Senior professor Dr Hari Prakash was appointed as the new director of Andhra University School of Distance Education (AUSDE) on Sunday.Vice-chancellor Prof G Nageswara Rao handed over the appointment letter to Hari Prakash. AUSDE is going to celebrate its foundation day on Monday. A series of programmes have been lined up as part of the celebrations, Prof Rao informed. He added that certificates and medals will be given out to toppers of every course. "The school of distance education has more than 50,000 students and offers 50 courses. The varsity has introduced a number of non-conventional courses in recent times," The AUSDE has been honouring toppers of every course each year with medals and certificates. For some courses, donors have raised funds for the awards.The unique distinction of AUSDEs is that those enrolled in the school are awarded the same degree in case of regular students.