I. Definition of Key Terms
a. Atrrition Rate
b. E-learning
c. Electronic Bulletin Board
d. Face to Face course
e. Faculty
f. Faculty Incentives
g. Internet
h. Intuitional Support
i. Online Support
j. Program Director
k. Student Support Services
l. Released Time
m. Virtual University, college or learning environment
II. Background Information about distance learning
a. Development of distance learning
b. Features of distance learning
III. Support Development Mechanism of Distance Learning
a. A vision for e-learning at the institution;
b. Development of a technology development plan;
c. Development of faculty workload policies which relate to e-learning;
d. Maintenance of a reliable technology network;
e. Facility for providing technology support to staff and students;
f. Market research support; and
g. Provision of time release for faculty engaged in e-learning developments.
V. Characteristics of Students of Distance Learning
a. Self-starter
b. Self-discipline
c. Knowledge in technological requirements
d. More in command of their learning
IV. Advantages of Distance Learning to Students
a. Improving the quality of learning
b. Improving access to education and training
c. Reducing the costs of education
d. Improving the cost-effectiveness of education
Rationale of the Study
Education at a distance have long been recognized as a means of providing access to knowledge and learning facilitation to those for whom it might otherwise be denied (e.g. persons engaged in part-time employment or living in remote rural communities). In recent years, the advent and widespread use of information technology (IT) and, in particular, the mass popularization of the Internet/World Wide Web (WWW) have meant that opportunities have been identified for developing distance learning activity into a more advanced online environment.
Technology has eclipsed the ability and motivation of institutions to support it. Many early adopters have failed. The marketplace still demands traditional methods of delivery of instruction. It is, however, apparent from the literature and collective experience that improved instructional delivery is necessary. Thus, technology, research and the marketplace are leading the academy to a significant paradigm and cultural change.
Many students are choosing distant learning for various reasons ranging from preference to lack of choice. Some take up distant learning because of their lifestyle, while others like professionals who wish to further their education find distant learning more convenient. According to Hall (1997), Khan (1997) and Zolkos (1999), professionals prefer distant learning since distance education provides increased efficiency. Another reason is that it also offers reduced costs for both the students and their employees. These conveniences are upped a notch with the introduction and utilization of computers and the internet. The era of the World Wide Web signaled that students will be able to attend school without actually leaving the comforts of their home; it signaled the start of the e-learning age, where a degree is just a click of the mouse away.
However, it seems that these conveniences and cost reduction features of e-learning is not enough to keep the students from drifting away. News of e-learners dropping out or stopping out is not at all new. This has been one of the persistent dilemmas that learning institutions face. According to Martinez (2003), the reduction of attrition rate will result to better allocation of delivery resources (p. 1). In turn, this means that their will be an improvement on return investments (Martinez, 2003, p.1). In addition, the numbers of students who successfully complete courses both through e-learning of conventional schools determine the number of professionals who will be able to service the public in the future. This is especially true in the counseling profession since sufficient training is crucial in practicing effective counseling.
Education at a distance have long been recognized as a means of providing access to knowledge and learning facilitation to those for whom it might otherwise be denied (e.g. persons engaged in part-time employment or living in remote rural communities). In recent years, the advent and widespread use of information technology (IT) and, in particular, the mass popularization of the Internet/World Wide Web (WWW) have meant that opportunities have been identified for developing distance learning activity into a more advanced online environment (Furnell et al., 1998).
Over the past few years, institutions of higher education in the United Sates and overseas have been investing increasingly larger sums of money in a range of electronic learning (e-learning) initiatives (Alexander, 2001). The USA e-learning market will grow from US.3 billion in 2001 to US.7 billion by 2004, while worldwide the overall e-learning market is expected to rise from US billion by 2004 (Gordon, 2002).
E-learning will be the great equalizer in the new century. By eliminating barriers of time, distance, and socio-economic status, individuals can now take charge of their own lifelong learning. Alexander (2001) believes that using Internet technology in distance learning will produce these advantages:
- Improving the quality of learning;
- Improving access to education and training;
- Reducing the costs of education; and
- Improving the cost-effectiveness of education.
Mangan (2001) states that e-learning success is a mixed bag. Technology has eclipsed the ability and motivation of institutions to support it. Many early adopters have failed. The marketplace still demands traditional methods of delivery of instruction. It is, however, apparent from the literature and collective experience that improved instructional delivery is necessary. Thus, technology, research and the marketplace are leading the academy to a significant paradigm and cultural change (Mangan, 2001).
