HOW TO STUDY THE FREE EDUCATION COURSE?

• 1. Select the free accredited course

First you have to register using an email address, then you will be able to see the complete list of free accredited courses with their corresponding descriptions and suggested bibliography. Once you access this list, you only need to select the free academic course, check the recommended bibliography through the link provided, buy one of the prescribed textbooks and study it. Your  free education course begins the same day you decide to start.

• 2. Buy one book from the suggested list.

These courses include reading suggestions of books that are not available for free (meaning you have to buy them if you want to take full advantage of the course). The EQAC does not make any profit with the suggested books. The proposed textbooks selection is the direct result of what we consider the best options to meet the course contents. Eventually you may find several textbooks listed for the same topic (ranging in price, format, publishing date, authors). You should start your selection from the top and select one of them.

Select the most relevant textbook from the list provided. The textbook should have a minimum of 300 pages in order to be accepted as a valid source of content to meet the course learning outcomes if you plan to get an academic credits certificate.

• 3. You study the course on your own.

With these free education courses you will not access any tutoring, teacher guidance, classroom discussions or the group study sessions encountered in a traditional online degree program. Still, you will find that the recommended bibliography is surprisingly comprehensive.
Sometimes the course content will correspond to just some parts or chapters of the prescribed textbooks. We are sorry that we can not find teachers or staff willing to work for free on your course assessment.

• 4. Get the most out of a free course.

Ultimately, what each student gets out of free online learning depends on his or her own investment into the process. Free classes aren't substitutes for a real university education, but the EQAC free academic courses might just help you build the core knowledge you've always wanted in a certain subject. Purchase the recommended reading books, take your study process seriously, and you might find that you've actually, well... learned something.

• 5. Course credit certification.

Studying a book on your own does not guarantee that the course learning outcomes have been met. In order to get a complete course credit certification you need to demonstrate that you have met the course learning outcomes. You may do so with the presentation of a 15 pages report about the selected book. There is an evaluation and administrative cost involved in this process. Read more...

Enjoy your free course and tell others if you are satisfied with the results. :)

HOW TO DO THE REQUIRED REPORT TO EARN CREDITS CERTIFICATE?

You may study any of the free accredited courses offered by the Education Quality Accreditation Commission just for fun, to improve the quality and efficiency of your education and training, or to earn ECTS (European Union) academic credits. If you want to receive an EQAC course credit certificate you have to submit a report that meet the following minimum requirements:

• Extension: Minimum of 15 pages. Single line spacing, font size 12, on white paper and typed or legibly handwritten on one side of the page only.
• Language: Report should be written in English (unless another language is authorized by the EQAC)
• Cover: Front page should include the student’s full name, course name, and the  complete textbook data (title, author, publisher) and the date.
• Structure: A one page table of contents should follow the cover page. Then the content of the report should follow as indicated in the table of contents. We recommend that the report's lengh does not exceed 25 pages.
• Content: A comprehensive synopsis (summary or synthesis) of the selected textbook has to be developed according to the organization and hierarchy established by the table of contents. Examples, case studies or expressed opinions from the student should be included as applicable to illustrate the student's critical thinking and the application of the theoretical concepts.
• Final conclusion: The last page of the report should be devoted to a final personal conclusion and/or global summary of the contents exposed in the report.
• Textbook: The report should be based on one selected textbook that must be specified in the cover or front page. Select the most relevant textbook from the list provided. The textbook should have a minimum of 300 pages in order to be accepted as a valid source of content to meet the course learning outcomes.

The report that does not meet these requirements will not be accepted by the EQAC Secretary or submitted for evaluation. The report will be submitted to the EQAC secretary by by email attachment .pdf, or .doc formats) with the corresponding Validation Order Form and fee.

EVALUATION, TUTORING & REPORT WRITING PROCESS

TUTORING

The free academic courses do not offer any tutoring or academic guidance. Any requests in this regard will simply not be considered. Please, do understand that the EQAC is already assuming a great cost to offer you a database of over 300 free accredited courses. We can not afford to pay the instructors to take care of your academic progress. If you find instructors that are willing to volunteer and work for free, please let us know.

EVALUATION

The Education Quality Accreditation Commission will provide you with a feedback summary of the evaluation  of your report. If you fail, the EQAC secretary will notify you the reasons why your report failed and you will be given one more opportunity to resubmit the report with the required improvement. If you fail a second time you will be dropped from the course certification process. You may apply again for the certification of the course.

The EQAC Secretary will send your work for evaluation to one of our associated instructors. The evaluation of your work will not start until the course credit certification fee has been paid. Evaluation may take from 2 to 5 weeks depending on the availability of the appropriate instructor.

The EQAC evaluation method encourages developing of thinking ability and information processing. It is based on 4 criteria graded on a 0 to 4 scale.

40% Theoretical Content.

• The way the report corresponds to the selected textbook and reflects it.
• Evaluation of contents comprehension, synthesis skills and concept interaction.
• Report contents are valued only a 40% of the final grade because BIU considers they should be correct given the fact that the textbook is available for the student during report elaboration.

30% Applicable content.

• How the subject is mastered through the use of a case study, examples or comments.
• How the information is applied to subject related problem solving.

20% Format:

• The organization and presentation of the information and the overall report.
• Evaluation of course data organization, hierarchy and interrelationships, and clarity of presentation.

10% PQT- Personal Quality Thinking:

• Evaluation of student's analysis criteria and critical thinking reflected in writing and presentation style, expressed opinions, comments and conclusion.

GRADING

The EQAC uses the following grading scale:

To earn any course credits a grade point average of E (2.0 - 50%) or higher is required.