Brindley, J.E. (1995). Learner services: Theory and practice. In Distansutbildning i itveckling, Rapport nr. 11 (pp.23-34). Umea, Sweden: University of Umea. Brindley comments on the theoretical and practical aspects of a broadly defined learner services, including instructional support, orientation, advising/counseling, library services, administrative services, and credit coordination. She discusses the early development of learner services for distance education – basically they were added on. This explains why learner services are often in jeopardy of reduction or elimination when budget restraints are applied to education. Brindley goes on to explain the relationship between theory and practice, emphasizing strategies for building an intervention model to aid in choosing the services to be offered. She challenges practitioners to go beyond thinking in terms of simply retaining students by taking the learner-centered approach to research.
Croft, M. (1991). Report on round table on student support services (pp. 1-56). Vancouver, Canada: The Commonwealth of Learning. The Commonwealth of Learning created a Student Services Round Table to develop policies aimed at assisting institutions in encouraging innovation and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of existing student support services. The result was a 56-page descriptive report addressing several areas relevant to Student Support Services including the organization of student support with minimal resources; the use of decentralized models; student support in science, technology, and vocational programs; the use of telecommunication technologies for support; student support in teacher training programs; the special needs of women; and providing support for staff training. Additionally, the report provides relevant examples and suggests methods to deal with student support service issues.
Dillon, C.L., Gunawardena, C.N., and Parker, R. (1992). Learner support: The critical link in distance education. Distance Education, 13(1), 29-45. Dillon et al., emphasizes learner support as critical to distance education. In a poorly designed study intent on evaluating the Oklahoma Televised Instruction System by comparing attitudes and performance of students on campus to those studying from a distance and analyzing various student support services, the data indicated that the system provides and effective learning experience. As the results of this study are promising, the authors encourage comparative research studies as they result in improved practice and foster more focused research ideas.
Glennie, J. (1996). Towards learner-centred distance education in the changing South African context. In R. Mills, and A. Tait (Eds.), Supporting the learner in open and distance learning (pp. 19-33). London, UK: Pitman Publishing. In 1995, the Department of Education in South Africa published a white paper, for the first time discussing education and training system development for all people – regardless of race or ethnicity. Jennifer Glennie examines the inequalities in the educational system in relation to the learner-centered approach and distance education. She believes the key to achieving a reconstruction of the educational system is ensuring that the learners’ needs dictate learning program design, not the vested interests of the institutions and their staff.
Robinson, B. (1995). Research and pragmatism in learner support. In F. Lockwood (Ed.), Open and distance learning today (pp. 221-231). London, UK: Routledge. In her paper, Robinson seeks true research findings on student support, not just guidelines and experiential reports, and attempts to answer the question of whether student support decision-making should be based on these research findings or individual systems and context. She states that based on the limited research on student support services, that it is difficult to draw clear conclusions. Regardless of that fact, she feels it is imperative to continue with research in the area of student support, as it is the route to improvement.
Tait, A. (1988). Democracy in distance education and the role of tutorial and counselling services. Journal of Distance Education, 3(1), 95-99. Tait makes his case for the comparison of distance education and political systems based on Otto Peters’ industrial model of distance education. He brings democracy into this equation by discussing the wording associated with distance education, specifically the word ‘open’. The paper proceeds by looking at several key ideas in relation to distance education, including the model of knowledge, Knowles concepts of adult education, and the role of tutors. He concludes that tutors individualize a mass product, are essential to the process, and in accordance with Knowles concept of adult status, support a democratic educational practice – when looking at the quality of the learning experience.
Tait, A. (1995). Student support in open and distance learning. In F. Lockwood (Ed.), Open and distance learning today (pp.232-241). London, UK: Routledge. Attempting to inform distance education practitioners how to realize the concepts of student support, Tait discusses principles by identifying central concepts underlying student support services. His guidelines on how to realize student support services start with the identification of the target audience and their needs, continuing with looking at how to meet those needs and manage the selected services, rounding out with calculation of the costs and the development of evaluation methods. This circular process ends by comparing the evaluations with the primary goal: addressing how well your activities supported your students and their needs. Tait concludes by stressing the importance of learner-centered approaches to distance education and how this notion has placed student support in the center of the process.
