I’m supposed to writing a summary of my learnings from my 608 class and from module 6 in 606. Since both deal with leaner support systems I thought I would combine the two.
OMDE 608 (Learner Support in Distance Education) dealt with the issues surrounding learner support systems, such as the types of support, their purpose, and the outcomes of such support. We also learned how to plan, organize, manage, and evaluate support systems.
We learned about different types of support systems, such as the following:
Advising and Counseling: Services that help students before they have signed up for any classes. Students are advised as what sort of programs and classes are appropriate for them. Online registration is part of this effort and makes it easy for distance students to sign up for classes. If students have personal issues that arise at any point during this academic career, counseling is offered to help them through. This could include juggling their work load or even dealing with personal issues.
Tutoring and Teaching: Services provided by tutors to help students with their academic studies and to grade assignments and assessments. Teachers may provide the course content and teach the content, through many different mediums.
Library Registry and Others: Many schools keep an online library of resources that students use for research and further understanding of topics they are learning. Other services may include help with writing, studying, and following research reference and citation rules.
The main reason for these support services is student retention. As Simpson (2007) implies when he quotes a business owner, academia is a strange industry that seems to take pride in its dropout rate. If a business produced a product that failed as much, they would go out of business if they failed to address the issues.
Brindley says the goals of learner services are “leaner empowerment, development of independent/collaborative learners” (1995, p. 26). These traits are meant to help promote learner retention. Economically, retention is also based on the return on investment the learner expects from his/her education (Simpson, 2007).
Institutions have traditionally treated support services as addons, and at the first sign of financial troubles, these services are the first to be cut (Brindley, 1995). Unfortunately, this has proven to be shortsighted. Studies show that educated persons will earn more over their lifetime than their less educated peers (Wolf, 2002). Institutions also benefit from higher retention rates through increased funding and an enhanced reputation (Johnson, 2004). And society and government as a whole can benefit because a more educated society, for example, means less poverty (Rumble, 2007) and more taxes (Simpson, 2007).
From a corporate standpoint, if a business is offering training, the same services and incentives are necessary. For example, employees must also see a return on their investment of time and effort to attend their employer’s training. This means that the employer must offer a chance for a promotion and/or raise, for example.
Institutions now focus on the effectiveness of the program which translates into the number of students that graduate, not just the number of students that have enrolled in the program. In Hulsmann’s OMDE 606 Fall 2013 conference discussions he explains that cost per student comparisons between distance and traditional education favor distance education when examining enrollment numbers; however, when examining graduation numbers the comparisons are not as favorable towards distance education.
References
Brindley, J. E. (1995). Learner services: Theory and practice, Distansutbildning i itveckling, Rapport nr. 11, 23-34. Umea, Sweden: University of Umea.
Johnson, M. (2004). Enhancing study skills: Developing self-help materials for distance learners [e-chapter]. In J. E. Brindley, C. Walti, & O. Zawacki-Richter (Eds.), Learner support in open, distance and online learning environments: Volume 9 (pp. 117-124). [Adobe Digital Edition]. Retrieved from Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg website: http://www.uni-oldenburg.de/
Simpson, O. (2007). Cost-benefit of student retention policies and practices. Institute of Educational Technology, UK.
Rumble, G. (2007). Social justice, economics and distance education. Open Learning, 22(2), 167-176. doi: 10.1080/02680510701306715
Wolf, A. (2002). Elixir or snake oil? Can education really deliver growth? In A. Wolf (Ed.), Does education matter? Myths about education and economic growth (pp. 13-55). London: Penguin books.
Gail Wingate ePortfolio 