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Article Excerpt
Abstract
In search of a distance education program's crucial success factors, this research was conducted through a designed survey and evaluation instrument, for a predominantly doctoral program at DE University (DEU, an adopted name). Also, the survey has identified some challenging factors along with students' most crucial reasons for adopting distance education programs. The author has presented a testable theoretical model of distance education programs. The top four success factors were revealed to be program quality, general recognition and academic integrity, students' satisfaction, and students' progress toward the ultimate goal of graduation. Lack of time and worries about the degree recognition by prospective academic and nonacademic employers were the most crucial challenging factors. (JEL I20)
Introduction
This research is designed to identify and explain a list of feasible and effective factors associated with successful models of mainly graduate (along with undergraduate) distance education. Successful distance education requires a well-calculated checklist of all relevant resources. Specialized instructors, equipments (computer hardware and software, and broadcasting equipments), tested methods of delivery, supporting staff, technical managers, well-oriented students for the task, financial resources (budget), and technological resources, are all important components of various types of distance education programs.
Distance education is a new, exciting, and rapidly growing field in which schools, universities, education boards, and governments, everywhere are actively exploring. Distance education is defined as "any formal approach to learning in which a majority of the instruction occurs, while the educator and learners are at a distance from one another" [Verduin and Clark, 1991, p. 8]. Distance education is typically characterized as having four features [Roberts, 1996, p. 812]:
1. Teacher and learners are separated during at least a majority of the instructional process;
2. An educational organization influences the process, including some form of student evaluation;
3. Educational media (technologies) are used to unite teachers and learners and to carry course content; and
4. Two-way communication is provided between teacher, tutor, or educational agency and learner.
For experts and providers of distance learning, the biggest concerns revolve around the programs' success, on the one hand, and the technical, economic, and political aspects of distance education on the other hand. Education is becoming more accessible and interactive. It can reach more people more easily across economic, geographic, and social boundaries. Distance education lets students control what they wish to learn, when they want it, and wherever they want it. This further enhances its appeal to fit in with the busy lifestyles of today's people. Many distance education students are older, have jobs, and/or families. They must coordinate the different areas of their lives, which influence each other, their families, jobs, spare time, and studies. Distant students have a variety of reasons for taking courses. Some students are interested in obtaining a degree to qualify for a better job. Many take courses to broaden their education and are not really interested in completing a degree but are simply concerned about self-enrichment. Learners will typically study in four types of locations when taking a course delivered by distance education programs: the home, the workplace, study centers, and classrooms [Roberts, 1996, p. 813].
According to Commission on Technology and Adult Learning (COTAAL, 2001, p. 4), to school administrators, distance education is alluring because it can lower costs and help their institution modernize and "get-digital." They also like its potential to reduce facility requirements as well as the need to provide for, or subsidize, such things as student transportation costs. However, they know that there can be some costs, such as time and money for equipment, security, retraining, and consultation. People can learn more efficiently through e-learning in large part because it makes learning more personalized and more accessible. In addition to quality and performance improvements, COTAAL [2001, p. 11] has reported that distance education also holds enormous potential as a tool for reducing the costs of workplace-related education and training. In both traditional and distance education settings, once the up-front infrastructure and development costs are met, the marginal cost of service for each additional student is close to zero.
Many educators are concerned if distant students learn as much as students receiving traditional face-to-face instruction. Research comparing distance education to traditional face-to-face instruction indicates that teaching and studying at a distance can be as effective as traditional instruction when the method and technologies used are appropriate to the instructional tasks, there is student-to-student interaction, and there is timely teacher-to-student feedback:
By providing distance education in various states, communities, and organizations, it will be possible to improve competitiveness and step into a new era of unprecedented growth and opportunities for all Americans. [COTAAL, 2001, p. 27]
Roberts [1996, p. 815] predicted that the future for distance education is a promising one in creating growth and opportunity through more active economic factors.
The author's main objectives in this paper are summarized in the identification of the success factors, the challenging factors, and the role of the program quality. The fact that a great number of doctoral students withdraw before or after reaching the dissertation level is of a great concern to all stakeholders. Success of any type of education, including a distance education program, is an important issue for students, faculty, distance education institutions, and the corresponding employers. The questions to be analyzed include the following three: What are the perceived key success factors in a successful distance-education program? What are the warning factors (barriers) leading to a partial or complete failure? What is the role of the program quality? This research will be based on various perspectives, including those of students, faculty, distance...
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