Garland, M.R. (1995). Helping students achieve epistemological autonomy. In Sewart, D. (Ed.), 17th World Conference for Distance Education: One World Many Voices: Quality in Open and Distance Learning: Volume 2 (pp. 77-80). Milton Keynes, UK: International Council for Distance Education and The Open University. Garland explains the relationship between content and student learning in her paper. She discusses different cognitive approached to learning and includes information regarding the application of the various approaches. Her premise is that students must have epistemological autonomy in order to succeed in courses and by creating content that is congruent with student’s epistemological stance, educators can aid students in this effort.
Holmberg, B. (1983). Guided didactic conversation in distance education. In D. Sewart, D. Keegan, and B. Holmberg (Eds.), Distance education: International perspectives (pp. 114-122). London: Croom Helm. Holmberg defines and discusses the benefits of his Guided Didactic Conversation theory. Basically, Guided Didactic Conversation is a style of initiating and responding to discussion postings by students in a distance education format. Personalization, student feelings, and relationship building are all key components of this style. While this paper discusses the fact that no clear conclusions may be drawn from the empirical research on the theory, the tendential outcomes do support it.
Keegan, D. (1986). Interaction and communication, (Chapter 6, pp.89-107). In Keegan, D., The foundations of distance education. Kent, UK: Croom Helm. Keegan continues a discussion of communication and interaction, including several authors’ views, including, Bääth’s two-way communication, Holmberg’s Guided Didactic Conversation, Daniel’s interaction and independence, Sewart’s continuity of concern, and K.C. Smith’s integrated mode. He critically examines each authors’ views, concluding the following: 1) Bääth does not explain how his theoretical framework fits in an overview of the field, 2) Holmberg has pioneered efforts to make distance learning materials completely different from textbooks and has made extensive contributions to the field of distance education, 3) Daniel looks for a balance between independence and interaction in system structure and how this impacts student pacing, 4) Sewart belief in continuity of concern provides an effective counterbalance to those who view distance education as more of a material production process, and 5) Smith, while having refreshing ideas – such as admitting that distance education should be just as costly as traditional education, often claims his institution’s solutions to problems as normative for all institutions.
Morgan, C., and Morris, G. The student view of tutorial support: Report of a survey of Open University Education students. Open Learning, 9(1), 22-33. Morgan and Morris report the results of a survey conducted in 1992 of students in the Open University’s School of Education. The telephone survey was designed to determine students opinions of the tutorial provision where, in the context of TQM. While there was a great deal of satisfaction with the overall program, students indicated a desire for geographical improvements, with particular attention to the rural areas, greater networking among students, increased availability of telephone tutors, and more realistic student expectations of face-to-face tutorials.
Relan A and Gillani B. J. (1997). Web-based instruction and the traditional classroom: Similarities and differences. In Khan, B. (Ed.), Web-based instruction (pp. 25–37). New Jersey: Educational Technology Publications. Relan and Gillani define characteristics of traditional and web-based instructional environments and discuss their similarities and differences related to instructional strategies. They attempt to answer the question about why cognitive instructional strategies are absent in traditional instruction yet prevalent in Web-based instruction by asserting that effective strategies are difficult to integrate within the structural framework of the traditional instruction. On the other hand, the World Wide Web allows the design of innovative instruction regardless of any structures.
Romiszowski, A. (1997). Web-based distance learning and teaching: Revolutionary necessity or reaction to necessity? In Khan, B. (Ed.), Web-based instruction (pp. 91-111). New Jersey: Educational Technology Publications. In his article, Romiszowski debates the issue of revolution or evolution regarding technological enhancements driving distance education. By depicting the workplace of the future and describing key competencies required by tomorrow’s knowledge workers, he begins to set up his argument. He continues by discussing some of the technologies and some of the methodologies relevant to the competencies he previously described and ends by stating that the technologies are revolutionary forces, reshaping educational/training scenarios and therefore, the essential human intellectual skills are in the midst of changing.
Wolcott, L.L. (1995). The distance teacher as reflective practitioner. Educational Technology, January/February Issue, 39-43. When considering the advances in educational technology, Wolcott states that it is increasingly likely that college professors will teach in a distance education setting at some point in their careers. As distance education and educational technology often raise questions not encountered in face-to-face teaching, Wolcott not only discusses these challenges, but also provides a framework for reflection about one’s practice, encouraging professors to re-examine their views on teaching and learning by reflecting on the very nature of education.
