Staying active in our professional career does not have to limit ourselves to keep learning. This was admitted by the students of Universitas Pelita Harapan (UPH) Communication Sciences Online Learning during a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) between the leaders of Students Consultant UPH with nine student representatives after their final exams in UPH Lippo Village, on March 7, 2020.

For full-time workers, flexibility becomes one of the main necessities in continuing studies. Aside from that, another important criterion is the ability to choose a program that can meet their needs. Interestingly, the students of UPH Communication Sciences Online Learning comes from various backgrounds starting from actor/actress, TV presenter, pilot, stewardess, entrepreneur, and many more.

Reviews and recommendations are the main reasons for Mawar Eva de Jongh, a student of UPH Distance Study Program, class of 2019, who also works as actress and musician, to choose this program.

“For me, education is an important aspect of my career. I choose UPH because of the reviews I’ve read about it in Google. UPH is the only campus in Jakarta with an online learning system for its Communication Program. Communication Sciences becomes my main choice because it is closely related to my career. Moreover, UPH Communication Sciences Online Learning can really facilitate me to keep studying in the midst of my erratic work hours,” said Mawar who is currently in the middle of her promotion period for her newest movie ‘Teman Tapi Menikah 2’ and her newest single ‘Sedang Sayang-Sayangnya’.

“With my fully packed schedule, I always bring my laptop with me to catch up with all of my class assignments. However, this program is really simple to operate and is very helpful for me. The website provides easy access, a clear moodle that can be easily operated, and also, the online materials given — both video and written materials, are very clear and helpful. Super simple! Especially with excellent lecturers who are caring, communicative, and very helpful,” said Dita.

Aside from Dita and Mawar, other students who were present at the FGD also agreed that the responsive and communicative teaching of the lecturers in this program is really helpful. In addition to that, the simplicity that this program offered becomes a really interesting point for its students. However, this simplicity does not lessen the standard of this Distance Study Program. Marsha Risdasari — presenter, singer, and actress, and also a student of UPH Communication Sciences Online Learning, class of 2017, also admitted this.

“This program has a flexible system in terms of time and it has a simple Moodle system too. Classes materials for this program also has a specific amount of difficulty, variety, especially with the help from Turnitin within the system that will ensure the originality of students’ papers. For me, this is a special advantage of this program. Through this, we can show that the quality of UPH Online Learning graduates are not different from the graduates from the regular program. To be honest, I was really proud when my paper pass the Turnitin checking,” said Marsha.

UPH Communication Sciences Online Learning has committed to keep innovating developing in order to meet the need for an excellent education program that can support students who already have their own professional careers. According to Stella Stefany, S.Sos., M.I.Kom., in relation to the Independent Campus policy, UPH Communication Sciences Online Learning will constantly re-evaluate the curriculum. This re-evaluation is seen as a way for UPH to adjust with are trends or policies. Moreover, in order to enhance the program, Stella also said that UPH Communication Sciences Online Learning will expand its collaboration with industries, create smart classroom, virtual classroom, and many other innovations.