Alexander (2000) believes that the following support and development mechanism constitutes an integral part of an e-learning initiative:
- A vision for e-learning at the institution;
- Development of a technology development plan;
- Development of faculty workload policies which relate to e-learning;
- Maintenance of a reliable technology network;
- Facility for providing technology support to staff and students;
- Market research support; and
- Provision of time release for faculty engaged in e-learning developments.
Alexander and McKenzie (1998) reported that e-learning would fail for the following reasons:
- Overly ambitious in terms of desired outcomes for the budget and time available.
- Utilized particular information technologies for their own sake, without sufficient regard for appropriate learning design.
- No change in the assessment of learning to suit the changed learning outcomes
- Commenced software development without adequate planning.
- Failed to prepare students for participation in learning experiences such as working in groups.
- Failed to obtain copyright clearance.
The purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to identify the critical success factors for implementing e-learning programs in institutes of higher education. The study will identifying and exam proposed e-learning models and frameworks.
The study will be conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the researcher will identify the critical factors for successful implementation of e-learning in institute of higher education from the literature. The second phase, the researcher will survey faculty and program director of e-learning program in the United States to validate critical success factor and rank them according to their importance.
Statement of the Problem
Alexander, (2001) notes that e-learning projects failed to deliver an outcome at all, while others failed to achieve any evidence of learning outcomes. Historically, increasing access to quality education has been one of the main justifications for the use of e-learning (Berge, 1998). But there are three issues facing universities regarding the quality of e-learning. First, e-learning is different from traditional face-to face learning and therefore demand new quality assurance. Second, there are low or no quality standards in place for e-learning programs. Finally, there are no consensuses on what practices exemplify quality in e-learning programs (Twigg 2001).
A major problem associated with e-learning education is the lack of program focus, with the majority of attention going to individual course offerings. Accepting the notion that a holistic view must be assumed for e-learning programs to be considered effective (Husmann & Miller, 2001).
Furthermore, “Much of the activity in e-learning is taking place at the level of development of courses and their resources. Only a small number of institutions have recognized that successful e-learning takes place within a complex system, composed of many interrelated parts, where failure of only one part of that system can cause the entire initiative to fail” (Alexander, 2001).
This study will identify the critical factors that will ensures a high quality of e-learning education that leads to a successful implementation and expansion of e-learning systems within higher education.
Web-Based Education
The online education market is getting bigger and bigger as investors start pouring in millions of dollars on the enterprise. According to Thomas Weisel Partners, the estimated value of the virtual higher education is around billion by 2003 and around 1 billion corporate learning market (Forbes, 2000). This means that the market for virtual higher learning climbed to billion from technically nothing at all. The market was even dubbed by John Chambers as the “killer app” of the internet (Forbes, 2000).
The interest in virtual higher education is partly to be attributed to the fact that the higher education sector is quick to embrace the usage of the internet in facilitating educational programs. In December of 1999, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) under the United States Department of Education (USDE) published a national survey entitled distant learning in higher education1997-98 (Forbes, 2000). The findings of the survey revealed that almost 44 percent of higher education institutions were already offering distant courses. Of the larger institutions, with students of more than 10,000, 87 percent have distant learning programs. In addition, the internet have been shown as a medium being favored more then the television or interactive television.
Many students are being encouraged to try distant learning for various reasons ranging from preference to lack of choice. Some take up distant learning because of their lifestyle, while others like professionals who wish to further their education find distant learning more convenient. According to Hall (1997), Khan (1997) and Zolkos (1999), professionals prefer distant learning since distance education provides increased efficiency. Another reason is that it also offers reduced costs for both the students and their employees. These conveniences are upped a notch with the introduction and utilization of computers and the internet. The era of the World Wide Web signaled that students will be able to attend school without actually leaving the comforts of their home; it signaled the start of the e-learning age, where a degree is just a click of the mouse away.
Web based education is fast replacing the traditional classroom set-up. The scope of this trend is also becoming wider and wider. Today web based education is being used on high school education and even in the medical field. According to Gonzolas (2005), even the Department of Defense is into web-based education and they launched more than 1000 classes the previous year. As stated earlier, distant learning, in this case web-based education is being endorsed because it is able to meet the students’ needs for ready and convenient education (Buckley, 2003).