Bowser, D., and Race, K. (1991). Orientation for distance education students: What is its worth? Distance Education, 12(1), 109-122. In 1989, UCCQ conducted a survey of 250 students regarding the distance education orientation, the results of which Bowser and Race present in their paper. The evaluation was designed to determine the real cost of the orientation function, establish whether the participants’ needs were being met, identify who was participating in the orientation and why, and identify areas where improvement or change was warranted. The study concluded that the program was being used by the students it was intended for and that it was valuable for them. Timing and appropriate selection of facilitators for the program is critical to success. The authors end by suggesting appropriate alternatives to aid in balancing the costs and addressing student needs.
Brindley, J.E., and Fage, J. (1991). Counselling in open learning: Two institutions face the future. Open Learning, 7(3), 12-19. Brindley and Fage compare and contrast the development of two counseling programs in open education: Athabasca University in Alberta, Canada and Open University in the UK. Each university’s student support system developed along very different lines, in relation to the tradition and geography of each institution, as well as many other differing factors, including size, technological limitations, student bodies, and locus of control. The future in leaning towards a comprehensive student support system, that embodies individualism and opens access to disadvantaged groups. The authors end by discussing the fact that the institutions have very different development stories yet face incredibly similar challenges along with open universities throughout the world, in facing the future of student support services.
Manning, E. (1997). The preparation of students for distance learning: Two very different approaches from a wider European perspective. In Tait, A. (Ed.), Collected Conference Papers, The Cambridge International Conference on Open and Distance Learning, (pp. 114-119). Cambridge, UK: The Open University. Manning compares two different projects from the North Region of the Open University with regards to their efforts in preparing students for their distance education programs. She describes the two programs, a residential weekend, and virtual preparatory course. Manning insists that no matter what the quality of course materials, it is often the support offered that makes the difference between a good program and a great program. While the Virtual Prepday experience was a success, Manning states that it should not be assumed that distance education should replace face-to-face session option. The very fact that a large number of students in Germany were willing to set aside the time and money to attend a residential weekend because they felt it was clearly the most important component of the course indicates that institutions should not do away with the face-to-face orientation.
Nilsson, V. (1989). Voluntary academic assessment to enhance independent learning. In Tait, A. (Ed.), Conference Papers, Interaction, and Independence: Student Support in Distance Education and Open Learning, (pp. 167-181). Cambridge, U.K.: The Open University. Nilsson discusses interaction, in terms of support services designed to help students be successful. Specifically, she provides an example of such interaction with the Voluntary Assessment Program at Athabasca University. The purpose of this program is the help students determine if they are prepared for Athabasca University courses and provides feedback, which includes basic refresher material relating to the weaknesses indicated through the assessments. This program, which focuses on writing, reading, and mathematics, is an example of a support service designed to assist learners in becoming more active learners, while maintaining student independence.
O'Rourke, J. (1995). A piece of the jigsaw: Student advising in distance education. In Tait, A. (Ed.), Collected conference papers, Sixth Cambridge International Conference on Open and Distance Learning, (pp.136-145). Cambridge, UK: The Open University. O’Rourke addresses the role of student advising in distance education in the context of reflections by two prominent women in the field: Professor Sally Haag from the University of Waterloo and Dr. Monique Layton of Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Distance Education. Each views the role student advising from their experience and university perspectives. Both believe that students need contact, clarity and advocacy and some helpful hints. Although each one stressed different points regarding student advising, it was evident that no one part was more important than the other, which is why the author chose to utilize the jigsaw puzzle analogy.
Phillips, M., and Scott, P. (1999). Multimedia advice, guidance and counselling on the Web: A prototype learner's guide. In Tait, A. (Ed.), Collected Conference Papers, The Cambridge International Conference on Open and Distance Learning, (pp. 121-130). Cambridge, UK: The Open University. Phillips and Scott introduce the ‘Learner’s Guide to the Open University’, a web-based multimedia prototype addressing student support issues, including admission, course selection, and career guidance; support for students with special requirements; study preparation and learning skill development advice; and student progress monitoring, all with a learner-centered approach. The authors thoroughly discuss the pros and cons of using an interactive web-based multimedia interface followed by brief overview of the specific multimedia interface used by the Open University, including several snapshots. Initial feedback from students was incredibly positive.
