational administration field. A distance learning coordinator has often deemed an educational administrator themselves.
Their job role demands that they be skilled in supervising the staff of the distance learning programs, addressing concerns of the distance learners and looking after other related tasks such as class scheduling. A distance learning coordinator then may grow to become –
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Education Coordinators
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Education Administrators
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Elementary Principals
How much does a Distance Learning Coordinator make?
An entry-level distance learning coordinator with 1-3 years experience makes up to Rs 5.5lpa in India. The scope for growth in terms of salary is immense in this field. A distance learning coordinator with more than 8 years of experience can easily command an annual compensation package of Rs 9.5lpa. The average salary for this job profile in India is Rs 7.5lpa and the equivalent hourly compensation is Rs. 364.
What are the books and study material available?
Not too many books/study material is made available to pick up the skills required for a career in distance learning coordinating. However, there are a handful of useful books and resources that you could go through if you are planning a career in this industry. These are –
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Creating Learning Materials for ODL by R Freeman
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Designing Materials for Open and Distance Learning by Oasis Publishing
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E-learning Methodologies by FAO Publishing
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Distance learning: Print vs digital books in distance education by Yoav Yosef Yair
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Learning Materials at a Distance by UK Centre for Materials Education
Major recruiters
Institutes that regularly recruit for the position of Distance Learning Coordinator in India are -
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Lovely Professional University
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NIIT Ltd, Gurgaon
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IIBMS, Pune
Interesting Facts
Distance learning coordinators in the earlier days dealt mostly with student communication over postal mail. With growing technology, soon most distance learning courses will be held online.