In addition, students benefit from the online programs since there is now increased access to education, more specifically higher education. This became possible since formal education programs are no longer bounded by the four corners of the physical classroom. This means that more students willing to learn but are unable to go to a school can now obtain a degree through online programs. Aside from flexible location, other benefits of online programs fro students are individualized instructor attention provided to the students, less or no travel time needed to get to classes and increased time to reply to the questions that were posted by the instructor (Matthews, 1999).
However, it is not only the students who benefit from online programs, but also the school that implements them. One of these benefits includes increased enrollment and thus increased funds for the keeping programs alive. By being able to extend a hand to students who are constrained by time and geographical locations, schools that have online programs experience increase in enrollment.
One of the universities that offer online programs is the West Texas A&M University (WT). It is a mid-sized university that is the center of education and research services in the region. Annually the WT experiences an average of 6,500 enrollments. However, the region is densely populated which makes it an ideal setting for online programs (Terry, 2001). With this, the West Texas A&M University pioneered online programs in the region. In 1997, the university’s College of Business Schools and Programs started to offer some of their MBA programs online.
The fee for taking online classes is basically the same to traditional classes, with the exception of an additional for costs of technical support. Around 200 students responded to the encouragement of the university to take online classes. Today, fifteen graduate business courses are being offered by the College of Business Schools and Programs. Out of the fifteen programs being offered by the WT, thirteen experienced more enrollment compared to their traditional counterparts. In 2000, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reviewed the online programs being offered by WT. The assessment of the online programs of WT came out positive (Terry, 1999).
Definition of Terms
The following are definitions of selected terms used in this study:
Attrition Rate:
The percentage of students who withdraw from a course after drop/add period
Critical Success Factors:?
E-learning:
Also may be called Internet-based learning, online learning, online distance learning, web-based learning, distributed learning, web-based instruction, Web-based training, virtual class, virtual university, CMC and Asynchronous network learning (ASN). It is a form of distance learning in which the course content is delivered and the interactions are provided by the communication tools, technologies, and methodologies of the Internet (Jung, 2000). Internet-based distance education has three major components: teacher and learners, separation by time and/or space (geographic distance), and communication mediated by Internet technology (Telg & Irani, 2000).
E-Mail:
Electronic mail, the transition of messages across computer networks
Electronic Bulletin Board:
A computer mediated, threaded discussion where students and faculty can participate in asynchronous communication, also called discussion board.
Face-to-face course:
Any course taught where the instructor and student are in the same location
Faculty:
This refers to the teaching staff of the respondent university. Specifically, this teaching personnel utilizes the method of e-learning in her/his lessons.
Faculty Incentives: This refers to the encouragement acquired by the teaching personnel that induces motivation in continuing the use of online learning method of instruction in their lessons. These incentives may be monetary or otherwise.
Internet:
Is a worldwide collection of computer networks connecting academic, governmental, commercial, and organizational sites using Transfer (Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) TCP/IP ( Crowin, 1996; Gilster, 1997; Peete, 1995).
Intuitional support:
A plan training, compensation, and reward provided by institutions.
Online Support:
This refers to the assistance provided by the learning institutions in order for students and faculties to adhere to online learning.
Program Director:
This refers to the decision makers of the universities and colleges that acquire responsibility among the faculty
Student Support Services:
An integral part of the overall mission of institutions of higher education that attempts to fulfill one or more of the following purposes: 1) providing essential institutional services, 2) teach life management skills, 3) provide links through which students can integrate knowledge gained in curricular and co-curricular settings (Barr & Keating, 1985; Kauffmann, 1984).
Released Time:
To dismiss faculty participating in e-learning education from their regular working hours.
“Virtual” University, college, or learning environment:
Any educational institution using technology to enable students to break the time and space barriers traditionally associated with learning and studying (Dixon, 1996).
It seems that the conveniences and cost reduction features of e-learning is not enough to keep the students from drifting away. News of e-learners dropping out or stopping out is not at all new. This has been one of the persistent dilemmas that learning institutions face. Studies have shown that attrition rates in distant learning including e-learning is higher than traditional courses or face-to-face classes (Thompson, 1997; Phipps & Merisotis, 1999; Smith, Ferguson & Caris, 2002). Some of the studies went to the lengths of investigating demographic characteristics, such as age, marital status, gender, educational level and maturity level, of the students involved to determine was causes students to discontinue distant learning (Morgan & Tam, 1999; Carr, 2000).