Rhys, S. (1988). Study skills and personal development. Open Learning, 3(2), 40-42. Rhys reflects on the process of studying in higher education, specifically looking at the skills that are required for effective learning. By looking at studying as a multi-dimensional process, Rhys intends to show an inter-relationship among factors internal and external to students. By discussing this philosophy further, Rhys concludes that flexible working partnership between a counselor and a student are critical, and the counselor must be aware of not only what they do but how they do it because it matters to each student in a different practical, cognitive and emotional level.
Simpson, O. (1992). Specifying student support services in the OU - the so-called Student Charter. Open Learning, 7(2), 57-59. Simpson wrote a student charter for Open University students. There was quite a bit of controversy surrounding the document. To determine if the document had any effect on student perceptions of the University, an evaluation was conducted. Preliminary results suggested that undergraduate students did not even read the document since it was unattractive and arrived with a large amount of other material, whereas Associate Students, who were knew to the University, did indeed read the document and found it valuable. Therefore, there was a need for the charter and perhaps if it were more attractive, the new undergraduate students would read it, as they are most likely to need it.
Granger, D., and Benke, M. (1998). Supporting learners at a distance from inquiry through completion. In C.C. Gibson (Ed.), Distance learners in higher education, (pp. 127-137). Madison, WI: Atwood Publishing. In this chapter, Granger and Benke discuss what it means to understand your learners in various aspects of student support. They describe the aspects of learners that are important to know, including students’ knowledge, prior skills, experience, culture, context, goals and motivations, and learning patterns and styles. They conclude that knowing your learners involves anticipating their concerns while you prepare them to be better learners through portfolios, counseling and advising, and orientation programs; building appropriate student support systems into program delivery and the academic program to build motivation and confidence.
King, T.J. (1995). The identification of high dropout risk distance education students by the analysis of student records data. In Sewart, D. (Ed.), 17th World Conference for Distance Education: One World Many Voices: Quality in Open and Distance Learning: Volume 2 (pp. 98-101). Milton Keynes, UK: International Council for Distance Education and The Open University. King attempts to identify students as high-risk for dropout from courses at the Australian college of Technical and Further Education by examining their student data records. These include data covering sex, age, birth country, years in Australia, years since leaving school, previous educational level reached, employment status, prior TAFE study, prior University study, and the number of assessment tasks completed. There were some encouraging results, including the fact that course completers were generally older than noncompleters and out of school longer and more often were women. King notes that the quality of data was a problem as some pieces were missing, but that these types of studies are important and should continue.
Phillips, S.E. (1995). The Commonwealth of Learning student record management system. In Sewart, D. (Ed.), 17th World Conference for Distance Education: One World Many Voices: Quality in Open and Distance Learning: Volume 2 (pp. 437-440). Milton Keynes, UK: International Council for Distance Education and The Open University. Phillips describes the Commonwealth of Learning Student Record Management System. The SRMS is a database designed to assist administration and instructors with records tracking and management required in an educational settings by providing registration structures, recording grades, and producing reports. There are a number of user-friendly features in the program designed to limit the required training time. The program was successful so Version II modifications.
Stephens, K., Unwin, L., and Bolton, N. (1997). The use of libraries by postgraduate distance learning students: A mismatch of expectations. Open Learning, 12(3), 25-33. Stephens, et al. reports the results of a survey conducted through the University of Sheffield in the UK. The survey was designed to review the postgraduate distance education students’ use of libraries. These students were generally between the ages of 25 and 45 (75%), from the management/business subject area (49.1%), employed (95.9%), and live within 5 miles of a library (75%). Students indicated that roughly 73% of them did indeed use a library for their course and that course instructors often underestimated the required library time required in their courses. The majority of students live a considerable distance from their host university, and use the local public libraries extensively despite the shortcomings when compared to a university library.
Wong, A.T. (1997). Valuing diversity: Prior learning assessment and open learning. In Tait, A. (Ed.), Collected Conference Papers, The Cambridge International Conference on Open and Distance Learning, (pp. 208-216). Cambridge, UK: The Open University. Wong describes prior learning assessment (evaluation of knowledge gained from work experience or other settings outside of a formal educational institution) as a tool with a potentially beneficial impact on workforce development. By explaining PLA as a process, Wong encourages PLA supporters in Canada to look towards open learning, instead of tying themselves down with the term distance learning, as elements in open and flexible learning are critical to a large-scale implementation of PLA. The very nature of a PLA system lends itself towards a pedagogical shift away from traditional modes, which more in line with an open learning environment.