Changing students’ characteristics and a changing higher education environment prompt a fresh look at distance learning. Such a study can interpret why we need to offer flexibility to students, how we should appreciate the opportunity provided to the Shiite community to invest in faculty and learning resources once more, and demonstrate educational validity by supporting the need for an efficiently and affordably provided broad range of educational opportunities throughout the virtual world for the growing higher education population demands which is spread rapidly among the Shia Youngsters who seek for their worldly as well as their celestial knowledge.
By finding that distance learning can be at least as effective as traditional classroom instruction for the delivery and acquisition of many types of knowledge, one would admire the high rate of worldwide spreading to an extent that during 1994-1995, approximately 50,000 students participated in 800 on line courses offered through instructional telecommunications by 70 of the US state's public higher education institutions. Presently in 2017, they are outnumbered.
Hadi Virtual University directed its time and energy towards a “Shia Studies Programs” only by distance learning and has agreed to be the distance learning assistant for the ICIS (International Colleges for Islamic Studies, London, UK) which provides knowledge to remote areas.
Hadi Virtual University as a charitable organization was founded in 2006 to focus on “Shia Studies Program” only by distance learning. By employing IT experts and the latest facilities Hadi University started virtual courses in Islamic Science. In 2014 it became affiliated to The International Colleges of Islamic Science (ICIS) to be benefited of the services provided by them and to be promoted to the standard level defined as an International institute.
In the undergraduate as well as higher education programs, Hadi University follows two modes of Distance Learning: The synchronized virtual courses and non-synchronized ones. Courses are benefited from both methods by offering online class training and offline assignments, too.
Postgraduate studies (MPhil and PhD) has already started at the Hadi University since 2009. The adopted method in postgraduate studies is "by research and training", a method adopted by most British universities. The research topic is agreed between the supervisor and the student after the approval of the dean of the Postgraduate Department. Throughout the research period student will be required to attend the regular research seminars, and conferences, and is obliged to attend higher level courses in Fundamentals of Islam Beliefs to get more knowledge about the topic of their research field on the other hand he/she holds a seminar about the research progress to supervisor and fellow students.
This department is aimed to complete the Hadi University mission in graduating highly qualified students who are able to create knowledge and research in the fields of the Islamic and Human Sciences. Such students emphasize the contributions to solve the problems that the contemporary Shia community faces.
