(18-19 July 2009)
The sixth semester in WOU’s academic milestone saw the new students attending the Orientation Day simultaneously held in Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Johor, while students in the East Coast had theirs a day earlier in Kota Bharu.
More than 600 new students have enrolled at WOU nationwide. The students each received goodie bags comprising WOU t-shirts, pens and orientation CDs upon registration for orientation.
At the main campus, the freshmen were introduced to Penang regional office director K. Manoharan and his staff, academics as well as the tutors who were present.
A pre-recorded welcome address by Vice Chancellor Tan Sri Emeritus Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan was projected on the screen. Acting Vice Chancellor Prof Wong Tat Meng extended a warm welcome to the students, reiterating in his speech the university’s commitment and readiness to help students in their educational journey.

PROF WONG WELCOMES THE STUDENTS.
Next was the oath-taking ceremony for the new students, led by Bachelor of Business student Cheang Ruwee.
The dean of the School of Foundation and Liberal Studies, Prof Mogana Dhamotharan, presented the ODL model adopted at the university while Manoharan gave an overview of WOU’s regulations and procedures.
Meanwhile for the Orientation Day at Menara PGRM, 111 new students out of the total 162 who had registered with the Kuala Lumpur and Bandar Utama regional offices, attended.
Deputy Vice Chancellor for Strategy, Planning and Continuing Education (SPACE), Unni Kumaran Menon, welcomed the students and spoke on the ODL model; he later conducted a briefing for the Commonwealth Executive Master of Business Administration and Master of Public Administration (CeMBA and CeMPA) students.

DEPUTY VICE CHANCELLOR U K MENON.
KLRO director Abdul Rahman Sidek briefed the students on WOU’s rules and regulations while student services executive Abdul Latiff Ahmad gave tips on study skills and time management.
At the Ipoh regional office, some 50 students turned up for the orientation which started off with a welcome address by the director, Ching Huey Ling. New CeMBA student Jasvinderjit Kaur led in the oath-taking session, while Lee Meng Poh shared on his experiences as a Master’s student at WOU.

STUDENTS IN IPOH TAKING THE OATH.
WOU’s dean of the School of Science and Technology, Dato’ Prof Dr Ho Sinn Chye, talked about the ODL model, study skills and TMA (tutor marked assignment) for the orientation in Ipoh.

PROF HO GIVES HIS PRESENTATION.
All the new students attending the day-long Orientation Day at the five locations were briefed on WOU’s IT facilities, WawasanLearn, online submission of assignments, and the digital library resources available. The comprehensive session on study skills and TMA preparation taught the students how to study smart and work on assignments.

A HANDS-ON WORKSHOP AT THE KUALA LUMPUR REGIONAL OFFICE.