According to Martinez (2003), the reduction of attrition rate will result to better allocation of delivery resources (p. 1). In turn, this means that their will be an improvement on return investments (Martinez, 2003, p.1). In addition, the numbers of students who successfully complete courses both through e-learning of conventional schools determine the number of professionals who will be able to service the public in the future. This is especially true in the counseling profession since sufficient training is crucial in practicing effective counseling.
High attrition rates are not only observable in online classes. As presented by the study conducted by Terry (2001), attrition rate in the traditional setting is also evident. In addition, Stewart (2005) stated that fifty percent of the students who enroll to get their doctorates end up with earning it. She further explained that there are various reasons for the occurrence of such high attrition rates in the higher education system. These reasons include problems with the funding of the program chosen by the student; some students have uncertainties with their career options upon earning their doctorate and a mismatch between the student and the chosen field of study.
However, the attrition rate in traditional classes or programs do not seem to affect the education sector in the same manner as the online programs do. This may be brought about by the fact students enrolled in traditional classes drop out gradually and less frequently compared to those who are taking online classes (Chyung, ). The reasons presented by Chyung can be deemed as technical reasons.
These reasons are sometimes inevitable and there is no other way but to discontinue. For example, the mismatch between the student and the chosen field can result to unsatisfactory performance of the student. This means that if the student will choose to continue with the program time and resources are bound to be wasted.
According to Morgan and Tam (1999), demographic factors such as age, sex, marital status and education level are determinants of the students’ decision to complete a distant education program. Parker (1999) added that the number of courses and financial restrictions should also be taken into consideration when discussing attrition rate among e-learners.
However, it is the characteristic and the attitude of the student towards e-learning that greatly affect their decision to continue or stop the e-learning program. Robyler (1999) and Wade (1999) presented five characteristics that students must posses in order to successfully complete e-learning courses. The first characteristic is being a self-starter. This means that students must take it upon themselves to recognize the need to complete the course. Second is self-discipline. Being able to skip class and get away with it is very tempting that is why e-learners must be able to contain their urges to watch television rather than take their on-line classes.
Third, e-learners must be knowledgeable of the technological requirements of their on-line course. Otherwise, they will be having difficulties from the beginning. In turn, this may cause them to think that they will not be able to finish the course if they cannot even set it up. Fourth, not attending a conventional school should not stop e-learners from meeting other students and faculty within the virtual community. Establishing networks will create a support that will help e-learners with their studies. Lastly, e-learners must want to be more in command of their learning environment. This will allow them to feel and think that they will be able to overcome the obstacles of the program.
With this, Levy (2001) stated that there are two kinds of e-learners. The first kind will be able to appreciate the flexibility of distant education via the internet. These kinds of students are the ones who possess and put into practice the characteristics presented by Robyler and Wade. However, Zielinski (2000) linked the practice of the characteristics with the demographic characteristic of the student. He state that students who are able to mange their time are young and single. On the contrary, e-learners who are already working and married have to split their time among family, work and study. This usually makes it more difficult for them to stick with the on-line course.
Aside from the abovementioned student characteristics, there are still other factors that result to the discontinuance of online courses. Earlier, it has been stated that the lack of support often drives students to drop there online classes. According to Ryan (2002), the technological hurdles prove to be one of the key factors that lead to high attrition rates in online programs. It is often the case that students get lost in the interface. Instructions as to how the interface works is often inadequate. Because of this, students must devote more time in order to get a hang of the interface.
For first time online students, most specially those who are not very keen when it comes to navigating the World Wide Web, the experience can be frustrating. A number of buttons needs to be clicked before being able to go to the message board where the discussion takes place. It is like looking for a needle in a haystack or the student can be liken to a lab mouse trying to finds its way out. This suggests that the students are not able to get the guidance they need during the first few weeks of there transition stage. It may be the case that some student thought it was hopeless to tinker around with their computers and decided to drop out of the class early on.
In the previous pages of this chapter it has been stated that there is a lack in the design of e-learning programs to motivate the students to stay. In addition, the difficulty of navigation has been presented as one of the shortcomings of the e-learning design. Also included in this lack of the design is that some of the website where virtual classes are being held are not user friendly. As abovementioned, students tend to get frustrated when they are not able to quickly manage the site and go about on attending their virtual classes.
The fact that teachers do not have the kind of control that they do on traditional classrooms, teachers cannot easily detect if their students are sharing the problems mentioned above. This suggests that teachers cannot easily intervene in the decision of their students to drop out.
Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com
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